Getting Around Transport Guide in Bali

Part of the Bali travel guide — see every topic in All Bali Guides.

Bali has essentially no public transport that a visitor can use. There are no trains, the Trans Sarbagita buses run a handful of routes on a schedule nobody relies on, and the old bemo minivans have all but disappeared. That leaves three real options: rent a scooter, use ride-hailing apps, or hire a car with a driver by the day. Most visitors end up using all three. Distances are short and speeds are low — expect twenty-five to thirty-five kilometres an hour outside the toll road — so plan by time, not by distance.

Scooters

A 110–150cc automatic rents for 70,000–150,000 rupiah a day or 700,000–1,200,000 a month, usually with two helmets. The legal position matters: you need an international driving permit endorsed for motorcycles plus your home motorcycle licence. Police checks are routine and a licence you do not have costs a fine on the spot. More seriously, travel insurance will decline a claim if you were riding unlicensed, and Bali's scooter accident rate is high. If you have never ridden, Bali's roads — potholed, unlit, full of dogs and trucks — are not where to learn.

Ride-hailing

Grab and Gojek both work across the south and Ubud, offering both car and motorbike pickups. They are cheap — a twenty-minute car ride is 40,000–80,000 rupiah — and the price is fixed in the app, which removes the negotiation. The catch is that local transport cooperatives have banned app pickups in specific zones, notably central Ubud, parts of Canggu and the beach areas, sometimes with signs and sometimes not. In those places you either walk to the edge of the zone or use the local drivers, who charge two to three times the app price. Both apps also deliver food, which is genuinely useful.

Car with driver

For day trips this is the best option: 600,000–800,000 rupiah for eight to ten hours, including fuel, for a car that seats four to six. Split between two or more people it beats every organised tour and you control the itinerary. Agree the route, the hours and whether entrance fees and parking are included before you leave. A good driver is also a guide, a translator and a negotiator, and the ones people recommend get booked through the season. Airport transfers are separately priced, typically 250,000–450,000 to the main tourist areas.

Roads, traffic and the airport

The Mandara toll road across the bay from the airport to Nusa Dua and Sanur is the only fast road on the island. Everything else is single-carriageway and congested from about ten to seven, with the Canggu and Ubud approaches the worst. Sanur to Ubud is a nominal 25 km and a real 60–90 minutes. Ngurah Rai airport is fifteen minutes from Kuta in theory and forty-five in practice at peak; for a morning flight, leave earlier than seems reasonable. Fuel is cheap, ATMs are everywhere, and almost all parking is a 2,000–5,000 rupiah cash attendant.

Getting Around Transport Guide at a glance

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