Penguinmoon

Aloha, Prncess674. Just returned from Bali last Monday, all of the ATM's located next to baggage claim were working when we arrived. Many banks were located throughout Ubud where our ATM cards were accepted.

We rented Villa Dhyan thru www.balivillas.com. Sad to say that the experience of renting a Villa was so positive, we hardly left. We had a full staff, cook, gardner, maid, houseboy, and driver (a car with driver for 10 hours each day was included in our Villa rate.) The cook was fantastic, we did not eat dinner out once!!

If you have done many beach vacations, I would not waste my time. I only saw a couple, and I felt the beaches in Hawaii were much nicer, and cleaner! I was amazed at all the litter on the beaches.

Get a three hour massage every day!! I can recommend Zen in Ubud as being an excellent place to do so.

When you arrive, there will be 786 people waiting to help you with your luggage. They will even try and take it out of your hands. They expect a huge fee for doing so. Had to give a firm no several times to get them to let go of my luggage.

Enjoy your trip, I can't wait to return.

prncess674

Is there a tax on arrival and departure? I had read about the tax due upon arrival. I believe it was $25USD

Joelle

The 25 USD is for VOA (visa on arrival).

A 100.000 Rupiah tax is due on departure.



so says the forthcoming traveller to Bali....

1K_From_SNA

My daughter is getting married and I told them I'd send them to Bali. I am trying to get 2 seats on *A in C and just got off the phone with UA and they can't find anything (in any class) in July/August at all.

Did anyone here use miles to go? If so, how far ahead did you book?

Thanks....

prncess674

i was able to get two SQ biz class awards for July. I had to be a little flexible on the dates but ultimately got a great itinerary. Try just looking for the overwater portion first.

broadwayboy

Getting to Bali from anywhere would have to be over the water. Bali is a small island! :-)

prncess674

Let me rephrase. Look for the Trans-Pacific (LAX-SIN, LAX-NRT, SFO-NRT, etc) segments only first. The other add ons are much easier to obtain.

Penguinmoon

Just returned a couple of months ago, used miles. Booked in June of 2004 for trip March 2005. Had to be very creative, the UA Agent only looked thru NRT and found nothing. As soon as I suggested KIX, differnet options opened up. TG would probably be easiest from BKK to DPS (SQ plane and service much better and therefore more desireable), however, getting a flight to BKK might prove difficult. Good luck and keep trying.

1K_From_SNA

One daughter and one future son-in-law booked LAX-DPS and return on SQ from Jul 12-22nd. Stopover in SIN each way.

Cost of air - 180K UA miles
Cost of Hotel - 28,500 Starwood Points

Cost of info on FT - Priceless

Thanks..

prncess674

Looks like your daughter will be in DPS the same time we are. We leave July 14 and return July 24. Have they made hotel reservations yet? We are staying at a private villa in Ubud

1K_From_SNA

Yes. They are at the Sheraton. It was either that or the the Westin, but it sounded like the Sheraton was a bit better (although I can switch). Dad is paying with miles/points so their choice is limited to 2.

ijkh

1. Everyone of the main caste in Bali has one of 5 names. There are uncountable numbers of Made, Nyoman, Ketut named individuals. The second name is very important in differentiating people.

2. Villa Uma is a long way out of Ubud. You will need a driver. It is one of the toughest places in the world to drive for Americans due to left side drive and non-automotive traffic on the roads.

3. Make lots of smiles by wishing everyone good morning, afternoon, or evening in Indonesian. Salamat means good. Morning = pagee, Afternoon = soree and evening = malam. It is generally culturally correct to greet people everytime (within reason) of seeing them even strangers.

4. Try reading the balitravelforum.com to get excited about your trip. It is mostly populated by Aussies. They tend to be the budget travelers but all sorts of people post. It might be helpful

Have a great time. The weather there is best during our North American summertime.

jtkauai

have been many times, but not for a couple of years. recommend you enjoy staying in ubud, settle for the shopping there and venture down to the beach once if at all. the noise, heat and pushiness of the beach and its related shopping experience isn't worth it for me.

HeHateY

If you are going to Bali be careful to completely lock your baggage and/or shrink wrap it if possible.

Also make sure you have the weight at check-in noted so that it may be compared to the weight at arrival at Indonesian customs.

Here's someone who didn't:

http://news.google.com/nwshp?hl=en&g...55E953,00.html

bostonbali

[QUOTE=ijkh]

4. Try reading the balitravelforum.com to get excited about your trip. It is mostly populated by Aussies. They tend to be the budget travelers but all sorts of people post. It might be helpful
QUOTE]

This is a great tip! I learned a lot by browsing balitravelforum.com before our trip.
When my GF and I went there in Nov 04, we knew exactly what to expect, and were absolutely prepared for this trip, not to mention the fact that we had pre-booked the best drivers to make our trip that much more enjoyable!

We loved the island and can't wait to go back (c'mon, CO, run another $599 special from the east coast!)