🇮🇩Bali
Temples on sea cliffs, surf that suits beginners, and a Hindu island culture that turns every morning into a small ceremony. This guide covers the southern beach belt — Kuta to Uluwatu; inland Ubud has its own guide.
Mid-range figures, per person
Per person, no flights — those are just below. The mid-range figure is researched; budget and luxury scale it, so treat the two as rough. The trip calculator and hotels below break the day down properly.
Fares are into Bali (Denpasar), usually with one stop — Singapore, Doha or Taipei. Ubud is a 1-hour drive from that airport; Yogyakarta adds a $40–80 domestic hop or connects via Jakarta. Ranges are typical fares booked 1–3 months out, checked mid-2026 — school-holiday peaks run higher, and patient shoppers beat the bottom end.
Prices checked · how we work these out
Entry & visa
Most nationalities get the Visa on Arrival — Rp 500,000 (~$32), 30 days, extendable once online or via an agent. Pay it as the e-VOA online before flying and you skip a queue. Bali also charges a one-time Rp 150,000 tourist levy — pay it on the Love Bali site or app before landing.
Visa rules turn on your nationality and change often — always confirm the current requirement for your own passport with an official government source before you book.
Quick facts
Money & what things cost
Cash still matters outside hotels and beach clubs — warungs, drivers and small shops want rupiah. Change money only at authorized changers (look for 'PVA Berizin' signage) or use ATMs attached to real banks; count-trick money changers are Bali's oldest scam. Cards and QRIS phone payments cover the modern cafés.
What locals earn
| Average monthly salary (Bali, net) | ≈ Rp 3.5–4.5M ($220–280) | tourism wages; hospitality staff often earn near the minimum |
| Minimum wage (Badung regency) | ≈ Rp 3.3M ($205) | the tourist belt's regency sets Bali's highest |
Food & drink
| Item | Local price | ≈ USD |
|---|---|---|
| Nasi campur / nasi goreng at a warung | Rp 25,000–50,000 | $1.50–3 |
| Casual restaurant, per person | Rp 80,000–150,000 | $5–9.50 |
| Beach-club or 'Western' brunch | Rp 150,000–300,000 | $9.50–19 |
| Fresh coconut on the beach | Rp 15,000–25,000 | $0.90–1.60 |
| Local Bintang beer | Rp 30,000–50,000 | $1.90–3.10 |
| Cocktail at a beach club | Rp 120,000–180,000 | $7.50–11 |
Transport
| Item | Local price | ≈ USD |
|---|---|---|
| Gojek/Grab scooter ride, short hop | Rp 15,000–30,000 | $0.90–1.90 |
| Gojek/Grab car, Kuta → Uluwatu | Rp 150,000–250,000 | $9.50–16 |
| Scooter rental, per day | Rp 80,000–120,000 | $5–7.50 |
| Private driver, full day | Rp 600,000–900,000 | $38–56 |
| Airport taxi to Seminyak (fixed rate) | Rp 200,000–250,000 | $13–16 |
Where to sleep & what it costs
| Tier | Per night | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hostel dorm | Rp 150,000–300,000 ($9.50–19) | Canggu and Kuta have the pick; many include a pool |
| Guesthouse / budget hotel | Rp 350,000–700,000 ($22–44) | Family-run 'homestays' are Bali's best value |
| Mid-range hotel or villa | Rp 650,000–1,400,000 ($40–90) | A private-pool villa here costs a city hotel room elsewhere |
| Luxury resort | Rp 2,500,000+ ($155+) | Uluwatu clifftops and Nusa Dua beachfront |
Trip cost calculator
$127 per person per day · 4 nights of lodging (Mid-range hotel or villa)
A rough estimate from this page’s daily budget and hotel prices — not a quote. Lodging assumes one room for the group; flights use the midpoint of the Getting there ranges above.
Getting around
- From the airport
- Ngurah Rai (DPS) sits between Kuta and Jimbaran. Fixed-rate airport taxis are posted at the rank (Rp 150,000–250,000 to most of the belt); Gojek and Grab pick up from designated lounges. Kuta is 15 minutes, Canggu 45–90 depending on the traffic lottery.
- Scooter or driver
- There is no real public transit — Bali runs on scooters. Rent one only if you already ride (police check licenses, an International Driving Permit is required, and rental-bike crashes are the #1 tourist injury). Everyone else: Gojek/Grab for hops, a private driver (Rp 600,000–900,000/day) for temple-and-beach loops.
- Traffic reality
- Distances lie. Canggu to Uluwatu is 35 km and can take two hours in the afternoon crush. Plan one area per day, and treat the 4–7pm southbound crawl as a law of nature.
- Boats onward
- Fast boats to Nusa Penida and the Gilis leave from Sanur's new harbor — book a named operator with good reviews rather than the cheapest deck ticket; the crossing gets rough in the wind season.
Map
Drag to look around, or open Google Maps ↗ · Apple Maps ↗
Neighborhoods to stay in
- Canggu
- Surf, cafés, coworking and nightlife — the digital-nomad capital, with traffic to match.
- Seminyak / Petitenget
- Beach clubs, boutiques and restaurants; the polished middle of the belt.
- Kuta / Legian
- The cheap, loud original — beginner surf and budget beds; party central.
- Uluwatu / Bingin
- Clifftop sunsets and the island's best waves; quieter, and far from everything else.
- Sanur
- Calm water, sunrise beach, families and boats to Nusa Penida — Bali at half speed.
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Things to do
Temples & sights
Surf & beaches
Nightlife
Tipping & etiquette
- Step around the canang sari — the small palm-leaf offerings on the pavement each morning. Stepping over or on them is genuinely disrespectful.
- Cover shoulders and knees at temples; sarongs and sashes are lent or rented at every gate. Never climb temple structures for a photo.
- Nyepi, the Balinese New Year (March), is a full day of silence: the whole island — airport included — shuts down for 24 hours. Magical if you're settled in a hotel; a trap if you planned to fly.
- Use your right hand for giving and receiving; the left is considered unclean.
- Ceremonies have right of way — if a procession fills the road, that's the schedule now. Nobody honks at a ceremony.
Safety & common scams
Bali is friendly and violent crime against tourists is rare; the real dangers are the road and the water. Scooter crashes are the top injury by far (helmet, license, no exceptions), rip currents kill on the west-coast beaches every year (swim between the flags), and 'Bali belly' claims a day of most trips — ease into the street food and drink bottled water.
Scams to know
- Money-changer sleight of hand — too-good rates on Kuta side streets end with folded notes vanishing during the count. Use 'PVA Berizin' authorized changers or bank ATMs.
- Scooter damage claims — photograph every scratch on video before riding off, and never leave your passport as deposit.
- Arak methanol poisoning — free-pour local spirits at suspiciously cheap bars have killed tourists. Drink Bintang, or spirits from bottles you watched opened.
- Monkey extortion at Uluwatu — the macaques snatch glasses and phones, then 'trade' them back for fruit handlers sell you. Pocket everything loose before entering.
- Card skimming — use ATMs attached to bank branches, not the standalone boxes in minimarts.
Emergency numbers: 112 (general) · 118 (ambulance) · BIMC Kuta and Siloam Denpasar are the tourist-standard hospitals; travel insurance that covers scooter riding is worth reading the fine print for
Phone & internet
An eSIM or a Telkomsel/XL SIM from an official store (Rp 100,000–150,000 for a tourist bundle) gives strong 4G/5G across the belt. Registration requires your passport — buy at the airport counter or a branded store, not a reseller who'll register it to a stranger. Every café has Wi-Fi; it's a coworking island.
First-timer FAQs
Bali or Ubud — aren't they the same trip?
Same island, different holidays: this southern belt is beaches, surf and nightlife; Ubud, an hour inland, is rice terraces, temples and yoga. Most first-timers split the trip — 3–4 nights south, 2–3 in Ubud. Ubud has its own guide here.
Is Bali still affordable?
Two answers: warung meals, guesthouses and scooters remain Southeast-Asia cheap, while beach clubs, villas and 'wellness' now bill in Australian-brunch dollars. The daily budget above assumes you mix both; going full-local halves it.
How many days do I need?
A week does the south properly plus an Ubud stint. Add days, not speed — traffic makes cramming miserable, and the point of Bali is not hurrying.
When is Nyepi and does it really shut the airport?
It follows the Balinese calendar — usually March — and yes: 24 hours of island-wide silence, empty streets, no flights, hotel grounds only. Check the date against your itinerary; being 'trapped' at a nice hotel is actually one of the best days of the year.
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Bali or…?
Side-by-side cost comparisons with the other Indonesia guides — and its rivals abroad.