SOME MONEY SAVING TIPS

Tip 1: Withdrawing & exchanging money

Tip 1.1 – Get some cash out of the ATM: When exiting the airport, it is a good idea to get some cash out of the ATM. In Bali they still use a lot of cash for all kinds of payments. Including for taxi’s. So, if you are not being picked up from the airport by some pre-booked tour arrangement, it is most likely you will get a taxi to get away from the airport.

Tip 1.2 – Banks with the lowest transaction fee: Not all banks have the same withdrawal fees. From my experience either BNI bank or the Mandiri bank have the lowest withdrawal fee. But this might be different depending on where you yourself are from, and where your bank is situated. In my case I am Dutch with a Dutch bank account.

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Tip 1.3 – Don’t exchange money at the airport: I would not recommend exchanging money at the airport. The rates can be competitive, but you will most likely find better rates at money exchangers outside of the airport. You can find them all over the place at the more populated places in Bali.

Tip 1.4 – Trustworthy money exchanger: Exchange your money at trustworthy money exchangers. There are tons of so called independent money exchangers all over the place. It could be as simple as a local at a restaurant, or a stall on the street for example. But most don’t have a good rate. And it is also renowned that some might try to scam you. So best would be to exchange your money at a trustworthy money exchanger. Like Central Kuta Money Exchange or BMC. They both have multiple locations around the more popular area’s in Bali.

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Tip 2: Sim Card

Tip 2.1 – Where to get your sim card: You will most likely want to get a sim card for your phone when you are in Bali. Just before you exit the airport there is always a booth that sells sim cards. But at a way more expensive price then if you were to get it somewhere else.

I was for offered a sim card with 8 Gb of data for 200k IDR. But getting it at a local sim card shop (which there are many of in Bali), like for example at my first stay this time in Canggu, it only cost me 80k IDR for 25 Gb of data. That is almost 8 times cheaper.

Tip 2.2 – Which provider: If you are getting a sim card, I would suggest going for Telkomsel. They have the best coverage over the island.

Tip 2.3 – Bring your ID to get your sim card: If you get a sim card from (for example from Telkomsel), the sim card will only work for 3 months. This is a special arrangement for tourists. Because if you get a sim card for long term, you would normally have to get it registered to your phone’s IMEI number. But instead you can get these short term sim cards. But you will need to bring your passport to get it activated at the shop where you buy your sim card from. So don’t forget to bring your ID.

Tip 2.4 – Topping up: It could be that after 30 days your sim card data stops working. You might even get a text message saying you need to “top up” your quota. Don’t worry, everything is still fine. Often the data offered through your sim card has a 30 day expiration date. If you have a large data package (like the 25 Gb I had), you are offered your data in chunks. In my example it was I think 8 Gb for the first 30 days.

After using up all your data, or after the 30 days. You will simply need to “top up” the rest of your internet quota from the package you bought. Best is to ask a local, like the host of your accommodation, to help you out. Because you will need to text to a standard number if you are using Telkomsel. And go through a numbered option list (which is in Bahasa Indonesian) to activate more internet quota.

Tip 3: Taxis

Tip 3.1 – Avoid airport “taxis”. Go through the pedestrian exit out of the airport: When you exit the airport, you will no doubt come across a crowd of people offering you a taxi ride to your accommodation. They are often referred to as the Taxi “mafia”. Now the fairs that they ask here are normally around 2.5 to 3 times as high as the regular fee. For example my first destination was in Canggu. They offered to take me there for 300k IDR. Now you can of course do this, but if you do not like to get ripped off, like I do, and you don’t mind walking for a bit, you can simply walk out of the airport on foot.

There is a pedestrian route out of the airport. It runs passed the airport motorbike parking. And it will take you directly into Kuta. It just takes about 8 minutes to get you from the airport car park to one of the main roads of Kuta. As you can see in the Google Maps screenshot below. And there you can get a regular taxi for a third of the price.

Tip 3.2 – Blue Bird Group, Trustworthy taxi company: If you hail a cab on the streets, try looking for the Blue Bird Group taxis. They are the most reliable company.

Their cabs look blue. But so do most of the other taxi companies. Because they tried to copy them. However, this is what their cars and logo looks like:

Not all their cars are sedans. Some are also more van type cars. But they all should have similar color scheme and design. And it should say the name Blue Bird on the side of the cab.

Now these cabs are refrained from being allowed to pick up people directly from the airport. But they are allowed to drop people off. So if you are lucky and there is a Blue Bird dropping a person of at the airport, you can take this cab for a regular fee. But always ask to drive on the meter and not make a fixed price arrangement!

Tip 3.3 – Blue Bird Group app: The blue bird group also has an app. Which you can use to hail a cab. But don’t use it for the airport, as they will charge an additional fee. The app also shows you who your driver will be. With their name and registration number. You can also find this number on the side windows in the cab itself.

Tip 3.4 – Ride on the meter: If you do hail a Blue Bird taxi on the street, ask to ride on the meter. Don’t try to do a fixed price. Again, the taxi I hailed to my Canggu accommodation tried to make a price deal for 150k IDR. But I asked for the meter. And in the end my trip cost me only 90k IDR.

Also if you are using the app. You will see a price indication for your ride.

Tip 3.5 – Use Grab or Gojek: This next tip doesn’t really work at the airport, but it is a good tip for any other location. So for example if you take the option to walk out of the airport on foot. But you will need an internet connection for this one. This tip is to use the Grab or the Gojek app to get a taxi.

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Both of these are transport services in the most general term. You can use them to get food delivered, or basically any other thing that can be transported. So you can also order a taxi (a car or even a motorbike taxi). It works very much similar to the Blue Bird app. And often it is also a bit cheaper.

Tip 4: Luggage storage

Tip 4.1 – Luggage storage: The following tip is only for those who would like to travel around lightly, who don’t have a fixed accommodation, and who did bring along a large suitcase. This tip isn’t really airport related, but I do want to share this tip with you. Because it did save me a lot of trouble and transport costs. I want to share with you… Bali Store Luggage.

It is a luggage storage service that made it possible for me to travel lightly everywhere on my motorbike. Without having to arrange transport for my suitcase every time I went to another location.

I stored my luggage there for around one and a half months. And dropped by every now and then to grab some stuff out of my suitcase. Their fees are amazingly generous if you plan to store your luggage for a month or so.

They also have a pick-up and drop of service to come get your suitcase, or bring it to the accommodation you are staying it. Which is absolutely amazing!

Tip 5: Laundry

Tip 5.1 Getting your laundry done (probably better then you ever could do yourself at home): If you are planning to travel around, and you want to travel lightly, it most likely means you are not carrying a lot of clothing with you. But don’t worry. Getting those few items cleaned is a piece of cake. Because you are able to find laundry services all over the island. Doing a simple google search or simply walking/driving up and down the street you are staying at, should already offer you some options.

1 kg of laundry should set you back around 15k IDR on average (1 euro). Some places can be a bit cheaper, some a bit more expensive. Nonetheless, they will weigh your laundry when you arrive, so the price is neatly fixed.

The clothing will be handed back perfectly pressed and folded. Better then I could ever do at home. Just be aware that for white items, things might end up a bit stained. Not really sure why that is, but it is something you see with all white clothing item. Including bed linen in all the accommodations I have ever stayed at.

Tip 6: A motorbike

It is highly likely that you will want to rent a motorbike when you are in Bali. So these are some tips for a proper and safe ride:

Tip 6.1 – Get your petrol at the gas station. At all the more populated and popular places in Bali you will be able to find a proper gas station. All the gas stations in Bali are operated by Pertamina. they are the cheapest option. And the quality is always assured.

Now besides the larger gas stations, you are also able to find small little pump stations at local shops. They are called Pertamini’s. They are also perfectly fine to get your petrol from. Although they can be a bit pricier sometimes.

Besides the former 2 options, there is also a third one. That is that locals also often sell petrol in 1 or 2 liter bottles on the side of the road. You can definitely buy here as well. As a convenience/last resort sake. The price will probably be a bit higher, but it is mostly that the quality of the petrol can not be assured.

In general, petrol for a foreigner in Bali, is very cheap. So that is mostly not the issue. But the stories are that locals sometimes “water down” the petrol. To earn a little more. I am not sure if that is true or not. But the quality at the Pertamina gas stations is always assured. And they also offer a regular and a Pertamax option. For a higher octane petrol solution.

Tip 6.2 – The rules of the road are…. that there aren’t any? Now from my observations, I came to the conclusion that there might be 2 rules of the road when you are on a motorbike:

1. Only be concerned with who is driving in front of you. Whatever happens behind you is there problem. This is honestly the way they drive in Bali. No questions asked.
2. If you can fit through somewhere with your motorbike, you can drive there. You will see motorbikes driving everywhere. And the traffic can often be quite busy and hectic. So if there is a traffic jam for example, people on motorbikes will squeeze themselves through traffic everywhere. Including using the sidewalks. So no pedestrian is safe. And if there is a small alleyway or even a small dirt road. You can bet your life that you might come across a person on a motorbike trying to run you over.

Tip 6.3 – Use your horn. It is not impolite to use your horn in Bali. It is very often used to indicate your presence to others. For example when you are overtaking. Or at bends in small roads to let oncoming traffic know you are there.

Tip 6.4 – Stow away your helmet if you have a new or more popular looking one. Helmets do get stolen in Bali. It is not super often, but it does happen. And it can be very annoying. But it is mostly if you have a very new or good looking helmet. So don’t just put your helmet on your steering handle, or just clip it to the strap underneath the seat. As they can just simply take it, or cut the chord /break open the seat if you strapped it in. So just stow it away. So it is not visible. Especially if you leave your motorbike unattended for a longer time. That is why you are often given an older helmet when renting a motorbike. Those are less likely to get stolen and are very cheap. A new helmet is not that expensive. Around 150k-300k IDR. But it is a nuisance if it does get stolen.

Tip 6.5 – leave your bike at a local for a small fee. If you are for example at Sanur harbor and you are leaving your bike unattended for a few days, it is best to stow your bike at a locals place for a small fee. The company I was renting my motorbike from told me this. Apparently it is not uncommon, and you don’t risk your helmet being stolen. Like what unfortunately happened to me when I parked my car for 4 days at Sanur harbor.

Tip 7: International drivers license

If you are renting a motorbike in Bali, be sure to have your paperwork in order. So not to have any unpleasant surprises. So… :

Tip 7.1 – Get your international drivers license arranged before you leave for Bali. You will need this license to be officially allowed to drive a motorbike in Bali. Most tourists don’t have one. But you can get in trouble if you don’t have one when you do cause an accident.

Tip 7.2 -Be sure you are allowed do drive a motorcycle with your license. For example: with a Dutch drivers license, you area allowed to drive a scooter in the Netherlands if you have a car drivers license. But the motorbikes in Bali are considered a class above it. The so called A category in the Netherlands. So be sure you have an actual motorcycle drivers license. Otherwise your insurance will not cover you if you have an accident.

Tip 7.3 – Be aware of corrupt police officers. I will always encourage you to have all the right paperwork in order, and to have it on you at all times. But I know there will be a lot of people amongst you who will probably not do that. And so do the Balinese Police. That is why you can come across so called police “checkpoints” (especially in the popular tourist area’s). Where corrupt police officers will only stop foreigners on their motorbikes. Hoping they do not have their paperwork in order. And waiting for you to give them a small bribe of something like 20k or 50k IDR to let you go on your way again. So in that case, always be sure to have some small cash on you. not only 100k IDR bills.