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Bali Pro Tips & Arrival/Tourist Info

The airport code for Bali is - DPS (denpasar). The unless you are flying with miles there are two primary routings from the US that we recommend.

In the end, because the flight is so long (almost 20 hours) we quite often optimize for the shortest path, and the least connections.

The West coast, ORD, JFK, EWR and BOS all have Westward paths (with 1 connection):

- EVA (through Taipei)

- Singapore airlines (EWR - SIN direct)

- JAL (through Tokyo)

- Korean Airlines (through Seoul)

The only realistic/short connections going east are direct flights via Qatar airlines and Emirates (Turkish may be open by March 2020, if new terminal is complete)

Qatar flies via Doha from eastern seaboard, and Emirates through Dubai. With continued service to DPS

There are a few ways we suggest to get around Bali:

- Hire a driver

- Rent a motorbike

- Call a Grab or Gojek (like Uber)

Driver:

Drivers will cost anywhere between 600,000 - 800,000 ($42-55) IDR per day excluding gas, depending on how long you need them. We recommend asking for an Innova (it's the most comfy model for the back). It's safer and easier than having your own car and for new visitors driving is both overwhelming and risky. Some drivers will even double as tour guides (especially balinese).

We have some friends who drive (and they can make referrals if they are busy) Everyone in Bali uses Whatsapp ( a free messaging application. We suggest downloading it to iron out logistics:

Naja Wayan - +62 812 3936 7979

Agus + 62 878 6113 6408

All speak (some) English. They all know us, and may suggest you don't need to pay them. It is not OK not to pay them. This is a cultural nuance, that is a sign of respect to us. Thank you for being mindful

Motorbike rentals:

Driving in Bali is tricky (for cars and bikes alike). For starters the driving is on the opposite side of the street. And traffic laws are only partially obeyed. The roads are small and tight and people do crazy things. That said, it's an acquired taste. We love it. If you plan to drive you MUST get an International Drivers License. In the US you can get them for 15 USD at AAA and it takes 15 minutes. You don't have to be a member. You can get them in almost any country. For more information we suggest Google.

Cheap scooters can be found for around 60,000-100,000 rupiah per day (about 5 dollars).

Grabs:

Grab is an application like Uber or Lyft. It is easy to use (mostly cash only), and can be downloaded from any app store. Beware the taxi mafia in Bali will allow Grabs to drop you off most anywhere. But in many places they cannot stop to pick you up.

Duty Free (inbound) -

Alcohol is very expensive in Bali (except beer). Wine is marked up 300% and most good wineries don't distribute here. Immigration allows adult visitors to bring 1L (generally 1 bottle) with them. We don't suggest trying to flout these rules, but we do suggest making sure to take advantage of duty free on your way in country.

Arrival hall -

The arrival hall for a jetlagged, sweaty new arrival can feel like pure chaos. We recommend hiring a driver for pickup. It's honestly more reliable than us trying to coordinate pickups for everyone at all hours of the day. We suggest to organize a meetup point (where 1 person stays with bags in the 'sane' area, and 1 person goes to get the driver) somewhere off to the (right side as the arriver would leave and turn right, it tends to be a little less crowded over there). The driver will be holding a sign with your name or something else mutually agreed upon. Typical rates to Canggu will be 300,000 IDR

Cash -

In Indonesia we use Rupiah (pronounced phonetically). The exchange rate is about 14,000 / USD. This means that 3,000,000 rupiah (typically the max you can get from an ATM) is about 215 USD. Bali is very cash based. You will need cash. Few places take credit cards on the grounds except for fancy restaurants. Don't be surprised when the machine asks if you want 1,000,000 dollars. It's not dollars and it's not a lot of money. Our suggestion is get as much as you can (to minimize exchange rate and banking fees from your local bank). There are many, many ATM machines in the airport arrivals after customs before you actually face the outside. Find one that doesn't have a line. As long as you don't have a 'credit union' type debit card, it should work. This is the best way to take out money. Money changers in Bali are notoriously dodgy.

Connectivity -

We suggest to get a local SIM card while you are in Bali. They cost about 7 dollars. You can ask the shop to preload data. The sim cards in the airport are about double price, and there is wifi while you are inside (though you need to be patient with it). Best to make SIM card purchase a first priority for day 2 vs. day 1.

We are all thinking more about our impact on the environment, and travelling half way around the world isn't the most environmentally friendly option. We want to provide you an option to mitigate that addition.

Right now we are working with www.terrapass.com

They have a very granular service (that we are also trying to connect to Bali on the back-end). More to come here.

There is a great carbon calculator available here: https://co2.myclimate.org/en/flight_calculators/new

As reference offsetting one person travel from JFK to Bali going West is about 30 USD

We have been working with our friends at the Green School (who have a bamboo planting carbon offset initiative) to develop a link to one of the major international carbon

Some people like a clear idea of what they're in for:

We know how we feel after a long flight, exhausted, hot and ‘making soup in our clothes.’ So we put together a list of the important stuff to execute when you get off the plane
Quick tips:
Pass Immigration (between 15 – 90 mins)
Get bags
Buy 1 bottle of alcohol per passenger
Pass customs (fill form and give 1 per family to official)
Get money from ATM (best exchange rate)
Get sim card (for unlocked phone)
Send one person to get taxi organized (as the taxi driver mob can be frightening to some children, and disorienting to anyone after a long flight)

The Bugs: Each night by 4:30/5pm. We suggest to close the windows and doors to your bedrooms to avoid bugs (mostly mosquitos) which will keep you up at night as you try to sleep. Also keep any food items in the refrigerator or sealed in an airtight container to avoid critters (including ants).

Drinking Water: Do NOT drink out of the tap. There should be full bottles in the Refrigerator which you can refill.

Laundry: Laundry is cheap in Bali. Don't get it done through your hotel. If you would like to have your clothes washed, it takes about three days from drop off to pick up and is about 40,000 IDR per kilo, but is paid per piece. Find a place close to where you stay.

Health Considerations: Vaccinations: Ideally - Japanese Encephalitis, and typhoid. The big thing here is dengue (especially in the wet season), but there is not preventative vaccination for that. Just bug spray and making sure you don’t leave doors open to sleeping quarters around dusk.

Backup Cash: We suggest putting a travel notice on your credit cards before arriving and setting up a pin. The ATM machines give cash first and then the card, which often leads to folks from away forgetting their card in the machine. This also helps in case an ATM card gets broken, stolen or blocked by your bank at an inconvenient time. We do not have a safe available for guest use. We don’t suggest keeping more than 5 million rupiah cash at home when you are not here.