Bali is a really wonderful place for a vacation. I stayed in Bali for 8 nights along with my wife (August 2017).
Following were the expenses:
Flights (From Mumbai): Rs 15000 per ticket. Total up/down : Rs 60000/-(You will get cheaper tickets if you transit via Kuala Lumpur but i opted for the direct flight.)
Hotel: Rs 3000* 8 : Rs 24,000/- (Good Hotel with Complimentary Breakfast just 5 mins walk to the beach) (You will get hotels for as low as Rs 1500 per night at Kuta, but i preferred to stay at the slightly more good area i.e Seminyak)
Food (including beer): Rs 1500–2000 * 8 days: Rs 15,000/- approx for normal daily food. (I spent a little more on two occasions. Once at Hard Rock Cafe for about Rs 5,000/- and another time at Jimbaran Bay (Sunset Dinner) for about Rs 5,000/-. I am not counting this Rs 10,000/- spent on the total expenses because this can be avoided if wished)
Taxi: Rs 1500*4 days (Full day, 10 hours, unlimited kms) : Rs 6,000/- (The other days i opted for Uber and BlueBird Taxi for short distances) (Total for Taxi was about Rs 8,000/- to Rs 10,000/-Attractions: About Rs 10,000/- (Bali Bird Park, 3D Museum,Uluwatu, Tanah Lot,Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, Other Temples etc)
Indonesia is Visa Free, You don’t need to do anything. They just stamp your passport at immigration with a “visa free” written stamp. (But always check Visa policies before going to any foreign country because Visa rules may change anytime in the blink of an eye)
We spent a total of about Rs 1,17,000/- (For two persons, 8 nights stay)
TIPS TO SAVE MONEY:
Buy 5 litre water gallons from any nearby supermarket. Its cheap that way. Restaurants will NOT serve you water anywhere. Hotels give just about (330 ml *2) i.e less than a litre of water per day for two persons. Buy beer at any supermarket. (Heineken,Carlsberg,Budweiser etc costs less than Indian prices at the supermarket)Keep stock of a few bowls of instant noodles from the supermarket (in case you suddenly find hungry and want a quick snack at the hotel)Choose Hotels with Free Breakfast. Have a late breakfast at about 10:30 am. Hotels generally give breakfast till 11:00 am. In this way you will not feel much hungry for lunch. At around 3 pm or so, you can head out to any Mc Donald’s and have a burger or so (Mc Donald’s is comparatively cheap). But remember to have a good dinner.UBER is frowned upon. It may not be available at all places. In case you find one, jump in it as fast as you can. UBER is relatively cheaper than the Blue Bird Taxi.Bargain, Bargain and Bargain. It is accepted !!!
OTHER TIPS:
1. Take a power converter adapter. Easily available online for Rs 150-Rs 200. Indonesian sockets are of the “Plug C” type having 2 pins.Your 2 pin mobile charger may not fit in Indonesian electrical sockets (because of the presence of the depth in the socket) (I did not take an adapter, and i was unable to fit my charger in the socket. Hence with the “Indian Jugaad” mentality deep inside me,I charged the mobile through my power bank. And the power bank i charged with the USB with the LED TV in the hotel !! It was very time consuming i must say !! )
2. Take at least 3–4 ATM/Debit/Credit Cards. Also, keep money in at least 2 accounts so that you can withdraw from ATMs if necessary. I was able to withdraw from my HDFC and ICICI ATM Cards. Unfortunately, my SBI ATM Card did not allow me to withdraw money from ATM (Although International Usage was activated)
3. Be careful if you are a vegetarian or non beef/non pork eater. Meat is available freely. And beef/beef flavour is present in instant noodles, potato chips etc. Hotels will keep chicken and (or) beef sausages and (or) pork sausages in the same container, so be extra careful to avoid hurting your sentiments. I hope nobody finds this controversial.
4. Be careful of money exchanges who provide an “excellent exchange rate”. When i went there in August 2017, 1 US Dollar (USD) used to fetch around 13200 Indonesian Rupiah (IDR). Legal money exchanges will give around 12500–13500 IDR per USD. If you find anyone offering more than 14000 IDR per USD, then be sure they will scam you.
5. A scam i have heard (not confirmed) is that street vendors near beaches sell dog meat as chicken. Be careful. Google it to know more about this.
N.B:
Shopping Extra (Depends on your wife ;p) Water Sports are expensive. At least about Rs 6000 per sport. I did not do any because i already did them elsewhere.
Feel free to get in touch with me for any queries relating to Bali trip. I will be more than happy to help you all.
Watch my Bali Trip videos in my YouTube channel.
"Reproduced from an article which I had written on Quora"