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Bali’s city roads and main highways range from
the 4 lane Bypass, to single track potholed
lanes, and having a car - no matter how modest -
to drive on them can make the difference between
exploring and feeling like you are on just
another package tour. In short,
Balidiscovery.org.uk recommends hiring a car
during your visit. It’s also not a bad idea to
begin familiarizing yourself with some of the
Bali maps so you can form your mental
picture before you arrive. Renting a car in
Bali can be a lot less informal than in
westernized countries. The office of a car
rental place may be nothing more than a 10ft by
10ft street side room with a wooden desk. The
choice of vehicle limited to the 2 or 3 in the
curb, plus ones that aren’t being used by the
owner’s relatives. Very often you will be told a
car is on its way. What is happening is a friend
or relative has a car and after draining the
fuel, it will be delivered. Many of the local
street side car rental places open at 9am. If
you rent a car it is for 24 hours and you might
prefer to pick it up the morning of your trip,
rather than the night before. You can arrange
this in advance and on occasion the renter has
given me the keys the night before, telling me
he would bill me as if I picked it up the next
morning.
• Some of the cars a few years old have a few
dings. Sometimes much can be made of these.
Before you drive off, walk
around the car and check the dings and
dents. Better still, photograph
the car from all angles. In my
experience a couple of things that can make a
trip unpleasant are seats that don’t stay
upright and air conditioning that doesn’t work.
Remember to check these too.
• In Bali all foreign drivers are expected to
have an International Driving License.
The renter doesn’t care if you don’t, and
actually doesn’t care if you have a license at
all, he just wants the car rented. Filling out
the rental form you can get away without having
ID or a passport. Just write your name, address,
passport number and say ‘can’t remember’ to the
other stuff. You can pay extra for
insurance, which might cost 45,000rp a
day. I have rented cars without the insurance,
and have never been in an accident, so don’t
know the process that ‘actually’ occurs.
• The owner of C.V Amertha Dana
in Legian told me if I got into an
accident, to call him and he would sort
it out. In real world Bali, if you get into an
accident with a local, you will pay. A crowd
will gather, the other driver will start
shouting and in 2 minutes 50 people will be
stranding there telling you to hand over money.
If the police arrive they will almost certainly
back them up. Your best bet in these situations
is to quickly hand over 100,000 -
200,000rp, even if the fender bender is
the other guy’s fault. If a crowd gathers it
will go to 1 million rp very fast. Your
insurance is worth as much as 2 dead flies in
situations like this. The advantage in having it
is the damage your car will be
covered…supposedly.
• When you receive a rental car in Bali, the
petrol gauge will always be on ‘empty’.
You will still be able to make it to the nearest
petrol station and the renter knows that you
will leave more petrol in the car than you
picked it up with. When you fill the car up at
the petrol station, bear in mind you will not be
reimbursed for the extra petrol. Try to do a
rough estimate of how much petrol you
will need. If its just a day trip to
Ubud, no need to use more than half a tank. A
trip around the island means you’ll fill up. At
the petrol station it is ‘full service’ meaning
the attendant will fill up the car. Occasionally
they will not reset the pump back to zero from
the last customer and you will get less than you
paid for. The times to watch out for, are when
the attendant is using a pump facing AWAY from
you so you can’t see the dial. In that situation
get out of the car, walk around and watch the
whole process, from start to stop.
• If you get pulled over by the
police, they will charge you on the
spot for not having a license. If you are in
this situation try to pass off 50,000rp and act
like its no big deal. Never hand money
directly to a policeman. Either put it
inside the registration, or if you get out of
the vehicle, on the car and let him pick it up.
The most common vehicles you will find in
Bali are :
• Suzuki Katana, ideal for 2 people of medium /
small stature looking to do some city driving or
some exploration around the island. Good gas
mileage, has AC, not much power, bumpy ride. In
Kuta, you can hire a Suzuki Katana (1990’s model
- about as modest as it gets) on a monthly basis
from anyone of a 100 different street side
places offering car hire. Perfect for
backpackers on extended stays.
• Toyota Kijang, ideal for 2
- 4 people looking to do city driving as well as
explore the island. Comfortable ride, okay
mileage, has AC, no power uphill.
• Diahatsu Feroza, good for
people who want city, island exploring and a bit
of rough exploring. The Feroza has a higher
clearance and shorter wheelbase than the Kijang.
Some are fitted with bigger tyres and can handle
rough conditions better. Comfortable ride, has
AC, okay gas mileage. Good for 2 - 3 people.
• Toyota Landcruiser, there are
many of these in Bali, but not so many for hire.
If you really want one be sure a local will find
you one. Most are from the 1970’s, horrible gas
mileage, plenty of power, huge wheels, no AC,
and nasty seat configuration. The 2 rear seats
are raised up and face inside. This vehicle is
good for 2 people, who want a vehicle that can
go anywhere.
• Mitsubishi Kuda, 1600cc
in-line 4-cylinder 12-valve petrol, Rear-wheel
drive, 5 to 7 passengers.
Most of the cars are stick shift,
particularly the older ones. There are some
auto’s, but you will have to ask to make sure.
For me the Feroza is the best option
if you want an all island car.
Bali Car Rental Service offers the ability to
reserve a car online. You can choose from an
array of decent Kijang type vehicle and have it
delivered to the airport, the harbor or your
hotel. This is a low stress way to find a car,
assuming you are ready for the Bali roads the
second you arrive. Minimum booking 3 days.
Bali Car Rentals, offers car with
driver for around US$50 a day. You
might enjoy your vacation more if you let
someone else do the driving.
•In the past I have arranged a driver for
people. The old car, an old Kijang and driver
cost 600,000rp for 4 days. That’s an awesome
deal, ask anyone. Renting an older car will
bring the price down and a driver is actually
easy to arrange, there are plenty of locals
hanging out with nothing to do. You can in fact
get a driver within an hour for a 3 day trip.
Ideally you want a driver who speaks English,
isn’t a drunk, can drive and will not take you
to a succession of silver jewelery stores. You
have to tell him where you want to go, he’ll
figure out how to get there. At night give him
20,000rp and he will find somewhere local to
stay.
Hertz has a desk at
Ngurah Rai airport.
Denpasar Airport Tuban Bali
Location Type: Licensee
Phone: 62 361 768375
Fax: 62 361 768373
Hours: Mon-Sun 0830-2200
Chauffeur Driven Vehicles available
Airport Transfer
• Bali has a Yellow Pages
with car rental places. Your hotel will have a
tour desk and car rentals will be part of that.
You will in fact have so many people offering
car rental you will be spoiled for choice.
Always feel free to negotiate, even in a hotel.
Car rental prices in Legian
C.V. AMERTHA DANA
Pura Bagus Teruna #104
Legian Kaja
(0361) 753518
Suzuki Katana
1 day 80,000rp
1 week 70,000rp
1 month 60,000rp
Toyota Kijang
1 day 250,000rp
1 week 225,000rp
1 month 180,000rp
Teruna
1 day 180,000rp
1 week 150,000rp
1 month 140,000rp
C.V Amertha Dana only has 1998-2006 cars, not
the really old ones. This means reliability is
okay, but your prices will be higher. In the
past I have rented some junkers for 120,000rp a
day.
I day 45,000rp insurance. Insurance if you
have an accident, call the shop and the owner
will come. Insurance does not cover other cars.
Insurance will cover more than one person, but
you must have them registered at the rental
shop.
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