Tips Money Saving For Your Bali Vacation

Despite what you may listen to about global commodity cost increases & inflation, Bali can still be a inexpensive place to visit, provided you do your home-work. While bargains may be increasingly hard to come by in the overdeveloped tourist oriented south of the island, the remainder of Bali remains a price-conscious traveller's dream come true.

Here are a few tips for the frugal traveller in Bali:

Learn to bargain with shopkeepers! Expect to haggle at most open air markets & shops outside the upscale fixed-price stores in the South. Haggling is common for the locals of Bali, & there is no reason why you should not join in the fun!

Learn to love your local warung. Warungs are simple food stalls found all over Bali. They can provide an excellent dining experience at a fraction of the cost of your average meal at the hotel.
Hiring a automobile with a driver can be cheap in Bali, make sure you hire someone reliable who has been recommended by your hotel. Other inexpensive forms of travel in Bali include buses & rented motorbikes.
If you look outside the few tourist dominated cities in Bali, you can often find great deals with smaller boutique hotels in less crowded parts of Bali.
Not everything you do ought to cost funds! There is no shortage of relaxing & rewarding activities you can take part in that won't cost you a cent. These include taking in the sights, sounds & smells at the local open air market; observing (respectfully) a religious ceremony; going for a walk in the plush countryside; or lazing about on the beach, absorbing the sun.















If you are looking to invest in international property in Bali, then you ought to seriously think about Lovina Beach Resort in north Bali. Much more affordable than Bali's tourist saturated south, Lovina Beach in the island's north shore is a region with tremendous growth potential. A great Bali property investment opportunity right now, Lovina is a quiet, calm & green place to live with the added advantage of a low cost of living.

Places to shop in Bali

Shopping is a very famous activity for travellers to Bali. In fact, tourist shops are sprinkled all over bali in the hope of getting lots of tourist visitors as customers! I've come up with 8 destinations for tourists to visit for your must-do shopping activity during your Bali Vacation! However, before you embark on your shopping adventure, do read up my "Shopping In Bali" guide to ensure that you get the best buys and good prices ;)

Denpasar

Denpasar being the capital of Bali, is the main "market" for the Balinese. Kumbasari market, which is nearby Badung River, is the biggest traditional market. It is the perfect place to get an insight into the traditional Indonesia market where local people do their daily shopping. Fruit, vegetables and meat can be found in the basement; on the second level is the place for spices and dried goods; while household wares, clothing, art and craft is on the third level. Here you can get a very good price if you're smart in bargaining. To find handicrafts, shoe shops and restaurants, you can head towards the northern part of Gajah Mada Street. To the east is Sulawesi Street, where you can get textiles and fabrics. On both sides of Sulawesi Street, you can find shops providing household wares. The area here is very colorful with all types of material from the traditional "songket" (cloth woven with strands of gold or silver) to modern day stretchy and shiny material. Why not buy your cloth by the meter and have a suit or dress made up by a local tailor. On the west Side of the market is the place for locals to buy coconut leaf and ceremonial supplies. In the southern part is Hasanudin Street where you can see gold and jewellery shops, tourists are always welcome but Ubud

Ubud is well-known for fine arts with international standard. This is where you can get the best Balinese culture arts and crafts. Highly-regarded art galleries such as Sumertha, Neka, Agung Rai, Rudana and Sika are highly recommended. Big names like Hans Snel and Antonio Blanco is recommended too however they may be really expensive.






The Kuta Area
As an international village almost all of the shops and restaurants here are for tourist market. You can find handicrafts, clothing, jewelry, CDs, furniture and leather crafts on each side of the road. But you can also see many street hawkers with their various offerings along the road. If you do not want to buy anything from them, do not make eye contact and do not ever look at their products, for if you do, they will follow you along the street and pester you to buy something.

Batubulan

On the border of Denpasar and Gianyar, lies Batubulan, the home to sculptures made of stone. You can find various kind of sculptures here ranging from traditional to minimalist, small to large, cheap to expensive :) The craftsmen can sculp random and custom orders and even ship them to your home address back in your country.




Sukawati

This area is popular to shop for Balinese arts. If you ask the locals where to get the cheapest Balinese arts and crafts, Sukawati will be their answer. Besides arts and crafts, you can also find statues, paintings, cloth, Balinese jewelry and also Balinese ceremonial needs,






Tegalalang

Very colourful wooden carvings of flowers, objects and more are displayed gracefully along the road. Various woodcarvings can be found in this village and its nearby neighbourhood at cheap prices! Here's the place to really master the art of bargaining.






Bono

The village to shop for anything made of Bamboo! Yes practically everything from furnitures to mats to window blinds! The villagers are really good at making use of Bamboo for their crafts. You'll be amazed at their talent and creativity!











Tenganan

This is where the native Balinese are located. The "Bali Aga" village in Karangasem, is the only village in Bali that produces the sought-after Balinese Geringsing textile. The materials for Geringsing are all acquired from the surrounding nature. To process Geringsing fabric, traditional methods rooting back to the old Balinese times, are used. The fabric is very delicate, durable and long-lasting thus the expensive price tags! No chemicals are used in the process and great care is taken to ensure the "natural" process.