By Foot
The best way to see Bali is to walk in the countryside. Take half-hidden narrow pathways at roadsides and follow them inland, sometimes as far as 15 km. You'll reach places about as outlandish as you want to be, with no cold drinks, police, shops, electricity, or transport connections. Children pop up and yell out a singsong "hello!"; infants may start screaming at the sight of you.


By Bicycle
If you ride a bicycle around Bali, you'll have much more contact with the villagers and enjoy more scenery than if you're on a speeding, smelly, noisy, dangerous motorcycle. Bicycles rent for only Rp10000 per day (Rp20000 for mountain bikes), and are cheaper by the week or month. Consider buying a bike from a toko sepeda in Denpasar, then arrange to have the place buy it back after you use it for several weeks or months. Because the seats are hard and uncomfortable, buy a cushioned saddle and a seat post for long-distance riding. Repair costs are very reasonable.

To get to the Bali highlands, load your bike on the back of a bemo or minibus; when you get ready to come back it's two days coasting downhill. It'll usually cost you an extra passenger's fare to put your bike on a bemo. Bring your bike inside your accommodations at night to prevent ripoffs.

By Motorcycle
Renting motorbikes may at first appear the best option, but they often prove more trouble and expense than they're worth. Intrusiveness in quiet villages, pollution, breakdowns, and injuries all argue against them. Even experienced bikers are victims of shattered nerves after just a week of riding on Bali, where trucks drive right down the center of the road, and chickens, dogs, and children dart out everywhere. Driving at night is especially hazardous; insects batter you, piles of sand litter the road, visibility is nil. You also have to worry about gas  and oil money, as well as parking fees at nearly every tourist site. Basic rules for driving a motorcycle on Bali: always wear a helmet and goggles or glasses; don't drive too fast; never stop on sand or loose gravel; slow down on curves; always toot your horn when approaching people or animals; carry a windbreaker at higher elevations; and stop driving before sundown when the insects come out

. More difficult to find but easier to drive are motorbikes with automatic starting and shifting; just insist on it and one will show up sooner or later. The more powerful and newer the machine, the higher the daily rate; the longer the rental period, the lower the rate. Rental costs rise when the Europeans or Australians arrive in August, December, and January. You'll be approached constantly by guys offering to rent you bikes. A good place to start your inquiries is in your hotel or homestay. Be wary of overcharging for faulty equipment. In most cases, a helmet comes with the bike.

By Ojek
Look upon any vehicle as a potential taxi. To naik ojek is to ride with the driver on the back of a motorcycle for a fee. You can spot ojek drivers because they carry two helmets. Also called honda sikap, ojek drivers collect passengers at the start of country roads and take them to remote temples, villages, and tourist sites. Journeying by ojek is also the cheapest, quickest, and most convenient way to travel short distances on Bali. Flag them down anywhere.

By Taxi
For short distances metered radio taxis are extremely handy. These air-conditioned Japanese cars are blue and yellow with a taxi sign on the roof; a/c, and quite comfortable for up to three adults. Most drivers are friendly but usually speak little English. Always insist the driver switch on the meter and don't agree to pay a fixed price for a trip. The asking price is always much higher. When they say "it's up to you," it means the trip is going to be really expensive; sometimes there are nasty misunderstandings. Minimum fare at flag-fall is Rp2200, and most trips within the Kuta/Legian area are around Rp2000-4000. The fare from Kuta to Sanur is around Rp15000. If you go from Kuta to Sanur and then Ubud, letting the car wait and using it for four or six hours altogether, the fare should be about Rp40000-60,000 per hour by the meter.

By Bus, Bemo, and Minibus
Bali's cheapest and fastest motorized transport are 30-passenger Isuzu minibuses and bemo, excellent for observing Balinese native life. The island's transport system is now so extensive you can go virtually anywhere on day-trips from Denpasar, Ubud, or Singaraja. If there's no direct express service, travel in stages. Bemo run along the roadways at a steady rate and, when approaching the cities, in a constant stream. It's just a matter of making the connections. The driver or his assistant will know where to drop you to connect with your next bemo. Batubulan, 10 km northeast of Denpasar, is the bemo hub for central, northern, and eastern Bali. When traveling by bemo, always allow plenty of time for your return trip. If you need to return to Ubud after visiting Amlapura, make sure you get the last minibus leaving Amlapura around 1700.

Being charged the proper fare without a lot of bargaining and hassle is the exception rather than the rule. Usually bemo drivers start by asking 50-100% above the appropriate fare and must be bargained down. Watch what the Balinese are paying; pay what they pay. Also ask your losmen or homestay owner for the normal fare. Bemo within cities, like Denpasar and Singaraja, cost only Rp2000-5000 for an average ride. Bemo prices in the country, for the same distances, are cheaper. You can charter a bemo for about Rp 200,000 per day between five or six people, but watch these street robbers, as they normally charge at least double the price of the metered taxis. Always have the correct change; driver's assistants never have the correct change. Pay at the end of the journey. Many bemo have internal buzzers that you use when you near your destination. Otherwise tap lightly on the window or shout "stop!" Be prepared to step over sacks of rice, trussed chickens, bundles of copra, etc.

Thefts of travelers' belongings on bemo are not as frequent as in the past, but they still occur. Once confined only to Denpasar, special robber bemo now cruise the roads looking for unwary travelers. Once on board, the traveler is pickpocketed and/or manhandled out of his or her money by a group of young men who crowd around to intimidate and confuse. As a rule, don't get into "rogue" bemo occupied only by young men. Bona fide, registered bemo have yellow-black license plates.

By Shuttle Bus
A godsend for travelers, travel agencies and hotels all over Bali offer regular shuttle-bus service to points all over the island. Shuttles save you the trouble of renting or chartering vehicles, yet are quick, inexpensive, and safe. They're also a good alternative to public transport. The Kuta-to-Ubud shuttle departs five or six times per day, takes an hour, . Public transport from Kuta to Ubud takes several hours . Shuttles also operate from Ubud to Bedugul and Lovina twice daily, and even to Gili Trawangan on Lombok. All of them also run vice versa. You can usually order tickets through your hotel.

The most efficient shuttle outfit is Perama Landsea Adventure, with offices in tourist areas throughout Bali. The drivers are always on time, fast, and well-organized. Most shuttle services offer a bonus: no extra charge for stopovers en route; just pick up another shuttle the next day.

By Rental Vehicle
There are hundreds of hotels, restaurants, and travel agencies where you can rent four-wheeled vehicles, priced according to type, age, and condition of the vehicle. The price should always include insurance and unlimited mileage. Kuta, Tanjung, and Sanur have the largest concentration of car rental agencies. Air-conditioned cars are more expensive.

You can save yourself hassles if you rent a car with driver, which costs only a bit more than a car without driver and you don't have to buy insurance. Before committing yourself, make sure the car's emergency brake and odometer work. Check the oil; the vehicle is often empty of oil when turned over to you. Examine the tread, as Bali roads are rocky. Cars don't come with seatbelts, which is really scary since you need them here perhaps more than anywhere else in the world.

Traffic conditions worsen by the day. It's now very stressful to drive a car, let alone a motorcycle, in the Tabanan-Denpasar-Gianyar-Klungkung area. In the high season the drive to Ubud is sometimes bumper-to-bumper trucks, vans, cars, motorbikes. If you're going to tackle Bali's mountains, do so in the daylight so you can take in the scenery; it's also safer. Honk your horn when you see people on the road ahead and before dangerous turns to let other drivers know you're coming. It's better to be an obnoxious asshole than to kill or be killed.

Driver"s License and Insurance
An International Driver's License is all that's needed to legally drive; get one for a small fee through your local automobile club. If your IDL is not valid for motorbikes, then you need a Balinese Driver's License. If you don't have a valid license, you might be assessed a hefty fine at police roadblocks set up occasionally. The police station is on Jl. Seruni, about a 15-minute walk from Stasiun Kereneng. A license costs Rp 30,000 or Rp200,000, depending on the mood of the officer. Answers to the license test are: BCCACACCCCCCACBCABABAA. If you don't know an answer, just ask the attendant what the question means and she'll swiftly provide the solution.

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