TRANSPORT

You have 4 options on Bali, rent your own car, which is possibly the worst idea, using a personal driver/ taxi, scooter taxi or rent your own scooter. Lets start with renting scooters…

1. Scooters – If you know Balinese traffic, and the roads, and arrive with minimal luggage that can be easily carried on your back, I do recommend hiring a scooter from the airport, a guy will meet you at arrivals and take you to your scooter (usually a 110cc Vario, which are decent scooters), I’ve used this service a couple of times with great success from Bali bike hire and simply drop it back to the same spot on the agreed day when done. You can also have them deliver a scooter to your accomodation, or have your accomodation organise a bike for you. The price of renting a scooter will depend on how long you want it for, short term rentals you should be paying 60k IDR per day (some places will try to over charge you, simply haggle them to 60k), long term can get as low as 30k IDR per day, payment is required up front. Make sure you have your phone with you for navigation, because you will get lost if venturing too far. And to avoid issues with the police, always wear your helmet, and have license/ identification on you, or they will try to charge anywhere up to 1.5 million rupiah per infringement. There are some petrol stations around, but you will see many places with racks of fuel filled liquor bottles on the side of the roads, generally you’ll pay 10k IDR per bottle of fuel (Benzin as the locals call it). And remember, ride smart! Many tourists die on Balinese roads each year because they ride scooters carelessly! So please, be confident with your skills, be very alert and aware of road conditions all around you (ride like a meerkat watching its territory!) and don’t ride drunk! I know the temptation is great, but this is when most become a statistic!

   

2. Scooter taxi- There is a scooter taxi services called GoJek and Grab, quite handy for getting around heavily congested/ built up areas fairly quickly, if you don’t ride your self, of don’t want to risk riding after a few drinks. They’ll take up to 2 passengers at a time, and they have a mobile app, so you can get a ride fairly quickly in any of the more populated villages. Never pay for this service up front, only once you arrive at your destination.

   

3. Taxi/ private driver– Very handy if you have lots of people and or luggage to move around, or you simply have a big day planned out and don’t want to be riding scooters long distances. Unless you know your driver well, NEVER pay for a taxi up front, I have heard of stories where the driver has decided he doesn’t want to go any further, and will just dump you and your bags at the side of the road, paying at the end of the ride, ensures you reach your destination.

   

   If you need to get a taxi, look for the BLUE BIRD cars, as they normally run off a meter, so you wont get ripped off. If you need to negotiate prices with any other driver, see the chart below for price estimates from the airport to these popular villages/ areas:

   • Kuta 100k
   • Jimbaran 100k
   • Uluwatu 200k
   • Nusa Dua 150k
   • Sanur 200k
   • Echo beach (Canggu) 250k
   • Ubud 300k
   • Candi Dasa 400k
   • Lovina Beach 600k
   • Amed 600k
4. Hire car – I personally have never done this, and would not recommend this, roads around popular areas are congested and hard to navigate, plus parking is at a premium, some hotels/ accomodation wont always have enough space for a car. Save your self time and hassle, use a taxi, or a scooter it if at all possible.

   

Some accomodation will provide a free airport transfer service, so check with them before you arrive, or they can have a private service arranged for you, double check the price for the service they offer, as it might not be the same as the estimates above.

Now, to travel between the islands, there are several ferry services that will take you to all the islands east of Bali. However, for travel to Lombok, there is also the option of flying, with it only being a 25 minute flight and fares from as low as IDR500k, it can be cheaper and faster than ferry.

Ferries depart at very regular intervals from Serangan (the port between Kuta and Sanur) and Padang Bai (near Candi Dasa), and several operators services these routes. You can normally get tickets last minute, but they stop selling 24 hours out from the desired service you seek, so do try to plan at least 2 days in advance if selecting this option