Bali Travel Guide: What to Know Before You Go

Look at a map and Bali seems small. Canggu to Ubud is barely 30 kilometres. On the road it can take an hour and a half, and on a Saturday afternoon longer. Almost every disappointing Bali trip comes from ignoring this and trying to see the whole island from one hotel. Choose a base, explore what's near it, then move on.

The shape of the island

The airport and most of the development are in the south. Kuta, Seminyak and Canggu run up the west coast, Sanur sits on the east, and the limestone Bukit peninsula at the bottom holds Jimbaran, Nusa Dua and Uluwatu. Ubud is inland, about an hour or more north of the airport. The centre and north are volcanoes, lakes and cooler villages, and the east is the quietest part of the main island. Our where to stay guide goes area by area.

Three things to sort before you fly

1. Visa. Many nationalities need a visa on arrival, valid for 30 days and extendable once inside the country. Apply for the electronic version (e-VOA) on the official Indonesian immigration site, evisa.imigrasi.go.id, and you skip a queue. Some passports enter visa-free, so check yours.
2. Arrival card. The All Indonesia arrival card replaced the old paper and customs forms in 2025. It's free, done online or in the official app, and can be filled in up to three days before you land. You get a QR code to show on arrival.
3. Tourist levy. Since February 2024, foreign visitors pay a one-off levy to the province of Bali. It's separate from the visa and the arrival card. Pay it on the official Love Bali site (lovebali.baliprov.go.id) and keep the QR voucher sent by email. There are counters at the airport too, but paying ahead is quicker.

Use only the government sites. Lookalike pages charge several times the real amount for the same documents.

Money and water

The rupiah has a lot of zeros, so check twice before you pay. Cards work in hotels and most restaurants, and QRIS code payments are everywhere. Carry cash for warungs, temple donations and parking attendants. Change money only at licensed exchangers (the provincial rules now say so explicitly) and use ATMs attached to banks. Don't drink the tap water.

The rules for visitors

In 2025 the governor issued a list of do's and don'ts for foreign tourists. Mostly common sense: modest clothes at temples and in public, no climbing sacred trees or shrines, no nude or revealing photos at holy sites, a licence and helmet on a scooter, licensed guides, drivers and accommodation, and no single-use plastic. Our temples guide covers the etiquette that comes up most.

Nyepi, the Day of Silence

For 24 hours each year, usually in March, the whole island stops. The airport closes, the roads empty, and visitors stay inside their hotel with lights dimmed. The date follows the Balinese calendar and changes every year, so check it before booking flights. The evening before is the loud part: giant papier-mâché demons called ogoh-ogoh are paraded through the streets and then destroyed.