How to get around Bali: Scooter, Private Driver, Gojek, is it safe? (Updated for 2024)
10 Minute Read | Written by Erin Roche
Bali is one of 2024’s hottest travel destinations, with cheap VOA entry, incredible food, kind people & too many beautiful places to visit, all at once!
We’ve shared all the information you need about how much it’ll cost to visit Bali here.
But one of the biggest questions on travellers minds is how will I get around once I arrive in Bali? So we’re going to share with you all the best options, the costs, safety precautions and what we’d personally recommend based on how long you’ll be spending in Bali.
Disclaimer: We only recommend products & services we know and trust and all opinions are our own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, might earn us a commission.
Getting from Bali airport to your hotel
The first challenge you’ll face when exiting Bali’s airport is the super eager taxi drivers who are keen on being your first Balinese interaction. Taxi and ride share drivers will hassle you to travel with them for some fairly extortionate prices once you’ve left the terminal, so it’s important to know who you should and shouldn’t travel with.
Upon exiting the arrivals terminal, there are a number of pre-pay taxi counters including one for the official Airport Taxis, Blue Bird and Grab (which actually has a lounge with free Wi-Fi).
The airport taxis are pretty self explanatory, they are the official taxis of Ngurah Rai airport and will give you a fair price which is easily booked at the pre-pay taxi counter.
Then you’ve got Blue Bird Taxis. Outside of the airport, these are the only reliable taxi service in Bali and the only one you should use (other than ride share services). They will typically use a meter and travel the most direct route, so you can be sure you aren’t being taken advantage of. Travelling from the airport however will usually have a set rate (not metered), which you can try negotiate down if you so choose!
We always steer clear of other alleged taxi services and people driving in unmarked vehicles, unless we’ve ordered through a ride share service.
Grab is arguably the safest way to travel from the airport as you will book your ride through an app, which means no negotiating on price, and you can follow along on the map for the duration of the trip (think Uber, Lyft etc). You could send the number plate and driver details to a close friend or family if this would make you feel safer, particularly if you’re travelling alone! The Grab Lounge has free Wi-Fi which lets you download the Grab App and you can order your car in comfort, away from the eager taxi drivers.
Still looking for the perfect villa or accommodation for your trip to Bali?
There’s only one place that you can find and book the entire range of Bali accommodation options from authentic homestay’s to those iconic Bali villas, and that’s Booking.com. From comprehensive reviews that tell us exactly what we’re going to get, to the complete certainty that the beautiful jungle homestay we’re booking has AC (You DON’T want to arrive thinking there’s AC and there’s only a fan… Trust us).
Booking.com is our go-to, every country, every time.
On our most recent trip to Bali, we paid 300 000 IDR or roughly $30AUD to travel from Ngurah Rai (Bali airport) to Pecatu (the western most area of Uluwatu) with the official Airport Taxi service. At quieter times, you could look to pay as low as 225 000 IDR ($22.50AUD) to get to this area. We checked the price using our Grab app, and the price was about $5 more, so we opted for the official taxis.
To Ubud, you can expect to pay from 300 000 to 350 000 IDR ($30 to $35AUD).
To Kuta & Seminyak, you can expect to pay from 120 000 to 200 000 IDR ($12 to $20AUD).
To Canggu, you can expect to pay from 250 000 to 300 000 IDR ($25 to $30AUD).
Want the fastest route to Bali?
We use Skyscanner to book all our flights, their search tools check across all airlines and make booking the best flights for us a breeze.
To book the cheapest & fastest air routes,
Travelling within each region
Many travellers will opt to stay in one or two areas in Bali when visiting on shorter trips (up to two weeks), which gives you a great opportunity to explore the local sights, dining experiences, shopping opportunities and cultural wonders.
Some areas that you might stay are Canggu, Kuta, Seminyak, Ubud, Nusa Dua or Uluwatu, with some more adventurous travellers visiting lesser known regions such as Sidemen, Amed, the Nusas or Gilis and Sumberkima.
When staying in these areas, you have a few options to get around. We won’t cover travelling around the Nusas or the Gilis in this blog, keep an eye out for future blogs specific to these regions for more information.
First, you have walking, which is not the best option by far. Bali is not built for pedestrian traffic, with sidewalks non existent in some areas, gaping holes in the roads, flooded streets, and busy cross sections with fast moving vehicles and limited pedestrian awareness. If you’re staying in certain parts of Uluwatu, Ubud and the tourist epicentres of Kuta/Seminyak, you can get away with walking to the local coffee shop or beach, but it won’t get you around like walking does in places like Europe.
The second, and our preferred option, is using Bali’s ride share services. You can download Grab (the same app used at the airport) or Gojek (requires an Indonesian phone number) and order rides within most of Bali’s popular areas. These rides can be on a scooter or in a car, just select GoCar/GrabCar or GoBike/GrabBike within the app. The app will tell you the price, your driver, and their license plate, as well as allow you to message the driver and organise collection. Some drivers license plates aren’t accurate, so make sure they confirm your name prior to hopping in/on. Getting a scooter will generally cost from 18000 IDR ($1.80AUD) to 30000IDR ($3AUD) when travelling around the local area, so it’s a perfect money saving option! Cars generally start from about 30000 ($3AUD) to 50000 ($5AUD) for short distance travel.
Always ask for a helmet when using the Ride Share scooters, they should have them available at all times. They won’t be the best helmets, but it’s going to keep you a lot safer than not using one at all.
Ride share services are not available in more rural regions such as Sidemen, Amed & Sumberkima. If you’re travelling within these areas, you are best to organise a private driver through your accommodation, use Blue Bird taxis or hire a scooter (please only ride a scooter if you have the proper license, insurance and knowledge).
The third option is riding a scooter. As we mentioned, this will be one of your only options if visiting more rural regions, however if you’re staying in popular destinations like Seminyak or Canggu, we don’t recommend hiring a scooter unless you’ve driven a scooter before.
Tourists riding scooters in busy areas with little to no experience is major cause of accidents and can result in loss of life so please do not ride scooters unless you get a lesson and have the opportunity to practice before hopping on Bali’s crazy roads. An understanding of the road rules (which are not by the book at all) and how to evade dangerous situations is a must if you’re going to drive a scooter.
Your last option is using Blue Bird taxi services. When not at the airport, this will involve you flagging down a taxi out on the street and can result in you getting hollered at from every direction, so ask your hotel to organise a taxi for you if they have a local contact, or be mindful of only using Blue Bird taxis that pull up for you on the street. Check that they use a metre, or agree on a rate prior to getting in, and pull up the directions on your Google Maps so you can make sure you’re going in the right direction.
Planning to visit Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan or the Gili Islands?
You can reach these islands off Bali’s East Coast easily from the new port complex in Sanur, with some operators departing from the much further, Padang Bai. We recommend booking your tickets in advance as there are only limited numbers of seats on each ferry or ‘fast boat’ and they only make one or two trips per day. It can get overwhelming trying to figure out which ticket sellers are legit and what is a fair price at the ports, so we’ve always booked ours in advance online at least a few days before!
We always use a reliable, transparent ticket booking service like 12go.com for arranging ferry, train and bus transfers on our adventures and they’ve made sure that long AND short distance trips in Indonesia, Thailand and even India have been simple, quick and stress free experiences. A lot of operators on 12go.com offer instant confirmation and provide all the ticket info you need in English which is super helpful!
Day Trips
For those visiting Bali on a short holiday, the best & recommended option is hiring a private driver for the day.
Travelling with a private drivers is an awesome way to see all the sights without the stress of driving Bali’s crazy roads or having to find a taxi in the middle of the jungle.
Private drivers can be priced anywhere up to around $100AUD for 8 to 10 hours (prices vary depending on length & distance of trip), so if you are travelling with a friend or partner, you could have a full day tour for only $50AUD. Private drivers can customise your day based on what you want to see, get you to certain places at the least busy times, know where the best toilet stops are and can make some incredible local recommendations. It also gives you a wonderful opportunity to connect with a local and learn more about the Balinese culture.
The private drivers will wait in the car park at each stop on your day tour, so you are under no time limit and can experience the sights at your own pace.
The cost of the private driver does not cover entry to tourist spots and you may need to contribute to the car parking fees at each site (usually from $2 to $5AUD).
An easy way that we’ve found private drivers is booking short trips on Grab & Gojek and asking if they do private tours. Many drivers will have their own “taxi” service and will offer private tours, and this gives you a chance to see if the driver is someone you’d trust and like to travel with for the day. Otherwise, you can ask your accommodation for a recommended driver, most will have one or two that they can refer.
If you’re a more seasoned scooter driver, hiring a scooter is a great way to take a day trip and stop as you please. Take into account wet weather, especially in the rainy season (November to March) as a wet afternoon shower might put a dampener on your otherwise wonderful day trip as you head home on the scooter.
Travelling from region to region
For all our region to region trips (Ubud to Uluwatu, Uluwatu to Canggu etc), we opted to use ride share services (Grab/Gojek) so that we didn’t need to negotiate the price.
If we found a good driver on a previous trip, we asked for their WhatsApp number and contacted them directly to book these longer trips, and found they always matched or beat the Grab/Gojek advertised price.
You could expect to pay from 180 000 IDR to travel Uluwatu to Canggu and 300 000 IDR to travel Ubud to Uluwatu, so you have an idea of approximate pricing.
The other viable option is Blue Bird taxi, but again, this means you will have to negotiate the price and run the risk of getting ripped off, so be sure to look up how much the trip should cost or ask your accommodation provider so you have a good idea of how the ride should be priced.
Final tips
For trips in any vehicles in Bali, be sure to look out for your valuables. If travelling via your own scooter, put your valuables in the seat (phone, wallet, house keys) and if using a ride share scooter, hold your valuables firmly between you and the driver. If travelling in a car, we opted to place our luggage in the boot and keep our backpacks/camera bags at our feet as we have heard of boots being opened and bags being stolen!
When using Ride Share services, there are options available that include insurance. We always opted for the cheapest option (without insurance), but be sure not to get these options confused.
That’s It!
If you’ve made it down here, thank you so much for reading!
This is how you can easily and safely travel around Bali! It’s not as daunting as it might seem to a complete beginner, and these really are the easiest ways to explore all the amazing sights of Bali! If you’ve got any questions, ask them below!