Everything You Need to Know Before Going to Bali in 2024

Bali is one of the most popular travel destinations in the world, and for good reason. From stunning beaches to monkey forests, you can see and do a lot of pretty amazing things in a short space of time.

If you’re planning a trip to Bali, there are some things you need to know. Of course you’ll want to have an idea of where to go, but I’m here to tell you all that extra stuff you need to know before you touch down in Bali in 2024!

When you first arrive in Bali

You will probably want to get a taxi to wherever you’re going, even if it’s to somewhere nearby like Kuta.

Upon leaving the airport you’ll probably notice there is no shortage of taxi drivers who will want to offer you a ride. This is probably the fastest way to get to your destination, but before you jump into someone’s car for 500,000 Rupiah, make sure you know what is a fair price for the journey.

The best way to do this is to check the price on one of the taxi apps. The most common one is called Grab, which you can download for free on the app store. Then once you know the ‘going rate’, you can haggle a fair fee (or you can or you can even book a taxi on the app if you prefer.)

Note that the exchange rate at the time of writing this is around 20,000Rp/GBP or 16,000Rp/USD. So, 500,000 is not a good deal for a 10 minute journey!

Bali Transport

Following on from this, let’s talk about transportation. If you’re traveling Bali you’ll be doing a lot of this! The main ways to get around are motorbike (moped), car, walking or submarine (just kidding!)

The cheapest and most efficient way to get from one place to another is via bike (when I say bike I mean moped). You can get a bike taxi using the grab app I mentioned previously, which is extremely cheap, and will (most of the time) literally pick you up within a couple of minutes! They are also faster than cars since they will weave through traffic.

Renting a Bike

Alternatively, you can rent your own bike for around 100,000Rp per day (varies). This way you can go where you want whenever you want, and it also has the advantage of fun!

If you’ve never been on one of these before, they are fairly easy to get the hang of, but you may want to drive up and down away from a busy road a couple times to make sure you’re familiar with it. Most of the bikes you get in Bali are automatic 125cc, so you don’t have to worry about gears and they are relatively easy to control.

Note that you may need to fill up the petrol tank eventually. The ‘petrol stations’ look a little different to what you get in western countries – look out for the blue and yellow cylinders.

Do I need to wear a helmet?

Yes, you do. The first time I went to Bali most tourists where pretty relaxed on not wearing helmets, and I’d never seen anyone get caught for not wearing one (it is illegal). But more recently there has been a crackdown on this so my advice is take no chances and just wear it to avoid paying a hefty fine.

One more thing to be aware of is that your bike may ‘magically’ have moved position when you come back to it when parking in some places. This is just the locals moving them around so they can organise the parking spaces (don’t worry they aren’t trying to steal your bike).

Street Haggling

Why do people keep shouting at me on the street?

Tourism is the driving force of the Balinese economy, and a lot of the locals make their living working in hostels, restaurants, shops or street selling. Street sellers can be very handy if you need a quick ride somewhere or a pair of sunglasses.

If you’re a foreigner, you’ll notice very quickly that they see you as an ideal customer. Note that it’s very common in Bali to haggle. If you don’t do this you’ll probably end up overpaying for everything, although just remember to be respectful and do this in moderation (they have to make a living too!)

Booking Hostels

The main ways I use to book hostels is through Hostelworld or booking.com. Note that they do take a small booking fee, but sometimes I find that even with this taken into account, it still ends up cheaper than booking directly with the hostel.

The benefit of Hostelworld is that it shows you how popular the hostel is during the time of your stay, so you can see how many other travelers are going to be there, and even where they are from!

If you want a lively hostel, you can choose one with something like 100+ bookings! It also gives you in-depth details of the facilities and lots of ratings and reviews. Some things to look out for are wifi, security lockers, laundry, aircon, check-in/check-out time.