Visiting Bali from India-Complete Planning Guide - eNidhi India Travel Blog

Visiting Bali from India-Complete Planning Guide

This post is designed to serve as one stop guide for all my posts on Bali, Indonesia. Have answered most frequently asked questions and listed all my Bali related blog posts. I have visited Bali twice so far- once on my own and once on invitation from Indonesia tourism. And I might be heading there again real soon to bring you even more updates.

Reasons to visit Bali
There're many reasons tourists from all over the world visit Bali. Main ones are
  1. Dozens of pristine beaches, ideal for surfing & other water-sports
  2. Free visa on arrival
  3. Super cheap destination to visit
  4. Strong India/Hindu connection with temples, mythology & history
  5. Not too far from India- can reach in about half a day (one stop)
  6. Rice terraces, mountains, culture & great tender coconut.
Bali Tourist Visa Information
Indonesia grants 15 days free visa on arrival to Indian passport holders visiting for tourism purposes. This facility is available only at select airports- Jakartha, Bali (DPS) and Surabaya. If you're entering via any other smaller airports/sea ports cross check on visa procedure.

How many days to spend in Bali?
Minimum 1 week recommended, to get a good feel of Bali. More if you have time and budget. Free visa on arrival for Indians will be usually for 30 days, so better to limit to max 4 weeks per visit, unless you wish to fly to some other nearby countries and re-enter Bali.

Bali local currency info (IDR)
Indonesia's currency is IDR or Indonesian Rupiah. 1 INR is roughly 200 IDR. So if your Bali taxi driver is asking for 1 lakh rupiah, he is asking for 500 INR.

My already published Bali blog posts
Below is a complete list of my Bali blog posts covering various attractions, tips, itinerary, reviews and more:
Planning your visit to Bali
Places to Stay
3) 11 different beaches of Bali compared
4) Which location is best to plan your stay in Bali?
5) Bali Indian Veg Food Guide
6) Bali Honeymoon Guide & Itinerary
3) Montigo Resort- Seminyak
4) Sthala Hotel Ubud
5) Novotel Lambok Resort & Villas
6) Mercure Bali Legian
7) Holiday Resort, North Lombok
8) Kuta Heritage Hotel
Bali Places to Visit
Restaurant Reviews
Waterfalls

Rice Terraces

Temples & history

Beaches and Islands

Experiences
3) Hibiscus Seminyak
4) Indian Dhaba Nusa Dua
5) Gateway of India, Kuta
6) TIIGO, Montigo Resort
7) Dewata Cafe, Jimbaran
9) Queen's Tandoor, Seminyak
10) Ancak Restaurant & Bar- Mercure Bali Legian
11) Surf Pool Bar-Kuta Heritage Hotel
More coming soon
12) Sunday's Beach Club
13) Bebek Joni, Ubud
14) Bale Udang
15) D'Wika Resto
16) The Golden Saffron, Kuta
17) Sitara, Ubud
18) Beranda Restaurant, Jimbaran
19) 
Traveling to Bali
Other Destination Guides

Visiting Bali- Budget Estimate
  • Flights from India: Cheapest- INR 12000+ return (airasia sale), normal fare is about 18000-20000 INR from most Indian cities via KUL
  • Stay: Hotels from INR 700 equivalent per night onwards, factor INR 2000 for mid range and INR 5000+ for luxury resorts
  • Transport: Bike rental- around INR 600-800 per day (rent+fuel+toll+insurance+ parking etc), can rental- factor 3000-4000 INR per day
  • Food: INR 200 per meal for budget food- Approx INR 500 per day per person onwards 
  • Entry fees: Most expensive is Tanha Lot temple at 60000 IDR (INR 300) per person, other attractions usually little less.
Thus for a family of 4, one week Bali trip can cost about 1.5-1.8 lakh rupees (20k*4=80k in flight tickets, 5k per day for 2 decent hotel rooms * 7 days= 35k for stay, Food 14000 INR (500 per day* 4 people * 7 days) 20-25k for taxi hire, entry fees etc, another 20-25k miscellaneous spending (watersports, spa, shopping etc). If done in extreme budget, with cheap flight tickets, one can possibly do the same for about 1.1-1.2 lakhs total.

How easy it is to find Indian Veg food in Bali?
Bali has strong India and Hindu connection and veg food is not very difficult to find. There're many Indian restaurants in Bali that serve Veg food. Pure Vegetarian restaurants are in short supply though.

Bali, Indonesia:  What is the best season to visit?
Bali is close to equator and has tropical weather. High summer heat, rainy season for a few months. Bali can be visited all through the year-October to March is usually popular because of optimal temperature and weather.

Visiting nearby Islands-Nusa Penida, Lombok etc

  • Lombok & Gili- there're cheap flights to Lombok- less than INR 2000 one way. Boat ride option is also available. Gili islands is an ideal day trip from Lombok, overnight stay also possible.
  • For Nusa Penida and other islands you can take a boat from Sanur beach

Bali alternative destinations:
If you don't want to go to Bali, Maldives, Vietnam, Philippines (Palawan) and Thailand can offer similar landscapes.

Things you should keep in mind while visiting Bali
1) No reliable public transport like bus or trains in Denpasar area- have to depend on self drive car/bike rental or taxi or tour operators. Bike taxis are available.
2) Potential Volcano, earthquake risks
3) Potential tourist scams and cheating

Extending your trip to Bali
- Australia, Philippines, Malaysia, East Timor, Brunei etc are other countries very close to Bali
- Within Indonesia you can visit Lambok, Gili, Jakarta, Jogjakarta and many other destinations

7 comments:

  1. You are right. Minimum 1 week need to explore Bali

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you soo much for the information

    ReplyDelete
  3. Full of to the point information...very useful Nidhi :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Perfect n up to the mark information..Thank you so much..Keep posting.tc

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Shrinidhi..

    Great content...Can you just help me for one point ? Shoul i find tour and travels or PACKAGES from mmt or yatra etc..

    It will be great if you can guide me

    ReplyDelete

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