1 week holiday in Seminyak, need tips and hints

[sheanaz]

Hello, So we are having our honeymoon in Bali, staying at the breezes hotel in seminyak.

We heard you have to get a travel visa on arrival and it must be paid in american dollars? Is this true? And how much will they cost?

We also heard that everyone will try and rip us off - we dont like to haggle, how should we handle this?

Will we need to haggle with the hotel people and restaurants? Or is it just street folk who try to sell you things?

Any advice on money and how to safely travel would be great as I have heard they can be a bit sneaky and try to steal things if you arent careful..

Cheers

Narz

 

[T.J]

mmmhhhh....... I'm guessing you definitely haven't been to Bali before. You get the visa on arrival at the airport upon landing (and waiting).
Regarding the "everyone will try and rip us off" THAT IS THE WRONG MENTALITY to go to Bali with. You may sometimes pay more than someone else but where YOU happy with the purchase. If you are deceaved by the seller over the purchase then yes you have been ripped off.
If you where given a price and you accepted that price and completed the purchase then at no point where you ripped off. If you find out later that someone paid less for the same item, just try and think of the extra you paid as a donation.
Everyone is trying the best they can to make a living in Bali and in reality the small amount you may over pay, back in your home country if you lost it under the seat of the car you probably wouldn't go looking for it......!

Just relax and have a great time.

 

[sheanaz]

Cheers mate, and yes thats what I had asked a fair few people. They all said that they had to get a price, then half it.

I personally hate haggling, and I have felt a bit awkward about why they all "try to double the price".

We just are tight for money and cannot afford to pay too much for everything.. And it is our honeymoon!

 

[spicyayam]

The Visa on arrival is US$25. You can pay in other major currency but it's good to have the exact amount of money ready. If you go shopping in a market then you will need to bargain, but there are plenty of stores that have fixed prices. Restaurants, hotels etc are all pretty much fixed price. In the low season you can sometimes get a discount on room rates.

 

[matsaleh]

Cheers mate, and yes thats what I had asked a fair few people. They all said that they had to get a price, then half it.

I personally hate haggling, and I have felt a bit awkward about why they all "try to double the price".

We just are tight for money and cannot afford to pay too much for everything.. And it is our honeymoon!

If you don't like bargaining, I suggest you shop in the malls and department stores first. They're all fixed price and it will give you an idea of local prices (although the prices are a little inflated in these stores).

You could try Centro at Discovery Mall in Tuban or Matahari Department store in Kuta Square. If you''re looking for handicrafts, try Geneva Handicrafts. They're a fixed price shop and their address is Jalan Raya Kerobokan no. 100, Kerobokan.

 

[ronb]

Cheers mate, and yes thats what I had asked a fair few people. They all said that they had to get a price, then half it.

I personally hate haggling, and I have felt a bit awkward about why they all "try to double the price".

We just are tight for money and cannot afford to pay too much for everything.. And it is our honeymoon!

But there is no general rule. Some may ask double for some things, others will some times ask 5 or 10 times a good price. Others will only inflate the price a small amount - maybe 10%. It depends on
* whether they think you have any idea of the "real" price
* whether they think you may come back to them - if so and they give you a bad deal that you find out about - you won't come back
* the nature of the seller - some people are go-getters who will grab any chance of quick money, while others are just trying to make an "honest" living