Bali Tourist Traps

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Besakih Temple

by PelLihi

Don't get me wrong - the temple IS worth visiting. It is the holyest temple in Bali and it is really worth checking it out.The only thing is that it is a tourist rip off too. It starts when you enter the temple area. There the police men sell you a ticket for about 50 cents per person. Then you drive up to the parking lot walk a few metres towards the temple entrance (the "temple" actually consists of 12 temples) and you will meet a few guys that tell you that the ticket you just bought is just for tax and you have to pay again. Because they tell you that you need a guide to enter the temple and that costs.They wanted 50 (!!) Euros for 4 people which is obviously ridiculous for Bali so the bargaining started. We ended up with paying 5 Euros for the four of us. Then after the guided tour (which was ok) the guide wanted us to pay for him. As we told him that we had already payed for the...

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Cab drivers

by PelLihi

Be careful that the cab driver turns his meter on. They will probably try to arrange a fixed price with you when you enter. Just tell them to turn on the meter or otherwise just leave. The price they suggest is obviously ridiculous. Take the Blue Bird Group cabs. They are slightly cheaper than the others and they normally don't try to rip you off.

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Ganesa Cafe - give it a miss.

by worldkiwi

This is a fish restaurant on the beach at Jimbaran Bay. We stopped here for lunch one day and got totally ripped off. We picked a nice looking snapper out of the ice box and expected to have it filleted and served lightly fried. All we got was the head and some delicious chips! Where was the rest of the fish. They charged RP51000 for the head!! What a rip off. Just order the fried potatoes... they were well done... shame about the fish!

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Get a cab from off the street.

by leebee1

Finding a cab from off the street, will again be cheaper than using one booked through your hotel. We would go out first thing in the morning, find a cab,and ask how much for all day. We also would pay at the end of the day. We found a good driver about a week into our trip, that we used frequently. We would tee is up with him at the end of the day, for when to next pick us up.They sit around and wait for you while you see the sites, have lunch etc. They are also excellent sources of local knowledge.

Dont get sucked into doing tours thru your hotel.

by leebee1

Most hotels will offer different day or even overnight tours. They make a comission on every package they sell... We would always ask for a broshure, saying we would "think about it". But from there we would chose the places of interest, and get a cab for the day to take us there. Generally, it would cost us less then half the price. I guess if you wanted to spend the day meeting fellow travellers, you could just pay the extra and go for it!

Know where your airport transfer pickup point is!

by leebee1

We had arranged airport transfers to our hotel, but when we walked out to the pickup point, there was literally hundreds of waiting people. Alot of Balinese wait with signs saying holiday, hotel etc. The idea of these people is to find out what hotel your staying in, and transfer you there as opposed to the actual service you have booked. These people charge extortionate rates. If your staying in a hotel or resort that gives you duffel bags, dont have the hotel name visable to others.Try to find out exactly where your pickup point is. And dont let go of your luggage!!! (trust me, we got done at the airport!!!)

Beware of the beach!

by leebee1

Seems obvious, but never leave your things unattended on the beach, you'll lose them for sure!Also the beach vendors will quickly become an annoyance. One after the other they'll invade your space trying to sell you everything from sarongs to bongs. We found pretending you dont understand English worked to keep them at bay. An alternative is the hotel pool :)

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Why accept bookings when you can't meet them?

by SPW

We saw flyers for the Secret Garden Hair and Body Spa when we were out walking in Legian so the hotel rand and made appointments for us to have a massage. When we arrived we were told to go away fror an hour because they were too busy to see us. We didn't persist with the appointment. I can only suggest tat when you make a booking you make clear that that is the time you want.

Postcard?

by kyoub

Tanah Lot is a well-organised tourist trap. You have to walk past a dozen or so souvenir stalls to get down to the beach. Then the little kids follow you around trying to sell you postcards. Just say no thank you and keep walking.Ignoring the kids is a little harder to do. Don't go to Tanah Lot temple.

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Day Trip Drivers

by gaudygoddess

I was in Bali a few months before the bomb and enjoyed myself thoroughly. I stayed in Nyuh Kuning which is an hour's walk from Monkey Forest Road in Ubud. Our little group decided to book a taxi for a one day trip around the Island. We negotiated the price and the next day, we set off. First place was the hall of justice. This guy in the hall just came up to us and started chatting and offered to be our guide, no price was mentioned. Then at the end of the tour (which was so boring) we offered him some money. He had the cheek to ask for more. Then we went up to the terraced rice fields and stopped for lunch. Our driver took us to one of those restaurants which offered "wonderful" views of the rice fields. We went in. Gasp! All of them were caucasian tourists (we are Malaysian Chinese) and we sensed a rat. The food on offer was buffet style of Indonesian food. The price per head was...

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Questions and Answers

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Q:  How safe is it to travel around Bali? 

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A: "Safe"? Bali is very safe, as safe as any other part of the world at this point in time. We've been to Bali twice after the bombings and have never felt anything but... 

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