Denpasar Travel Guide
From Wikitravel
Denpasar [1]is the largest city and capital of the island of Bali, Indonesia.
Contents |
Get in
By plane
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Departure taxes As of October 2005, departure taxes of Rp 100,000 for international and Rp 30,000 for domestic flights are charged, payable in rupiah cash only. |
Ngurah Rai Airport (DPS) is Bali's only airport and the second-busiest in all Indonesia, serving not only domestic destinations but major cities throughout Asia and Australia as well. It's a fairly modern and clean if not exactly exciting place, equipped with most facilities a traveller would need. There are two separate terminals for international and domestic flights, but they're within walking distance of each other. Beware of the porters, who will grab your bags off the belt, accompany you to the money changer and expect to get paid for the "service".
Despite the name, Denpasar airport is actually located south of Kuta, some 20 kilometers away. The most hassle-free way to get from the airport to your destination anywhere on Bali is to either arrange a pick-up or use the prepaid Airport Taxi Service. If you take a normal taxi outside, check the posted fares for an estimate and insist on the meter. Buses to Tegal bus station in central Denpasar take about 50 minutes.
By bemo
Denpasar is the bemo hub of Bali. Inconviniently, bemo terminals are scattered all around town, and transfers between them can be time-consuming. The major ones are:
- Batubulan, 6 km northeast, for points central and east (Kintamani, Tampaksiring, Ubud)
- Tegal, to the west, for southern Bali (Kuta, Jimbaran, Nusa Dua)
- Ubung, to the north, for points north and west (Gilimanuk, Singaraja)
Get around
Taxi fare's should run about 5000 Rup. for the first 2 km and 2000 Rup. per km afterwords. If you have a group of people you may want to negotiate a bemo (small van) for a set rate to your destination. Remember that priceing is negotialble. Indonesians are great people however they won't think twice about over charging you if they can. It is just part of the culture.
Do
Go to the beach! The waves are a lot of fun. Much bigger then other places I have been to.
Be careful when Changing money. They have some great cons's. Always know exactly how much you should be getting in trade for your currency before you go to exchange. Once you are at the desk make sure that you count the money more than 2 times and always be sure you are the last one to "touch" it and count it. Many times if they see that you are not going to be easily fooled they will change the exchange rate and or act like you are being dificult and call off the transaction. This is fine as there are several exchange places. There are very legit ones that will do a straight deal however the rate is usually lower. Tips: Do not let them rush you. Negotiate how much rup. per your currency before you begin counting. Ask for larger bills. This makes it harder for them to trick you. I found it fun, in a sick sort of way, to see how they were trying to trick me. You can be pretty safe if you know exactly how much you should get in rup. before you even walk in the door. Have fun. If they pull one over on you do not let it get to you. Just tell yourself with the exchange rate it really wasn't that much. The island is a whole lot of fun.
Eat
Drink
Bottled Water!
DONT SLEEP
Get out
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