Travelling to Bingin, Indonesia
A quick guide to the actual costs associated with travelling to Bingin, Indonesia and some tips on how to keep costs minimal. This cost guide card is is based on a month stay for two sharing accommodation and transport. If you want more information scroll down to find out, where to stay, what it was like, instagrammable spots and finally some advice 🙂
Accommodation: Homestay/guesthouses– Like I mentioned in the Canggu post, these are like mini hotels (unbranded so are not as expensive as other accommodation options), often have breakfast option included and have their own restaraunt on site. In Bingin we stayed in two different accommodations. As there are usually not many rooms there are usually only a few people to share the pool with.
Our friends previously haggled to get a better rate so when we arrived we were able to stay for the same price. I had no idea you could rock up and ask for a discounted rate. Our friends booked their first stay and then went from place to place on their moped to see the best deal they could find.
Transport:
Use a Moped as transport- everyone seems to! See if you can barter for using it for a longer duration or hire for a few days and check for cheaper hires.
Ask the homestay/guesthouse owners if you are looking for tours/visiting other areas. As they can usually drive you/know people who could drive you fo the day. This will be cheaper then using a taxi service.
Food & Drink:
We did a bit of searching but we managed to find some decent places with main meals at under 50,000 IDR such as Delali’s Guest House which we ended up staying at. I’d recommend the chicken chop and fries for 35,000 IDR. Or Pancakes for 15,000 IDR ($1!)
Activities:
In Bingin we made use of exploring nearby beaches such as Dreamlands beach (which didn’t cost to park at). We visited Bingin Beach, Finns Beach Club and food joints such as Cashew Tree. Cashew Tree wasn’t exactly expensive but it was compared to the cheaper food places we’d been used to. We also visited the Safari Park and while it was expensive $80 it included return transport from Nusa Dua, lunch and the Park had a zoo and a theme and water park .
Where to stay
We stayed in two different accommodations whilst being in the Bingin area. Because we enjoyed Bali so much we flew back to the UK after our travels and came back again! We stayed at Jepun Bungalows the first time and Delali’s Guest House on our return.
Jepun Bungalows (Bingin)
This accommodation came to just over $30 a night (breakfast wasn’t included here though). The Jepun bungalows is in a great location. Getting down to the beach was a short walk and the Cashew Tree was just opposite. We also went down to Mike’s place as it had amazing views however this is a much pricer place to stay then Jepun!
Delalis, Guest House (Uluwatu)
This homestay came to under $20 a night, so our cheapest stay in Bali. We decided to stay here as on our first stay in Bali, we ended up venturing out there most mornings for breakfast. As it was cheap and had decent english dishes. They mentioned they had accommodation and could offer it at a discounted price. In terms of places to stay, it isn’t the luxurious Bali accom, infinity pool with breakfast style insta photo- but it was quaint and served its purpose. It had a pool, a decent room and it was easy to get around Bingin and to spots in Nusa Dua. Although it was a little painful driving on a moped to Kuta regularly.
What to do
Finns Beach club- (20 mins from Bingin Beach) Really depends on your budget, but this place is well known and can get away with UK type prices. Travelling we tried to spend as little as possible. But we did come here for some drinks. If I was to come back I’d definitely take advantage of these places a lot more.
Dreamlands beach- I did enjoy coming to this beach despite it at first being quite difficult to find. You can park your moped nearby at no charge and walk down to the beach. The hotel nearby serves cheap food, so an inexpensive day!
Bingin Beach- Only a few minutes walk to Bingin Beach from Jepun Bungalows. I enjoyed surfing (attempting) here, there were okay food spots here only issue was getting to the beach involved going down a steep hill- so climbing up was always a pain at the end of the day. Good photo spot as you can take photos from the restaurants which are further up the hill. So taking photos of people surfing is great here.
- Cashew Tree- Well known place to go, it offers healthy fresh food and smoothies & juices (50,000 IDR for a wrap or salad). Also offers yoga and Weekly thursday parties with live music & Dj. Cute decor also!
- Underwater infinity pool at The Edge/Oneeighty- This costs 400,000 IDR per person. It includes 350,000 IDR Food & Beverage credit and use of the Skypool. But for us this was quite steep when we were staying here for a month!
Breakfast at Suka Sespresso Uluwatu- Breakfast around 49k-70k IDR. For us again an expensive breakfast. Since I was used to paying 25k for breakfast! But for a one off and cute photo!
What it was like
Food: Food portions are a lot smaller in Bali and service is usually quite slow. You can be waiting for meals for a long time.
Where to stay: I am pleased we tried different places out, with a lot of the the instagrammable spots being spread out across Bali. I would recommend if you are staying for over a week to try accommodation out in different areas such as Seminyak, Ubud, Canggu or Bingin- because it is awfully painful riding on mopeds for over an hour!
Cost: It is also important to note actually how cheap Bali is, as we stayed in Bali for over two months and wanted to make the most out of our money. So we mainly eat at cheap restaurants. So you can 100% look at saving money while being here. You can also take advantage of places like Finns Beach Club which to us seemed expensive, but cocktails are cheaper than London rates. Depends how cheap you want to go.
Any advice
Food: If you are wanting to save those pennies make sure to check the service charge, which is usually highlighted on the menu. This caught us out several times and can add a fair bit to the bill!
Beach safety: The waves can actually be more challenging then they look. One time we pulled up and some tourists were walking a long the front of the beach and were caught by a wave and ended up being pulled out to sea, luckily the boys went and grabbed them as they didn’t know how to swim!
Let me know if you have any tips for staying here! For more minimal cost holiday options click here.
Ahh this takes me back. It’s actually crazy how cheap Bali can be (except for Finn’s haha). I loved getting around with a moped and the locals were just incredible.
I’ve heard so many dreamy things about Bali!