Touch down!! Welcome to Bali my friends. Most of you Bali virgins will feel your hearts thumping of excitement in anticipation to explore and begin your holiday in this paradise island. For your info, Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport is located between Tuban and Jimbaran,just to give you a sense of where you are in the island with an area of 5416km².
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Immigration Clearance
Embarkation / Disembarkation Card
Be sure that you've filled up your embarkation/disembarkation card given to you in your airplane. It's best to fill it up before landing because the once you are in the airport the situation can be chaotic at times and it is hard to get a spot to fill in your card.
Visa On Arrival (VOA)
For those travelers who needs visa to enter Bali, you can obtain your visa at the VOA counters. A 30 day visa cost you US$ 25 extenable for another 30 days. Ensure that your passport is valid for 6 month. To see if you require visa to enter Bali,see the countries that can access the VOA facility.
Finally,make your way to the immigration checkpoint to get your documents checked and once its done you are officially on a holiday in paradise.
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As you make your way out of the arrival hall and wonder how the hell you are going to get to your hotel in any part of Bali, theres always the official and reliable airport taxis. Make a right turn as you exit and there you can see the taxi counter. Make a request to your desired location at the counter. Price from airport to different parts of Bali are listed in the counter as shown below.
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| Price board as of 2010 |
Do take note that you only make payments at the counter. Theres no need to pay any amount to the assigned taxi driver, unless you are tipping him. Get a receipt from the counter stating the place you are going to.
I knew some travelers that were forced to make payments upon arrival at their destination,so beware of such actions,you should be stern to the taxi driver if he tries to pull a quick one on you. just show the receipt given and be stern about the situation.
Alternative to airport taxis
"Freelance Drivers"
If you don't fancy getting an airport taxi you can try to get those "freelance" drivers with private cars or minivans who will tout and try to get a deal with you. My advise is to keep away from these touts as most of them usually charge 2 to 3 times the normal rate.
However, if you are travelling with family members and theres a lot of luggage PLUS you are not going to places near the airport (i.e Tuban, Kuta or Seminyak area ) ,you might want to engage with them but do bargain and haggle hard. Personally, I would use the price board as a reference as to how much I am willing to pay,usually plus another 100k rp max.
Hail a cab
If you are travelling light and willing to go an extra mile to get a cheaper ride, head 45 degree right from the taxi counter straight to exit the airport compound. There will be a split road at the "airport gate". If you are heading to Tuban, Kuta or Seminyak take the left road. You could walk slowly and hail a cab. There will be plenty of them around,not to worry.
It's best that you hail a Blue Bird taxi, as these metered taxis are the most reliable in Bali,they will switch on their meters without you prompting. However, if you were to hail other taxis you could either asked them if they are willing to use their meter ( most of them don't and will tend to charge you a bit more than the usual metered taxi) or make a deal to pay them a flat rate. Just be sure that it is lesser than what is offered by the airport taxis to make your walk out of the airport compound worth the effort! Usually it will cost you about 20k to 30k rp with the metered taxis to Kuta compared to 50k rp with the airport taxis.
I recommend that only do this if you are going somewhere near the airport such as Kuta or Seminyak area, if you were to go further up, I feel that paying the flat rate of the airport taxis is reasonable enough unless you have good bargaining skills and willing to haggle hard with taxis out of the airport compound.
How about walking for a change...
If you are heading to Kuta, you can take the left split on the road outside the airport compound and slowly walk towards Tuban then Kuta. It will take you approximately 20 to 30 min to reach the heart of Kuta.
Do this ONLY if you are travelling light. I had personally tried this and I would say I enjoyed it as you could slowly explore the Tuban till Kuta and enjoy the sinking in feeling being in Bali, though it is tiring I had fun taking pictures with the small pushcarts stalls and admiring the culture and scenery along the way .
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Things to take note
1. There will be porters trying to "assist" you with your luggage and demand payment to be made. Avoid or tell them politely that you do not wish to get their service. If you really need their assistance, pre-agree a fee you are willing to pay ( usually 10k to 20k rp ), though its up to you how much you think is fair price. Some of them are known to be aggressive and will ask for ridiculous amount of money.
2. Put aside 150k rp as an airport tax for your departure.
3. Beware of money changers at the airport as some of them do take hefty commissions,resulting in poor exchange rates. Go to Kodak shops money changers ( usually PT Kuta Central) as they are reliable and give standard rates with receipts given out.I usually check out XE currency exchange site to roughly gauge the rates.
4. Plan your itenary well because in Bali theres always so much to do and so little time :)
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So NOW you can have a peace of mind and enjoy your holiday in paradise island of Bali!!
But first check out our Bali Survival Kit to blend in with the Bali crowd.....
But first check out our Bali Survival Kit to blend in with the Bali crowd.....
**If you feel that there are essential information that should included in this page do drop us your comments...
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