Hi, joined gathering info on intended move to Bali

DaCaro

Hi, partner and I are fortunate enough to have retired early and have been cruising Aust east coat for the past 7 years on our boat. Had thought of coming across and doing Indonesia on the boat for a few years before becoming dirt people again but now thinking probably better off selling her in Oz (easier) and flying across. Plan will be to rent a small pool villa for a month at a time at different locations to see what works and then jump in and grab something better for a year or more once a location is chosen. There'll be a few questions regarding the new version of the retirement visas am hoping to get clarification on after I have done a search for an answer first. Thanks

spicyayam

If I was you, I would sail around Indonesia before settling down. You might even find a spot you like more than Bali. Check out Sail Indonesia: http://www.sailindonesia.net/ I know a lot of people are complaining about overpriced villa rentals in Bali at the moment.

gtrken

DaCaro wrote Hi, partner and I are fortunate enough to have retired early and have been cruising Aust east coat for the past 7 years on our boat.

Jealous doesn't even come close to describing it... Cheers Ken

DaCaro

If I was you, I would sail around Indonesia before settling down. You might even find a spot you like more than Bali.

It's a larger motor vessel, 60ft , deep draft and heavy and the quotes I've had for slipping in Benoa are around 6 X more expensive than Australia and the facilities to do it are rather primitive. I'm not sure I'd want to put the old girl through it. No other places to do it within 1000 miles apparently. I'd have to go another 1200 miles to Jakarta before better facilities and pricing is reasonable. Or Thailand.

Check out Sail Indonesia: http://www.sailindonesia.net/

Have done, thanks, there are a few more now as well.

I know a lot of people are complaining about overpriced villa rentals in Bali at the moment.

Yeah, still a lot cheaper than anything like it in Oz from what I'm seeing.

YachtRock

Hey, welcome to the forum. If I was you, I would do what others suggested and sail around Indonesia to find your favourite island. There are 18,110 islands in this country and Bali is far from the most beautiful. I'm just here for my kids and school and business opportunities but if I had money in the bank and no strings attached, you'd find me on some desolate island out east with no WiFi signal.

Markit

As usual I disagree with most posters here. If you are interested in seeing Indonesia then sell the boat and buy a couple of Nmax 155cc scooters from Yamaha and set sail (roll? ). The ferry connections around and between the islands are good, if somewhat primitive but once you've figured out how they work and if you're not driven by some external time schedule you can really travel the islands at your leisure and in some luxury as the hotel/villa infrastructure around the islands of Indonesia are actually quite good. Don't be scared by the difficulty booking various islands - there is more than one ferry system and the best way to find your way around here is to befriend someone in the Pelny (ferries) offices and they will happily help you find your way around. I have a contact if you need one. The islands all seem to have wonderful, pristine almost abandoned asphalt roads (stick to Google maps and don't deviate or you'll be lost forever on terrible roads) with lots of wonderful experiences at the ends of them. Forget the yacht (bite your tongue Mark!!!) and embrace Yamaha Nmaxs. You'll meet great locals and smell what's for dinner as you glide by.

DaCaro

YachtRock wrote

Markit wrote As usual I disagree with most posters here. If you are interested in seeing Indonesia then sell the boat and buy a couple of Nmax 155cc scooters from Yamaha and set sail (roll? ). Forget the yacht (bite your tongue Mark!!!) and embrace Yamaha Nmaxs. You'll meet great locals and smell what's for dinner as you glide by.

Well, the wife doesn't ride so that'd be out I did learn to ride on the streets of Vietnam so the traffic wouldn't bother me and she was happy enough on the back of 125 scooters for the months we were there. In Thailand we did miles on a PCX and when back in Oz I got a 650 Suzuki Burgan scooter and we put some big miles on that so yeah, could go for that if we could get a big enough scooter, 400cc+.

Markit

DaCaro wrote Well, the wife doesn't ride so that'd be out I did learn to ride on the streets of Vietnam so the traffic wouldn't bother me and she was happy enough on the back of 125 scooters for the months we were there. In Thailand we did miles on a PCX and when back in Oz I got a 650 Suzuki Burgan scooter and we put some big miles on that so yeah, could go for that if we could get a big enough scooter, 400cc+.

Maximum size you can have here (sort of) is 250cc before you start running into probs from the gov BUT the reason I recommend the Nmax 155cc is anything bigger is unmanageable on the local narrow and twisty roads and it's got more than enough power to get you into trouble. Tried the Xmax 250cc and drove right back to the dealership and swapped it for my Nmax - underpowered and overweight. Only "influencers" (and the local rich sons) are stupid enough to go for the bigger bikes here and that's mainly because they pose on them instead of riding. Once you're away from the main cities traffic is easy.