Bali on a Budget: How I Do the Island for About $30 a Day

Traveling Bali on a budget works on about $20 to $35 a day if you skip the beach-club strip and base yourself in Ubud, Sidemen or Amed. Sleep in family homestays, eat at local warungs, and get around by app or scooter, and the island costs far less than its villa-and-smoothie-bowl image suggests.

Bali was one of my first big backpacking stops, and I still use it as a test of travel discipline. The cheap island is right there, but so are the $8 cafés and the infinity pools. This guide shows you how to find the first and dodge the second. Once you know your bases, pull a ready-made plan from the Travel Tricks itineraries vault.

The rice terraces around Ubud, where Bali on a budget is easiest to pull off.

Bali Budget Accommodation: Where to Base Yourself

For Bali on a budget, your base matters more than anything else. The south coast, around Canggu and Seminyak, is built around cafés, beach clubs and villas. The north and east still run on family homestays and rice. My rule: if you want nightlife and surf, spend a few nights in the south. If you want to save money, spend most of your time everywhere else.

Ubud (4 days)

Ubud is the easiest place to start. It has the widest choice of hostels and homestays, endless warungs and plenty of free walks. Many homestays here are rooms inside a family compound, with a small temple in the courtyard and breakfast included. If you have never stayed in shared rooms before, my guide to staying in a hostel covers the basics.

Sidemen (2 to 3 days)

Sidemen is a quiet valley in the east with rice fields and views of Mount Agung on clear mornings. There is little to do except walk, eat and watch the light change. That is exactly why it is cheap and calm.

Amed (3 days)

Amed is a string of black-sand fishing villages on the east coast. You can snorkel straight from the beach, and the USAT Liberty shipwreck at nearby Tulamben sits close to shore. Renting a mask and fins for the day costs far less than any boat trip.

Munduk (2 days)

Munduk sits in the cool northern highlands, with waterfalls, coffee farms and forest trails. Bring a light jacket for the evenings. It feels like a different island from the south.

The South: Canggu and Uluwatu (2 to 3 days)

Do the south last, and keep it short. Uluwatu has cliffs, surf breaks and a clifftop temple with famous sunsets. Canggu has the café scene and heavy traffic. Both are worth a look, but prices here are often double what you pay in Sidemen.

Getting Around Bali Without Overpaying

Bali looks small on a map, but traffic makes distances feel long. A drive from Canggu to Ubud often takes over an hour. Plan your route so you move in one direction instead of zigzagging across the island.

For short trips, ride-hailing apps such as Grab and Gojek are cheap and show a set price. You can choose a car or a motorbike taxi. For full-day trips to temples and waterfalls, many travelers hire a car with a driver and split the cost with people from their hostel.

Scooters are the cheapest option, usually around $4 to $7 a day plus fuel. Legally, you need an International Driving Permit that covers motorcycles, plus your home license. The first time I rented one here, my permit did not include motorbikes. A police checkpoint ended that afternoon with a fine and a long walk back. Your travel insurance may also refuse to cover a crash without the right license, so check your policy before you ride.

For Nusa Penida and the other small islands, fast boats leave from Sanur. The crossing is short, but the sea can get rough, so check the weather and pick an operator with life jackets on board.

A scooter is cheap, but only ride with the right license and a helmet.

Bali Cost per Day: Where the Money Goes

Your Bali cost per day depends on three things: where you sleep, where you eat and how you move. Here is how a tight budget compares with a more comfortable one. These are rough ranges, so check current prices before you go.

Food is where Bali on a budget really pays off. A plate of nasi campur, rice with a few small dishes, at a local warung costs a fraction of a café brunch. I eat breakfast at my homestay, lunch at a warung and dinner at a night market most days.

Budget for entry costs too. Many nationalities can get a visa on arrival or an e-visa, but the rules and fees differ by passport. Check the official Indonesian e-visa website for current options before you fly. Bali also charges foreign visitors a one-time tourist levy, so check the current amount and how to pay it.

For cash, use ATMs attached to a bank branch and decline any currency conversion offer. A card without foreign fees adds up to real savings on a long trip; I explain how to pick one in my guide to the no foreign transaction fee debit card.

These are the moves that keep my Bali spending low:

• Eat where locals eat. Warungs with handwritten menus beat Instagram cafés on price every time.
• Read the menu symbols. Prices marked “++” add tax and service at checkout, often around 15 to 20 percent.
• Book one night, then negotiate. Homestays often give a better rate in person for longer stays.
• Refill your water bottle. Tap water is not safe to drink, but many homestays and cafés offer refills.
• Carry a sarong. Temples require one, and owning a cheap sarong saves rental fees at every gate.
• Buy drinks at minimarts. A cold drink from a convenience store costs far less than at a beach bar.
• Travel outside peak weeks. July, August and the Christmas period bring the highest prices.

Cheap Things to Do in Bali

Some of the island’s best experiences cost nothing at all. In Ubud, the Campuhan Ridge Walk is a free path along a grassy ridge, best at sunrise before the heat. In Sidemen, you can walk between rice fields for hours. In Amed, the reef starts a few meters from the beach.

Temples are the other big draw. Most charge a modest entry fee and require a sarong. At Uluwatu, hold on to your stuff. A monkey there grabbed my sunglasses off my head and only gave them back after a temple worker offered it fruit. Keep glasses, hats and phones out of reach.

Skip the long photo queues. At Lempuyang, famous for the “Gates of Heaven” photo, I waited hours for my turn. The water reflection everyone posts turned out to be a small mirror held under the phone. The temple is beautiful, but go very early or spend that time somewhere quieter.

If you want a sunrise hike, Mount Batur is the classic choice. Rules on whether you must hire a local guide have changed over time, so check the current rules before you go.

Waterfalls in the northern highlands cost little more than a small entry fee.

Bali on a Budget FAQ