How To Bali Guide

Last Updated: October 2023

Please don’t take anything in here as legal, medical, financial or any kind of official advice. 

What to Do

Bali Wikitravel: https://wikitravel.org/en/Bali 

Bali Google Map of Fun: https://goo.gl/maps/piGPtuwhsdXaZuft8

Bali is very easy to wing, especially if you base yourself in Kuta to start. Major attractions are 30-90 minutes away (e.g., Canggu, Ubud, Uluwatu, and Nusa Penida).

What Not to Do

Don’t drive a motorbike recklessly. Don’t drink the tap water (unless you boil it). Don’t forget your sunscreen. Don’t get scammed (see below). Don’t be surprised you may occasionally need to use a squat toilet. (Here’s a guide: https://twofishtraveling.com/pooping-indonesia-toilet-guide/.) Don’t disrespect local customs. 

Before You Arrive

Remember to download offline maps in Google Maps and Maps.me, download GoJek (www.gojek.com) and Grab (www.grab.com), attach your credit card to the apps, unlock your phone, and update your travel plans with your bank.

If you want, you can also join the main Bali Couchsurfing Whatsapp group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/KOAhNcUfqGnCWLRYSQHnQy. Couchsurfing is very active on the island.

Travelers from 160+ countries can enter visa free when they land, which is good for up to 30 days in Indonesia. Check to see if you’re eligible.

Depending on a number of factors, the immigration officer that grants you entry may ask for pre-booked onward travel information. They want to ensure you don’t overstay your visa. If you’ve already booked your onward travel, you’re good. But if you don’t know when you want to leave Bali–trust me, I get it–then you might consider using a $7 USD service like www.onwardflights.com or booking a ~$15 USD ferry from Batam Center (Indonesia) to Harbourfront (Singapore) through www.batamfast.com. You might consider using either real-time if immigration asks you, although that might be stressful.

If you plan on renting a motorbike and don’t want to risk driving illegally, get your International Drivers License (IDL) before you arrive in Bali. Make sure it shows you are certified to ride a motorbike. For Americans, this means taking a motorcycle course. See more on this in the “Getting Around” section below.

Arrival

The main airport is Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, so I’m guessing you’ll fly in from there.

If you’re eligible for visa free entry, you’re all set with visas. But if you want to stay between 30-60 days, you would want to buy a Visa On Arrival at the airport. If you’re not sure, it might be smart to get it anyway just to be safe (you can’t get it later without leaving the country again first). Pay the $35 USD or 500,000 IDR at the Visa on Arrival booth. They don’t take credit cards, but there are ATMs nearby. And don’t forget to visit the immigration office before day 30 in Indonesia. Note the day you arrive counts as a day even if your flight comes in at 11:55pm. You’ll have to go to immigration three times total (#1 application, #2 fingerprints/photo, and #3 passport/visa pickup) and it’s best to start well before your time is up.

If you want to stay for a longer period, you’ll have to figure out other visas or do visa runs to other cities. The social budaya visa (B211) is the most commonly used for longer-term stays. You get up to six months (two two-month extensions after the original two-month visa is issued) each time. The main caveat is you can’t leave Indonesia during that period without canceling the visa and you can’t work while here. Visa agents can help or you can figure it out yourself.

You can exchange money near the entrance of the airport (better rates than inside the airport) or at any money changer on the island (best rates). Central Kuta Money Exchange is often recommended. Always double/triple check the money you give and receive with their posted rates (and look the rates up online as well).

ATMs are also prevalent and let you take out 2,500,000 IDR or $179 USD per day (some go up to 3,000,000 IDR or $209 USD), but look out for fishy ones that steal your information. Only withdraw from ATMs that are attached to banks or malls and have cameras watching them. Fees are often 72,000 IDR or $5 USD each time so probably take out the maximum you can. Those fees add up. Note: Wise (www.wise.com) is a great app if you’ll be staying here or in other countries for longer periods of time and don’t mind setting up a local bank account. They have a good travel card that lets you withdraw without fees up to $300 USD per month from ATMs from the countries in which it operates. Also, Revolut (www.revolut.com) lets you leave your card inactive until you want to activate it for a purchase, thus preventing most fraud. Both are great options for frequent travelers.

Beer is cheap in Bali, but spirits are expensive so if you really like to drink you might consider getting a duty-free bottle from the duty-free store that’s immediately after the immigration checkpoint at the airport. You can only get one. Arak is the local spirit—it’s sometimes bad, but maybe worth trying. Avoid arak from really rundown places.

You should probably buy an eSIM before you arrive. If not, you should probably get a SIM card at the airport for the sake of convenience. You may have to unlock your phone first (search online for a guide for your particular phone and carrier). Note that Telkomcel has better coverage than XL and is probably worth the extra cost (XL constantly lost GPS coverage for me). You can also download the MyTelkomsel app (www.telkomsel.com/en/mytelkomsel) if you’d like.

The airport also has free wifi, but that wifi does not extend to the rideshare pickup areas. If you’re really clear with communicating with your rideshare driver, s/he might be able to find you even if you don’t have mobile data. PSA: Always use a VPN when using public wifi. ExpressVPN (www.expressvpn.com) is a good overall choice.

As you exit the airport you’ll pass through the gauntlet of taxi drivers aggressively trying to hustle you. Just ignore them. If you’re leaving the international terminal, walk about 20 meters out across the street from the entrance to the parking garage and look around (note there are multiple floors). The ride share service drivers congregate there and will often tell you a pillar to stand by (e.g., A26). Or you also may have to meet your driver in motorbike parking. In that case keep walking through the garage until you get to the street and then cross it. Keep following the path until you see drivers. It is a couple hundred meters walk all in.

If you’re leaving the domestic terminal, then walk a couple hundred meters through the exit and parking garage straight out and then right to cross the street to the motorbike parking area.

If you have a lot of stuff, finding your ride might be taxing in the heat and hustle and bustle.

From the airport, it’s a 30-50 minute (18.4 km) trip to Canggu and may cost around ~195,000 IDR or ~$12.2 USD via GoJek car. If you have very minimal luggage you might be able to ride on the back of a motorbike instead of getting a car for about ~43,000 IDR or ~$2.7 USD, but the car is probably the better option. Grab and MyBlueBird are also good apps, although pricier. If you opt for a local driver off-app instead, perhaps haggle. It’s not rude–it’s expected. Be warned that lots of drivers won’t drop much, but some may.

Getting Around

You can’t really walk Bali. It’s huge (very roughly a four hour drive east to west and south to north). You’d probably want to use ride share services while you’re here. GoJek and Grab are the most common.

There are also taxis in certain areas–lots of drivers will yell “taxi?” at you. But be cautious to only ride with ones that look legit. Rideshare services have at least a tiny bit of vetting of their drivers. Note rideshare services aren’t available in all areas so you’d need a taxi from those places. A taxi driver with a 6-seater van may cost you very roughly ~600,000 IDR or ~$37.7 USD a day. I’ve also been charged that for a two hour one-way ride, given my group had no other options and the driver knew it.

Or you can get a motorbike for about ~100,000 IDR or ~$6.3 USD per day (and a bit more in surrounding islands). Monthly rental rates are ~900,000 IDR (~$56.5 USD) to 1.7M (~$106.7 USD). Very roughly the quality and price of bikes goes like this: Scoopy, then Vario, and then Lexy, PCX, and NMAX. You can find one just about anywhere and rent it in a few minutes or the staff at your lodging can usually get you a reasonably priced one delivered in <24 hours. Take videos and pictures of it as soon as you get it and note any damage or scratches on the contract the renter gives you. Do not give them your passport or ID, but you can give them a picture of either.

Note motorbikes aren’t for the timid, especially in Asia. They’re dangerous–I’ve seen many accidents and a great deal of close calls.

But motorbikes are also extremely convenient and a lot of fun once you get the hang of it. Most locals ride, including kids. Plan for at least 30-60 minutes adjusting to riding your bike and a week or so to get used to Bali traffic. Be aware that Kuta has some intense traffic at times (as does Canggu, Ubud, etc.). It took me 2-3 months to get (reasonably) comfortable riding here and even after driving for many years it still is objectively risky. 

Always wear a helmet with a very clear visor (to block bugs and particulates) and potentially a mask (to minimize pollution). If your visor is scratched, riding at night with the visor down will be very difficult. And if you ride with the visor up you’ll get bugs and particulates in your eyes. Wearing clothes (not swimsuits) and shoes is ideal in case you get in an accident. Obviously don’t drink and drive, even if you are here to “party”. Take GoJek or Grab. Skimp on safety precautions at your own risk.

Also note it’s illegal to ride without an International Drivers License (IDL) that permits motorcycle riding. Despite that most travelers don’t carry an IDL.

And you should realize that people honk all the time here, but they’re not (necessarily) honking to tell you off. Most of the time it’s just to declare they are near you or rounding a corner, since field of view might be limited. Some people from very polite countries seem to take the honks to heart and get super nervous. No need. Just start honking yourself.

Prices

If you want to take the plunge and move to Bali, here are a few basic prices you can expect.

A good solo kost/homestay/apartment (https://www.olx.co.id/bali_g2000002/indekos_c4833) with utilities included usually costs 2M-5M IDR ($126-$315 USD) per month. If you share it, you could cut that in half or more. Nicer places go up to 5M-10M IDR ($357-$714 USD). And luxury places even higher. Don’t buy the hype you see online of paying tens of millions a month for places. Many agents are trying to scam you. Unfortunately you can’t easily know which ones are honest so research extensively. 

An average warung meal costs 20k-40k IDR ($1.4-$2.9 USD). Double or triple that for a higher end meal.

A basic motorbike is almost a must. It costs roughly ~900,000 IDR (~$56.5 USD) to 1.7M (~$106.7 USD). Insurance is helpful, but fairly uncommon to get. Gas is so inexpensive it’s almost negligible. A rideshare costs roughly 10k-30k IDR ($.71-$2.1 USD) per one-way short ride.

Mobile data costs about 100k IDR ($7.1 USD), depending on the plan.

Laundry costs about 10k/kg IDR ($0.71 USD) without delivery or a little more with delivery. Firmly ask for clothes to be washed in cold water and hung dry. Expect 1-3 days for return. Be careful as clothes are very often shrunk, stained, discolored or worn down. Never give expensive or sentimentally valuable clothes to a cleaner to wash. Do it yourself in the sink. You can get very cheap detergent from most corner stores.

General Communities

Impact Communities

Ubud Communities

Canggu Communities

Uluwatu Communities

General Resources

Dating

Bali is a mecca for short-term dating. English is prevalent, there are plenty of venues to meet, and much of the island has a party vibe. 

Bali is relatively bad for finding long-term partners. There are more women searching for serious partnerships than men. And everyone has a great deal of opportunity to play the field, if they choose.

Expats date each other and locals. 

Open relationships are common. The kink community is small, but active.

Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, OkCupid, Feeld, and other apps are all popular. Quality varies dramatically. 

It has been said that everyone in Canggu is beautiful. That’s not true, but it’s not that much of an exaggeration. It also goes for many major cities in Bali: Ubud, Uluwatu, Seminyak, and Kuta. 

STI awareness is relatively limited. See the Bali Labs Database above and get tested. Use protection. Abortions are not legal.