Bali

Indonesia — the guide for Indian travellers

Country-wide essentials live on the Indonesia guide — visa, money, customs and language.

Visa & entryIndonesia

Type
Visa on arrival (e-VOA recommended)
Fee
₹2,700
Validity days
30
Processing days
0 at the counter; e-VOA 1–2 working days
Documents
  • Passport (6 months validity from arrival)
  • e-VOA approval PDF, or IDR 500,000 / card for the VOA counter
  • All Indonesia arrival card QR (free, fill within 3 days of arrival — replaces customs + health forms)
  • Love Bali tourist levy QR (IDR 150,000, Bali only — pay at lovebali.baliprov.go.id)
  • Return/onward ticket and first hotel booking (asked for at the counter)
Steps
  • Apply for the e-VOA at evisa.imigrasi.go.id 3–7 days before flying — same IDR 500,000, skips the VOA queue
  • Fill the All Indonesia arrival card at allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id within 3 days of arrival; screenshot the QR
  • Pay the Love Bali levy online before landing — only the .go.id site; lookalike .com sites overcharge
  • At DPS: immigration scans e-VOA + arrival QR, then the levy QR is spot-checked at big temples
  • Staying past 30 days: extend once (+30 days) at an immigration office before day 30, or via an agent
Alternatives
  • VOA at the airport counter — ₹2,700 · Identical visa; expect a 30–60 min queue after a full flight. Cash IDR, USD or card
  • Extension (+30 days) — ₹2,700 · One extension only; apply before day 30 — overstay is IDR 1,000,000/day

MoneyIndonesia

Currency
IDR (Indonesian Rupiah)
Forex cards
  • Niyo Global — Zero forex markup; BCA and BNI ATMs take it with no local fee up to IDR 2.5M/withdrawal
  • Scapia — No forex markup; card payments fine in Seminyak/Ubud restaurants and malls
  • BookMyForex card — Load IDR directly; avoid airport money changers' rates
Upi supported
No
Upi note
Not yet. The QRIS–UPI link (NPCI + Bank Indonesia) is targeted for late 2026 — until it launches, UPI apps will not scan Indonesian QR codes.
Cash vs card
Bali runs on cash outside hotels and big restaurants: warungs, temple tickets, scooter rental, boats and drivers all want IDR. Withdraw IDR 2.5M at a time from a BCA or BNI ATM inside a bank branch — Mandiri machines add a flat IDR 50,000 fee for foreign cards. Change money only at authorised (PVA-licensed) counters with a receipt.

CustomsIndonesia

Into india
  • Duty-free allowance ₹50,000 (returning resident) — 2L alcohol
  • Coral, shells and turtle-shell souvenirs are banned (CITES) — leave them
  • Wooden carvings and textiles are fine; declare anything above the allowance
Into destination
  • 1L alcohol + 200 cigarettes / 25 cigars per adult; goods up to USD 500
  • Vapes are legal but declare devices and liquids on the arrival card
  • Drones: declare on arrival, no flying within 5 km of the airport; permits needed for commercial use
  • Drug laws carry the death penalty — including cannabis products; carry prescriptions for any medicines
  • Cash over IDR 100,000,000 (or equivalent) must be declared

LanguageIndonesia

Official
  • Bahasa Indonesia
English prevalence
Good across Bali's tourist belt (Kuta–Seminyak–Canggu–Ubud); thin in the north and east. Menus in tourist areas are in English.
Key phrases
  • Terima kasih — Thank you
  • Selamat pagi — Good morning
  • Tidak pedas — Not spicy
  • Saya vegetarian / tanpa daging — I'm vegetarian / no meat
  • Berapa harganya? — How much?
  • Om Swastiastu — Balinese Hindu greeting — use at temples

Staying connected

Recommended
Type
eSIM
Partner
Airalo
Plan
Indonesia 10GB / 30 days (Telkomsel)
Price
₹950
Alternatives
  • Telkomsel Tourist SIM — Tourist SIM · IDR 250,000–350,000 (15–35GB) · DPS arrivals hall counters — passport needed
  • Telkomsel / XL prepaid — Local SIM · IDR 50,000–85,000 (7–20GB) · Indomaret / Alfamart minimarts; staff register your passport
Whatsapp text
Works normally
Whatsapp calls
Works normally
Free wifi
  • Cafés and villas (usually good)
  • Malls (Beachwalk, Mal Bali Galeria)
  • Airport

Airport to city

Options
  • Grab / Gojek car (official pickup lounge) — ₹700 · 30 · IDR 100–150k to Seminyak, 200–450k to Ubud; follow signs to the Grab lounge, not the touts · Men inside arrivals quoting IDR 400k+ 'taxi' are not the official rank — walk on
  • Airport fixed-rate taxi (official counter) — ₹1,100 · 30 · IDR 150k Kuta, 200k Seminyak/Sanur, 300k Canggu, 350k Ubud — tolls included
  • Pre-booked hotel or private driver — ₹1,500 · 30 · Easiest with luggage; agree the price on WhatsApp before landing
  • Kura-Kura shuttle (via Kuta stop) — ₹540 · 180 · IDR 100k/person to Ubud, fixed timetable, drops at a central stop — only if you're on a tight budget

Getting around

System
Gojek and Grab bikes/cars — no metro or usable buses; distances are short but Canggu–Ubud traffic is slow. A private driver (IDR 600–800k/day) beats apps for temple days.
Ride hailing
  • Gojek
  • Grab
  • Blue Bird (MyBluebird app)
Daily budget
₹800

Weather & packing

Best months
  • May
  • June
  • September
Monthly
  • Apr–Oct — Dry season — 27–32°C, breezy, beach and boat weather
  • Jul–Aug — Peak: driest but most crowded and priciest; book villas early
  • Nov–Mar — Wet season — afternoon downpours, Dec–Jan wettest; still fine for Ubud and spas
  • 9 Mar 2027 — Nyepi (Day of Silence) — the whole island and the airport shut for 24h; don't fly that day
What to pack
  • Sarong + sash (temples; big ones lend them)
  • Reef-safe sunscreen
  • Rain poncho (Nov–Mar)
  • Mosquito repellent (dengue is year-round)
  • Sandals you can slip off at temples and villas

Food

Veg friendly
  • Say 'tanpa daging' (no meat) or 'saya vegetarian'; Bali is Hindu-majority so pork is common, beef rare
  • Ubud is the veg capital — nasi campur veg, tempe, gado-gado, dozens of plant-based cafés
  • Indian food clusters in Seminyak (Jl. Kayu Aya/Oberoi), Kuta and Ubud; Jain thalis exist in Ubud
Indian restaurants
  • Queen's Tandoor — Seminyak · Long-running North Indian; Jain options on request
  • Madhubann Pure Veg — Ubud · Pure veg, sattvik and Jain thalis
  • Sitara — Ubud · North Indian veg, rooftop; no onion/garlic on request
Typical meal cost
₹350

Safety

Scams
  • Money changers with a too-good rate and sleight-of-hand counting — use PVA-licensed counters with a receipt, count twice
  • Scooter 'damage' claims on return — photograph and video every panel before riding off, in front of the renter
  • ATM skimming at standalone machines — withdraw inside a BCA/BNI branch, cover the PIN
  • Fake Love Bali levy sites (.com/.org) charging IDR 300k+ — only lovebali.baliprov.go.id
  • Airport 'taxi' touts inside arrivals quoting 3× the fixed rate — official counter or Grab lounge
  • Cheap arak/cocktails at beach bars — methanol poisoning cases every year; drink sealed brands
Areas to avoid
  • None broadly; bag-snatching by motorbike late night in Kuta/Legian — keep phones off the roadside hand
Emergency numbers
  • Emergency — 112
  • Tourist Police — +62 361 224111
  • Ambulance — 118
  • Indian Consulate Bali — +62 361 259502
  • Indian Consulate emergency — +62 811 3990996

Culture & etiquette

Dress
Beachwear stays on the beach; temples need a sarong and sash for everyone (big temples include one with the ticket) and covered shoulders.
Tipping
Not expected; hotels and many restaurants add 5–10% service. Round up drivers, IDR 20–50k for a full-day driver.
Dos
  • Step around the canang sari offerings on pavements — never on them
  • Use your right hand to give and receive
  • Greet with 'Om Swastiastu' at temples
  • Stay indoors and quiet on Nyepi — it's enforced by village wardens
Donts
  • Don't enter a temple while menstruating, with an open wound, or heavily pregnant — you may be asked directly
  • Don't climb temple structures or sacred trees for photos — tourists have been deported for it
  • Don't ride a scooter without an international driving permit and helmet — police fines target foreigners
  • Never touch drugs — trafficking carries the death penalty

Top experiences

  • Tanah Lot — tanah-lot.jpg · Sea temple on a rock — Bali's sunset postcard · ₹400 · 2 · tanah-lot
  • Uluwatu Temple & Kecak dance — uluwatu-temple.jpg · Cliff temple, monkeys, and the Ramayana fire dance at sunset · ₹320 · 3 · uluwatu-temple
  • Nusa Penida day trip — nusa-penida-day-trip.jpg · Kelingking's T-Rex cliff, Broken Beach, Crystal Bay — one long day · ₹4,500 · 11 · nusa-penida-day-trip
  • Tegallalang rice terraces — tegallalang-rice-terrace.jpg · Ubud's stepped green valley — go at 7am, before the buses · ₹135 · 1.5 · tegallalang-rice-terrace

All experiences in Bali · 4

Nusa Penida day trip

11h · From ₹4,500

The island 45 minutes off Sanur has the cliffs Bali's postcards are made of: Kelingking's T-Rex headland, the …

Tanah Lot

2h · From ₹400

A 16th-century sea temple on a wave-cut rock off Bali's west coast — reachable on foot at low tide, an island …

Tegallalang rice terraces

1.5h · From ₹135

The stepped rice paddies 20 minutes north of Ubud are the image everyone has of Bali's countryside — a valley …

Uluwatu Temple & Kecak dance

3h · From ₹320

Pura Luhur Uluwatu sits on a 70-metre cliff at Bali's southern tip, with a walkway along the edge, resident lo…