Grand Escapades’ Budget Guide To Bali

Splurging at Sawah Indah Villa near Sidemen

Depending On Your Expectations!

Type Of Travel

Bali was our first long-haul trip with an infant (at the time of travel, Jules was 9 months old), so we traveled accordingly:

• We chose a reasonable level of comfort, to be sure that we would have everything that we need with a baby
• We adapted the travel rhythm – Not changing too often places, planning sufficient time for afternoon naps and meals, …
• We chose an easy itinerary, and especially left aside more “remote” parts of the island aside (like Nusa Penida or the North West), which else would definitely have been on the list
• In the first week, we rented a house, and that meant a much more flexible everyday life
• We chose restaurants over food stalls, and yes, quite a few times “touristic restaurants” with baby chairs, which truly make life easier…
• Last but not least, we hired a car with driver every time we wanted to move around (and that was actually almost every day), since we simply couldn’t imagine being on a motorbike with our baby

That definitely means significant extra-costs!

Itinerary & Time Of The Visit

The first week, we rented a very comfortable villa in Seminyak, and discovered the more popular, more touristy south of Bali: Seminyak of course, Pura Tanah Lot & Ganggu, Pura Luhur Ulu Watu and the Breaks of Ulu Watu, but also Pura Tirta Empul & Pura Gunung Kawi north of Ubud (we skipped Ubud altogether).

Then we took a speedboat to Gili Air where we stayed 2 days, went to Amed 3 days to scuba dive on the USS Liberty Shipwreck and to discover Pura Penataran Agung Lempuyang & Taman Tirta Gangga, and last but not least spent 2 days in Sidemen in the middle of the Rice Terraces.

Global Budget

Considering the level of comfort and the choices indicated above, the trip was altogether quite cheap! And considering the price level in Bali, it was definitely an upper-midrange type of travel. So yes, this level of expenditures can be significantly reduced… or increased, of course!

Hostels & Hotels

Bali is a perfect place to splurge on accommodation, with a great value for money, especially in the upper-midrange type of accommodations. I definitely seldom had such a level of comfort, and given the price, one can say it was actually really cheap!

Restaurants & Food

You can eat for a few dollars at local places or dine and wine at classy, western-style restaurants with prices not very far away from what we would pay in Europe. True, food is more expensive than in some other Asian countries, but altogether, eating in Bali is quite cheap and offers a great variety if you are ready to increase slightly your budget. In Amed and Sidemen especially, we tried several local Warungs and had great and cheap experiences.

Beer is cheap (a large beer cost on average 2,75 €), but other alcoholic drinks (cocktails, wine) tend to be really pricy.

Transport

Traffic is simply terrible in Bali, with traffic jams at any hour of the day that would remind you of major European cities at rush hours. On average, we could cover approx. 28-30 km per hour, not more…

Nonetheless, and despite what you can widely read everywhere, drivers are in Bali both gentle and respectful, and behave very, very differently from what I experienced in all other Asian countries, maybe Sri Lanka apart. So it is definitely a place where one can drive, no matter if motorbike / scooter or car.

We could not, with a baby, drive a motorbike (or at least didn’t dare), so we hired almost every day a car with driver. We had great experiences everywhere with our drivers, and it is extremely easy to find one.

So all in all, transport is easy and cheap in Bali, but slow!

Splurge At Reasonable Costs?

If this is on your radar, you have great hotels at very reasonable prices (given the quality of accommodation & service). We enjoyed some of the nicest hotels I have ever experienced, at a very reasonable price. And obviously, you can take this to the top and go for unique luxury at a comparatively acceptable rate.

Reduce Costs?

Of course you can reduce costs, in comparison to what we spent: this trip was our first intercontinental trip with a baby and we chose a comfortable way of travel.

Bali can be a cheap destination if you want:

• Rent a motorbike / scooter instead of a car with driver
• Do not spend too much time in the south, the most touristy part of the island but also the most expensive, and move to more remote parts of the island
• Choose smaller hotels
• Only eat at local restaurants – local Warungs offer great value for money.