Bali
Bali Travel Guide
with notes for Indian travelers
Updated: May 19, 2026
We did Bali in the summer of 2023 — two weeks, one rented scooter, zero private drivers. We rode out to Lempuyang from Ubud (don’t), spent a full day waterfall-hopping in Munduk (do), and stayed two nights on Nusa Penida instead of cramming it into a day trip (definitely do). The trip wasn’t perfect — there were flight delays, one questionable plate of nasi campur, and a lot of rain — but it’s the only place I’ve come back from already planning a return visit, mostly because of how kind everyone was.
Bali, one of the many islands of Indonesia, is a tropical paradise that beckons travellers with its pristine beaches, lush landscapes, and vibrant culture. The best part about Bali is its people – the hospitality and the warmth that you are welcomed with is unparalleled.
Planning a visit to Bali soon? Be sure to check out our 10 day ultimate guide to Bali and while you are there, read up on the related posts.
September, 2023
Quick Facts
Everything you need to know about Bali.
CAPITAL
Denpasar (Bali) · Jakarta (Indonesia)
CURRENCY
Indonesian Rupiah (Rp / IDR)
TIME ZONE
WITA – UTC +8h
LANGUAGE
Bahasa Indonesia & Balinese
When to Visit Bali
🌧 Wet☀️ Summer☀️ SUMMER🌧 RAINY
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
✦ Our Pick
May - June & September
Bali has just two seasons — dry (April to October) and wet (November to March). The “best” time really depends on what you want. We went in September and the weather was perfect but the rice paddies were not that green.
May, June and September are the sweet spot — dry weather, blue skies, but without the July–August crowds and price spikes. If you don’t mind afternoon downpours, the wet season is gorgeous: greener rice paddies, fewer people, and noticeably cheaper accommodation.
From India: best fares typically open 3–4 months ahead. Avoid the December–early January and Diwali windows — Indian school holidays push prices up sharply.
Visa for Indian passport holders
Last verified — May 2026
Good news is Bali offers Visa on Arrival (VOA) for Indian passport holders. You can either get it stamped at Ngurah Rai (Denpasar) airport, or apply for an e-VOA online before you fly, which I'd recommend purely to skip the immigration queue.
Visa type
Visa on Arrival (VOA) or e-VOA — single entry, tourism only
Validity
30 days, extendable once for another 30 days
Fee
IDR 500,000 (≈ ₹2,800 / USD 35)
Tourist Levy (separate)
IDR 150,000 (≈ ₹820 / USD 10) per person, one-time
Processing (e-VOA)
Apply at least 48 hours before departure
Apply at
molina.imigrasi.go.id (official e-VOA) or on arrival at DPS
Payment on arrival
USD cash, IDR cash, or international credit card
Visa rules and fees change — check on the official Imigrasi portal before you apply.
Flying in from India
Bali (Denpasar / DPS) is 5.5 to 9 hours of flying time from major Indian metros. Indigo runs direct flights from Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai at around 6 hours, which is the easiest way to do it. If you want a full-service carrier, Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Thai Airways all connect via SIN, KUL and BKK respectively. Best fares typically open 3–4 months ahead; Diwali, Christmas and Indian school summer break (May–early June) are the worst windows.
We flew Bengaluru → Denpasar with a layover in Bangkok. The journey could have been better - flight delays and long layovers made us realise we need to take comfort into consideration in our budgeting.
We track fares on Google Flights and Skyscanner — see the tools section for links.
Currency and Budget for Bali
₹100 ≈ Rp 18,300
| Budget | Mid-range | Splurge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation | ₹1,000/night | ₹3,000/night | ₹10,000+/night |
| Food/day | ₹500 | ₹1,500 | ₹4,000+ |
| Transport | ₹400/day(scooter) | ₹800/day | ₹2,500+/day(private driver) |
| Daily Total | ~₹2,000 | ~₹5,500 | ₹16,000+ |
Note on numbers: Bali is famously cheap if you live like locals do, and easy to spend a fortune in if you stay in Seminyak villas. The mid-range column is what most Indian couples actually spend.
Payment Tips
- Cash (IDR) is king — most warungs, scooter rentals, and small shops are cash-only
- Use BNI, BCA, BRI or Mandiri ATMs only — these are reliable and have lower skimming risk than the random “ATM” booths along tourist streets
- Withdraw in Rp 1,250,000 chunks to minimise the per-transaction fee (around Rp 25,000–50,000 per withdrawal)
- Cards work in Seminyak/Canggu/Ubud restaurants and bigger hotels but not much else
Getting Around Bali
Scooter Rental
- The fastest, cheapest and most fun way to see Bali. Standard scooters cost Rp 60,000–100,000/day (≈ ₹350–550) for weekly rentals.
- You technically need an International Driving Permit (IDP) to ride legally — get it from your RTO before you fly (₹1,000, takes a week). Without it, police checkpoints near tourist areas will ask for a Rp 250,000–500,000 “fine.”
- Never hand over your actual passport as deposit — offer a photocopy + cash deposit (Rp 500,000 is normal). Take a video walkaround of the bike before you ride away.
- We did all of Bali on a scooter, including the long haul to Lempuyang and the Munduk waterfall loop. It’s not for first-time riders — Bali traffic is chaotic — but if you can handle Bangalore or Pune, you’ll be fine.
Grab & Gojek
- Both apps work everywhere except a few “taxi mafia” zones in Ubud and Canggu where local drivers chase ride-hailing cars away. In those zones you’ll have to walk a block to your pickup.
- GoCar / GrabCar is the cheapest legitimate way to get around without a scooter. A 30-minute ride is around Rp 80,000–120,000 (≈ ₹450–650).
- GoFood / GrabFood is a lifesaver for cheap warung food delivered to your homestay.
Private driver (Bluebird or hire by the day)
- The default for groups, families with kids, or anyone who doesn’t want to ride. Expect Rp 600,000–800,000/day (≈ ₹3,300–4,400) for a car + driver + petrol covering 8–10 hours. Tip if they’re good.
- For metered taxis in town, only use Bluebird (light blue, “Bluebird Group” logo). Other “blue” taxis are knockoffs that won’t run the meter.
Boats / fast boats to Nusa Penida & the Gilis
- Fast boats from Sanur to Nusa Penida cost Rp 200,000–300,000 return (≈ ₹1,100–1,650), 30 minutes each way. Book the morning boat — afternoons get rough.
- For Nusa Penida specifically, stay overnight (we did 2 days) instead of doing it as a day trip from Bali. The day-trip itineraries are exhausting and most of the West Penida spots (Kelingking, Angel’s Billabong) are an hour-plus drive each from the harbour.
Bus
Skip.
- Public buses (TransSarbagita): exist, but coverage is poor and unreliable for tourists.
- “Tourist shuttle” buses from Kuta to Ubud (Perama etc.): fine but inflexible. A GoCar is usually cheaper for two people.
Safety in Bali
Safety Rating
Bali felt safe in the everyday sense — but you have to stay alert in a way you don't have to in, say, Korea or Japan. Most "safety issues" here are scams and scooter accidents, not violent crime.
Solo Female Travel
Generally safe. Ubud, Sanur and the Gilis especially. Late-night Kuta and Legian get rowdy with drunk tourists; basic city sense applies.
Pickpocketing & Scams
Low pickpocketing risk; high scam risk. The big ones: pre-existing scratches on rented scooters used to charge you ₹15,000+ on return, money-changer sleight-of-hand at non-authorised booths, and ATM skimmers in tourist zones. Always video the scooter at pickup, count cash twice at exchange counters, and use bank-attached ATMs only.
Health & Medical
Tap water is not safe — drink bottled or refilled at filtered stations.
Bali belly (traveller's diarrhoea) hits roughly half of all visitors at some point — carry medicines. BIMC Hospital in Kuta and Nusa Dua handles tourists well; carry travel insurance.
Areas to Know
Avoid empty stretches of Kuta beach late at night. Mount Agung is an active volcano — check status before any trek.
Language & Greetings in Bali
Bali speaks two languages: Bahasa Indonesia (the national language, used everywhere) and Balinese (used at home and in temple). English is widely spoken in tourist areas — Ubud, Canggu, Seminyak, Sanur, Nusa Dua — but a few words of Bahasa go a long way in warungs and rural areas. Locals genuinely light up when you try.
| Phrase | Bahasa Indonesia | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | Halo | Ha-lo |
| Thank you | Terima kasih | Te-ree-ma ka-see |
| You are welcome | Sama-sama | Sa-ma sa-ma |
| How much? | Berapa harganya? | Be-ra-pa har-ga-nya? |
| Yes / No | Ya / Tidak | Ya / Tee-dak |
| Excuse me / Sorry | Permisi / Maaf | Per-mee-see / Ma-af |
| Where is…? | Di mana…? | Dee ma-na? |
✦
Fun fact: Balinese (the local language) has three registers — low, middle, and high — depending on whom you're speaking to. You'll hear it most clearly in temple ceremonies. Bahasa Indonesia, by contrast, is famously easy to learn — no tones, no verb tenses, Latin script.
Places to See in Bali
Bali is small enough that you can cover the highlights in 10 days, but rich enough to disappear into for a month. Most first-time trips centre on Ubud in the cultural heart — base for rice terraces, the Monkey Forest, yoga retreats and day trips out to Tegallalang and Tirta Empul. Canggu and Seminyak in the south are the beach-cafe-surf scene; Uluwatu at the southern tip is for cliff-top sunset temples and the better surf breaks.
For anyone with more than a week, push north and east. Munduk in the highlands is where we did a full day of waterfall hopping (Banyumala twin falls and Munduk falls itself are stunning, and you’ll have them mostly to yourself). Sidemen is the Ubud of 15 years ago — quiet rice valleys, no traffic. The drive out to Lempuyang (the “Gates of Heaven”) from Ubud is 2.5 hours each way, the photo at the top uses a mirror trick rather than a real reflection, and honestly — it’s overrated unless you’re going at sunrise specifically for that one shot.
Nusa Penida is its own thing — a separate island 30 minutes by fast boat from Sanur. We spent two full days there, not as a day trip, and it’s one of the few “everyone goes there” spots that genuinely deserves the hype. Kelingking Beach (the T-Rex viewpoint) and Diamond Beach are the standouts; the West side (Angel’s Billabong, Broken Beach) is worth a separate half-day.
What we skipped: Kuta (chaotic, overdeveloped, mostly Australian gap-year energy), Seminyak and Canggu (not really party people).
FAQs about Bali
What are the top attractions in Bali?
Ubud Monkey Forest, Uluwatu Temple, Tegallalang Rice Terraces and the island of Nusa Penida. You can check out our blogs for more info.
What is the best time to visit Bali?
April to October for dry season and fewer crowds.
What are the must-try dishes in Balinese cuisine?
There are a lot of must-try dishes like Nasi Goreng (fried rice) that one must try. Check out our blog post to get to know about all the vegetarian/vegan options.
Which are the most beautiful beaches in Bali?
Diamond Beach and Kelingking Beach in Nusa Penida are the arguably the best beaches in Bali.
How do I get around Bali efficiently?
One can easily hire a cab through Grab or Gojek but if you know how to ride a scooter, renting a two-wheeler would be the fastest and cheapest option.
Where can I find budget-friendly accommodations in Bali?
There are a lot of budget friendly options one can find in Bali. Many of the hotels and AirBnbs we stayed at were cheaper than the cost of a hostel dormitory in other places.
What are the cultural dos and don'ts in Bali?
Dress modestly at temples, respect local customs, and traditions and don’t try to litter. Be respectful of their places of worship which include places like Mt Batur.
