Bali Travel Expenses

Bali was a great start to our travels in Asia. We had a lot of fun during our short two-week visit. It felt like we were on a vacation from our vacation. Relaxing, swimming, eating, drinking… everything that you want out of a quick get-away. It’s touristy but fun. We enjoyed beers on the beach at sunset, reading books in the sand, swimming with the fish, and bar hopping in the evenings. None of it was particularly adventurous but we were happy to indulge for a while.

Leaving Jungubatu Harbour in Lembongan for mainland Bali.

We only planned for two weeks in Bali because there were a lot of other places in Asia we wanted to see, but we could have easily spent a month. Bali is a sizable island and even though we visited a few different parts we were always within an hour’s drive from the airport. We spent three nights in Uluwatu, seven nights in Seminyak, and three nights on Nusa Lembongan. We probably spent a few too many days in Seminyak, but we got a weekly rate discount on our accommodation so we can’t complain too much.

A small cove at Nusa Ceningan.

Bali was also one of the most affordable places we’ve traveled. We were there in low season so the rates of our accommodations may have been slightly lower than usual, but we were both surprised at how easily we could afford to do things. We went out to eat every meal, had as many beers on the beach as we wanted, and spent time in some surprisingly nice accommodations.

Our staple breakfast every morning: mie goreng. Essentially just Indonesian fried noodles.

Our bill totaled to $103 per day, which we’re going to call on budget. Our daily average would have continued to drop had we stayed longer on the island. Our flight to Bali from Cairns, Australia was a bit on the pricey side (although one of the cheaper international flights from Cairns) and the cost was only divided among the 13 days that we were there. Without the flight we were spending $77 a day and we weren’t holding much back on our spending. Yes, the option to spend a small fortune in Bali at the high-end resorts is certainly available, but I don’t think we would have traveled much differently than we did even if we had been working at the time.

Transportation: Our flight from Cairns, Australia to Bali was $170 per person. The rest is from transportation around the island.

Accommodations: We stayed in fairly nice places. Our accommodations in Uluwatu and Lembongan both had pools. All had breakfast included.

Restaurants: We went out to eat every meal, and a lot of the time at really great restaurants. Our most expensive meal for two was $26 (including a round of drinks) and the cheapest was $2.80 (for the both of us!) at a traditional Indonesian warung. We only would have needed a few dollars a day for food, but since it was so affordable, we decided to take advantage and try out all the different restaurants around town.

Drinks: We spent a bit more than usual in this category, but what else are you supposed to do at the beach? A big beer (633 mL) was less than $3. We’d order a couple of those while watching the sunset. Even after dinner, all the nightlife and live music coming from the bars would usually draw us in for one last round.

Tourism: We didn’t need to spend too much in this category, but we rented a couple scooters ($10), went snorkeling ($20), and paid a few entrance fees to temples and beaches.

Grocery: Most of this was from buying bottled water (you can’t drink the tap water) and from the occasional snack.

Other: It’s been a long time since this was at $0. We never got a SIM card and we somehow made it two weeks without ever doing laundry.

Everyone in Seminyak arriving at the beach for sunset. Seminyak is not where you go to avoid the crowds.

Nusa Lembongan, on the other hand, is exactly where you go to enjoy the sunset and get away from it all with only a handful of other people. 

I would return to Bali one day if given the chance, even if for nothing else than to see the other side of the island, but even more so I would like to see the rest of Indonesia. We keep calling it Bali and not Indonesia because I can’t really say that we visited Indonesia when we only spent time on one island out of the thousands that make up the country. So, truth be told, although it was fun and beautiful, we’re more likely to explore elsewhere before heading back. With so many tropical islands out there how could we go back to the one we’ve already been at?