What a trip to Bali costs and how to exchange money without falling for tricks

The tourist levy, how to count rupiah, and where it is safer to exchange cash and use ATMs.

The Indonesian rupiah is another currency with long price tags: ordinary purchases are paid in tens and hundreds of thousands. To avoid being out by a factor of ten, convert the amount into your own currency in our converter before paying and check it against the expected price.

Budget and mandatory charges

Split costs into accommodation, food, transport (scooter, driver or app taxi), tours, connectivity and a reserve. The season strongly affects accommodation prices. Count separately the tourist levy for foreigners in Bali: at the time of writing it is 150,000 rupiah per person and is paid online on the official site; check the current terms and the entry rules for your citizenship on official websites.

Where to exchange cash

Bali has many exchange points and they differ a lot: some give a good rate, but there are tricks too (hidden fees, sleight of hand when counting). Exchange at large licensed counters, compare the rate by the final amount, count the money before you leave and do not exchange at random stalls offering a "very good" rate.

ATMs and cards

Withdraw cash from ATMs inside bank branches or shopping centres: there is less risk of a tampered machine. A foreign card is charged a fee and the amount per operation is capped, so withdraw less often and more at a time. If a terminal offers to charge "in your own currency", choose rupiah: the terminal's conversion is usually worse than your bank's rate.