One of the most challenging things in terms of travel planning is to estimate how much money will be actually needed. In this Budget Guide, I will give you an outline of my spending during my stay in Indonesia and categorize it also into sections. This will help you to plan your budget for your next trip and I'm sure, after reading this, you definitely have an exact overview of the costs of living in Indonesia.
Contents:
Accommodation
Indonesia has one of the most valuable stays I’ve ever seen. With just a bit of money, you can rent a decent apartment and with a little more money even a villa. It really depends on you, how much and how luxurious you want to live, but the average price per night was around 30$. We stayed in standard apartments that were good for 2 people. To give you a greater overview, here’s a list of view places and the price for budget, standard and luxurious apartments:
Place | Budget | Standard | Luxurious |
Canggu, Bali | 10$ | 25$ | 50+$ |
Uluwatu, Bali | 20$ | 35$ | 50+$ |
Kuta, Lombok | 15$ | 20$ | 40+$ |
Transportation
To get around in Indonesia you can either rent a motorbike/scooter or, depending on your location, get a driver through Grab or Gojek.
Renting a scooter/motorbike:
The most important thing to know is, that the prices are negotiable, especially when you’re staying longer than 1 week. In our experience, we paid around 60’000-70’000 IDR (3.50-4.20$) for daily rates and around 40’000 IDR for having the scooter longer than a week. As you can see, the difference is huge!
Sometimes they tried to charge us a scooter/motorbike for 100’000 IDR a day, that’s way too much and should not be accepted, you definitely find a cheaper one.
Grab/Gojek:
It’s the most convenient way to get around the island of Bali, but will not be available in Nusa Penida, or other islands. Like Uber, you must download an app and through that app, you’ll order a car or a motorbike. The price is dependent on time, weather conditions, and traffic. To give you an overview, I write down some prices I paid during my stay.
Short drive around Canggu | 16'000 IDR | 1$ |
45-minutes ride in Bali with a motorbike | 45'000 - 60'000 IDR | 2.80 - 3.80$ |
Long ride by car (1 - 2 hours) | 150'000 IDR | 9 - 10 $ |
As you can see, getting around with Grab or goJek is very affordable and if you’re not confident in riding a scooter I’dA short45-minute recommend ordering a driver than riding by yourself.
Food and beverages
I have already mentioned it before and in some other blog posts as well, but Indonesia is one of the most affordable places to eat in a restaurant and you will get high-quality food for every desire. You can choose local food, like Nasi Goreng or Campur, which will definitely cost you less than Western food. Down below you'll find a quick summary of what I spent for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
BREAKFAST/LUNCH:
Smoothie Bowl | 60,000 IDR | 4$ |
Coffee | 25,000 - 30,000 IDR | 1.50$ |
Avocado Toast | 60,000 - 85,000 IDR | 4 - 5$ |
Juice/Smoothie | 30,000 IDR | 2$ |
DINNER:
Pizza | 95,000 - 120,000 IDR | 6 - 7$ |
Pasta | 60,000 - 95,000 IDR | around 3.80$ |
Nasi Goreng | 25,000 - 55,000 IDR | 2$ |
Mexican Burrito | 65,000$ | 4$ |
Beer | starts from 25,000 - 50,000 IDR | 2 - 3.50$ |
Water (in a restaurant) | 20,000 IDR | 1$ |
Daily Needs
Here’s a list of daily products you could need while you’re staying in Indonesia. That will give you a greater insight into surfboard living costs.
Water (1 liter) | 10,000 IDR | 0.60$ |
Softdrink | 8,000 IDR | 0.50$ |
Chips | 5,000 - 25,000 IDR | 0.30 - 2$ |
1kg of Mango | 17,000 IDR | 1$ |
Cigarettes (1 pack) | 26,000 IDR | 1.65$ |
Activities
The list of activities you can do in Indonesia is endless, however, I’ll list some of the most popular activities down for you:
Surf Lesson (2 hours) | 300,000 IDR | 20$ |
Renting a surf board (2 hours) | 50,000 IDR | 3.20$ |
Visiting temples | 50,000 IDR | 3.20$ |
Visiting waterfalls | 20,000 - 50,000 IDR | 1.30 - 3.20$ |
2 deck chairs and an umbrella | 100,000 IDR | 6$ |
Getting a massage (60 minutes) | 150,000 - 200,000 IDR | 10 - 15$ |
Gym Membership for a month | 450,000 - 500,000 IDR | 28 - 32$ |
Daily Budget
As a matter of all the facts, it may be useful for you to know approximately the daily spending in Indonesia. It definitely makes it easier for you to have a better overview of your own spending and is my way to calculate if I'm over budget or not. I'll divide the daily spending into three categories:
Budget
Standard
Luxurious
BUDGET
A Budget traveler that stays in simple accommodations often eats local food and drinks beer instead of cocktails can travel for a little money in Indonesia. If you're such a person 30$ a day is absolutely realistic.
STANDARD
I consider myself being a standard traveler, who wants a decent accommodation but doesn't have to be high-end and all-inclusive. I prefer to have my smoothie bowls in the morning and to dine-in in the evening and I also drink cocktails and sometimes some beer as well. I spent 50$ per day and I never had to abstain from anything.
LUXURIOUS
If you're planning to stay only for two weeks, need to wind down from your stressful job, and just want to relax and eat the best possible food, have the best of just everything, then you're in the category luxurious. A luxurious traveler should consider spending around 80$ a day, depending on your accommodation, because that will eat up your daily expenses.
I hope that you've found this budget guide useful and if you have any questions, just let me know in the comments. Write a comment and I'll answer your question as soon as possible.
Thank you for reading!
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