Bali Questions
Jun 2, 2005, 7:42 pm
#46
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Thanks for the Memories !!!
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Have had excellent weather in June , and November, awful weather over the X-Mas/New Year break . I have heard that the best weather is often in June-September and will concur with the June part(been 3 times in June). It doesn't seem that hot anyway as there is usually a nice breeze from the ocean.
Jun 5, 2005, 4:54 am
#47
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Kfar Saba, Israel
Posts: 4,172
Things to be aware of for "Visa on arrival"
If you want to charge the fee (25 USD) on a credit card (as I did) - be aware of:
1. Although the fee is in USD, the card is charged on local Rupiah on a bad rate. It turned up as a charge of about 26.50 USD.
2. The terminal they use is of a local bank and not of a business, making the transaction a bank transaction (like an ATM transaction). My credit card company charged a $5 "cash advance fee" for this kind of transaction.
Bottom line, better have 25 USD cash when arriving into Bali.
1. Although the fee is in USD, the card is charged on local Rupiah on a bad rate. It turned up as a charge of about 26.50 USD.
2. The terminal they use is of a local bank and not of a business, making the transaction a bank transaction (like an ATM transaction). My credit card company charged a $5 "cash advance fee" for this kind of transaction.
Bottom line, better have 25 USD cash when arriving into Bali.
Jun 5, 2005, 9:40 am
#48
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 3,208
Originally Posted by apirchik
If you want to charge the fee (25 USD) on a credit card (as I did) - be aware of:
1. Although the fee is in USD, the card is charged on local Rupiah on a bad rate. It turned up as a charge of about 26.50 USD.
2. The terminal they use is of a local bank and not of a business, making the transaction a bank transaction (like an ATM transaction). My credit card company charged a $5 "cash advance fee" for this kind of transaction.
Bottom line, better have 25 USD cash when arriving into Bali.
1. Although the fee is in USD, the card is charged on local Rupiah on a bad rate. It turned up as a charge of about 26.50 USD.
2. The terminal they use is of a local bank and not of a business, making the transaction a bank transaction (like an ATM transaction). My credit card company charged a $5 "cash advance fee" for this kind of transaction.
Bottom line, better have 25 USD cash when arriving into Bali.
Are there ANY countries in the world that would absorb the credit card transaction merchant fee in accepting a credit card for the payment of a visa?
Oct 1, 2005, 11:15 pm
#49
Join Date: Jun 2005
Programs: UA 1K , AK, DL, TG
Posts: 161
I think a tourist orientated economy - such as Bali/Indonesia - is gouging when they implement a VOA charge. . Do not pay one in Singapore or Thailand or a number of other countries. I particularly dislike Indo's voa as it is a huge sticker and eats the pages of your passport at an alarming rate. . Guess if I saw something that gave me cause to think the income that visa's are generating were actually improving any of the services a visitor use I would not be so aggravated by the fee and the additional stop and line and other inconveniences.
Oct 4, 2005, 9:30 am
#50
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Terra Australis Cognita
Posts: 5,350
Originally Posted by skifrog
I think a tourist orientated economy - such as Bali/Indonesia - is gouging when they implement a VOA charge.
Oct 6, 2005, 9:16 am
#51
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Terra Australis Cognita
Posts: 5,350
And veering kinda back on topic, a recent (as in last weekend, both pre-, during and post-bombing) mini-report on Bali:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...91#post4689291
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...91#post4689291
Jun 24, 2006, 11:34 am
#52
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
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Posts: 62,948
May - June 2006 Bali arrivals and departures update
Indonesia visa update in Bali... June 2006
Yes, you can still get the VOA (Visa On Arrival) with passports from most countries, and your best bet is to have US$25 dollars in new, clean bills in excellent condition, in whatever denomination you want. Be sure your passport will not expire for the next six months at least, and that you have a clean and empty page, as the visa is full sized and is placed in your passport with adhesive. An American couple who arrived recently without the necessary page (they imagined a quarter page visa stamp) were originally told they would not be able to stay in Indonesia, and after a lot of haggling were told they could - but they had to pay US$100 each for something they called a "document correction fee" or the like, since the authorities had to put the visa over some others (how do you say "baksheesh" or "mordida" in Bahasa Indonesia, anyway?)
You will still need 100,000 rupiah per person exit fee, and it must be in Indonesian rupiah - if you do not have it, you wil be required to exchange currency for rupiah. You also need some printed form of your ticket, e-ticket or itinerary - officers will demand it before you are allowed into the terminal building to check in for departure, and if you do not have it they may give you a hard time.
The ATMs in the arrivals are still work - we used CitiBank's as they give a larger amount of currency. For a taxi, we proceeded (right when you exit the terminal building) to the taxi booth, where you are given a paper ticket to give the driver; the price is destination-based. A tip is only in order if the driver helps you with your bags or is otherwise deserving.
US bills are generally NOT accepted if they are older, defaced, marked or torn; the easest way is to make sure they are "crispy" new with the new security features. Some people are not interested in accepting US$100 bills, as there have been rumors of counterfeit.
.
Yes, you can still get the VOA (Visa On Arrival) with passports from most countries, and your best bet is to have US$25 dollars in new, clean bills in excellent condition, in whatever denomination you want. Be sure your passport will not expire for the next six months at least, and that you have a clean and empty page, as the visa is full sized and is placed in your passport with adhesive. An American couple who arrived recently without the necessary page (they imagined a quarter page visa stamp) were originally told they would not be able to stay in Indonesia, and after a lot of haggling were told they could - but they had to pay US$100 each for something they called a "document correction fee" or the like, since the authorities had to put the visa over some others (how do you say "baksheesh" or "mordida" in Bahasa Indonesia, anyway?)
You will still need 100,000 rupiah per person exit fee, and it must be in Indonesian rupiah - if you do not have it, you wil be required to exchange currency for rupiah. You also need some printed form of your ticket, e-ticket or itinerary - officers will demand it before you are allowed into the terminal building to check in for departure, and if you do not have it they may give you a hard time.
The ATMs in the arrivals are still work - we used CitiBank's as they give a larger amount of currency. For a taxi, we proceeded (right when you exit the terminal building) to the taxi booth, where you are given a paper ticket to give the driver; the price is destination-based. A tip is only in order if the driver helps you with your bags or is otherwise deserving.
US bills are generally NOT accepted if they are older, defaced, marked or torn; the easest way is to make sure they are "crispy" new with the new security features. Some people are not interested in accepting US$100 bills, as there have been rumors of counterfeit.
.
Jun 24, 2006, 6:14 pm
#53
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Quick visa question (in case anyone is online right now as my flight to DPS is boarding in an hour!) - when I checked in at the city check in for CX today, the agent told me that the visas currently being issued on arrival to US residents are 7 days in length.
Can anyone confirm or deny based on recent first hand experience? I'm to be in country for 9 days and would hate to have to change plans or make a trip back to Denpasar to get my visa extended.
Can anyone confirm or deny based on recent first hand experience? I'm to be in country for 9 days and would hate to have to change plans or make a trip back to Denpasar to get my visa extended.
Jun 24, 2006, 9:07 pm
#54
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia
Programs: QF QP NB, PC Plat. Amb, SPG Gold
Posts: 1,879
Originally Posted by techgirl
when I checked in at the city check in for CX today, the agent told me that the visas currently being issued on arrival to US residents are 7 days in length.
Can anyone confirm or deny based on recent first hand experience? I'm to be in country for 9 days and would hate to have to change plans or make a trip back to Denpasar to get my visa extended.
Can anyone confirm or deny based on recent first hand experience? I'm to be in country for 9 days and would hate to have to change plans or make a trip back to Denpasar to get my visa extended.
Jun 25, 2006, 10:04 am
#55
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Heading to Costco for more popcorn...
Programs: UA 1K 2MM Flier, SPG Plt, Hilton Dia
Posts: 8,461
Originally Posted by GibSpmuh
They still have both the 7 day and 30 day visas available on arrival. The 7 day visa is US$10 and the 30 day visa is US$25. So no worries in that regard.
Jul 1, 2006, 3:27 am
#56
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Terra Australis Cognita
Posts: 5,350
Originally Posted by JDiver
An American couple who arrived recently without the necessary page (they imagined a quarter page visa stamp) were originally told they would not be able to stay in Indonesia, and after a lot of haggling were told they could - but they had to pay US$100 each for something they called a "document correction fee" or the like, since the authorities had to put the visa over some others (how do you say "baksheesh" or "mordida" in Bahasa Indonesia, anyway?)
You will still need 100,000 rupiah per person exit fee, and it must be in Indonesian rupiah - if you do not have it, you wil be required to exchange currency for rupiah. You also need some printed form of your ticket, e-ticket or itinerary - officers will demand it before you are allowed into the terminal building to check in for departure, and if you do not have it they may give you a hard time.
Jul 4, 2006, 12:28 am
#57
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Location: Fort Worth TX
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Originally Posted by JDiver
You also need some printed form of your ticket, e-ticket or itinerary - officers will demand it before you are allowed into the terminal building to check in for departure, and if you do not have it they may give you a hard time.
(And thanks for the quick answer on the visa on arrival... AA initially wanted to deny me boarding in Dallas claiming I needed an advance visa in my passport... and I figured CX was incorrect on the 7 day visa as well but better safe than sorry!)
Jul 7, 2006, 1:42 am
#60
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Join Date: Sep 2003
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Posts: 33,533
Taxi mafia
Most of the taxi's from the airport charge about double what a normal metered taxi will cost.
If you're smart, and want to save that, go around the corner to the arrivals area, grab a taxi and jump in. You do have to be quick, as the "taxi mafia" will try and prevent you from going out that way, as they lose their cut.
If you're smart, and want to save that, go around the corner to the arrivals area, grab a taxi and jump in. You do have to be quick, as the "taxi mafia" will try and prevent you from going out that way, as they lose their cut.
