Bali Tips (A Must Read)

BALI TIPS:

Bali Tips are worth your time to read and study, guaranteed to save you time, money and aggravation. Let me start by saying Bali is one of the most beautiful, warm and friendly places you may ever visit. But like anywhere, there are things to be aware of and watch out for.

Bali has changed so much in the last 3-4 years. Petrol has almost doubled, new roads, a new airport, new malls and a plethora of new accommodations. The good news is, there is so much more to Bali than the tourist traps of Kuta, Legian, Seminyak, and Ubud. Do yourself a favor and explore.

If you have not been to Bali before or even if you have, here are some helpful tips we learned over 18 years, 10 years of visits and ultimately living here for 8+ years now, we would like to share with you, to make your stay here even better. Its a 20-minute walk to the beach, 5 minutes by scooter or car.

We also rescue animals, so there are dogs and cats on the property but none that bother anyone to date. They don’t mooch food or bother guests. For the most part, the dogs are always accompanied. All of our animals are very grateful to be alive and loving. Bali cats are somewhat hypoallergenic because it is always summer and they don’t shed.

1. SMILE:

You are about to experience a place like no other. This island has a marked shortage of angry people. Just smile and everyone will do likewise and greet you with open arms. Leave your anger at home and come to Bali with an open mind and heart and it will reward you in kind. There is no road rage here, crime is almost nonexistent. It is said that if you are a victim of a crime in Bali, it was probably at the hands of a foreigner. You’ll find the Balinese people are genuinely hospitable and less mercenary than most places.

2. BEFORE YOU LEAVE HOME:

It would be a good idea to call your credit card companies and let them know where and how long you will be traveling outside your country. Too many folks have gotten here and had their ATM and credit cards turned off by their bank’s security departments. It is obviously a hassle to deal with long distance.

3. VISA ON ARRIVAL NEW RULES:

Passport holders of Brunei, Cambodia, Chile, Ecuador, Hong Kong, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Morocco, Myanmar, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam who wish to enter Indonesia for the purpose of governmental duties, education, socio-culture, tourism, business, journalistic or transit can do so without visa through all air, sea or land crossing points. However, nationals of Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Mexico,Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Poland, Russia, Qatar, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, can enter Indonesia without a visa for tourism purposes only and must do so through the following port of entries: Jakarta, Bali, Surabaya.

All other countries not listed will pay a $35 visa on arrival fee. If you wish to stay more than 30 days, buy the $35 visa. It can be extended, whereas the free visa cannot, without leaving the country for a day.

4. LOCAL CELL PHONE SERVICE:

Cell phone service has changed. Now there are special tourist sim cards that must be registered with your passport at a service center. I’m hoping that will become more convenient in the near future, but that said, they are so inexpensive; it is foolish not to get a local sim card if you are planning to stay more than a week.

There are many GSM providers here, but I recommend XL. Your typical cost per minute for a call with a sim card from a foreign country is $3 to 5 Euros. Before you come to Bali call your local provider and see if your smartphone is unlocked. If not, ask if they will unlock it. If you travel much, having an unlocked GSM phone will serve you well and pay for itself in convenience over and over again. It is easy to pick up an unlocked smartphone on craigslist, gumtree or eBay. Think you won’t need a phone here?

Oh contraire!! You can call home in an emergency for about .35 cents a minute, call your hired driver to tell him to come and get you, or use GRAB or Go-Jek, they’re like UBER, but better, (Grab recently acquired Uber in SE Asia) notify your next hotel when you may arrive, and wait for it, get a 5 or 6GB data package which gives you GPS and internet for less than 5 Euros for a month. Package deals are always changing but you can’t go wrong for the money.

Compare that to a local outdated map for $8. For what you’d spend for a two-minute call, you could have GPS (Google Maps), a local sim card and a little calling time. XL offers good 4G LTE service and the coverage is pretty good. Think oh, there is WIFI everywhere??. Isn’t it worth 5 Euros not to have to worry about it and NO WiFi isn’t everywhere, especially when you are on the move, and many places with WiFi want you to buy something to use it.

5. EXCHANGING MONEY:

DO NOT get much at the airport if any, but NEVER get rupiah in your country. Their rates are not competitive with local exchanges. Once you get to wherever you are going to stay on the island find a storefront money changer with posted rates that say no commission. If you prefer, use an ATM, preferably with a debit card. Most credit cards charge you 3% plus possible other fees and interest from the moment you make a cash withdrawal. Banks will also charge their own exchange fees as well. Download the app XE.com http://xe.com to get a sense of what is fair.

Always double check someone else’s figures. US $’s you bring to exchange must be new and pristine and I mean pristine. If it has folds or ink marks or bent corners or is old, they may not take it, or may not offer top rates. 100’s and 50’s bring top rates. Smaller US bills exchange at lower rates. Beware of seemingly better rates offered as they may not be true rates and are not net of commissions or if someone says taxes, run, they are crooks. Count your money carefully and don’t let them touch it after you count what they have given you and do it before you leave their counter.

Money exchanges with street storefronts are safer than somewhere down an alley, and almost always more competitive than banks. Denominations are pretty simple rounding down, 1000 is about a dime,5000, 50 cents, 10,000 about a dollar, 50,000 is about $5 and their largest bill 100,000 is about $10 Australian. Current USD & Euro rates are more than 10,000 to 1 at this moment, but it is a good rule of thumb and easy to calculate.

You should also check xe.com and plug in your currency compared to the Indonesian Rupiah to get a handle on what you should be getting for an exchange. Don’t expect to get internet rates, as money changers have to make money too. Using foreign currency vs. rupiah leaves you at someone else’s mercy for an exchange rate, like in stores, restaurants, hotels, etc. Use local money or a credit card for all your purchases, but cash is king. Most banks have international fees on top of making money on the exchange and interest. ATM cards are the best for getting local cash if you don’t have your currency to exchange.

6. DRIVING IN BALI:

DON’T!!! Police will recognize international driving licenses here; you know those paper ones, not the normal one from your country. It’s a must-have, so make the time to get one if you want to rent a scooter or car here. Although anyone will rent you a car or a motorbike, and tell you that is OK, there are consequences. Fines usually start at 500,000rp and up, if you are stopped, but this is Indonesia and everything is negotiable (mostly). Random roadblocks are common. There are ways around this and it is not the end of the world if you want to rent a scooter without an international license.

Talk to me about it when you arrive. God forbid, if you have an accident in a car, it doesn’t matter what happened, tourists are always at fault. It just isn’t worth it when you can find a car and a driver here for 450-800,000rp (depending on how far you are going, but you shouldn’t pay much more than that) per 9-10 hour day, including driver and fuel, and many speak fairly good English. You’re talking about $10-$20 a day difference between driving yourself and being driven, then factor in fuel, map reading, getting lost, missing the scenery, parking, etc. Is it really worth your time on vacation to save $10 a day, not to mention, giving a local a job??

Also now we have GRAB and Go-Jek for A to B trips in populated areas. GRAB has a limited area for service, local taxis can get expensive in a hurry. Much cheaper, in the long run, to hire a car and driver, for sightseeing or long distances, not to mention safer.

If you have to use taxis use Blue Bird or Bali Taxi. (Baby blue) They are safe and always have meters, if it is off, demand they use the meter or get out. Price gouging from the airport is something new, I suppose to offset their losses to Grab and Go-Jek. Flat rates are charge from there.

That being said it is almost always cheaper for any trip of distance to just hire a car for the day, even with GRAB. Example: A taxi from Jimbaran to Ubud would run between 350,000-450,000rp for an hour and a half drive. For an extra $10 you can have a driver all day and go where ever you want within a certain area.

Public transportation is relatively nonexistent, so do not expect to find a bus, easily, it’s not worth the inconvenience They are out there, but not so convenient when it comes to hauling your luggage around. The new bus system was really not designed for tourists.

The flip side of all this is (scooter) motorbikes. IF you’re a brave soul and a proficient motorcycle driver you can get anywhere faster than a car and really cheap. These rent for $5-$10 a day, plus fuel. With these, you MUST wear a helmet and be sure the bike paperwork is in the bike, original, not a copy, and that international driver’s license. You can invest in a cheap raincoat or just know you will dry out sooner than later. Remember to ask me about options on the international license. Don’t expect to pay what you have in the past for a car and driver. Gas prices have almost doubled in the last couple years.

A humorous look at Bali driving. It is actually very friendly Polite Chaos!!

7. TAP WATER:

DON’T DRINK IT but don’t freak out about it either. It is fine for brushing your teeth and washing out your mouth, or bathing, or washing dishes, just don’t swallow. Bottled water is very cheap to buy here, but is least expensive in supermarkets, not Circle K, or glass front coolers.

8. TIPS:

It is not customary for locals to tip, but it is sort of expected (and appreciated) from foreigners. 10,000-50,000rp is a good enough tip for just about anything from dinner to a massage, if the service is better than expected. Restaurants and hotels have a service fee built-in, and this is why many do not tip. It is already included, but again 10,000 is less than $1. So as there is no standard, tip according to value added.

If you feel the service was extraordinary, be generous, your average service employee may only take home $80-100 a month. Also, that 10% isn’t necessarily going to find its way into the pocket of your waiter or service provider. The best case scenario it will be split by the entire staff, worse case it will be kept by the business. If you want to reward someone for their efforts, slip them something personally with a handshake.

9. AIRPORT PORTERS:

Do not let someone just come up and grab your bag! Negotiate a price before you take a step with these guys. 30,000rp per bag is fair and they should take it right to the counter or your waiting vehicle or taxi. Be sure you negotiate a firm price BEFORE they take your bags. As nice as these fellows are, some will to try to overcharge foreigners.

10. BUYING STUFF:

In Bali most things are negotiable, and as a foreigner, you are considered rich. If you don’t negotiate you’re a sucker in their eyes. Store owners all expect to negotiate and price their items accordingly. If an item has a price on it, it is less likely to be negotiable, but it never hurts to ask. For stuff on the street consider offering ¼ of the asking price, now you have a negotiating position, but be prepared to walk away. More than likely they will come after you.

On the street, you should never pay more than ½ their first price. This is not to say that is a good buy or not, it’s more what it is worth to you. It never hurt to ask if there is a discount ANYWHERE. If there is not, they will say fixed price and you can make the call if you want to buy or not. Be careful about getting too wrapped up in quibbling over amounts like 10,000rp sounds like a lot, it’s less than a dollar.

11. PACKING FOR BALI:

Don’t over pack, everything is pretty cheap here, especially clothes and toiletries, and there is seldom the need to go formal as Bali is 99% casual. Carrefour is a large superstore that has everything from groceries to clothes at reasonable prices. There are 2 ways to come to Bali. Both start with bringing as little as possible. You can pack everything you need in a carry on and forget luggage, you can find really cheap bags here to buy to take home stuff you may want to buy because art, clothes and home décor stuff are REALLY cheap and fabulous here. The other option is to bring your 2 bag limit, empty and fill them up with all the must-have goodies you will find here. Shopping in Bali is a blast and almost everyone just loves it.

12. MONKEYS:

Bali has lots of monkeys and people think they can be fun to feed or just watch. However, there are some issues with this you need to be aware of. Some monkeys can be VERY aggressive especially if you have food. They are thieves by nature and will steal anything from you they can, so you have to bribe them with food to get it back. We have regularly seen them take glasses right off people’s faces and even take flip-flops off peoples feet. Jewelry and earrings are also a favorite target, ouch! The best way to avoid this is not to have anything they can take and stay with a large group if possible. Monkeys will usually not bother groups or people who do not make direct eye contact with them.

13. TOILET PAPER:

Bali in particular and Indonesia, in general, is not a toilet paper oriented culture. Many public restrooms will have limited if any toilet paper, so it is a good idea to carry tissue or wet wipes with you. In better places you will find sprayers on the wall or built into the toilet seats, so you can wash off and then pat dry with your tissue. Bali, in particular, has no sewer system, only septic tanks. Locals do not use toilet paper and if they do, usually put it in a trash can, not down the toilet.

14. LEAVING BALI:

Some changes here. It used to be 200,000rp each as exit tax, but if you purchased your tickets after February 2015, it is now be included in your ticket.

15. AIRPORT TRANSPORTATION:

If you book directly with us, we will almost always pick you up and drop you off for less than taxis. Taxis from the airport have a minimum 100,000Rp charge. Jimbaran fares had been trending at 250,000rp at the taxi stand. However, recently a guest was charged 900,000 at the taxi stand. I’m guessing this is an effort to offset losses from the ongoing Taxi wars with Grab and Go-Jek. Our off-hour rates are always less.

16. EATING AT JIMBARAN BAY:

The price of eating at Jimbaran Bay can vary dramatically. Here is the catch; NEVER, EVER order off the menu, menus are designed for tourists. The menus offer these platters and charge crazy money for those tourists that don’t want to get up and pick out their own fish. If you go to where they have the fresh fish on ice and in glass cases and pick out your own, you are buying by the kilo or gram, more like a local. They cook it for you and serve it with rice and vegetables. It is cheaper to pick out your own, the quality and taste are the same. Not as cheap as it used to be, but most will find it reasonable

17. BOOKING ACTIVITIES ONLINE:

Hotels are one thing, but you will almost never get a better deal online for any activity or transport here in Bali. It is rare that you have to pre-book anything more than a few days in advance, even in high season. So don’t get sucked into online specials for transport or activities. It is almost always cheaper once you are here.

A special beware to French tourists. If you want a French speaking driver/guide be prepared to pay double vs an English speaker.  Don’t fall for that driver/guide differential as most professional drivers are guides anyway. We’ve seen French-speaking drivers charge up to 70 Euros a day when local rates start around 30 Euros and go up depending on distance. We are happy to help with anything we can. Don’t worry we never up charge or take commissions for anything we arrange for you with 3rd parties.

Hopefully, these tips will save you from some common pitfalls and help you enjoy Bali even more. Safe travels!!

aahhbali.com Aahh Bali Bed and Breakfast updated 5/18