If you are a first time to visitor to Bali then I strongly recommend using taxis, hiring drivers, or using shuttles as your primary form of transportation. Driving is Bali is certainly an art form, and if you did not grow up navigating the roads on the island, driving is probably not a good idea for you. Many of the roads in Bali are not much wider than a bike path, but they are treated like two lane roads that I am used to here in the states. The traffic is heavy most places with roads being congested with cars, trucks, motorized scooters, pedestrians, and the occasional dog. Horns are honking constantly and it is difficult to figure out the general flow of the streets.
As hectic as it sounds, the roads seem to be relatively safe. In all of my time in Bali, the only traffic incidents I witnessed involved tourists making bad decisions on the roads and crashing their rented scooters. So, for all of the reasons listed above, I have concluded that renting your own transportation and driving around in a car or on a scooter is not a wise decision, especially when you consider the relatively low cost of hiring a driver to get you where you are going.
So, what does it cost to get around in Bali? And how do you set up transportation? Here are a few methods that are very convenient and reasonably priced.
-Blue Bird Taxi
Blue Bird is available throughout the island. Download their app and use request rides to almost anywhere, just like Uber or Lyft. The best part of Blue Bird is the fares are metered, so you know that you will not be getting ripped off. When you put in your location and destination on the app, you will even get an estimated fare so you will know about how much you will be spending. You can link the Blue Bird App to your credit card, but I always settled the fare in cash. We used Blue Bird several times on our trip for several distances. We took a few short jaunts from our hotel to restaurants or local attractions and took a ride from the airport (DPS) all the way to Ubud and the service worked well every time we used it.
If you are using the Blue Bird app you will need to have active cell service or readily available Wi-Fi to request rides. You will also want to look out for fake Blue Bird taxis. The Blue Bird cars are clearly labeled with their logo, and you will get an ID number for the car that you request on the app when a driver is sent to your location. There are several imposter cars that look similar to Blue Bird cars, make sure that the car ID on the app matches the car that you get into or you may end up getting screwed.
-Blue Bird Ride Costs (approx based on my experiences)
-Airport (DPS) to Ubud 1.5-2 hour ride depending on traffic 280,000 IDR ($21 USD)
-Rides around town 5 minutes to 20 minutes 20,000-75,000 IDR ($1.5-6 USD)
As you can see, compared to US taxi prices, the Blue Bird Fares are very inexpensive, and this is a reliable service that I would definitely recommend. If you are in more rural areas, there may not be many Blue Birds available, so you will need to find another source of transport. Thankfully there are many more options.
Street art in Ubud
-Hire a Driver
Hiring a driver is a great Idea in Bali, especially if you are going out for an extended period of time and/or to many different locations. Before you hire a driver for all or part of a day, make sure you negotiate a fixed price and let the driver know the locations that you would like to go see. Odds are, the driver will know exactly where everything you want to see is, and he might even have a few extra suggestions for you.
Once you have agreed on a price, you'll be on your way. You will probably also want to ask how much time it will take to go and see everything you want to see. If you are touring around, your driver will wait for you to be done at each location before proceeding to the next one. This option works better than seeking out a taxi every time you need to head to a new temple, waterfall, or rice paddy.
It seems that drivers are available on every street corner in Bali, you should have no trouble finding one at most times of day. I was able to hire drivers through my hotel. I would let them know where I wanted to go and when. The front desk took care of the rest. All I had to do was show up at the hotel lobby at the set time and be on my way, it was so easy! We even had the same driver a few times. It was nice to see a familiar face picking us up.
- Driver cost for 4-5 hours approx. 450,000 IDR ($33 USD)
- All Day Driver (8 hours) approx. 800,000 IDR ($60 USD)
At these prices, hiring a driver was a no brainer for touring around the island. These were prices that I received from the hotel, your rates may be slightly different depending on availability. I'm not sure that gratuity is expected, but all of my drivers in Bali were fantastic, so I made sure to tip them at the end of the day.
Temple in Ubud
-Arrange Rides With Activity Organizer or Tour Company
If you book an activity or tour in Bali, odds are, they are going to pick you up. From my experience it doesn't matter where you are staying on the island, a ride is probably included in your fee. I booked several activities in Bali. Some of them were only about a 15 minute drive from the hotel and there were a few that took several hours to get to. The drivers for all activities were always right on time, and we rarely had to share a vehicle with other patrons. The only time we shared a ride was when our driver picked up another couple at the hotel right next door to ours. Other than that, all of our rides were private.
When you book your activity, make sure to inform the company of your hotel location so they can come and get you. If they do not say that the event includes transportation then you will want to confirm transport details with them. It is unlikely that transportation is not included in the price of your activity or tour. Most tourists in Bali do not rent transportation, and some of the locations you will be going to may be very remote. It is in everyone's best interests to have transportation included.
Pay close attention to activity start times and general locations. A 9am activity could mean a 4am wake-up call if you need to go to the other side of the island.
Transportation provided by the tour operator will be included in the price of your activity. You should have no trouble booking online and communicating with the company via email. All activity operators were great at communication!
Sunset over Rice Paddys
- One Way Negotiated Fare
If you need a one-way ride and you are unable to get a Blue Bird, or if there are special circumstances for your travel then you will need to negotiate a one-way fare to your destination. I was able to have my hotel book my airport transportation for a comparable rate to the Blue Bird taxi estimate for a ride to the airport.
Again, make sure to negotiate the price of the ride before beginning the journey so that all parties are aware of the exact price.
If you are at the airport (DPS) you will be bombarded by drivers trying to get you to get in their vehicle. The drivers are relentless and will continue to hassle you and may even follow you as you walk trying to get a fare. You will want to look for an official taxi stand after you clear customs. They have fares clearly posted. This will be your best value and will save you from haggling for a ride and possibly getting ripped off.
If you are hiring a driver at the airport away from the taxi stand then tell him where you are going and set a price. This is the time to negotiate. The first quote out of his mouth will be outrageously expensive. I would counter with a price about 1/3 of the initial offer. After a few minutes you will probably end up somewhere in the middle of your lowball offer and his ridiculous initial price.
My first experience at DPS was a little bit of a shock, and I did not know about the taxi stand, and I did not expect to be hounded by taxi drivers. I ended up overpaying for a ride to my hotel. That won't happen to me again. Don't let it happen to you. Use the posted fares to your advantage and negotiate like crazy if you have no other choice. You can always get the driver down off of his initial offer. If he won't budge, move to someone else.
Tegallalang Rice Terraces near Ubud
- Rent a Scooter
I didn't do this, and I would not recommend it, but if you can't help yourself, you will be able to find scooter rentals all over the island. Daily rental prices appear to be cheap, but keep in mind that it is a risky proposition. Stay Alert!
Thankfully, there are a ton of options for getting around in Bali and I found all of the drivers to be knowledgeable and professional. Compared to prices in the states, all of our hired transportation seemed super cheap, and was always reliable.