Asia - Bali urgent help plz (leave today)

Hey guys
off to bali, wildly unprepared

hotel wise; nusa dua or ubud? Im into culture AND beach - any ubud recommendations which dont break the bank?

driver; does anyone know the going rate for a driver and car for the day? any one in particular I should use?

lastly,

any names of any seafood warungs in Jimbaran next to the intercontinental which are particuarly good and not going to rip me off? Any names, websites or phone numbers would help - especially if they offer transport

thanks!

Can't help much other than to say you'll probably find decent information in a hurry on wikitravel - it was very helpful for our trip to Lombok a few weeks back.

Until this time next week, Bali is all yours, so any hotel will do a deal for you. I place all my people into the Hyatt, it is cheap only charging $160 at Nusa DUA, AND $100 AT Sanur but any large chain group would be able to help. Taxis are a dime a dozen, to get you from the airport to a hotel in Sanur will cost 80000rph, half that for closer to the airport. To get a cab or a car from the street to take you up to Ubud and back will cost 500000. Taxis all have meters, whereas the cars parked along the street and the drivers ask do you want transport will charge you the set amount, if you don't need them they will sleep for a couple of hours or go see their relies.

Bali--Ubud: Kajane Mua Villas.

thanks all
grand hyatt nusa dua it is!

Enjoy. Great hotel and location.

driver; does anyone know the going rate for a driver and car for the day? any one in particular I should use?



I know I'm late on helping you out on this one, but just in case anyone is reading, the going rate for a car that you drive yourself starts at Rp. 250,000 and goes up according to the type of car. For Rp. 250,000 you can usually get a newer Kijang or Avanza which are something in between a van and a SUV.

The best price I've gotten for a driver for a day was Rp. 300,000, but I speak a little Indonesian and consider myself a pretty good bargainer. I would say that you could expect to pay Rp. 400,000.

If you're up for driving in some crazy traffic, I would recommend driving yourself. That way you don't have to waste time stopping at all the crappy tourist traps that the driver knows. You could easily blow half your day stopping at all the places he gets kickbacks.

If you don't need a car, you can rent a motorcycle. I can't remember exactly how much I rented one for, but I'm wanting to say that it was about Rp. 50,000 per day.

Worth noting you need the appropriate International Driving Permit to hire a car or bike legally in Indonesia - and by all accounts checking this is a lucrative business for the police in Bali.

Very lucrative indeed. You should have one to be safe, but know that Indonesian is not one of the languages on the international driving permit so the IDP may not do you much good in terms of communicating your driving credentials to the officer.

I'd also like to point out that you are legally allowed to drive with a current driver's license from another country if it was issued before 29 March 2011, but good luck arguing that point with an Indonesian policeman.


Wikipedia: International Driving Permit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Driving_Permit)

Annex 6 and Annex 7 before 29 March 2011 defined forms of driver's licenses that are different from those defined after that date. Driver's licenses issued before 29 March 2011 that match older edition of the Annexes are valid until their expiration dates (Article 43).

Much easier to just hire a driver

The cops in Bali charge about 50,000 rupiah ($5) if you don't have a license, perhaps $10.

I know plenty of folks who spend a week here and never get pulled over.

On the other hand, driving here is crazy/loco.

You can get a driver for not much more than hiring the car, like $60 for a whole day. I know some drivers if ya need one.