29 May How to plan cheap surf trips: prices in Bali
This article is dedicated to prices in Bali, so you can plan your budget beforehand and enjoy cheap surf trips around the island. We will talk about how to save your money wisely and about prices for accommodation, transport, food, surf lessons etc. Official currency of Indonesia is Indonesian rupiah, $1 USD is about 13,3 IDR. To check current rate you can here.
Step #1 of planning cheap surf trips – flights
For some countries, for example located in Europe, it will be the most difficult part of trying to plan cheap surf trips. The easiest way to find cheap flights with less stop overs is check websites like aviasales.com, onetwotrip.com or to plan a route by yourself. For example, you can look for flights to Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, that will be cheaper than flights to Bali, and then from there you can fly to Bali. The difference between choosing destination as Bali and Jakarta or Singapore can be up to $200 USD sometimes. Also don’t forget to subscribe on special offers from airlines like Qatar, Thai and Emirates, you can do that using aviasales.com . Consider that prices are depend on the seasons, peak season is from December till middle of January and from May till September. Low season is in October, November and from January till the mid March.
Insurance
Insurance is definitely a must have if you are going to Asia. Some people try to save money on it, thinking that nothing will happen to them, but it’s a completely wrong statement. It’s not a big deal to pay $100 USD or so and you won’t have to worry about anything and fully enjoy your holidays. Without insurance even fixing a little cut in the hospital will cost you AT LEAST $100 USD, meanwhile having insurance you won’t pay any cent and will have all the treatments you need. And to reduce a risk of visiting hospital, please, drive carefully and always wear a helmet. If you are going to go out better to take a taxi.
Visa
You can get tourist visa on arrival (VOA) in the airport for free, this type of visa allows you to stay in Indonesia for 30 days. Citizens not from all the countries can get VOA, so please, check this list to make sure your country is on it. If you plan to stay longer you can pay $35 USD or 355 000 IDR, this visa you can extend for 30 days (so in total you can stay in Indonesia for 60 days).
Prices in Bali for accommodation
There are a lot of types of accommodation: hostels, guesthouses, hotels, apartments, villa, surf hostels, surf camps. Talking about cheap surf trips around Bali, of course, the cheapest option is hostels, and the most expensive is villas. If you are ready to share your bathroom, kitchen, private space with people you don’t even know just book a hostel – prices start from $10 USD. Guesthouse is a house owned by local people but renovated as a little hotel. You will have your own room and bathroom (not always, but mostly often) and shared kitchen. Prices start from $15 USD and up to $60 USD. The less you pay the less you get: for a minimum price you will get a room with no hot water and AC, or with hot water and AC but further from the ocean.
Also there is a plenty of hotels on the island, prices in Bali for a room in a hotel start from $35 USD per night (approx.). Normally hotels here are located in popular tourist destinations, so you won’t have any problems with shops, cafes, bars etc.
If you travel with family or a company of friends, way cheaper and better for you would be rent out a villa. Prices are different, but if you research properly you can find a villa that will cost about $50 USD per person a night. But average price is about $100 USD. Also price depends on location: the more it’s popular (Canggu, Seminyak, Kuta, Ubud) the higher is a price. The point is that the longer you stay here the better price you will be offered by owner of a villa. 99% you will have anything for your comfort: AC, hot water, Wi-Fi, stereo system, swimming pool and cleaning service.
Transport
Bali offers 5 alternatives how to travel around the island: rent a bike, rent a car, rent a car with a driver, bike taxi and regular taxi. For cheap surf trips we recommend to rent a bike for a day here will cost you $4 USD, for a month about $50-60 USD. As you can see it’s not so expensive at all, that’s why it’s more common type of transport in Bali plus it’s easier to get somewhere if to consider traffic problems here. So if you want to save your money and time – bike is for you. Would you like to have a motorbike, a scoopy, a dirty bike or a custom bike – up to you.
Also you can get a car for $30 USD for a day or about $250 USD for a month, depends a car model and how long you going to rent it out. The first thing you should know before renting a car – there is a left driving in Indonesia, and Bali is not an exclusion. So if you have different rules in your country it will be a little bit difficult to change your mind. The car is perfect for those who can’t drive a bike or just scared, for long journeys and if you travel with a group of people. Even some roads can’t handle even 2 cars driving to opposite directions and it’s easier to stuck in traffic than if you’d have had a bike, you won’t sweat under the sun or get wet under the rain. And if you don’t want to care about all the problems – just rent a car with a driver, it will be twice more expensive but 10 times more comfortable!
Taxi. There are 2 types of taxis – a bike one and a car. A bike one is called Go-Jek, the prices are pretty reasonable – for example, to get from Canggu to Seminyak will cost you about $1,5 USD. Everything you should do is have a local phone number and download the app “Go-Jek”. Then you just place your order and wait for like 5 min. The more popular your location is, the faster a driver comes, so don’t rely on this app if you’re in the north of Bali. Also you can catch a regular taxi, like Blue Bird (the most popular). As soon as you are in the car make sure that taximeter is on, otherwise ask for it. If a driver says it’s broken just get another car or you will be charged for a double price. Taxi is not so expensive here as well: normally it’s about $8-10 USD to get from Canggu to Kuta. Driver at the airport don’t have a taximeter and call you a fixed price. Since they start from the highest one don’t forget to bargain, but still be polite. If you stay in Canggu the normal price will be about $15 USD (for 1-2 persons).
The petrol is very cheap here, 4 liters (that’s enough for a couple of days driving between Canggu-Seminyak-Kuta) will cost you about $2,5-3 USD.
Food
Prices in Bali for food are very different. If you are keen for cheap surf trips you always can find at local cafes (warung) – for rice, chicken and vegetables you will pay $1-3 USD. This food is pretty close to street one, but sometimes it tastes same as in restaurants with Indonesian cuisine. If you want to go to more civilized place you will find a lot of places with European, Italian, French, Japanese, Chinese cuisines. Lunch or dinner will cost you about $10-20 USD (not including alcohol). If you are not on the budget try some luxury restaurants with super service and be ready to pay at least $30 USD and more. A beer in the shop is $1,5 USD, if you go out just double this price, cocktails and about $10 USD and prices for shots start from $5 USD. Everything depends on a cafe/bar.
Surf lessons and equipment
Making cheap surf trips of course will include surf lessons (including board rental) are about $50 USD for 2-3 hours. If you think or really don’t need a surf instructor you can rent a board from local guys for $5 USD, but don’t expect it to be a good quality. A good one will cost you at least $10 USD. If you’ve never tried surfing before you should start opening your world of surfing with a surf school and learn with professionals, because it’s a) safer b) easier c) It’s way more fun!
Hope this information about prices in Bali will help you to plan your holidays properly! No matter do you have a “hippie” budget or don’ care about money at all – enjoy your time in this paradise!