Bali Questions
 

Are ATMS readily available in DPS airport? We will be flying in on SQ. Can someone give directions to their location from the arrivals facility.

What are some of the must do activities? We have rented a villa in Ubud so this will be our home base. I realize that the beachy areas are more touristy but I have done a lot of beach vacations in the recent past so I am looking for ideas that are special to Bali.

Last time I was there, there were a few ATMs inside the international baggage claim area, however none of them was working. Anyway, when you exit customs you will be in the arrivals hall where you'll find transport counters and a couple of currency exchange offices and banks. If you exit that area toward the left side (facing the street) and look left once outside, there will be another ATM there, this one was not working either. I ended up changing money with one of the banks inside. Note....this was in the arrivals section, I don't know about ATM locations in the departures area nor in the domestic terminal. Also, this was a few years ago (about a couple months prior to the Bali bombing), so I'm not sure if the layout is still the same.

We lucked out and found one of the ATMs was working in the airport.

I assume you know about the spas and the wonderful shopping. A good driver is very important and will show you things you never dreamed of. The wonderful thing about Bali is you just never know what you might happen upon - a cremation ceremony, a huge parade and festival in a little village, a cock fight - it's wonderful (well, the cock fight wasn't exactly wonderful, but it was interesting). There are some very interesting old temples and the river rafting trip was fun - although it was more like bumper boats as it's not a technical river and the guides seem to try to hit every rock there is.

I'm planning to go back in August with friends and am also renting a villa in Ubud.

Here's a trip report I did from last August, which in my typical fashion is incomplete, but does have a fair amount of information that should be helpful.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...highlight=Bali

What villa are you renting? We are renting Villa Uma in Ubud. Put the deposit down today. :D So excited.

I haven't gotten down the specifics of hiring a driver for the rest of our stay but the villa staff will pick us up at the airport upon arrival. I am sure if the ATMs at the airport are broken we can exchange some US Dollars at the airport to tide us over till we get to a functioning ATM.

Looks fantastic! I bookmarked that site. We're doing this one in August - click on the slide show at the bottom left. We saw it under construction when we were there last and it looked great; now that the water features are completed and it's furnished it looks awesome.

http://www.balihomes.com/index.php?o...d=21&Itemid=47

The driver I mentioned in the report is great (SanDiego1K used him as did Dianne47 and that's how I got his name). He's really so good he's worth planning travel dates around. You can PM me if you'd like his email.

When are you going? The one real drag about planning this trip is that airfares are soooo much higher this year.

We are going in mid-July. It will be only me and boyfriend, whom I happened to meet because of FT! :D Villa Uma seemed ideal for us since it had a big pool, a staff but was still only 2 bedrooms. Another couple may join us but the price was so reasonable that it will be okay if it is just the two of us. We wanted to stay away from the big hotel feeling since we each stay over 200 nights a year in hotels.

In May Mr. Megatop and I are flying to Bali from Bangkok via SIN on SQ, so I figure we can change money at the exchange desks at Changi. They seemed to have decent rates, particularly for an airport (no doubt the S'pore gov't requires competitive rates on par with city offices). Ideally, the Amex desk (I'm a cardmember x2) will offer the if-you-don't-use-it-you-can-change-back-at-the-same-rate program because we'll be coming back to Singapore after Bali.

If someone knows for a fact that I can't change into Indonesia Rupiah at Changi, please let me know so I can make other plans.

And if someone knows which exchange desks do and don't offer the same-rate-change-back program, I'd very much appreciate knowing that too. I've seen it at several places, but haven't tried it in Singapore.

I don't think there is anything in Ubud with a big hotel feel (the Aman, which is probably about the largest, has about 30 suites), but a private villa is always wonderful. I generally prefer to travel that way on vacations. The only negative with a villa in Ubud is that you will likely want a driver standing by all the time in case you want to go into town, whereas the hotels slightly out of town have shuttles or drivers always waiting around, and you can walk everywhere from the accommodations right in town. Drivers are inexpensive though - about $35 a day - so you can just look at it like a car rental.

Be aware that whatever currency you are exchanging will go thru two currency exchanges, from originating currency to the Sing dollar, to the rupiah. You'll get hit with a currency loss with the double exchange.

best places to change $$into rupiah Bali
 

I understand for many , a few % lost during the exchange is minor , but for me . It is also a matter of principal .

The are a few places along( in the Kuta ,Semiyak area) Jalan Legian that give the best rates(in Bali) , there is one across the street from Bintang supermarket near Turnoff to Bali Deli on way to Semiyak . Another good one is on the corner up from Popies 1 on Jalan Legian , going towards Bemo center . Where there also is a bank that give good rates . ( i will work on exact names , forgetfull late at night)

Never ever , be charged a commision , in Indonesia , the commision is obvioulsy built in the exchange .
and when you do find the these exchanges u will know , because they are always crowded , with many Expats and Balinese .

other parts of Bali , have worse exchange rates , Ubud is usually 2-4% less .

Changing money.
 

The safest places to change your money ar at the Indonesian banks.

The best rate is on the street, you will find lots of places to change money in Kuta, etc.
Be sure you count the money you receive as there are quite a few money changers that try to rip you of.

In Febr. $100 US was worth 930.000 Rupiahs.

The first money changers you encounter are when you exit customs.

Don't forget to keep 100.000 Rp. per person for the Departure tax.

Have a great vacation.

Casey.

Excellent point that I hadn't considered. Perhaps I'll withdraw some cash at an ATM at Changi and change to rupiah that way. Or it might be better to have Mr. Megatop do it in BKK directly from Thai baht to rupiah. Guess I'll have to think on it, as my original plan hits me twice, and like maspablo, I can't stand getting hit with money changer fees or commissions, nevermind two at once. Banks or ATM's in Kuta or Seminyak may be the best bet, as long as I have enough rupiah to get around.

Princess674

Glad to hear that you reserved Villa Uma. I concur that a good driver is important and we used Wayan Sueta as well as Dianne and others and he was a wonderful guide and companian. Regarding the convenience of a driver into Ubud in the evening, you need to remember that tourism is not so great in Bali these days and there are many many drivers available. We had reserved wayan Sueat's services before we left homr, but the driver who picked us up at the airport, who lives near the villa was available and greatful for work on days we did not use Wayan. Ketut andf Masde, the couple who are the villa caretakers, can arrange to have a driver for you and if you go in to town at night the drive will likely wait. At least that was our experience last July. There is a plethora of under -utilized drivers in Ubud these days. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!

On the money exchange, there really is no problem finding ATMs in Bali. My debit card has always been cheaper than using a money exchanger. If the ATMs in the airport aren't working - and it's likely one will be - your driver will know where more are and can stop at one on the way. I used ATMs throughout Bali and had no problems. Some were a little funny in that they would only give a limited amount of cash per transaction, but you could do multiple transactions back-to-back.

There is no need to change into rupiah before arriving. As already mentioned, the ATMs (including one from Citibank) are inside the baggage claim area at DPS, and immediately outside there are official money changers.

In Ubud (and obviously Kuta), there are also plenty of ATMs.

My only advice is that if the rate looks too good to be true at a streetside money changer, it probably is. The guy will usually work with a friend and you will discover you were shortchanged when you get back to your room.

And, remember to have rupiah for your airport departure tax.