Follow link for overall Bali Travel Guide & Map.
Bali. A land of mystical enchantment with legendary surfing and partying. A phenomenal place of stunning beauty and supreme pleasure. Yes, the rumors are true. Bali is a magical experience, and yes, you really should go.
But like anywhere, having some prepratory knowledge can go a long ways to the overall happiness of your trip. This is meant to be an introductory guide to help your know the ground rules for having a good time.
The first thing you should know is about the currency system. They use the Indonesian Rupee here, which has an approximate conversion ratio of 10,000 rupees for every 1 US dollar. Unfortunately, most ATMs here only release 200 USD per withdrawal and many foreign banks charge fees for using foreign ATMs. Also, Mastercard is much more popular here than Visa and it can be tough finding Interact/Plus ATMs. Almost all stores take only cash. Be prepared, have a Mastercard and keep some USD somewhere.
The next thing to keep in mind is the corruption. Cops here cannot be trusted. If you are renting a car or a scooter and they pull you over, they will ask you for a bribe, regardless of you having a international driver's licence or not. My recommendation is to have an international permit, and to slip a little 50,000 rupee note in there. This is the advice the local white folk gave me. Never show them your passport, they got you by the balls once you do.
If you plan to drive... get ready to drive aggressively. Traffic here is absolutely crazy. It's organized chaos. Most roads are one lane each way and in order to pass slow moving transport trucks and etc, you are ripping down the other lane at approaching traffic. When I was on my scooter, there were definitely times where I would be committed to a pass around a huge truck and another truck would be coming the either way. I would ride the yellow and thread the needle between both trucks. That is normal driving. Its crazy. If you can afford it, its a great idea to hire a car with a driver. Its slower than a scooter and less fun, but the air conditioning and the lack of stress are kinda worth it. But if you want to get your heart pumping, the scootering is sick.
Now, the best time of year to visit is June-September. This is hot season and busy season. The weather is great and it basically doesn't rain. November to April is still monsoon and you can expect daily rain. I visited in March, and it would typically monsoon every night just before sunset. I arrived at the near end of monsoon season though, so by the end it stopped raining all the time. The advantage of traveling not during busy season is that many accommodations are half price and that its much easier to find a place to sleep. It can be tough during busy season. And the locals know to gauge you.
The bargaining here can be cut throat. Your initial counter offer should be about 20% of asking price and you want to settle for 30-40% of asking price. Its ruthless. You just have to decide right from the beginning what you think its worth, and refuse to go higher. They will also ask you for just 5,000 more. Its a tough game. Be strong.
To get around to the other islands, there are tons of little tour company shops all over the streets. The best thing to do is bargain at one shop, get his best price, then continue down the street trying to find a better price. When I took the high speed ferry to Gili Trawangan from Kuta, the asking price was 1,600,000 rupees round trip. I ended up paying 350,000. It's like that. But this was during low season still.
There are a ton of other islands to check out, Nusa Lembognan, The Gilis, Lumbok, Java, etc etc. Do some research and find out the other places you want to check out. There is super sick surfing on the south coast of Lumbok.
Skip to the bottom of the page for a listing of covered zones in Bali!
Otherwise, have a great time!
