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Transportations
Negotiable transport during your holiday in Bali
Often in tourist areas you'll be offered "transport,
transport", and the rates are negotiable. But many of
these cars are quite old. Radio, tape and even the air-conditioning
are often out of order.
Transportation in Bali has always been cheap by any standards.
The metered radio taxis start with a flag fall of 4,000 Rupiah,
and your journey is billed at a further 2,000 Rupiah per kilometer.
Most trips cost Rp 7,000 to 30,000. You should avoid taxis
that refuse to use their meter or claim it is broken - they
will try to cheat you. Generally speaking, the blue taxis
are the most reliable.
"Although most drivers initially seem to be very friendly,
some are real con artists and waste hours of your precious
vacation bringing you to shops you never wished to visit -
they want to earn a commission on your purchases," said
I Ketut Sutjaja from Bali Tourism Board's staff to indo.com
He added that it's much more relaxing to have someone who
knows his way around behind the wheel, rather than to drive
yourself through Bali's traffic. You can fully enjoy the sights,
don't have to worry about getting lost, and there's always
somebody to watch the car and your belongings when you get
out and look around.
If you have an International Driver's License, you can rent
motorbikes from Rupiah 15,000 to Rupiah 35,000 per day, and
five to ten year old self-drive cars (Jimny or Toyota "Kijang")
cost from 90,000 Rupiah to 250,000 Rupiah per day. Newer models
are more expensive, and luxury cars such as a Volvo limousine
or a new Toyota "Land Cruiser" will cost US$150
to US$200 or even more per day.
Petrol is comparatively cheap. Premium leaded gasoline fluctuates
between 1,450 Rupiah and 1,750 Rupiah per liter and Diesel
(Solar) between 900 Rupiah and 1,550 Rupiah per liter.
How would you like to get around Bali, for practically
pennies? Public transport, of course.
The official decree of the Governor of Bali divides general
public transportation into four categories:
- Microlet
This is the most common public transport. The vehicle is
shaped like a van, with the back seats turned around so
passengers face each other, allowing the vehicle to (maybe
not so comfortably) seat over 10 people (including one or
two on the front seat). Good for short distance, within
the city of Denpasar, or to get you from places like Nusa
Dua to Kuta to Sanur.
- Buses
This is primarily for longer distance travel among the cities
in Bali. You can go from Denpasar to Gilimanuk, the Western
most city in Bali, by taking a bus. If you are going to
Java by land, you will be taking this route as well (you
can catch a direct bus for this).
- Non Bus Public Transport
A strange category, we must say, but it serves to connect
smaller cities not fully supported by buses (with some overlap).
- Modified Vehicles
Yet another strange category, but it serves to connect even
smaller cities, or villages.
These are the preferred transportation of Balinese people
themselves, so it is a great way to interact and socialize
directly, without the pretext of tourism services or establishments.
On some longer distance travels, be prepared to share your
seats with chicken.
Here are the fare schedules for Buses and Microlets. (Fares
in Rupiah. At the current rate of US$ 1 = Rp. 10,000.-, most
fares are below 25 cents!)
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