thinking about going to bali..opinions?

Bring it on!!!

I'm thinking about going to bali next summer for three months.
Does anyone know any details or opinions on it?
also, i saw a report in the newspaper the other day talking about threats of terrorist attacks there...it doesn't sound very promising, i know! does anyone know anything more about this?

mikedragon32

Moved to Indy travel

BuffyBot

Well they are about to execute the guys who commited the Bali bombings - so the risk factor of revenge/retaliation attacks certainly will be greater.

S.M.B.

3 months in Bali sounds like an awful long time but it's a great base to see the rest of Indonesia if you plan on doing a bit more travelling.

I didn't spend much time there tbh and the time I did spend there was mostly in Kuta which would be very different to rest of the island.

I'm not too sure about the threat of further terrorist attacks but the place really hasn't recovered from the previous ones and might never.

What exactly are you interested in doing? A surfing getaway or just a lengthy holiday?

Bring it on!!!

well i'm going with a big group of both guys and girls. lots of them will be surfing, i won;t be one of them. so, do you think i'd get bored there for three months?
Thanks for the replies!!!

mac123

if your not surfing you might get bored for that long. the diving is quality there too if your into that. personally i think you would be mad to spend 3 full months just in bali, you should try and check out lombok, the gili islands, maybe make a trip to komodo(i didnt have the time), java was excellent and sumatra is the best place iv ever been.
that being said i could easily spend 3 months in bali alone but it would be a bit of a waste considering how amazing the rest of the country is.
i was there for 2 months and could have easily stayed alot longer.!
the summer months are the high season and the dry season there too which is a plus.
i wouldnt let terrorism turn me off either, the chances are so small!

S.M.B.

As the above poster said, it's not that you couldn't spend 3 months in Bali but more that you could use that time to see quite a lot of Indonesia.

The good thing is that Bali is the perfect spot to base yourself so visiting other islands would be very easy and affordable.

Java and Sumatra to the west (which I didn't manage to see but hope to someday down the line) and Lombok, Flores & the Gilis and Komodo/Rinca to the east which are all amazing places. Indonesian Borneo to the north is also an option.

Don't worry about the small threat of terrorism and go for it. If you find yourself loving Bali then you can hang around for the 3 months but other islands are only a short ferry/plane journey away.

kraggy

How cheap is Bali and the rest of Indonesia guys, in comparison to say Thailand?

S.M.B.

I kind of forget how expensive Indonesia was but I'd take that as meaning there isn't a lot of difference between the 2 countries.

The one thing I do remember is that when you're in the more isolated areas of Indonesia there isn't as much value in accomodation mainly because there's very little choice.

Apart from that I think food/drink/shopping/transport is all pretty cheap.

HarryD

As someone that doesn't normally like costa del sol's, I loved Bali.
Great atmosphere, super cheap..
Indonesia is probably the cheapest country in the region.
Certainly cheaper than Thaialand/Malaysia/Philippines/Australia/Singapore.
We were paying 3EUR for an ensuite double room with brekkie included.
(not the cleanest of joints mind)

3 months is a long time to spend there, but plenty to do in the region.

mac123

kraggy wrote: »

How cheap is Bali and the rest of Indonesia guys, in comparison to say Thailand?

accomodation and food are the main differences. to eat a main course in a good restaurant would only cost about €5-6. you can easily eat a good 3 course meal for that price in a more normal restaurant. accomodation, depends on where exactly but you can usually find somewhere decent for€4 or so and that often includes breakfast. stayed in one place in kuta for €5.50 had free breakfast and a pool, double bed and ensuite.
drinks about €1 for a big bottle in shops, twice that in clubs. its a bit more expensive in java for drink in clubs.
overall i found it to be about €3-400 a month cheaper than Thailand.

S.M.B.

Now I think of it, I ended up splashing out quite a bit on my accomodation while in Bali. Around 12e a night but in a fantastic place. I can't even imagine what it'd cost to stay in some place similar this side of the world.

kraggy

mac123 wrote: »

accomodation and food are the main differences. to eat a main course in a good restaurant would only cost about €5-6. you can easily eat a good 3 course meal for that price in a more normal restaurant. accomodation, depends on where exactly but you can usually find somewhere decent for€4 or so and that often includes breakfast. stayed in one place in kuta for €5.50 had free breakfast and a pool, double bed and ensuite.
drinks about €1 for a big bottle in shops, twice that in clubs. its a bit more expensive in java for drink in clubs.
overall i found it to be about €3-400 a month cheaper than Thailand.

Jees, I remember paying much less for decent accom and meals in thailand. The average I paid in Thailand for a bungalow was 3 euro a night. And got many meals for 2/3 euro.

I realise your rooms in Bali were nice but was there anything more basic there?

S.M.B.

kraggy wrote: »

Jees, I remember paying much less for decent accom and meals in thailand. The average I paid in Thailand for a bungalow was 3 euro a night. And got many meals for 2/3 euro.

I realise your rooms in Bali were nice but was there anything more basic there?

150THB a night for a bungalow? :eek:

mac123

kraggy wrote: »

Jees, I remember paying much less for decent accom and meals in thailand. The average I paid in Thailand for a bungalow was 3 euro a night. And got many meals for 2/3 euro.

I realise your rooms in Bali were nice but was there anything more basic there?

Well in kuta bali i was paying about €3 a night for a decent room most nights but you wont get one much better than that unless your staying longterm, as in a month or more. It included breakfast too.
When were you last in Thailand? Im guessing it was a good few years ago cause there isnt many bungalows for that price anymore, found one place on koh phangan for 120 baht a night this year but it was a bit like a straw hut. the budget rooms there are more like 300-350 a night now, and the only really cheap food is the stall food. I even noticed a big difference in the prices this year compared to 07, the taxi prices on koh phangan have doubled!

kraggy

Yeah fair enough, it was 2005. But that's only 3 years. I suppose it's long enough to put up prices that much.

mac123

yeah i was there the last 2 years and found the prices higher this summer, down in the islands anyway, bkk is still the same as was laos. but i found indonesia much cheaper, and probably better overall!