7 Tips before travelling to Bali
By Two World Backpackers
Are you planning your trip to Bali, and you are wondering a few things like if you need a visa or not? Do you need any vaccine? Or how to move around the island, among other questions? Then this is your post. Here you will find seven tips you should know before going to Bali.
Table of Contents
Vaccines
First of all, we have to say that of course you always have to visit a doctor for these things.
It is not mandatory to get vaccinated if you are traveling from Europe or if you have been exploring through the rest of Southeast Asia. However, it is compulsory to get vaccinated against Yellow Fever if you have been traveling in a high-risk area for the last nine months.
It is advisable to get vaccinated against hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and tetanus. As for malaria, Bali is not an area affected by malaria, yet there have been some cases in Lombok, Sumatra or Sulawesi.
Of course it always depends on each one of us, some of our friends have not been vaccinated at all, they went to Bali, and nothing happened to them, but for example, we think it is better to do it just in case.
So in our case, we were already vaccinated against Hepatitis B and Tetanus since we were children, so we vaccinated against Hepatitis A, and our doctor prescribed us “Malarone” which are some pills for the malaria.
However, as mentioned before, please seek some medical advice with your doctor.
For sure, take a lot of anti-mosquito cream and always drink bottled water!
The Visa
An essential requirement for everyone is that the passport needs to have a minimum of 6 months of validity. Regarding the visa, most European and Latin American countries (except Colombia) can be in Indonesia for up to 30 days as a tourist without the need for a visa.
If you plan to stay longer or you come from a country that needs to obtain a visa in Indonesia, you can acquire it at the airport upon arrival. It can be paid in cash and is valid for 30 days that you can renew if you wish.
In the case of Spanish people, a visa is not necessary to enter Indonesia for a stay of maximum 30 days. However, you will need the validity of the passport to be at least six months.
Bargain the prices
In Indonesia, many taxi drivers, especially in the airport area, can ask you for large quantities so, make sure you bargain the price beforehand. You can also haggle the prices anywhere like street markets, etc. but without abusing it since they live from the tourism.
How to move around Bali
Bali seems like a small island, but the traffic is horrible, and to go from one side of the island to the other, you can spend all day. We recommend that you bring your international license just in case, especially if you plan to rent a motorcycle, which is the most used way of transport.
We were amazed when we saw up to 3 and 4 people together on a motorcycle.
If, on the other hand, you are not much fan of a motorcycle, as it is our case, you can also hire a taxi driver for a day for a price of 500,000 IDR (28 GBP / 30 €) approximately. We did this, and we spent up to 8 hours a day with him visiting incredible places, he was also a super nice guy with whom we are still in contact today and whom we recommend if you want to enjoy the best places both the tourist and the not so well known.
In case you are interested, you can contact Ary, from Best Bali Transport, through his Instagram @best_balitransport.
When you arrive at the airport and if you need to rent a taxi to arrive at your hotel, we recommend you to do it outside the airport and not in the arrivals area where all the taxi drivers are, as these are way much more expensive.
On the other hand, if you want to go to the Gili Islands, Lombok or the Nusa Islands, you must take a boat or ferry. Most of them depart from Padang Bai and include return tickets with hotel pickup (depending on where you are staying).
If you want more information about the Gili Islands, visit our post of Gili Islands: which one to choose and what to do. Or, if you like more information about Nusa Penida, check out our post of Nusa Penida in one day.
Clothing
If you go with shorts or skirts, in many temples you should wear a sarong, since it is mandatory for both men and women to wear their legs covered up to the ankles. In most temples, they leave them for free, but there are also thousands of stalls where they sell them, in case you want to buy one as a souvenir.
Besides, in some temples, it is forbidden the entrance to menstruating women.
Don't play with drugs
In Asia, the issue of drugs is no joke, and in Bali, it is punishable by jail and even the death penalty, so it is better not to play with it. However, you can easily find people selling them on the streets, which is shocking due to the severe punishment.
Gastronomy
Indonesian gastronomy has a great mix of flavours from all over the Asian continent. We recommend going to the traditional warungs. They are the local restaurants where you can try a wide variety of typical dishes of the area and also super cheap.
What we liked the most was the Nasi Goreng, a dish of fried rice, usually accompanied by egg, chicken, vegetables, and soy sauce. Another thing that we loved was the smoothies of all kinds of fruits. It was delicious!
Also, you must always buy bottles of water and never drink tap water, as it is not safe to do so!
If you know of any more tips, please leave us a comment, we will love to read it since we will surely return to Bali.
