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 Traveller's Tales: Getting around in Bali, Indonesia
Know the most popular landmarks in Bali, Indonesia. You may read about best transportation, recommended travel itinerary, suggested routes and directions. Also, you might want to read our
Bali city guide,
and Lombok city guide.
Pages (1 of 9):
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| J Feldt |
01 June 2005 |
Stayed at Inna Sindhu Beach - Bali, Indonesia.
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Bali is getting westernized little by little with all of the bad habits. Recommend that newbies only use Blue Bird cabs and learn the real price before negotiating with street cabs. Also go to Matahari or Hardy's and check the max price for art goods then you are prepared for the markets like Sukawati.
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| J Williams |
31 March 2005 |
Stayed at Melia Bali Villas and Spa Resort - Bali, Indonesia.
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Bali is a wonderful place. Its History, Culture and Religion are enchanting and the People infectiously warm. To do the island justice it needs at least a devoted 2 weeks of adventure. I would recommend basing any Vacation in Ubud. Although lacking the inevitable lure of a beach, Ubud is conveniently located in the centre of Bali and is therefore an excellent point from which to launch your adventures to every corner of the island.
The People in Ubud are wonderful, the food and entertainment equally so. With prices here much cheaper than the coastal resorts. The restaurants are fantastic value, highlights being the terrific Casa Luna and Laka Lece. The music of the famed Ubud Jazz Cafe is also an evening not to be missed. Transport is in abundance, be assured you will not walk more than 15 metres without another local asking you if you need any, but they are not in any way harassing, merely looking to make an honest living. Organised tours, which will be private to you and your party, are available through many of the hotels.
If you are willing to explore, and not be one of the passive masses, Bali is the perfect destination for any adventurous traveller.
I can't wait to go back.
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| Y Said |
19 December 2004 |
Stayed at Melia Benoa - Bali, Indonesia.
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The Tanjung Benoa stretch is a good alternative to Nusa Dua's resorts. Quiet and clean(tout-free) beaches that are appreciably relaxing than the Kuta stretch. Waters are clear. Good to rent vehicle- the small Suzuki jeep would be sufficient and- and use this as base. Or you could stay in Ubud too.
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| R Cassab |
16 December 2004 |
Stayed at Padma Bali, Hotel - Bali, Indonesia.
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Get yourself a private car and driver. It is very cheap about GBP 15 for the day. Watch out for food that is not well prepared...Bali belly is a real thing, if it's not good move on, its cheap enough to discard a meal and start again elsewhere.
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| J Fitch |
29 November 2004 |
Stayed at Jimbaran Puri Bali - Bali, Indonesia.
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We took a long weekend in Bali, my husband and I and a friend. It was decided to spend 2 nights somewhere near Ubud and one night on a beach to get the contrast and in case the weather was bad in the mountains. It was a good decision. Being Monsoon time the weather closed in most afternoons in the the high country. We stayed at Tamen Babek Villas in Sayan about 10 minutes from Ubud. The view is better than the 4 Seasons, which is just along the road but below our villa. We were situated overlooking the Ayang River and across to rice terraces and palm clad hills...and in the distance Mount Batukaru. Very peaceful, and yet the jungle around us was teeming with it's own life. The Tamen Babek villas are lovely old traditional houses with wide verandas and timber floors, very rustic, set in tropical grounds designed by the enigmatic Australian expat Michael White, or Made Widjaya as he is now called.
We hired our own driver, rather than take a conventional tour, and went to Ubud. Spent the day window gazing and had dinner in a tiny little restaurant called Bumbu, where there were small pavilions dotted round a private garden with a lilly pond in the centre. There were proper tables as well but we preferred to sit on cushions in our own private pavilion. The food was good and more important the ambience was delightful. We also took in a Kechak fire and trance dance that evening, hawkers sell tickets all over Ubud and tell you where to go and what time etc. Totally rivetting and the dancing girls were very beautiful. We bought some paintings from a local artist in residence near our villas, of the Hindu God characters (Sita Rama and the Monkey King) in the Kechak dance as mementos. The next day we hired a driver to take us to Mount Batur ( the still active volcano). We ate at a restaurant which was built on a ridge opposite
the volcano.
On our way back our driver was very obliging and stopped whenever we asked, so that we could look at some of the wood carvings, stone carvings and basketware, that interested us. Tegallalang had some pretty good shops. Most private drivers charged around 30,000 to 45,000 Rupiahs for the round trip. We stayed one night at the Pansea Bali in Jimbaran Bay. A beautiful bay with lovely sand and swimming and great seafood restaurants dotted along the beach. This hotel is right on the beach so you can sit with your toes in the sand while you eat lunch or dinner by flaming torch. It is very unpretentious, unlike some of the 5 star hotels in the area. We walked up the beach a couple of hundred yards to one of the seafood restaurants called Denas... where we chose our own red snapper and prawns and told them how we wanted them cooked...just grilled with butter and garlic or with chili sauce. The hotel food was also very good and priced very competitively.
As we only had one day and we wanted to see a temple, so we went to Uluwatu Temple. The Macacque monkeys who live there snatch your glasses and hats, all very entertaining and the sunset is divine. You can also sit happily with a cocktail at the hotel beach bar and watch the sunset too if you are so inclined. The Pansea Bali Hotel is only 15 minutes from the airport and yet it is on one of the most beautiful beaches in Bali. As it was the Monsoon season the weather was kind to us, and we got a tan...however the skies were turbulent and exciting as there was always thunder and lightening somewhere in the distance either over the mountains or out to sea. We would definitely go to the Pansea Bali Hotel again.
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| C Mathis |
01 November 2004 |
Stayed at Puri Bambu Hotel - Bali, Indonesia.
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This was the first time that I ventured outside of Kuta. We took a day trip into Denpasar to the Kumbi Sari market. It was huge, especially the craft market. The cost for a bemo (public bus) from Kuta was about 10,000 rupiah ($1). Apparently this is where many of the locals shop and business owners buy their goods to sell at the local markets. It is well worth a visit.
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| T Thornton |
16 October 2004 |
Stayed at Melasti Beach Resort - Bali, Indonesia.
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Some hints on using a taxi for travels around Bali. Look for newer taxi. Make sure taxi approaches with windows rolled up...this should indicate the AC works well.
If you hire transport for long haul and there are several drivers and vehicles available, ask all of them to start their cars (usually 4x4/SUV types) and come back in 3-5 min to perform an AC check...you don't want to be stuck all day in a car that doesn't have cold air.
If you get in a car and it's not pumping ice cold AC after a very short distance and you want to change vehicles, it's acceptable to have driver drop you off so you can flag down a new car...if you do this and did travel more than say, 1/2 mile, then you should pay 1st driver a small amount, maybe 5000 Rup (60cents US/ $1 SG) a short distance.
For all day trips (8hr) with multiple stops, you shouldn't need to spend more than 200,000 Rup ($22 US/ $37 SG). For 4-6hr trips with a few enroute stops, you cna pay 100-150,000 Rup. Once we had a group of 7 people and we paid 350,000 Rup for 24hrs...but if you do hire a transport for more than, say 6 or 8hrs, you should pay for your driver's meals, drinks, etc...this is especially true for all day hires.
BTW don't let your driver sidetrack you into accepting offers to stop at various shops and attractions -- politely decline the offer unless of course you're interested in them.
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| R Waymouth |
05 September 2004 |
Stayed at Melasti Beach Resort - Bali, Indonesia.
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Melasti Beach Resort is well located and you need to take care that you do not confuse it with Melasti Bungalows which is close to the Airport. Everything that Kuta/Legian offers is within easy walking distance, eg. market, diverse range of Restaurants & Bars and shopping. The beach is not so good and is suited to surfing more than swimming. If you walk around the streets near the hotel you need to be prepared for multiple Spruikers trying to sell Timeshare properties.
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| M Mohamed taufik |
25 August 2004 |
Stayed at Inna Grand Bali Beach - Bali, Indonesia.
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Make sure you bring your international driving license, otherwise the contribution to the local law enforcement is about 3-4 times higher than Jakarta.
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| A Hong |
12 August 2004 |
Stayed at Komaneka Suites - Bali, Indonesia.
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One of the places one must not miss is Kotamani in the north of Bali. We used the meter taxi to get around, alternatively you can also book for a taxi or private car for R300000 for one full day. They are everywhere, and chances are they will be insinuating for transports before you. Restaurant to visit in Ubud is Bebek Bengil, good food and good ambience.
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