Top Bali hotels
We followed a tour package for day one of the trip. The activities and restuarant marked up their price so much to cover the guide. We went to the same place to again and the prices only a fraction!Beware of those resturant by the beach, food are normal but prices are ridiculous. Ask for the price first! Tell them you come back later. Check with some local people there, generally they are very helpful.
Hi there i am a beginner too. have travelled some of australia and bali.was cheap compared to australia spent half of what i took enjoyed haggling especially the taxi and buses the people we came across always said 150,000 rupiah for everything t shirts, taxi, buses, etc but always go a third as we were told by many books 50,000 which is about $5.50 aud very cheap for over an hour in a taxi ,hope that helps Terry
I am talking about the tour to "Kintamani" to see the volcano "Mt Batur"This is all too often touted by so called tour operators, as a visit to see the still active volcano "MT Batur", with promises of views of the crater, steam and some sort of volcanic activity. where as in reality, you arrive at the village of "Kintamani", where they park you in one of the rundown restaurants, with a very limited view, definatly not one worth the time, and expense.The restaurants are now run down, although some of them still serve reasonable good food, the majority have slipped in their standards.Should you wish to cross the road, to try and get a better view, then you will more than likely be surrounded by many locals desperatly trying to sell you some cheap trinket or other item, making it most uncomfortable and an unenjoyable experience for many tourists.Many bona fide tour operators are now...
I could not understand why some stores, the airport and hotels use USD currency other then to confuse you.I bought a mosiac plate from the airport and it was in usd and when the girl converted it to indonesia rupiah the price was double. Unfortuantely my plane was boarding so i wasnt sharp enough. I was very 'peed' off when i realised.
Please be careful when you change your money in Bali.I just came back from Bali two days ago and was staying at Kuta, Legian area.Went to several money changer near my hotel and was nearly cheated twice.The trick they used was, some of the money changer indicated a high exchange rate on their white board to lure people. The changer will then pretend to be trustworthy by placing a calculator to calculate the actual amount of rupiahs you will get. Then they will count the amount of rupiah and place it in front of you. But do note the trick here is they only have $20,000 rupiah and claimed that they do not have any notes bigger. Trust me, sometimes it is very difficult to count with so many stacks of $20,000.After placing the money in front of you, they will then collect back the rupiahs and lower the money behind the counter, drop a few notes and then hand it back to you. After you expose...
Peddlers touting their wares or services to you everywhere.Lake Batur, Kintamani, Tegallang Rice Terrace and many more places in Bali would be a great experience if not because of them.They will watch you from just before you park your car, rush to your doors and just after you open your doors/windows they will have all their wares ready in plastic bags and put them in your hands, some of them will wipe your windshield or massage your shoulders...At many occasion we only stopped for a very brief moment as we don't find it enjoyable to be in such situation.
I don´t know whether this applies as a tourist trap or a danger.Basically be prepared to say NO! about a thousand times, even on the beach. You could ber stark naked and they would still try and sell you something. I am not kidding. You do not have to go to this tourist trap, it is everywhere you walk. Even the rice paddies where you stop to take pictures, they are there waiting for you. The only thing I can think of is some very dark glasses and a white stick.
Location: Kuta BeachWe have been warned by our tour guide NOT TO take any massage / mani-pedicure service from the traders along the beach.My friends, C & S got tempted when one of the trader said she only charge RPH30000 per person for manicure then nail polish with simple flowers design. Note : Manicure = Nail clipping + Buffing + nail polish.After almost finishing the 2nd coat of polish, the trader asking for their pay and told them if they want the flower design it cost another RPH 5000 per finger! Both of my friend refuse.They walk off end up paying RPH 20000 for nail buffing + half finish second coat nail polish. I did do it cuz I got mine done before I leave for Bali... Demand for bargain at lower price... if too the situaton is too tense. you have no choice but to give up -> Listen to you tour guide-> Be alert
when we touched down in Bali, the hotel pickup driver asked if we had made plans for tours. he recommended his brother in law to bring us around for a fix amount including petrol. the next morning, we waited at the hotel lobby and a guy who was waiting and observing us approached. We asked if he's the brother in law and he said yes. When we are in the car driving away from the hotel, he told us he want to charge us more for the petrol . End up, it was a weird trip. The guide did not explain much, he was not bringing us to the places that we thought we are going and he made an excuse to quit the day early.at night, the brother in law called us and angrily asked where we are. he was insistent to bring us out the next day until i told him we are boarding a flight home. it's a good thing that we took down the bogus driver's number and name and we told the brother in law to call him . this is...
Bali is beautiful, but prepare yourselves for the mental stress of aggressive vendors. There will be plenty of walking, shopping and sight seeing. All in all a beautiful vacation. My experiences are:1) PACK LIGHTLY. We spent most of our 3 weeks there in a bathing suit, sarong and flipflops. Plenty of shopping opportunities forced us to have to buy 3 extra suitcases. Humidity is high so it took forever for things to dry out. Don't forget tennis shoes w/extra socks.2) DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FOR THE 1st COUPLE OF DAYS. This enabled us to get our bearings back from jet lag and got us used to handling the foreign currency. By us simply buying things at the hotel (ie: Bintang beer, dinners, etc) got us used to the strange money.3) For the ladies....get your hair braided. The humidity is so high there that you can forget about trying to do hair and make up. It's a vacation....sun yourself and go...
8 Reviews and 841 Opinions MY WIFE AND I STAYED IN THE SHERATON LAGUNA FOR THREE WEEKS IN JULY 2006. THE HOTEL HAS JUST GONE...
Anantara Seminyak Resort & Spa, Bali Bali
290 Opinions
The Ubud Village Resort Spa Ubud
12 Reviews and 204 Opinions A normal view here...one of the locals working on the rice field located within the resort itself...
Reviews and photos of Bali attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Bali sightseeing.
Q: Hello, im 22yrs, british and female. Im thinking of doing about three weeks in march, im not wanting to spend alot, and a little...
A: For culture and authenticity, the UBUD area is ideal. Easy to arrange tours from this area as well if you want to travel deeper into Bali. Having said that, it is not...
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