Bali A to Z: Visas, the Tourist Levy, Temples & Beaches

Why Bali, and how this guide works

It helps to think of Bali in two halves. The south , Canggu, Seminyak, Uluwatu, is the surf, sunset and nightlife Bali, busy and fun and traffic-choked. The centre, around Ubud, is the cultural heart: rice fields, art villages, temples and yoga, set in cooler green hills. A good first week splits time between the two, with Ubud as the soul and the coast as the exhale.

We will sort the practical essentials first, your visa, the customs declaration and the tourist levy, then travel the island. If you are pairing Bali with the mainland, our Thailand travel guide covers the arrival paperwork there too. Resist the urge to island-hop in a single week: Bali rewards staying put and going deep far more than racing between every viral photo spot on the map.

First things first: visa & customs

Most visitors arrive on a Visa on Arrival (VoA). It is open to citizens of around 90 countries, including the UK, the US, Australia, Canada and most of Europe, costs IDR 500,000 (about US$35), and allows a 30-day stay that can be extended once by a further 30 days at an immigration office. You can buy it on arrival, but the queues are shorter if you pre-purchase the e-VOA online first.

Use only the official government portals. The e-VOA is issued at molina.imigrasi.go.id and the customs declaration at ecd.beacukai.go.id. Any site that adds a “service fee” is an unofficial middleman.

Separately, every arriving traveller must complete an electronic Customs Declaration (e-CD). The quick version:

1. Within 3 days of arrival, open the official customs site (ecd.beacukai.go.id) or its app.
2. Enter your passport, flight and personal details, and declare anything above the duty-free allowance.
3. Submit and save the QR code, you will scan it at the customs gate after collecting your bags.

Make sure your passport is valid for at least six months beyond arrival, with a blank page. Visa and customs rules do change, so reconfirm the current requirements on the official sites close to your trip.

The Bali Tourist Levy explained

Since 14 February 2024, Bali charges every foreign visitor a one-off tourist levy of IDR 150,000 (around US$10). The money funds the protection of the island's culture and environment, the very things you are coming to see, and it is separate from your visa.

Pay it only through the official Love Bali system at lovebali.baliprov.go.id or the Love Bali app. Cards are accepted, and you receive a voucher with a QR code.

It takes two minutes. Pay before you fly (recommended) or on arrival, save the QR-code voucher to your phone, and keep it handy, officials may ask to see it at the airport or at major attractions. You pay once per visit, however long you stay, and the flat rate applies to children too.

Ubud: the cultural heart

Ubud is where Bali keeps its culture. Start before breakfast with a walk along the Campuhan Ridge, a grassy spine between two rivers that is blissfully cool and quiet at dawn. Spend a morning at the Tegallalang rice terraces, go early, before the tour buses , or better, hire a local guide to walk you through the working terraces around Tegallalang and Jatiluwih where farmers still tend the ancient subak irrigation system.

Ubud is also Bali's craft capital. The surrounding villages each specialise , wood carving in Mas, silver in Celuk, painting in Batuan. An afternoon visiting a workshop, watching a master at work, is worth a dozen souvenir stalls.

Temples and the rhythm of ritual

Bali is overwhelmingly Hindu, and its temples are living places of worship, not museums. The cliff-top Uluwatu temple at sunset, with its kecak fire dance, is justly famous. Tirta Empul near Ubud is a holy spring where pilgrims still perform purification rituals in the cold water, you may join respectfully with a guide and a sarong.

Wherever you go, dress modestly: a sarong and sash, usually available to borrow at the gate, are required. Step over, never on, the little palm-leaf offerings you will find everywhere underfoot, they are gifts to the spirits, replaced fresh every single day.

The coast and the Nusa islands

When you are ready for the sea, head south. Uluwatu and the Bukit peninsula have the most dramatic cliffs and the cleanest surf; tiny beaches like Padang Padang and Bingin hide at the foot of the rock. Canggu is the hip, café-dense surf town, great for learning to ride a wave and lingering over a long lunch.

For the postcard turquoise water, take a fast boat from Sanur to the Nusa islands: Nusa Penida's cliffs and Nusa Lembongan's mangroves make a brilliant day trip or overnight escape from the main island's bustle.

Wellness without the cliché

Bali earned its wellness reputation honestly. Beyond the Instagram yoga, you will find genuine depth: traditional balian healers, sound-bath meditation in open-air bamboo halls, and some of the best-value massage and spa treatments anywhere on earth. A flower-bath and two-hour massage that would cost a fortune at home is an affordable everyday ritual here.

Eat well too, the island's café culture means fresh smoothie bowls and plant-based cooking sit happily alongside smoky street-side satay and slow-cooked babi guling.

Where to stay & a sample week

Bali's accommodation is its own pleasure. Around Ubud you can sleep in a private villa with a plunge pool overlooking the rice fields for a fraction of what it would cost almost anywhere else; further out, eco-bamboo retreats and family homestays put you among the rituals of village life. On the coast, Uluwatu has dramatic clifftop hotels while Canggu leans toward stylish guesthouses and surf lodges. Wherever you stay, a pool and good shade are worth paying a little extra for in the tropical heat.

A balanced first week: arrive and settle into Ubud; day two for the Campuhan Ridge at dawn and a rice-terrace walk; day three visiting craft villages and a temple purification at Tirta Empul; day four a slow spa-and-café day; then transfer south for day five of surf and sunset at Uluwatu; day six a boat trip to Nusa Penida; and a final morning on the beach before you fly. Throughout, travel kindly, cover up away from the beach, hire local guides and eat at warungs, and the island gives back tenfold.

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