Looking at the instagram pages of many travel bloggers in Bali, you will immediately see the most beautiful resorts ever. It’s then easy to think that Bali is an expensive destination, only for rich and luxury lovers.

You’ll be amazed to discover that Bali is one of the cheapest and most beautiful destinations in Asia.

I would estimate €40 a day of a budget to travel very comfortably around Bali.

Sleeping

Bali is full of cheap hostels and hotels, but the great thing of the island is that for once you can be cuddled in one of the most beautiful resorts at super acceptable costs (even at € 11 per night for a standard room in a 4-star resort).

No matter the one you go for, any resort has breathtaking pools, luxury rooms and huge baths.
And a staff always ready to do anything to make you feel comfortable.

Eating

If you think the hotels are really cheap in Bali, meals are even more.

The Warung are small, cheap and often family run restaurants. They are the cheapest places to eat in Bali if you wanna have a seat. Just try to find the authentic ones, not the ones made for tourist, to enjoy the real local food!

And try to find local festivals to taste the real local street food at less then 1€.

Transportation

Usually, I would suggest to take any public transport to get around a country or a city.
In Bali, maybe not.

First of all, there are no real public transport. Yes, there are buses and they are very cheap but honestly, I would avoid them.

So what is the most widely used means of transport? Scooters!
Would I recommend it? To the most daring.

Driving in Bali seems to be completely unregulated (actually, there is one rule: I play the honk and I can do whatever I want) and although normally the right hand drive seems to be the real difficulty, here is perhaps the last problem at all.

Taxis are really cheap compared to the rest of the world, but beware that there are 2 types of taxis: bluebirds are the official taxis and are the cheapest, but are not allowed everywhere (for example in the center of Ubud you will not find any

Or you will meet many people at the roadside with the classic sign “taxi”. They may seem dangerous, but they are just more expensive especially with tourists. So there’s a rule: treat the price as much as possible before you get on board and if you can, share the deal with other people!

Alternatively, use apps like GoJek or Grab to book your “Uber” on two wheels.
They are also not allowed everywhere, especially in Ubud and in the north of the island. In the south and near the sea, however, they are the most common.

Shopping

As for everything else, in Bali you can go shopping and spend a lot, or staying on your budget.
How? Easy: enter the city markets instead of the shops. You’ll discover a world of colours, scents, materials. The quality is obviously very low, but you will bring home something unique.

And remember to negotiate any price. The right price is at least 1/3 of the first price made by the trader.

And if you want to shop like a real Balinese: stop a shop on two wheels, negotiate the price and buy anything!

Activities

There are plenty of activities to do and places to explore in Bali.
Of course, there are many out of budget activities, such as a helicopter ride on the Kintamani volcano or sailing a catamaran in Nusa Lembongan, but you’ll be amazed for the variety of activities that everyone can enjoy in Bali.

There are plenty water activities that are usually too expensive to be tried and that are finally affordable here.
Such as surfing, rafting, water skiing, jet skiing, etc.

And what about the nature you can discover in Bali? Plenty of beaches, natural parks for monkeys, temples by the sea or in the mountains, elephant rescue parks, swings on the huge rice fields…

When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.  –  cit. Clifton Fadiman  (& me)