Essential Bali Travel Tips and Packing List 2024

Are you planning a trip to Bali soon? There’s essential Bali travel tips you’ll want to know before you visit this beautiful island in Indonesia.

While I’ve discussed some of these topics on my Instagram Reels, I can provide more details here on my blog. It’s challenging to explain everything in just 10 seconds on Reels! Therefore, I’ve created this post to delve deeper into why certain things are important and also to share my personal experiences in Bali.

Understanding all of this is essential because it helps you grasp what’s happening around you and understand the people you’ll encounter in Bali. With this knowledge, you’ll have a more enjoyable time exploring and experiencing your trip to Bali.

QUESTION ABOUT KLOOK CREDIBILITY : Isn’t it more expensive to book an airport transfer than a taxi? Klook airport transfers aren’t constrained by Bali Airport’s set rates which means you’ll get so you’ll get more value for your money for transportation to and from Bali Airport.

Here’s the average cost of pickup prices for Bali Airport compared:

Destination	Taxi/Grab ($AUD)	Klook Airport Transfer ($AUD)
Kuta	14.70	10.30
Seminyak	32.40	10.30
Canggu	39.20	22.25
Ubud	48.95	27.65
Nusa Dua	32.40	10.30
Sanur	48.95	12.00

*note prices are only approximate and depend on currency exchange.

Read More: Ubud, Bali – 3-Day Itinerary Guide

Bali Travel Tips: Travel Packing List before Traveling

I recently compiled “Things you should pack before going to Bali” and shared it on my Instagram reel. Surprisingly, it garnered a lot of attention — around 23k views in just 3 days!

This packing list is a mixture of insights I gleaned from my own experiences in Bali.

I overlooked some items when packing for Bali and deeply regretted it. That’s why I created this list — to help future tourists avoid similar mishaps and fully enjoy Bali.

You might wonder why I’m sharing this again when I’ve already posted it on Instagram. Well, there’s more to the story, and I believe it could benefit you. I hope when you arrive in Bali, you’ll remember my advice and thank me later. 😉 So, let’s delve into it!

Swim Wear

Don’t forget your swimwear! Bali is a water lover’s paradise with stunning beaches, refreshing hotel pools, and breathtaking waterfalls. Pack your favourite swimsuit to make the most of your tropical adventure.

Read More: 4 Unique Restaurants You Must Visit in Bali

Powerbank

Since you’ll be using your phone a lot for pictures and directions, a power bank will make sure your devices stay charged no matter where you are. We frequently faced battery issues during our tour. There were countless Instagram-worthy moments, and our tour guide was determined to capture as many photos of us as possible. It became apparent that having a power bank was essential. While some tour guides had USB ports in their cars for charging phones, it wasn’t always the case. Fortunately, our tour guide happened to use the same type of phone as mine, allowing me to charge my device during our trip.

Universal Travel Adapter

Indonesian power sockets are Type C and F. A universal travel adapter will allow you to charge your devices without any issues. I also discovered that our hotel in Ubud offered Universal Travel Adapters for guests to borrow from the reception desk.

*Another pro-tip: Instead of purchasing multiple universal adapters, invest in just one and bring along a power strip. This way, you can charge multiple devices without needing several adapters and not relying to your hotel.

Which one is cheaper – ATM Withdrawal or Money Changer? Bali travel tips answer: Airport currency exchange services typically provide significantly lower exchange rates compared to authorised currency exchange providers. Although they are convenient, you should expect to receive lesser amounts in return. Alternatively, ATMs available at the airport generally offer more favourable exchange rates when you use your bank card to withdraw cash. Even though credit cards are accepted, having some cash handy is good for small buys or places that don’t take cards. There are also MONEY CHANGERS upon arrival at Bali airport. So no stress.

Another Bali Travel Tips in terms of cash

To help you plan how much you will withdraw – Majority of Restaurants, cafes, bars, hotels, resorts, spa, Ubud market – are charging through credit/debit cards. The only thing you need cash for is some Bali swings and Instagrammable shots like in Sideman Karangasem, Sari Tambul, Rumah Pohon Tree House – they all charge cash between 75k-500k Rupiah approx. each location.

Having too much cash can be a hassle too. In Bali, the biggest banknote is only worth around USD $8 or AUD $10. This means even if you take out a little money, you’ll end up with lots of Indonesian Rupiah bills and makes your wallet thicker! But in Bali, you don’t need tons of cash. Getting around and eating out isn’t expensive, and you can use a debit/credit card. If you take out a lot of money, like more than AUD$100, don’t carry it all with you. Just keep enough for the day and leave the rest safe at your place you’re staying.

Bali travel tips: Please use ATM and Money changer sparingly because each transaction charges you fees. So once or twice ATM withdrawals is fine, but if it is every day, you are spending more due to the transaction fees and charges every time you make some withdrawals.

Fun Things To Do

Common Grab driver Practice needs to be aware of…

For the record, I’ve found Balinese people to be the epitome of hospitality, warmth, and kindness. They welcome you with genuine smiles and speak to you with sincerity in their voices. However, like in any other country, there are both good and bad individuals among them.

Common Grab Driver Practice to Tourists

Let me share my personal experience, and this is common in Bali: Grab drivers ask, “How long are you staying in Bali?” They are asking you this with the intention of offering their services as private drivers to tour you around Ubud.

Once you say yes to them, they will abort GRAB, and they will charge you in CASH. They will charge you the same as how much GRAB app charges you.

Why Grab Drivers do this Practice

But this is what they will tell you – GRAB app will deduct some fees, and this does not fully go to them. For example, if Grab app charges you 95k Rupiah for one-way transport, they will tell you that Grab will only give them 80k Rupiah. So they want you to pay them cash so they can get the full benefit of getting the whole 95k.

Why I said “Yes”

I find it understandable, and I find the driver very nice and sincere. He also told me that he wants to feed his family, etc. The story is quite moving. So we said YES. He became our private driver for 3 days in Bali.

The trouble is if you say YES – which means you are OKAY paying them CASH, therefore, you are always ended up withdrawing money every day for the sake of paying them where you can use GRAB or GOJEK app with no hassle or inconvenience on your part because Grab/Gojek automatically charges you through your debit/credit card.

Our BIG Mistake

We allowed one of the grab drivers to be our private driver, and I ended up withdrawing through ATM 5x for 3 days!! With transaction fees and charges! We spent more than we should be.

Although the Grab driver told us that they just want to feed their family, etc.. But the comfort and convenience for me and to my partner is no longer applicable. It’s like the driver is manipulating us in some way.

CONFLICT happens after being good

One time, we arranged for the driver to pick us up at 7 am the next day for the airport. However, the night before our departure, we discovered that we didn’t have enough Rupiah in cash to pay the driver.

Consequently, we called and explained that we couldn’t use his services and would book our airport transport through the Grab app instead.

The driver reacted with disappointment and placed blame on us, citing our prior commitment for transportation. Initially, we considered asking him to take us to the nearest ATM to withdraw cash, but we realised this would cause us to miss our flight. In the end, we apologised and reflected on the lesson learned from this experience.

The reason I am sharing this is because, I don’t want that to happen to you.

Now that I have shared my experiences and advice as well as the list that you should pack and other Bali travel tips, what are your thoughts about this? Do you have any additional advice or a list to add?

Please comment below and I would love to hear your thoughts!

Thank you so much for your time!

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***This blog post may contain links to external websites. If you click through one of these links and make a reservation, it’s possible I might receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. However, my primary goal is to provide you with accurate information and honest review about my visit in Bali.

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