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s one of several major gateways to the island of Bali, Gilimanuk Port has always been busy during the Idul Fitri holiday.

This year has been no exception. The port in Jembrana regency, west Bali, which provides ferry services to Ketapang Port in Banyuwangi, East Java, served thousands of homebound travellers from Bali to Java, as well as domestic tourists from Java spending their vacation in Bali.

Thousands of travellers from all over Bali made their journey to their hometowns in Java through the port starting on Aug. 1, seven days prior to Idul Fitri, which fell on Aug. 8-9

As many as 369,223 people, 89,611 motorcycles and 35,914 cars crossed the Bali Strait by ferry from Gilimanuk to Ketapang during the seven-day period before Idul Fitri.

The surge in vehicular passengers resulted in motorists being caught in a six-kilometer line on Saturday, five days before Idul Fitri.

These homebound travellers were mostly Javanese who have been living in Bali for many years, or those who have family in Java. At Idul Fitri, it is traditional for Muslims to return home to visit their families, a tradition known as mudik.

The operations manager of ASDP port management in Gilimanuk, Wahyudi Susianto, told Bali Daily on Sunday that the number of travellers using Gilimanuk was up 3 percent on last year. Meanwhile, the number of passengers using motorcycles had increased 9 percent, while cars were up 7 percent.

'€œWe anticipated the possible surge by preparing 41 ferries to improve our services and to accommodate them. However, in fact, only around 32 to 36 ferries have been in operation each day,'€ Wahyudi said.

After Idul Fitri, passengers will return to the island from Ketapang Port to Gilimanuk. However, as of Sunday, passenger numbers remained low and waiting times were short.

'€œWe predict that homebound travellers will return in phases up to the end of next week,'€ Wahyudi said.

Gilimanuk Port remained busy, however, with many domestic tourists from cities across Java who had spent their Idul Fitri holiday in Bali returning home.

Wahyudi said that the number of domestic tourists crossing the Bali Strait from Gilimanuk had increased on Saturday, with 2,127 motorcycles and 3,931 cars. Normally, Gilimanuk serves approximately 1,500 to 2,000 motorcycles and 3,000 cars per day.