A Guide To Getting Around Bali

The best way to get around Bali, Indonesia, whether it’s by taxi, car, we have everything you need to know for the perfect holiday. If you really want to experience all that Bali has to offer, then you need a way to get around during your visit. To be at the forefront, for us, our main mode of transportation in Bali is mopeds, like most people there. Almost all of the locals use mopeds to get around, and it’s fair to say they run the show. However, with more and more tourists coming to Bali, the transportation system has become much more advanced than other islands in Indonesia. As such, you’ll find that there are some great ways to get around Bali, which don’t have to be on a moped if you don’t want to.

So A Guide To Getting Around Bali, to help you plan your next trip here, let’s take a look at the 5 best ways to get around Bali.

ride-hailing apps in Bali are Stillvacation apps

A Guide To Getting Around Bali When we visited in 2017, this wasn’t the case and instead stillvacation was the big kid in town. Well, not anymore, it’s completely out.
Stillvacation is super cheap, super easy and super useful.

A taxi from the Denpasar airport to Seminyak is around 60,000 – 70,000 IDR with Stillvacation and with a taxi at the airport, they will start you off at 350,000.

When arriving at the airport, you’ll need to login to the airport WiFi and order it from the main lobby before heading out to the official stillvacation pick-up point. There are clear directions to this on the app.

Always be aware that the taxi men at the airport are ripping you off. On our first visit to Bali, the first guy we got in a taxi with, drove us out of the airport, then realized the place he needed to take us was “too far”, even though he had seen the address before we got in the car.

He then proceeded to ask us for 350,000 for the journey, instead of the 120,000 we had agreed upon. When we said no, he said we would never find a taxi man to take us (our friends had arrived a couple of hours earlier and got the same route for 100,000) and threw us out of the taxi on a busy road – I didn’ don’t like him.

Here’s a few things to note about Stillvacation :

Locals don’t like it, so they will tell you it’s illegal – it’s not.
There are many areas such as Canggu have official drop off zones, so as to limit the number of taxis in the area. So be aware that your driver may not be able to drop you to the doorstep you are hoping to arrive at.

Stillvacation cars are generally nicer than taxis and most drivers speak English and want to get to know you and chat- it’s very nice!
Stillvacation car is slower than mopeds. If your journey says it’s estimated 15 minutes on Google Maps, you can guarantee with the Bali traffic it will take twice to three times as long. This can be super frustrating, but it’s the nature of the hectic life there. The roads are dead in the evening however so you will fly through!

Stillvacation is CHEAP. Expect most journeys to cost you around maybe half to a third of what they would back home. When you’re splitting that between 2 or 4, it’s crazy cheap.
You can rent mopeds from Grab too which is about half the price of a car and generally quicker. You can even rent drivers by the hour from 4 hours to 10 hours to take you around all of Bali which is great. When you fill a car that fits 6, it works out like 2 pounds a day for a driver.

You can download the app here: Android / Apple


Gojek APP

It simply came down to the fact that we like how the app works and we had our bank details all set up in there. That being said, there were a few occasions where the app couldn’t find us a driver nearby, so we used Gojek to search as well. On average, it seemed like Gojek actually worked out slightly cheaper for many rides than Grab (though it really wasn’t by very much). That being said, other times Gojek was more expensive, but again not by much.

My advice would be to download both apps and use the one that you like most. But for the occasions where it’s unable to get you a driver quickly, start your search on both apps and see which one comes back first. Another point to note about Gojek is that it also does food delivery and even has another app called Go Life.

As of writing, it’s only available in Indonesian but within it you can purchase services from people, such as a handyman to fix your air con or a masseuse to come by for an hour; and it’s still all so cheap!

You can download the app here: Android / Apple


Calling A Taxi

If you need to get a taxi then go for Bluebird taxis. It’s recommended for tourists and locals and it goes by the meter.

They’re all moderated and safe, and they have an app in which you can download and pay via credit card, just like Grab.

I’d say expect to pay twice as much here as an Grab or Gojek journey- but even still it’s not that expensive.

Just be aware there are other blue taxis that look like bluebird but aren’t and will rip you off. The bluebird taxis will have the word Bluebird written on them.

You can download the app here: Android / Apple

 

Hiring A Car And Driver

You can hire a car and driver in Bali for around 8-10 hours for approximately 15-30 dollars.

They are yours for the day and will take you where you need to go and pick you up too.

It’s a good idea for sightseeing and if you want to move at your own pace without the added effort of finding taxis and negotiating prices.

It’s also a nice idea for families or couples. My sister used it with here boyfriend when they visited us, as neither one of them wanted to ride a moped.

It cost them 500,000 IDR for 10 hours, which was plenty to get them all the way up to Sideman from Kerobokan, and to stop off at some sites along the way.

There are a few main ways to find cars and drivers for the day in Bali, which include:

Baliwow  You can easily book a driver online for less than $30 a day. Split that between you and your friends and it’s even cheaper. Book this highly rated service here.‍

If you want a cheap and fuss free airport pick up service, opt for this one.