Airport
Most of you (if not all) will arrive at Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport, also known as Denpasar International Airport. The airport is located in southern Bali, 13 km south of Denpasar. It is Indonesia's third-busiest international airport.
International Arrivals procedures - Visa on Arrival (VOA)
Note: All passports must be valid for a minimum of six months from the date of entry into Indonesia and have at least two blank pages available for stamps.
For those of you coming from Malaysia/Singapore (or those of you who are Malaysian/Singaporean citizens), you will not need a visa for Bali as long as your stay does not exceed 30 days.
For those of you coming from Australia or America (or are Australia or American citizens), a visa can be arranged upon arrival at Ngah Rai International Airport in Denpasar. Please note that this process can take as long as 2 hours (especially if a few planes land at the same time - the airport is most congested in the afternoon when most Garuda planes land).
A 30 day visa will cost USD $25 (the 7 day visa was abolished in Jan 2010). It is possible to pay for your visa in any other major currency (note that credit cards are not accepted), however if you choose not pay in USD, please be aware that the exchange rate charged may not be competitive. It is highly recommended that you purchase your USD in Australia.
If you want to avoid lining up in the queues for your VOA, you can pay for your visa by credit card through The Bali Concierge. But to do this you will also have to pay $US50 a person and use its VIP immigration service. Someone meets you when you get off the plane, takes your passport and luggage, buys your visa and puts your luggage through customs. Meanwhile, you relax in the Bali Concierge VIP Lounge with drinks and snacks. Then the concierge escorts you out of the airport. Alternatively tourism visit visas can be issued in advance at some Indonesian embassies prior to departure. Please check with your local Indonesian embassy.
Departure Tax
There is departure tax of 150,000 IDR (approx USD 16.50) per person, payable on departure from Indonesia. It is paid after check-in and before immigration.This tax is payable in rupiah only.
Getting from the airport
Your hotels may have organised free transfers for you from the airport, but there are plenty of public taxis also available. Go to the ticketing booth, on the right side just after the airport exit, buy a fixed-fare ticket and a driver will be assigned to you trouble-free. If you are travelling on a restricted budget, you can flag down a Blue Bird Taxi from outside the airport. Blue Bird Taxis are safe and reliable, and their metered fares are marginally cheaper than the prepaid taxi fares. You might want to evaluate whether all that extra effort is worth it just to save a dollar.
Health
Please check that your vaccinations are up to date; be sure to visit your doctor at least four weeks before you leave if you have never been to Bali before. It can take a few weeks for certain vaccines to work.
You should also take any chemist products that you night need with you as there aren’t pharmacies on every corner.
Money
ATMs are the cheapest and easiest way to get cash (Indonesian rupiah – Rp). There are ATMs in most towns, and they are everywhere in tourist destinations – even the Commonwealth Bank in some places! You can also pay with credit cards just about everywhere. ATM transactions carry a fee – generally a $A5 charge plus a conversion fee that can vary from day to day according to exchange rates. (At the time of writing, $A300 withdrawal attracted a total $A9.50 fee.) Best idea is to take out enough money to last you several days. Most hotels and villas will have a security safe in rooms. You can also exchange cash or travellers cheques at money changers. Only use money exchanges on the main roads and make sure the notes they give you are new looking, as old ripped notes will be rejected by many people, especially in the markets.
Getting around Bali
Getting around Bali is easy. Shuttle buses, private cars, rented cars, taxis and motorcycles are amongst the various ways to get around. Taxis in particular are cheap! The best metered-taxi company in Bali is Blue Bird (also known as Bali Taxi; call 0361 701111; www.bluebirdgroup.com). If you get into a taxi without a meter, make sure you negotiate the price with the driver before you set off. You can also hire drivers for day trips – the likely cost will be about $AUD 45 for the day. Weather
Bali is located only 375km south of the equator. Thus, Balinese weather is tropical to say the least - reliably hot and sunny.
Here are some average statistics just to give you some idea:
Month | Temp Range (C / F) | Humidity |
January | 17 / 62 - 30 / 86 | 75% |
February | 17 / 62 - 29 / 84 | 75% |
March | 17 / 62 - 29 / 84 | 70% |
April | 17 / 62 - 31 / 88 | 65% |
May | 18 / 65 - 31 / 88 | 65% |
June | 19 / 67 - 31 / 88 | 60% |
July | 21 / 70 - 31 / 88 | 55% |
August | 22 / 71 - 32 / 90 | 55% |
September | 21 / 70 - 32 / 90 | 60% |
October | 20 / 68 - 32 / 90 | 65% |
November | 19 / 66 - 31 / 88 | 65% |
December | 18 / 64 - 31 / 88 | 70% |
