A Complete Bali Travel Guide For Beginners 2023

Bali is one of the most amazing and top-visited destinations in the world. It is a budget-friendly paradise that attracts newly married couples, photography lovers, nomads, nature lovers, and explorers.

Bali is well-known because of its beautiful places, exotic beaches, mesmerizing hotels. With over 7 million international tourists, Bali is quite famous in Indonesia and a midstream where tourists pass must if they are taking a trip to Bali in 2023.

If you are traveling to Bali, you will find crystal clear beaches, picture-perfect restaurants and hotels, great hiking paths, and fun things to do. Tasting local food, sunbathing on a beautiful beach, hiking on Bali island, meeting local people, and inexpensive yet luxury villas to stay, that are a few things mentioned here to do on the island of Bali.

In this incredibly helpful travel guide to Bali, we will discuss each and everything you need to know about Bali how to reach Bali, where is Bali located, things to do in Bali, the best time to go to Bali in 2023,  is Bali safe o travel and much more.

1. Where is Bali Located:

Bali is an incredible island located in Indonesia in the Indian Ocean, a 96 miles wide strip, considered and well-known island, and a beautiful home to more than 141 million people. Giving a more precise location guide, it is situated in a string of islands which includes Lombok, Flores, Bali, Sumba, Timor, and few other archipelagos. The nearest island is Lombok which is also a beautiful place to go if ever you get yourself free from the mystic of Bali.

Bali is located in Indonesia and it covers around 716 miles east of Jakarta, which is also the capital of Indonesia. If you are planning a trip to Bali, you will find two other beautiful islands (Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan) which are in between Bali and Lombok.

The small islands of Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan are located to the southeast between Bali and Lombok.

2. Things to Do in Bali, Indonesia:

There are a lot of best things to do in Bali besides simply dining in a hotel, relaxing in your hotel, or shopping in a mall. You can enjoy some best and thrilling things here in Bali:

✸ Trip to Kuta Beach for Surfing:

One of the famous surfing spots since the 1960s, Kuta has offered a lot when it comes to luring surfing lovers. For newbies, Kuta is the most popular spot and if you are an expert surfer, Uluwatu and other areas around the island will work for you.

✸ Scuba Diving:

Scuba diving is one of the many exciting things to do in Bali, as it offers phenomenal diving spots across the island. You can explore the deep layers of crystal clear ocean and a variety of water animals like octopus, fishes, etc. For a two-tank dive, $135 more or less could be charged or you can confirm from any authentic travel agent in Bali.

✸ Visit Ubud:

Visiting Ubud is one of many places to visit in Bali where you can discover the green landscape, long spread rice fields, antique shops, relaxing spas, and healing centers. If you are far from the beach, relaxing massage spots will lure you towards the hot recurrent interior.

✸ Paying a visit to Exotic Beaches:

Full of nightlife, sunbathing and sophisticated resorts, Beaches are another must-see in Bali where you can relax as much as you want. Popular beaches are Seminyak and Legian in Bali. Lakes, volcanoes, rice terraces are the best things to see in Bali. Explore and relax on beaches and discover many other nearby places in Bali as it only takes one day to cover the whole area.

✸ Relaxing Massage in Spa:

Pamper yourself and relaxing in the best spas to bottle up your stress from travel around Bali. Visiting and relaxing in a spa in Bali costs less than in Thailand. Local spas offer several various Balinese spa therapies which involve the use of different local herbs and spices. It costs around $15-$20 visiting and acquiring services of any local normal range spa.

✸ Visiting Kuta:

Kuta is an amazing beach in Bali where thousands of beach lovers come around to spend incredible time. It could be crowded because a lot of people coming around locally and internationally as well. It is quite famous for young people who want to part a lot. You can reach Kuta beach which is 15 minutes away if you take a taxi from Denpasar International Airport.

3. How to Get Around Bali:

Denpasar International Airport (airport code: DPS) is the second busiest airport in Indonesia. This airport was refurnished in 2013 and infrastructure had developed in 2018 later. These expansions made the airport more beautiful and implausible.

To get around Bali, you can take a direct flight from Europe, Middle East, Japan, Russia, Australia, and many other Eastern airports. You can select Garuda, Lion Air, Indonesia AirAsia, or Wings Air to reach Indonesia and then Bali. If you are in the United States, you can visit the Sky Scanner website for a direct flight to Dispenser from various states including New York, Atlanta, and other states.
You can check the schedule and Charges for a direct flight from the USA to Indonesia DPS airport.
➜ From New York
Flight: 1 stop flights available
Duration: 1d 2h+
Price: from $1,535

➜ From Los Angeles
Flight: 1 stop flights available
Duration: 23h 50m+
Price: from $1,480

➜ From Atlanta
Flight: 1 stop flights available
Duration: 1d 10h+
Price: from $5,339

Note: Travel to Indonesia is highly restricted due to the Covid-19 pandemic but you can check with the travel authorities if they lift the travel ban any soon.

4. The Best Times to Visit Bali:

The best time to travel to Bali could be in summer if you are easy to adjust to the crowd. In between June and August, the driest and busiest time comes in when everyone from Europe, America, and other cold areas try to escape from their home season. The weather in Bali remains warm throughout the year. Monsoon rains can make your pleasant experience a little bad if you are visiting Bali in December and March. Expect heavy rains in the area and take precautionary measures in advance.
Try to travel to Bali after the monsoon season so that you can enjoy the pleasant season of the destination.

5. Calculating Costs When Traveling to Bali:

Bali is one of the most romantic islands for couples and newly married folks. It is considered the top honeymoon destination in Asia as well as the most exotic destination to spend summer and winter holidays with loved ones.
Let’s calculate the Bali trip cost here first:
Hotels:
All the hotels include breakfast and WIFI, if you are not sure, ask the hotel management first.
• Cheap guesthouses and hostels costs around $5-$14 per night
• For an economic double room in a hotel, mostly offer $22-50 USD per night
• You can check Airbnb or booking.com to book your hotel according to your budget. For hotel room with pool, mostly offer $30 per night.
• If you are a family and want to book an entire apartment or house, you can expect to pay at least $25 to $30 per night.
• If you are rich folk and want to spend a lot, Bali also offers the most expensive hotels in the world. It can cost more than $900 per night.
Food:

Local food items are much cheaper; you can try street food for only $0.75. if you are looking for western meals, you can try for $7 in any decent place. Make sure you are enjoying the local foods instead of your regular meals which you often consume at home.

Look for Budget ????????:

If you are a newbie or backpacker, you should expect to pay $20 to $42 per day. This will include your street food meals, rent for a bicycle to wander around, hotel room, activities, and few things to do in Bali. You might find Bali on a budget and spend much less than the above-mentioned budget if you stick to cheaper meals and hotels.

If you are a pro, you can expect to pay $60-$130 per day. This will include nice meals in decent restaurants, a stay in a nice hotel room, a motorbike for hiking around, and the few best things to do in Bali or unusual activities to enjoy.

Other than that, it depends on you how much you want to spend. If you have the money and want to spend a lot in Bali, it would work much more than you expect as Bali is considered one of the most expensive places if you want to truly enjoy a luxurious life here.

6. Suggested Tips to Save Money:

• Stick to your plan and select cheaper hotels and try street food.
• Try not to agree with the hotel management when it comes to paying for a hotel room rent or paying for activities. Bargaining is the key to save money.
• Spend less in the southern area of Bali (Kuta, Ubud, Seminyak, etc.) as these areas are the most expensive.
• If you want to trip to Bali on a budget, head to the beaches in the northern areas.
• Use Uber and other taxi app services than getting a local taxi from the bus stop.
• Stop drinking alcohol; try to stick with cheap drinks to save money so that you can spend on traveling to explore more areas of Bali.
• Stop purchasing Water bottles from local shops, you can bring your bottle and refill it whenever you want from filter plants or hotels where you are staying.

7. Where To Stay in Bali:

• Penida Dream Homestay 2 stars hotel(Nusa Penida) with a 9.3 rating on the booking website.
• Lumbung Wisesa Uluwatu (Pecatu, Uluwatu) with 9.4 rating on booking website.
• Bong Hostel 3 stars (Mushroom Bay, Nusa Lembongan) with a 9.1 rating on the booking website.
• Dewi Putri House (Downtown Ubud, Ubud) with a 9.0 rating on the booking website.
• PADI Backpackers House (Ubud)
• Lay Day Surf Hostel (Canggu)
• Solo Villas & Retreat (Taman, Ubud)
You can use Airbnb and booking.com websites to explore more hotels according to your budget.

8. Packing List:

Pair of jeans (1), pair of shorts(1), pair of sneakers(2), t-shirts (2 half-sleeves + 4 full sleeve), toothpaste and brush(1), pair of socks (5), shampoo and conditioner bottles (1+1), pair of shorts (3), a bottle of shower gel (1), comfy towel (1), Body spray (1), snacks (few, your most favorites)

Take few common medicines or get a medical kit along with your suitcase before traveling to Bali. Take Band-Aids, earplugs, hand sanitizer, a box full of masks (50 masks in a box), Hydrocortisone cream, Antibacterial cream, Dramamine or Transdermal patches for motion sickness, Aspirin or ibuprofen, and Pepto-Bismol or any equivalent medicine.

9. Research Tips Before You Go to Bali in 2023:

Take some time to do some internet research to learn about your destination. Read any Bali traveling guide to get few tips.

Here are few Tips from Travelistia experts you can use:
• Avoid traveling in Bali while rush hours to avoid crazy traffic on roads
• Consider using Uber or online taxi booking apps to avoid travel scams.
• Avoid drinking tap water while your trips to Bali, consider using Boiled or filtered water.
• Do not joke about culture, respect Indonesian culture.
• Read about strict drug laws like ‘Bali9’ while you are on vacation in Bali.
• Do laundry by yourself or try getting it done from street shops, it will be cheaper.
• Be aware of stray dogs while visiting best exotic honeymoon destinations
• Learn a few local language words for better communication.
• Be careful while summer on a surfing beach. It will be crowded.
• Beware of extra tax in hotels or restaurants
• Try to exchange some local money and do not panic at ATM or local money exchanger

10. How to Stay Safe During Coronavirus Pandemic:

Go through the local health ministry websites or read Bali travel guides before you fly to Bali. Coronavirus is at its peak at this time. According to the world health meter website, there are 4,871 new cases and 192 new deaths in Indonesia as of 18th May 2021.

You can check more Covid-19 details here: worldometers info Covid Cases in Indonesia

So, after reading these stats, a question comes to your mind, is it safe to travel to Bali, or is Bali safe?
Bali is an incredibly safe country for backpack and travel. Make sure you are getting vaccinated and a medical certificate is issued by the local medical authorities where you live. In the United States, Thousands of Covid vaccination centers are working day and night to vaccinate our people to protect us from deadly coronavirus.

Few Tips to follow when you travel to Bali in 2023:
• Always wear a mask when going out in public
• Do not shake hands with others
• Keep a distance of 6 meters at least from others
• Avoid Crowds and poorly vaccinated places
• Wash hands when you come back to your hotel room
• Ask hotel management to disinfect your hotel room regularly
• Cover your mouth and use a tissue when coughing or sneezing
• Use sanitizer often when you are out