By: VS.
Traveling to Bali? How will you get around? Drive? Walk? Taxi? Better yet, why not hire your own personal driver? This is why I did.
In November 2018, my wife and I went on our honeymoon to Bali. We visited 3 different cities – Ubud, Seminyak, and Jimbaran Bay – that had its own unique qualities. While we were in Ubud, about an hour Northeast of Denpasar International Airport, we stayed at a hotel/resort called Bali Jungle Huts.
When we first arrived to check in, a man approached us at the front desk and asked us if we had a driver to show us around town. We told him we hadn’t and he asked us if we were interested in hiring him. Truthfully, I was a little caught off guard because I didn’t know hiring a driver was even a thing in Bali. At first, admittedly, I assumed he was a scam artist prowling on innocent tourists, charging insane fees for tours that really wouldn’t be worth it in the end. Besides, it had to be extremely expensive to hire a personal driver, right?
Well, quite the contrary, we found out that this man, whose name was Kadek, was actually a very honest, hardworking family man who was hired as an independent contractor by the resort to provide tours and driver services to guests to make their trips smoother.
He was incredibly friendly and nice. He presented us with a packet with different packages, in which he would basically drive us around wherever we wanted to go. We decided to hire him for a day in Ubud and chose a package which included 5 different locations for roughly ~$30 USD the entire day (entrance fee not included).
Throughout the day, he gave us water to rehydrate and bought us snacks so we wouldn’t be hungry. He also let us borrow money (which was kinda awkward at first) to buy souvenirs and pay for entrance fees. At one point, he even invited us to meet his family at his home but we respectfully declined (although next time we would be glad to meet his family).
At the end of the day, he also took us to our next destination, Seminyak, for no extra charge. If we had gone on the fly and paid for taxis and ride sharing services from one location to the next, it would’ve costed more than $30 bucks. The best part was simply not having to worry about how we would get from A to B and having a driver on standby for the entire day. It was absolutely worth hiring him!
What was great about Kadek was that he was flexible with where we wanted to go and when we wanted to start and end the day. He was very personable and treated us more like family rather than clients. Til this day, I keep in touch with him, referring my friends to him whenever they vacation in Bali.
With all this being said, there are definitely dishonest people out there who charge unreasonably high rates, trying to suck you dry thinking that tourists naturally have the money to pay. In order to prevent encountering people like this, I recommend that you hire a driver PRIOR to your trip and get referrals from friends or family members who have vacationed in Bali and hired a driver before. You can also check with your hotel or resort to see if they can give you referrals. Once you get a list of drivers, contact them and negotiate a price. If you negotiate well, they’ll even pick you up from the airport upon arrival and take you back for departure. What a steal!
So, should you hire a driver when vacationing in Bali? Well, that would depend on you and your circumstances. To get a list of different modes of transportation in Bali, click here to read my blog post about the different options.
Need a referral now? Leave a comment or DM me on Instagram – @isntgeesolovely .
Safe travels!
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