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Places to stay: the distinguished collection

We rank nothing. Every distinction below is delivered by a named body, stated with its year and linked to it.

The limestone cliffs at Uluwatu dropping to a reef break, with turquoise water and vegetation on the clifftop

Featured destination

Uluwatu

Limestone cliffs at the southern tip of the island, above a line of reef breaks. Clifftop temple, steep access paths down to most beaches.

Photograph by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

All destinations

Destination photographs come from Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licences. Each guide names its photographer and licence.

Bali travel essentials

Read this before you fly

Six rules that decide how the trip starts, each verified against the Indonesian source it cites, each carrying its date.

  1. 01 · arrival

    Everything you must pay to enter Bali

    Two payments at most, two free filings. A single-entry visit visa at Rp 500,000 for up to 30 days unless your passport is on the visa-free list, the Bali tourist levy at Rp 150,000 unless you are in an exempt class, plus the arrival card and customs declaration, both free.

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  2. 02 · money

    How much cash you can carry into and out of Bali

    Declare from Rp 100,000,000, cash and instruments combined, any currency, into or out of Indonesia. No traveller on their own account may carry foreign banknotes of Rp 1 billion or more; rupiah out from Rp 100,000,000 needs a BI permit. Silence: 10 percent, up to Rp 300 million.

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  3. 03 · customs

    What you can bring into Bali duty free

    USD 500 of personal goods per person per arrival enters free of duty. Each adult may also bring 200 cigarettes, 25 cigars or 100 grams of tobacco, and 1 litre of alcohol, set in PMK 82/2024 Pasal 36; the arrival form puts adult at 18 for tobacco and 21 for alcohol.

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  4. 04 · safety

    What Indonesia's drug law means for a Bali holiday

    Since 2 January 2026, Indonesia's narcotics law carries no mandatory minimums. UU 1/2023's Pasal 609 caps Golongan I possession at 12 years and/or a fine to category VI. Import above threshold still risks death, already covering Golongan II before its floor was removed.

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  5. 05 · health

    Does travel insurance cover a scooter crash in Bali?

    Only on conditions. World Nomads: six, including a home motorbike licence for the class and a helmet; its page says both tick at purchase and covered automatically. 1Cover: motorcycle licence over 125cc, car licence medical only to 125cc. Neither pays for the bike or liability.

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  6. 06 · driving

    Do you need an International Driving Permit in Bali?

    Carry your national licence and an IDP. Indonesian law imposes no IDP duty on foreign drivers by name. It requires a licence valid here, and that validity depends on a treaty. Two articles apply, with two different maximum fines.

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When to go

Wet season, dry season, and the two hinges between them: one honest page per month, and the whole year answered on a single hub.

Best time to visit Bali

Everything we have verified