Getting The Best Of Bali On A Budget

Bali is a city you can enjoy on a budget easily; this is of course, if you have a plan on how to do it. When you get at the airport, you need transportation to get inside the city. If you drive a motorcycle, it will cost you around 20000-35000 Rupiah (2-3.5 US Dollar) to rent one daily. You'll need to have a copy of your ID or passport. These rental places are abundant and they are everywhere. Of course, if you don't drive a motorbike then you need to rent a car and that will cost around 500000 Rupiah (50 US Dollar) a day. These are also easy to find, and usually people at your hotel or villa will know hot to get a car for you.

Then comes the hotel problem. Sure, you can get the cheap ones that will cost you 50000 Rupiah (5 US Dollar) a night but these rooms are so filthy. On the other hand, small two-star hotels are pretty affordable and they usually only cost around 200000 Rupiah (20 US Dollar) a night. There are plenty of them around Legian and Seminyak. If you're up to it, there are many of affordable small villas around Old Poppies Lane and Padma Utara.

Affordable food is also abundant, and options are many. The best is to try the local food, if you can handle a little spicy food. In any case, you can always ask them to make the food "tidak pedas" (not spicy). The best foods with the most affordable prices are in Denpasar City and Ubud and not around Kuta. Small restaurants around Old Poppies Lane also serve affordable food, with prices ranging around 30000 Rupiah (3 US Dollar) for a main dish.

Shopping is always one of the most exciting activities to do in Bali. Why? Because if you do it properly, everything is so affordable! One thing people love about living in Indonesia is they get to learn how to bargain. And here's the secret:
play hard. If you're a foreigner, the sellers are going to give out a price around twice the normal price they would ask to the locals or Indonesian tourists. It might sound unfair, but that's how it is. So what you do is always bargain at 30% the price they ask. Always. They will say no and down the price to 70%. At this point, you rise to around 40%. This is going to be the range you bargain with and stick with it. Some of the places that will be the most fun to shop in are the Sukawati Market, the small souvenir market in Legian, and in Seminyak.