Bali Travel Tips: 40+ Essential Dos & Don’ts for Bali & Indonesia!
I live in Bali, and I’ve been traveling the country of Indonesia for over 5 years – I have traveled all over the country, to every top tourist spot and most of Bali’s outer islands. Here’s my local guide to the best Bali Travel Tips: dos and don’ts you have to know before traveling to Bali & Indonesia in 2024!
✔️ Quick Guide – My Top 6 Bali Travel Tips
- Know that you need an onward ticket booked to board your flight to Indonesia.
- Buy a Telkomsel SIM card to have cell service.
- Bali runs on cash – Take out Indonesian Rupiah at airport ATMs when you arrive.
- Use bug spray every day to prevent Dengue Fever.
- Download the Grab App, it’s Bali’s version of Uber and much cheaper than taxis off the street.
- Don’t forget to explore Bali’s outer islands!
Bali Travel Tips: Arrival & Visas
1. Know About the 500,000 IDR Visa On Arrival Fee + New 150,000 IDR Bali Tax
Indonesia permits visa-free entry to ASEAN countries but everyone else needs to buy a Visa On Arrival (VOA) at the airport. Immigration doesn’t ask any questions to get a Visa on Arrival, you just need to pay a fee. They accept US dollars and Indonesian Rupiah, and you can pay by card.
💰 Price of entry to Bali: Indonesia VOA is 500,000 IDR + 150,000 Bali Island Tax = 650,000 IDR ($40)
Katie’s Tips ✶
Keep in mind that the Indonesian Visa on Arrival takes up a whole page on your passport! So make sure you have enough free space.
Riding horses in Gili T. 
Gili Meno Sculpture Garden
2. Know That Bali’s Visa is for 30 Days, Not 1 Month! (+ The Cost of Overstaying is 1,000,000 IDR PER DAY!)
I’ve met so many travelers who overstay their visas in Bali because 30-days sounds like one month, but it’s not! You have 30 days from entering Indonesia to leaving, and for each day you overstay it’s a 1,000,000 IDR (around $70) fee.
3. Don’t Forget To Book Your Onward Ticket
You’ll probably be asked for your onward ticket, which is your ticket out of Indonesia before you board your inbound plane. You need to have an outbound flight already booked, legally, to enter Indonesia. Don’t know when you’ll be leaving, or to where? No problem.
You can use a service like Onward Ticket which books an outbound ticket for you and then cancels it within the next few days. This is completely legal and it’s just to meet entry requirements. I’ve used Onward Ticket more times than I can count, as a full-time traveler I’m not always sure where my next location will be!
💰Full Disclosure – I’ve spent hundreds of dollars because I didn’t have onward tickets booked ahead of time. I advise you to book your onward ticket at least a few hours ahead of time before you’re at the airport because that’s where I always mess up when I leave it until the last minute!
Bali Travel Tips: Communication & Cell
4. Link Your Number To A WhatsApp Account Before Arriving in Bali
Everyone uses WhatsApp in Bali, from foreigners to locals. If you’re visiting Bali and don’t have WhatsApp yet, you should definitely download the app and link it to your phone number before getting to the island. If you link your phone number to your WhatsApp, it will work no matter which SIM you have put in! You can use WhatsApp in Bali to organize tours, book hotels, or talk to just about anyone.
5. Buy A SIM Card When You Arrive In Bali
You should DEFINITELY buy an Indonesian SIM card when you arrive in Bali. You’ll need a local number for a lot of services, like ride-sharing apps, food delivery, etc. Local SIM cards and data plans are easy to get and affordable. You can purchase your SIM through most hotels or go to a “Telkomsel” store. Telkomsel is the most popular cell provider in Indonesia. You can top up your SIM card with more data whenever you need to in person at convenience stores like Indomaret, Circle K, and Alfamart. If you do not have an Indonesian bank account, you cannot top up your SIM with data online.
Katie’s Tips ✶
You need to have an unlocked phone to use a foreign SIM card.
6. Don’t Worry About the Language Barrier – There are Lots of English Speakers & Bahasa is Easy!
Almost everywhere you go in Bali you’ll be able to find someone who speaks a little bit of English or a foreigner who speaks a little Indonesian. Bahasa Indonesian is also an easy language for English speakers to pronounce. Everything is written phonetically, and it’s written in the Latin Alphabet, the same as English. So, if you use Google Translate, it will be very easy for you to read things in Bahasa and be understood if you need assistance.
7. Do Download Google Translate Offline
Bahasa Indonesian is one of the languages available on Google Translate’s app for offline download. If you get a local SIM card you won’t have to worry about being offline very often, but it’s good to download the language offline just in case you wind up in a poor service area.
Bali Travel Tips: Food
8. Don’t Let Fear Of “Bali Belly” Stop You from Eating the Local Foods
Bali Belly is the affectionate term foreigners have for travelers’ diarrhea in Indonesia. Foreign tourists are sometimes so afraid of Bali Belly that it keeps them from enjoying the island to the fullest! The local food is one of the best things in Bali! You’ll see local cafes, called “Warungs”, everywhere. The most popular local dishes are Nasi Goreng (fried rice), Mie Goreng (fried noodles), Nasi Campur (platter of different Balinese foods with rice), and Babi Guling (roasted suckling pig).
9. Don’t Forget You Can Order Food & Other Items For Delivery 24/Hours
Did you know you can order food 24 hours a day in most areas of Bali? Through Grab or Gojek (two very similar apps in Bali) you can order all types of food at any time of day. These apps came massively in handy when I crashed my scooter and couldn’t get out of bed for a week since you can also get items from the pharmacy delivered!
10. Don’t Fall For Tourist Traps
This is a hard-to-follow piece of advice because unless you eat at 100% local Indonesian Warungs, you’re gonna fall for some tourist traps! Just today I paid 70K IDR (around $5), for a terrible “fresh juice” which was like 90% water. Basically, any place in Bali that sells Western-style food might be a tourist trap, with poor quality and high prices.
My Favorite Places to Eat in Canggu
- Local Warung – Trendy & budget eatery for trying Balinese foods
- La Brisa – Spanish Tapas restaurant & beach club
- Milk & Madu – Western cafe good for laptop work
My Favorite Places to Eat in Ubud
- Mudra Cafe – Treehouse cafe with asian fusion & western food
- Keliki Coffee – Coffee-hut overhanging the jungle
- Sayuri Healing Food – Amazing vegan cafe with great vibe
Related Read: Local Advice for the Best Cafes in Ubud
Bali Travel Tips: Shopping & Money
11. Don’t Assume Everything Will Be “Cheap”
It’s just as easy to spend $100 (1,500,000 Indonesian Rupiah) on something in Bali as it is to spend $10. This is because things are priced for foreign tourists, who earn in Dollars rather than Rupiah. Depending on where you buy something you could be paying a wildly different price for the same item!
12. Do Order Anything You Need Online
While there’s no Amazon Prime in Indonesia, ANYTHING you want in Bali can be delivered! I take a lot of specific supplements for my health, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were all easily available with express shipping off of Indonesia’s version of Amazon, Tokopedia.
13. Do Shop Locally
It feels so good to shop in Bali because so many of the stores are locally owned and sell genuine handmade goods!
14. Don’t Overpay With “Foreigner’s Price”
If you know the correct local price for things then you’ll know how much to pay. Obviously, a coconut off the side of the road will be cheaper than a fresh coconut from a 5-star resort, but it’s a good metric to know how fancy a place is by how far the prices deviate from the norm. Knowing the local price particularly comes in handy with taxis. There are a lot of places in Bali where you can’t use Uber or Gojek (Indonesian Uber) due to the Bali Taxi Mafia. In these situations, you’ll have to negotiate a price with a taxi driver off the street. You can open your Gojek or Grab app and see what the local price for the ride you’re going to take should be, and use that as a jumping-off point for negotiations.
Katie’s Tips ✶
You’re probably never going to get a taxi off the street as cheap as an Grab or Gojek, and there’s no point in stressing yourself out too much over a few dollars!
15. Do Carry LOTS Of Cash On You
Indonesia is a cash-first country! Although a lot of restaurants, hotels, etc accept cards, a lot of them don’t. Expect tours, taxis, and meals to be paid for in cash. Sometimes cafes, hotels, and shops will accept foreign cards, but when that happens it’s more like a pleasant surprise!
16. Foreign Credit Cards Don’t Work for Everything – Use 3rd Party Sites that Accept Non-Indonesian Cards
While you shouldn’t have a problem at restaurants and hotels paying in person with foreign credit cards, most Indonesian websites only accept Indonesian credit cards. This is a recurring problem for foreigners who want to top off their Telkomsel SIM cards, pay their electricity bills, or book a train in Indonesia. The sites I use the most for booking things online in Indonesia are Booking.com, HostelWorld, and Agoda for housing, and for activities, I use Klook and Viator. For transportation like buses, speed boats, and ferries, 12GoAsia comes in handy all over SE Asia!
17. Do Hang On To Small Bills
People really hang on to their small bills in Bali, and it’s hard to get change a lot of the time. A few times I’ve been at a restaurant that only accepts cash and they have looked at me like I was crazy for needing cash for a 100K Rupiah bill! ($7)When you do get small bills, hang onto them for situations where you need change.
18. Do Know About The Mandatory 15-20% Service & VAT Charges
In most restaurants that cater to tourists, it will say “all prices subject to mandatory service and tax” at the bottom, so you don’t have to worry about tipping too much in Bali because it’s added for you. The tax is 10%, and the service charge is usually 5-10%.
19. Don’t Be Afraid To Haggle
Bartering (respectfully) is a part of Balinese culture. If you’re buying a service, whether it’s a taxi ride or a tour, the price is usually up for negotiation. I wrote a whole article you can read here on how to haggle in Egypt and it holds up pretty well for Bali as well.
Bali Travel Tips: Transportation
20. Do Download GoJek or Grab Apps (Bali’s Versions of Uber)
Grab is the premier ride-hailing app in Bali. It’s the easiest way to get around, and the app also includes other services like food and package delivery. I use Grab multiple times a day, I really couldn’t live without it in Bali!
21. Don’t Rely On Ride-Sharing Apps When Leaving City Centers
It’s easy to hail a Gojek or Grab from the city center to a tourist destination a half hour away, but it’s not so easy to get one coming back! There usually aren’t any cars you can call off an app outside cities. If you want to visit a place more than 20 minutes from the city center of whatever town you’re in I recommend hiring a private driver instead of relying on Grab.
22. Don’t Give In To The Bali Taxi Mafia
The Taxi Mafia in Bali is always a hot topic. Basically, a taxi mafia is when a bunch of taxi drivers get together, usually in popular tourist locations, and work together to push ride-sharing apps out so they can overcharge tourists. This is all fine, except for the fact that the Taxi Mafias usually resort to violence to meet their goals. I’m all for shopping local and supporting local economies but I don’t agree with giving in to taxi mafias. In Bali, you’ll see a lot of signs saying Gojek, Grab, and Bluebird, all popular taxi apps, are illegal. This isn’t true. Sometimes you’ll have to get picked up on a side street or outside of a tourist location if you’re using a ride-sharing app, otherwise, you risk getting harassed by the Taxi Mafia.
Related Article: All About the Balinese Taxi Mafia
23. Don’t Get Stressed Out By Street Harassment
Walking down any street in a town or city in Bali you’ll hear “taxi? taxi? taxi? come into my shop? just looking?” over and over. and over. and over again. It’s annoying! And honestly, tourist harassment is part of the reason I always use ride-sharing apps in Bali, because I don’t want to encourage it, but it’s just people trying to make a living. They don’t mean any harm and a quick “no thank you” usually does the trick.
24. Don’t Worry About The Honks – People Honk the Horn a Lot in Bali, But It’s Not Aggressive
Honking a car or scooter horn means something different in Indonesia than it does in America. In New York, honking at someone can be considered a big “F-You!”, but in Bali, it just means ‘hey, watch out – I’m here”. A lot of the time drivers honk lightly when turning a corner so if anyone is driving in the opposite direction they will know another car is there. This is necessary because the streets are so narrow, so if you’re driving around tight corners remember to honk before turning!
Bali Travel Tips: Health & Safety
25. Don’t Drink The Tap Water!!!
You can’t drink the tap water in Bali – It’s not filtered. You can avoid Bali Belly by only drinking bottled water, or if you want to be more environmentally friendly you can invest in a travel water purifier. I have been using my GRAYL travel purifier for three years now, and it’s perfect for Bali.
26. Don’t Forget Your Bug Spray – Mosquitos Carry Dengue Fever in Bali
There are mosquito-borne illnesses in Bali, particularly Dengue Fever makes its way through the tourist population a lot. To avoid Dengue, always keep your bug spray on you. You can buy a bug spray called “Soffel” in any convenience store in Bali for around $1 – It works great, just remember to wear it every day!
27. Do Know About the Recommended Travel Vaccines Before Travel to Bali
Even if you had all your routine vaccines as a child, you’ll likely need additional travel vaccines to go to Bali. On my first trip to Indonesia, I received a Typhoid vaccine, a Tdap booster, and a Hepatitis A vaccine. Recently I was playing with a puppy on the beach and wound up having to get a rabies vaccine in Bali as well! Check the CDC guidelines and at your local travel clinic if you need any additional travel vaccines!
28. Don’t Approach Stray Animals Due to the Risk of Rabies in Bali
I know, they’re cute! But rabies is a very real problem in Indonesia and a lot of tourists have their trip cut short by being bitten by some animal or another. I recently had to seek rabies post-exposure treatment after playing with a puppy on a Bali beach, it’s not fun!
29. Don’t Be Afraid Of Dogs Barking & Following You On the Street
If you walk anywhere in Bali, especially at night, you’ll probably be charged by a dog (or 10). Every house has a dog and they’re just doing their job when they bark at passers-by. Once you leave their owner’s territory they’ll leave you alone, so it’s best to just ignore them.
30. Don’t Mess With The Monkeys – They’re Known to Randomly Bite & Attack
In Bali, there are these famous open-air animal sanctuaries called “Monkey Forests” where tourists can go and interact with the monkeys in their natural habitat. Monkeys have a tendency toward being capricious and aggressive, and there’s a specific way you’re supposed to act around them. Sometimes tourists come and they don’t know how to act around a monkey, and they wind up getting bit (which is where your travel insurance will come in handy!).
Related Article: How to Stay Safe at Bali’s Monkey Forests
31. Do Use Scooter Taxis Instead of Driving – Most of Bali Isn’t “Learner-Friendly”
Most tourists come to Bali and think they need to rent and learn how to drive a scooter, but that’s not true! It’s much easier to just call a scooter taxi to get around. A scooter taxi is when a guy drives up on a scooter and you just hop on the back! It’s a lot safer than driving yourself because they’re professionals and know how to navigate the crazy Balinese traffic. You can call a scooter taxi from any major city in Bali through the Grab App.
Another bonus of taking a scooter taxi is that they’re incredibly cheap. If you only plan on going to one or two places per day, it’s probably more affordable to call a scooter taxi than to rent a scooter and drive yourself.
32. Don’t Forget To Wear Your Helmet, Always, When Riding A Scooter
I see foreign tourists zipping around Bali on scooters in bikinis with no helmets and barely any clothes, it’s terrifying!!! These scooters aren’t toys, and you want to be as safe as possible especially if you’re a novice rider. It’s best to always wear a helmet, jacket, long pants, and close-toed shoes on a scooter. I don’t always wear full clothing while on a scooter, but I do always wear a helmet!
Katie’s Tips ✶
If you call a scooter taxi from Grab or Gojek they’ll have a spare helmet for passengers, but sometimes you have to ask for it.
33. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance! Healthcare in Bali is Expensive
Even if it’s not required for entry, I would always recommend signing up for travel insurance for a trip to Indonesia. So much can go wrong, and it’s important to be covered. Healthcare in Bali is also pretty expensive if you go to the foreigners clinics.
34. Don’t Drink Things With Ice If You’re Off-The-Beaten-Track
The only time I’ve ever gotten sick while traveling was from ice in a drink, and since then I’ve been very cautious. Most places know to serve tourists only filtered water, but there’s less vigilant about ice for some reason. If you’re off the beaten track at a local warung it’s best to skip the ice. Indonesians can handle the water better than foreigners can because they’re used to it.
35. Do Be Aware Of Earthquakes!
I was sitting at a cafe in Ubud while I wrote this post and all of a sudden the ground started shaking. Since the cafe shares a building with a yoga studio, at first, I thought maybe there was an intense exercise class going on but then everyone started running outside. It was an earthquake! It only lasted 15-20 seconds and then everyone went back inside after a few minutes. Later we learned it was a magnitude 5.8 earthquake! The earthquake magnitude scale goes out of 10, so it was quite high – but not high enough to cause damage. Bali is a high-risk area for earthquakes, so just be aware while you’re visiting.
Bali Travel Tips: Housing
36. Do Stay In a Traditional Guest House At Least Once
After staying in a variety of hotels, Airbnb, and homestays in Bali I was pleasantly surprised that my favorite place to stay in all of Indonesia was the traditional homestays. Usually family-run, Balinese traditional houses are located in compounds, which are homes to small communities or extended families.
37. Don’t Stay In The Same Place For Your Whole Trip!
Bali is a pretty tiny Island, you can drive the whole length of it in less than 5 hours, but all the different cities within it have a totally different vibe.
✔️ What Different Areas of Bali are Known for
| 🐒 Ubud | For peace, yoga, rice fields, waterfalls, and jungle vibes. |
| 🥳 Canggu | Party spot on the beach, younger crowd, and surfing. |
| 🌋 Kintamani | Mountainous region with hot springs and great views. |
| 🏄♀️ Uluwatu | Cliff-side beaches, surfing, high-end beach clubs. |
| 🐬 North Bali | Peaceful location with lots of things to do. |
| ✈️ Kuta | Tourist center, near the airport + shopping malls. |
| 👨👩👧👦 Nusa Dua | Family-friendly beach destination. |
Related Article: 12 Best Areas of Bali & What They’re Known For
38. Don’t Be Afraid to Stay In Hostels If You’re Solo Traveling
Hostels are the best for making friends while solo traveling! If it’s your first time staying in a hostel, don’t be worried – the ones in Bali are world-class. Some hostels in Bali are even as nice (or nicer) than hotels.
My favorite Hostels in Bali
- WW Backpackers in Ubud – Budget hostel with jungle views
- Kos One Hostel in Canggu – Luxury pool-club “Poshtel”
- Tribal Coworking in Canggu – Luxury CoWorkers Hostel
39. Do Treat Yourself To A Luxury Experience (Because It’s Cheaper to Do in Bali Than Anywhere Else)
Bali is world-renowned for its spas and luxury services. Even if you’re a budget traveler, having a luxury experience in Bali is something you shouldn’t miss out on!
Some of the Best Luxury Experiences I’ve Had in Bali
- Michelin-starred meal at Mozaic in Ubud
- Luxury 3-day cruise of the Komodo Islands
- Luxury sauna at PARQ SPACE in Ubud
- Balinese massage at Putri Bali Spa in Ubud
Bali Travel Tips: Tourism
40. Do Be A Respectful Visitor
While it’s okay to be a tourist, it’s not okay to disrespect the local culture. The Balinese people welcome foreigners into their temples and ceremonies from the goodness of their hearts. Since I started staying in Indonesia, I’ve been invited to two weddings, a cremation, and even a circumcision ceremony!
41. Don’t Get Too Disappointed By “Instagram vs Reality”
A lot of “Influencers” in Bali make their living by selling the dream. While Bali is an amazing place, there have been a handful of times when I arrived at a popular location just to be let down! The photos online of a location completely didn’t match the reality. While that can be disappointing, don’t let it get you down! For every overhyped spot in Bali, there are three more hidden gems.
42. Do Show Up Early & Beat The Crowds
Planning on going to some amazing place you saw on Instagram? Well, so is everyone else! If you want to visit a popular tourist spot in Bali make sure to go first thing in the morning – Otherwise, your time at the attraction might be ruined by crowds.
43. Don’t Go During The Rainy Season (If You Can Help It)
Bali doesn’t have Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall as North America does. Bali only has two seasons: the rainy season, and the dry season. The rainy season is between November and March, with the best (and dryest) time to visit Bali between May and September. The Rainy Season is the worst in January and February.
44. Do Venture Outside Of Bali To Other Indonesian Islands! Java, the Gilis, & the Komodo Islands +
Craving adventure? You can climb Kawah Ijen acid volcano and visit giant waterfalls like Tumpak Sewu on Bali’s neighboring island of Java. Or, if you’re more into relaxing you can swim on the white sand beaches at the Gili Islands east of Bali. There’s so much to do in Indonesia! If you have a week or more I recommend exploring other islands as well as Bali.
45. Don’t Forget – It’s Bagus!
Bagus (pronounced bag-goose) means “good” in Indonesian but it’s used in a much wider context – Bagus is cool, Bagus is peace, Bagus is fun.
How’s Bali lately? It’s Bagus 🤙.
Have a safe journey…i am so impressed you are visiting solo, it’s not an easy to visit in 30.countries worldwide..i am also a traveler and traveling in Pakistan..nice to meet you..God bless you