17 Things I Wish I Knew BEFORE Travelling To BALI In 2024

here are 17 things i wish i knew before i  traveled to bali i spent over four months of my   life on this beautiful island and i've got so much  knowledge to share with you and to make your trip   to bali even better before we begin let's talk  about what you should do when you arrive at bali   international airport and you come out the airport  terminal and there's just loads of taxis people   trying to get you into their taxi and one of the  things you can do is just book a taxi beforehand   it's likely be slightly more expensive but it's  probably worth the hassle the other thing you   can do is try and buy in a taxi once you're there  but let's not waste any time let's get straight to   number one and that is how to get around now  in bali there is next to no public transport   so the only way you can get around is by ride  sharing or taxis or actually shuttle buses as   well the ride sharing apps are go jek blue bird  and grab and i totally recommend these three   also if you go to a small travel agency then  they'll help you book ferries and other transport   to different spots now number two is where to  start in bali i always recommend going to changu   li this is like the heart of bali this is where  most people go nowadays people have moved off   from going to kuta and seminyak so i recommend  satin and chengu and if you're by yourself is   the best place to meet people stay in a hostel  there and you're guaranteed to make some friends   there are so many hostels to choose from in  changu and they're all cheap now number three   there's lots of small fees for example you've  got pay for parking all the time you've got   to pay for beach entrances you've got to pay for  those barley swings that you've seen on instagram   so make sure you got some small cash on you  because there's always little fees you have to pay   but it's never expensive now number four if you've  been to bali you'll know this that the traffic   is so bad and it takes forever to get from a to b  but the best way to get around is by scooter and   honestly there's so much traffic so if you haven't  ridden a scooter before please please be careful   or go up north and learn to ride a scooter there  where the roads are a lot quieter number five is   all about accommodation and where to book places  in bali now there's three places people normally   tend to book on that is agoda booking.com  and airbnb now recently airbnb the prices   have seemed to really increase but you can still  get some really good deals on agodanbooking.com   and if you're looking to stay in hostels in bali  then definitely recommend using hostile world it's   literally so good for staying in good hostels it  gives a clear rating and there's loads of reviews   now let's move on to number six and that is going  to be your bali itinerary there's going to be so   many different places that you're recommended  to go but you can't fit it all in one i spent   over two months in bali and i still haven't seen  it all so i'm going to give you the best places   that you should visit if you've got one month in  bali now you're going to start off in changu as   i said earlier is the best place to start and  i'd recommend five days here and then heading   to ubud for four days also one of the best things  to do in ubud is the mount batur sunrise trekking   and i'll leave a link in the description to it  because you will not want to miss it it's one of   the best things i did in bali then moving on to  the mountainous kind of central region of munduk   and spend three days there then i've kind of given  you two options you can either head right up north   to lavina where you can actually see dolphins  or you can head east to ahmed where you've got   beautiful views of the big volcano angel now next  we're going to be leaving the main island of bali   and going to the gili islands there are three  ghillie islands and i recommend going to tu or   gili t the main one and i recommend spending five  days there it's a really chilled out place and the   beaches are beautiful now one of my favorite  places in bali is nusa penida and you have   to go here it's one of my favorite places in the  entire world and this island will literally blow   you away if you actually want to see another video  i did on luca penida then i'll leave it down below   i recommend spending three days on nusa penida and  don't forget to go to the famous kalinking beach   you will not want to miss it next you should go to  the neighboring islands of nusa senegan and nusa   and i recommend spending about three days there  but you'll probably want to stay longer than that   to be honest now the best place is to go back onto  the main island and go on to the bottom southern   bit of bali it's like a kind of weird shape at  the bottom and this is uluwatu and i recommend   spending your last few days here maybe four days  because there is so much to do if you like surfing   it's a great place to surf the cliffs the beaches  are beautiful and it's a really really cool place   in bali now number seven is a quick one and that  is the offerings on the ground please don't step   on them try to stay away because it is a religious  thing that they do and it's an offering to the   gods if you didn't know then bali island itself  is actually hindu whereas the rest of indonesia   is predominantly muslim so that's just something  to keep in mind moving on to number eight and that   is make sure you bargain it is not offensive to  bargain it's just how they do it in this part of   the world and you must do it otherwise you're  going to be spending a lot more money than you   should be for example i was bargaining for the  ferry ticket and for each person one way he said   it was six hundred thousand each and i managed to  bargain that down to four hundred thousand each so   you can actually save a lot of money this was like  a 12 15 saving so make sure you bargain now number   nine is when to go if you've been to a tropical  part of the world you probably know that there   are two seasons dry season and wet season and when  you go probably will make quite a big difference   dry season in indonesia is between june to  september and wet season is from november to april but honestly take that with a pinch  of salt when i was there in july it rained   so much but when i was there in 2018 it hardly  rained at all one of the advantages of going in   wet season though is that things will be cheaper  like hotels flights etc so take advantage of that   moving on to number 10 and that is try indonesian  food now if you're from the western world then you   probably haven't had indonesian food and it's not  really that well known there but honestly it is so   good amelia and i absolutely loved it one of the  good things is that there's lots of vegetarian   options there's this thing called tempeh and  it's like a soy bean and honestly it's so good   and one of the things i miss here in the uk the  obviously the classic dishes are like nasi goreng   miguel rang which is fried rice and fried noodles  you can get this pretty much anywhere and it's   always really really cheap and one of the things  indonesia is quite well known for its spicy food   so make sure you tell the waiter that  you probably don't want that spicy   or just say like a little bit whatever i  say kids which is like a little bit spicy   now one of the things you have to do is  try a warong it's basically like a buffet   kind of canteen style and you can basically  choose exactly what you want on your plate   there's a really good one in changu and i'll write  it down below i've just forgotten the name of it   now number 11 is trying all the different cafes  and restaurants there are so many different   restaurants and cafes all the quirky cool ones  but honestly there are so many and they're all   really good one of the things they do do is add  on a 15 service charge and tax and sometimes   you're not expecting it so it might be a little  bit more but honestly even though it's western   food it's still pretty cheap now number 12 is some  of the beaches are not as beautiful and pristine   as you may think some of the beaches around changu  kuta and seminyak are actually black sand beaches   and they're not those white sandy beaches you may  be expecting but don't worry the gilly islands are   where the beautiful white sand beaches are also  if you go to the neighboring islands of lombok   there is beautiful white long sandy beaches there  too and obviously nusa penida as i said in the   itinerary you must go there because it's probably  got one of the most beautiful beaches in the world   kalinkin beach some great beaches on bali island  itself is in uluwatu the beaches down there are   really good so if you want some nice beaches  head down there now one of the things you have   to keep in mind for your own sake is that some of  the monkeys and the dogs may have rabies at the   monkey forest in ubud all the monkeys won't have  rabies so if you get scratched by one of them it   doesn't matter if you do get bitten or scratched  you must go to hospital and get a rabies jab   then you'll be absolutely fine now number 14 are  going to be the negative bad things about bali and   please don't let this stop you from going i'm just  trying to warn you so you're well prepared and   know of some of the scams and some of the negative  things about bali so in bali one of the things   which have been happening is that on the back of  scooters phones have been stolen it's not just   phones but also bags if you've got a bag on your  back i've heard about people being them ripped off another thing are scams in taxis sometimes  if you're booking with a grab and they'll   try and charge you more and say oh no you  need to pay more you shouldn't be paying   any more than it says on the grab app and if  they're charging you more they're just trying   to get more money out of you one of the things  you have to be quite persistent and just say   no to things you can feel pressured to do things  or take opportunities or get in a taxi but if   you're not comfortable and you don't want to  take it just say no now if you're going to   other places outside of bali like lombok or java  they will not be as used to seeing white people   we had a lot of children and a lot of  people wanting photos with us hello we're just getting a photo with the boole the  other thing is as it is muslim a lot of the girls   and females all cover up so they might not be used  to seeing girls and females with more skin showing   it's just something to keep in mind now number 15  there is more to see than just bali there's lombok   there's java there's borneo there's sulawesi  there's flores there's so many different islands   indonesia has like 17 000 islands so you're not  going to be sure of places to visit obviously   these places aren't as touristy so if you're  looking to go there make sure you do your research   and maybe learn some indonesian phrases and  just be prepared for a less touristy environment   one thing you can do which i highly recommend is  doing a mount batu and mount egen tour from bali   you get private driver and they'll take you all  the way into java and take you to the two amazing   volcanoes and this is one of the most stunning  places that i've been to anywhere in the world   you literally go to two active volcanoes but they  won't blow up well hopefully not but honestly   i highly recommend it i'll leave a link in the  description if you want to do it it will blow your   way but honestly indonesia is one of my favorite  countries in the entire world and there is so much   to see and i can't wait to keep on exploring the  beautiful country now number 16 is a little hack   and something you can do anywhere in the world for  touristy places and that is get up highly and go   to the spots you will see all these cool instagram  shots in the rice terraces and rice fields with no   people in them and that's because they're shot  at sunrise if you want to get to the spots the   touristy spots with no other people get there  early and you'll likely miss them now number 17   is all about budgeting now in bali you can budget  on 20 us dollars a day or you could probably   spend a thousand us dollars a day there's so many  options for the broke cheap backpacker all the way   to the luxury honeymooner so in bali there is so  much to choose from and honestly you can spend as   much money as you want or as little as you want  if you are on a really strict budget you can do   it on 20 us dollars a day which is incredible  value i honestly think bali has the best value   of accommodation anywhere in the world me and  amelia stayed in a seven pounds a night double   bed with an ensuite honestly that's insane and it  came with breakfast if you want to go out partying   every night then alcohol is quite expensive more  expensive than like thailand and vietnam so that's   just something to take into account there is  obviously loads of cool expensive villas that you   can stay in in changu or ubud or anywhere in bali  so if you've got more money to spend and you're   just there for a couple of weeks you can splash  the cash and honestly your money will go so far   obviously eating indonesian food is really cheap  and you can normally get a nasi goreng for like 15   000 or 20 000 which is incredible value i think  that's everything to do with budget but if you've   got any questions about budgeting or by in itself  for your first time you're going and you're scared   or you're worried about something please leave  the questions down below in the comments because   someone else probably has the same question as  you and i'll get back to you and i'll answer   your question thank you so much for watching  i hope you found this useful and follow me   on instagram for live updates of what we're doing  me and emilia are going on a big trip and to asia   again so so excited for that thank you so much  for watching i'll see you in the next video bye

Channel: Joel Friend

Views: 934,047

Keywords: bali, travel guide, things I wish I knew, travel hacks, travel tips, ubud, canggu, uluwatu, nusa penida

Id: VOZk2XhnOgs

Length: 11min 56sec (716 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 04 2022