Bali, that tiny island of the Gods is indeed one of the favorite places of tourists, both domestic and foreign tourists. Bali offers comfort as well as tranquility to the visitors.
Bali is expensive. Is it true?
It can be very expensive but also very cheap. It depends on what kind of travel you choose, luxurious or tight budget. If you prefer luxurious travel, indeed you will need a lot of money, but if you choose backpacking, you can travel to Bali with a limited budget.
Backpacking to Bali? Sounds very interesting, don’t you think? It is said that Bali also remains a favorite destination for local or foreign backpackers. Indeed, Bali is an interesting place for adventure as well as traveling.
Traveling to Bali with a backpack is a great way to see what the island has to offer. Sunbathing on the beach will be a great choice. While sunbathing you can drink coconut or perhaps try surfing.
A vacation to Bali with the concept of backpacking certainly needs more preparation. Compared to traveling with a tour agent, which don’t require the tourist to design an itinerary or order tickets since all have been provided by tour service providers, backpacking will require the tourist to do things own their own. Using the tour agent sounds much better, but trying backpacking trip to Bali will be more challenging, right?
If you still hesitate about going on backpacking to Bali because you are a newbie backpacker, you only need to know the potential costs, know the possibility of fraud and know where to go, eat and stay. To help you with your first backpacking trip here is some useful information that you can use for planning your itinerary. Let’s look at options that will help you make the most of a cheap vacation in Bali.
Buy tickets during low season.
Buying tickets in advance is not a must. Instead of buying in advance, you need to keep on checking the price of airline tickets! Remember, buying airplane tickets during low season is definitely cheaper. Especially, buy for weekdays flights instead of weekends.
How to get cheap flight ticket to Bali?
Depending on your current location, finding cheap flights to Bali can be easy or difficult. If you are ready to stop on the way, flying to Singapore or Kuala Lumpur is usually the best choice. Then you can get cheap flights from one of these cities to Denpasar, the capital city of Bali. Check flight options through Skyscanner. Skyscanner always gives a better idea of flight tickets. If the date is flexible, it’s still better to find the best offer.
Use Airasia if you are from Asia because it is always a cheap and good choice for traveling to Bali.
Stay at Guesthouse or Capsule Hostel
If you think that accommodation in Bali is always expensive, well, actually it is not always that expensive like most people think. Bali can be very cheap too. If you prefer to stay in a more comfortable place with a better location, you might want to spend a little more money. You can easily find a decent bed in a room between 5 and 15 USD. If you are looking for a private room, you might pay a little more, but it’s still affordable.
Where to find a decent room at an affordable price? Here is a list of affordable accommodation from A Broken Backpack.
In Kuta:
- Bali Caps
- Bread and Jam Hostel
- Celebbest Kuta Hostel
In Ubud:
- Guesthouse Alam Pracetha
- Sunshine Vintage House
- Jero di Bisma Hostel
In Canggu:
- Kadaka Hostel
- V Canggu Dormitory
- Tipsy Gypsy
In Seminyak:
- M Boutique Hostel
- Cozy Bobo Hostel
- Karisa Pods
In Uluwatu:
- C8 Bed and Breakfast
- S.O.S Sultans of Swell
- Home-Bience Hostel
If you need much cheaper accommodation ranging from USD 3 – 5, check out this list.
- Pondok Mesari House in Ubud
- The Endless Summer Guesthouse in Seminyak
- Szabrian Hostel in Denpasar
- Bali Backpackers Hostel in Ubud
- Canggu Beach Hostel in Canggu
- White Villa Hostel in Ubud
You can use a hotel booking application like Booking or Agoda to help you get a great deal.
There is another place in Kuta Bali called Poppies Lane. It is a small alley on a street that is very famous throughout the world because of its nightlife, and because it is the main destination of backpackers. It is due to its cheap and clean accommodation, also the location of the poppies lane itself is close to Kuta Beach, which is approximately 5-10 minutes of walking.
You can also try another option. You can join local or international backpacker forums such as Couch surfing. If you are lucky enough, you can get a fellow backpacker who is willing to take you for free at his residence. Get a free place to stay, local tour guides, and new friends.
Try Local Food
There are still many foods at affordable prices in Bali. Of course, these foods are not located in the central area of tourism. However, there is no need to worry, because you can still feel Balinese specialties such as nasi campur, ayam or chicken betutu and so on. You can ask for information to local residents.
If you are one of those people who like to hang out in a café, no need to worry. There are some places that meet your tight budget, such as Potato Head. Just remember that you can only order anything that will not reap your budget, choose the cheapest one.
Use public transportation or motorcycle
Walking and motorcycle is the cheapest way to get around Bali. You can pay around USD 3.50 a day to rent a motorcycle. You will spend around USD 0.70 for a liter of gasoline.
If you don’t know how to drive, download applications such as Gojek or Grab to get around. The existence of online transportation in Indonesia is popular. Many people use it due to its convenience. If you travel to Bali, you can use this kind of transportation to get around. You can get a driver on a motorcycle or car to take you there. This will also be the cheapest option to get from the airport to your destination. Unfortunately, taxi drivers collect a lot of money and benefit from tourists who do not know the exchange rate on arrival in the country. So, beware! Make sure you get the information concerning the exchange rate.
Apart from online transportation, Bali also has public transportation facilities such as the Trans Sarbagita bus and the Kura-Kura or Tortoise bus. The Trans Sarbagita Bus is a bus owned by the provincial government of Bali that serves several important routes including tourist routes. As with the Kura-Kura bus which is a minibus specifically served tourist routes with quite a lot of shuttle points. This bus reaches almost all important tourist destinations in Bali, starting from Nusa Dua to Ubud.
Get a SIM card for your phone
It is quite easy and cheap to get a SIM card unless you buy it directly at the airport. The price ranges from USD 3 and USD 8 depending on the data plan and company provider that you select. The best one is Telkomsel, but this company is not the cheapest one.
Find free tourist spots
Bali is famous for its beaches and most of them are free. Although it’s free, these tourism spots are still interesting. There are so many beaches in Bali that you can visit. Here is the list from Catperku:
- Balangan Beach
- Nyang Nyang Beach
- Green Bowl Beach
- Tegalwangi Beach
- Kelan Beach
- Suluban Beach or Blue Point Beach
- Pandawa Beach
- Kedonganan Beach
- Nusa Dua Beach
- Gunung Payung Beach
- Kuta beach
- Karma Kandara Beach
- Geger Sawangan Beach
- Jimbaran Beach
- Tanjung Benoa Beach
- Canggu Beach
- Lovina Beach
- Virgin Beach
- Bias Tugel Beach
- Dreamland Beach
- Bingin Beach
- Padang Padang Beach
- Sanur Beach
- Legian Beach
- Melasti Beach
- Segara Beach
- Seminyak Beach
- Medewi Beach
- Beaches at Amed
- Echo Beach
- Yeh Leh Beach
- Atuh Beach in Nusa Penida
- Teluk Bajul Beach
- Sunset Point Beach Uluwatu
- Blue Lagoon Beach
- Petitenget Beach
- UUG Beach (Broken Beach Nusa Penida)
- Turtle Island Beach Serangan
- Crystal Bay Beach
You can also stop by cool places like Ayana, Rimba and other different places for free. If you visit Rimba or Ayana don’t eat there because it’s definitely very expensive. Just go there to look around and just take some photos and it is free.
Apart from the beach, there are also different tourist attractions in Bali, such as temple, forest, lakes, mountains, or traditional dancing. The following are some different tourist attractions that you can visit while backpacking in Bali:
- Luhur Lempuyang Temple
- Ulun Danu Temple
- Besakih Temple
- Lake Beratan
- Bedugul Lake
- Lake Batur
- Ubud Monkey Forest
- Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK)
- Trekking to Mount Agung
- Trekking to Mount Batur
- Watching the Kecak Dance in Uluwatu
- Snorkeling on Menjangan Island
- Rafting inTelaga Waja and Ayung River
Tip to explore tourist destinations in Bali:
Use a motorcycle because now the traffic in Bali is very heavy and the fastest way to get around is by using a motorcycle. The renting price is quite cheap, only around USD 4 per day.
You can also use public transportation like Trans Sarbagita bus, but it’s still less efficient considering Bali’s traffic jams are increasing, especially during peak season.
Good Luck!