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Bali, Indonesia is a beautiful island just north of Western Australia. It’s a massively popular holiday destination for Australians, where your dollar can go a very long way. You can stay in luxury villas and indulge in quality cuisine at a very affordable price and you can find pretty much any leisure activity for more than half the cost back home. This place is the ultimate spot to get the most bang for your buck out of your holiday.

Good to Knows

• Currency: Indonesian Rupiah
• 12,000 rupiah = $1USD (2015)
• Visa: No, unless staying longer than 30 days
• Entry fee: FREE, unless staying longer than 30 days

We stayed in Bali for a total of 8 nights for my first trip, which I can honestly say flew by! The amounts of cultural and leisure activities are endless and you can easily spend over a week here.

Location: Kuta Beach

There are plenty of different locations to spend your holiday in Bali but if you want to be where the action is then Kuta is your spot! Lots of tourists and young people here due to the location near so many bars and restaurants, and the best if you’re looking for good nightlife.

Accomodation: Dewi Sri

Great location if you want to be near the best nightclubs, central to most of the bars and restaurants, with only a 15 minute walk to the beach. Relatively on the cheaper end compared to most hotels but they have an excellent swim up pool bar with happy hour every day and the staff is AMAZING!

• Cost per night: $45USD (during Christmas and New Year Holidays)

Food & Dining

The classic Balinese dish when visiting Indonesia would be the Nasi Goreng. You honestly can’t go wrong with this dish. Yummy fried rice with chicken, beef, or pork grilled skewers full of spices and flavor.

Blue Fin

• A bit more on the expensive side than other Balinese food you can get in the area, however cheap for quality Japanese. They have regular sit down menu OR you can choose the Tepanyaki option where a chef entertains and cooks your food in front of you. Tons of fun!
  • Cost for Tepanyaki: $38USD which includes full set of food and 3 alcoholic drinks

Jamie Oliver’s Italian

• For those who may want some variety Jamie Oliver’s is a nice change of pace from eating Balinese food, however a bit overpriced for Bali in my opinion for a standard pasta meal with soft drink.
  • Average cost: $34USD

Activities

Whitewater rafting

• We got an amazing deal through one of the hotel employees at Dewi Sri. The staff there were incredibly hospitable and actually became close friends with one of them who gave us great deal.
  • Total cost: $23USD which includes transport to and from hotel, 2 hours of whitewater rafting with a stop at a waterfall,  and an all you can eat buffet of local Balinese food after rafting.

Bali Zoo

A bit far from Kuta but a very nice and clean zoo compared to the other zoos in Southeast Asia. There was not a lot of animals to see for the price in my opinion although it did include a very fresh buffet lunch and hotel transfers. Highlight was feeding the elephants and animals in the petting area, although you have to pay additional for the food.

• Entry cost: $53USD which includes entry, hotel transfers, and buffet lunch

Waterbom Park

This is definitely one of the highlights in Kuta. It’s one of the best water parks in Asia and completely worth the money. A bit odd as it’s located right in the middle of the city but offers exhilarating slides that give you a great view of Bali and nice way to cool off from the heat.

• Entry cost: $38USD

Massages

Everything you hear about Bali is true, you can’t beat their amazingly cheap and good massages. I experienced both an upscale spa and a whole in the wall parlor, but really just depends on what service you are looking for. They have massage parlors and spas all over the city so you won’t run short of finding a place. My favorite was a family owned massage parlor. The facility was a bit run down and not very quaint and clean but the massage in itself was amazing, so relaxing and completely worth the couple of dollars. If you can’t get past the facility and prefer a more modern spa then its not for you, but if you want cheap and an amazing feeling afterwards then I highly recommend it.

• Cost Range: $4USD – $38USD

Nightlife

• Allycats
  • A great spot if you want cheap drinks and for pregaming before the night out. Hardly any locals and primarily young tourists, tons of Aussies (but that’s pretty much all of Bali).
• Sky Garden
  • One of the biggest clubs on the Kuta strip. There are 3 floors with 5 different clubs inside. Great for clubbing and dancing with something for everyone with multiple levels of dance floors and music.
    • Entry Cost: $13USD which includes 2 drinks. They also do an all you can eat and drink from 5pm-10pm for $8USD but I have heard of people getting sick there.
• Engine Room
  • Located right on the main Kuta strip across from Bounty. It’s absolutely massive once you go towards the back. They have great drink deals with 3 levels of dance floors and good variety of music.

• Paddy’s Pub
  • A bit smaller than some of the other clubs in the area but located in the heart of the Kuta strip. We went there for NYE and it had a great vibe and atmosphere.
• Bounty Club
  • Located in the heart of the Kuta strip, this place is huge! Don’t be deceived by the front, there’s a massive pirate ship in the back, inside is another club and bar with a stage and dance poles.