Getting Around Bali
Tips - Indonesia | 7 minutes

GETTING AROUND BALI

City skyline

Photo By: John Doe
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There are tons of ways to get around Bali; choose from pre-booked cars, taxis or scooters.

Before visiting Bali I read tons of articles, trying to find the best way to get around during our upcoming trip. Since we were visiting so many areas of the island, getting easy and inexpensive transportation was a priority for us.

City skyline

We rented our scooters here to get around Pecatu, Ulutwatu and Bingin. 

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Birthday Sparks

Riding over the Nusa Ceningan Bridge.

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Several articles that I read pointed out that roads are windy and can have crazy traffic; so these sites recommended that if you did not have experience riding a scooter then take a taxi. I found that this is fair advice for some areas, but not all areas. Other websites recommended booking car services in advance for getting around. So, I decided to go and make a decision first hand about what type of transit is best.
“Getting lost on our scooter amongst rice terraces and small villages was a highlight of our trip. Renting a scooter was not only convenient but also an adventure in itself.” 
- Lindsey Farrah
Before our trip I did some research and found inexpensive companies online for pre booking cars from the airport. But, I decided that getting a taxi would probably be less expensive, so I decided to just land and wing it. So, we landed at the airport and grabbed a taxi. I definitely regretted that decision. I do not enjoy haggling at all, and catching a taxi at the airport requires some very aggressive haggling. Not exactly what I want to do when I am on holiday. We ended up finding someone to take us to our hotel who was perfectly nice; however he definitely overcharged us and drove a sketchy car. So, my advice would be to pre-book a car service for transit from the airport to your hotel. 
Once we arrived at our first hotel, Sal’s Secret Spot, in Pecatu near Uluwatu, we saw a on of tourists riding scooters. The roads were really easy to navigate with very little traffic, so we spent $7 USD a day and rented scooters. We loved the freedom to be able to hop all around the surrounding area without having to rely on a car service.  

At our next destination, Nusa Lembongan, we discovered that there aren’t even taxis or car services on the island. 

City skyline

Riding through crazy traffic in Ubud.

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Pretty much everyone on this island either walks or rides a scooter. On the connecting island we visited, Nusa Dua, there isn’t even a single car on the entire island because they cannot fit on the bridge! So, we obviously decided to rent and ride scooters to get around these islands. The roads are so easy here and not crowded at all, and it seems it would be almost impossible to get lost here since there aren’t many roads. We rented our scooters here right when we got off the ferry and they were $6 USD per day.

Next, we needed to get from the port in Sanur to Ubud. Is this circumstance, a scooter was not an option. This was about an hour ride and the traffic going through the main part of the island is absolutely insane. So, we coordinated a car service through Rocky Fast Ferry and it was a reasonable price in a nice car.

City skyline

More crazy traffic in Ubud.

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Birthday Sparks

The Nusa Ceningan bridge is only wide enough for two scooters to fit side-by-side and it's a tight squeeze!

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Once in Ubud, we were excited to continue renting scooters so that we could explore this area without any hassle. By this point we had had some practice on the calm, remote roads of Pecatu and Nusa Lembongan which was helpful, because traffic & drivers in Ubud can be crazy! If you don’t feel fully comfortable riding a scooter, you may want to opt for walking around or taking taxis here. There are plenty of taxi drivers on the street so finding one is easy and can be inexpensive if you haggle with them. However, we felt comfortable riding the scooters which gave us the freedom to really explore Ubud. The hotel we stayed at, Calma Ubud (read my post about it here), rented scooters on site so it was very convenient.
Overall, using scooters for transportation is the cheapest and easiest way to be able to really experience Bali. However, there are certain areas where taking a cab makes the most sense due to crazy traffic. We really enjoyed getting to ride around small beach villages and through unique rice terraces. So, if you are up for some adventure- go for the scooter!

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