North Bali on a Budget: How to Travel the Quiet Coast Cheaply

In Brief

North Bali on a budget is easy, because rooms, food and transport here are among the cheapest on the island. The beaches, village walks, temples and sunsets cost nothing or close to it. Eat at warungs, sleep in a guesthouse or small villa around Lovina, and ride a scooter or share a driver.

Three costs are fixed whatever you do: the visa, the Bali tourist levy and the drive up from the airport. Everything after those is a choice.

Budget North Bali at a Glance

• Why it is cheap: low prices for rooms, food and transport, and far fewer visitors
• Food: warungs, the family kitchens, at local prices, and the markets for less again
• Stay: guesthouses, homestays and small villas, with better rates away from the central Lovina strip and on longer bookings
• Get around: a scooter if you hold the right licence for one, otherwise a driver for the day split between a few people
• Free or near-free: beaches, sunsets, village walks, most temples, the Singaraja old town and the markets
• Fixed costs: the visa, the Bali tourist levy and the transfer from the airport
• Worth paying for: the dawn dolphin boat and a Menjangan snorkel day

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The North Is Good Value Before You Try

North Bali is inexpensive by default, so a cheap trip here takes little planning. A beachfront guesthouse, a fresh-fish dinner and a day of waterfalls all come at modest prices.

If you are weighing regions, north Bali compared with the south sets out the wider trade.

Three Costs Are Fixed: the Visa, the Levy and the Transfer

These three are paid before you spend anything on the trip itself.

The visa. Most visitors arrive on a visa on arrival or its electronic version, with its own fee, set nationally. The Bali visa guide covers the options and which one fits a longer stay.

The Bali tourist levy. Bali charges foreign tourists a levy of its own, separate from the visa, under Bali Regional Regulation No. 6 of 2023. The provincial government checks the payment voucher at the airport, at tourist sites and at places to stay. Pay it and keep the voucher. The Bali tourist tax explains how to pay it and who is exempt.

The transfer north. The airport is in the far south and the north coast lies over the mountains, so you pay for a transfer however you travel. Splitting a car between travellers is the cheapest sensible way to do it. Getting to north Bali lays out the routes.

Food: Warungs and Markets Are the Easiest Saving

Eat at warungs, the family kitchens serving Balinese food at local prices. Order nasi campur, rice with a little of whatever was cooked that morning. It is about the cheapest full meal you will find, and often the best one.

The best warungs in north Bali has the ones worth the detour, and what to eat in Bali explains what you are looking at.

A warung nasi campur, the budget traveller's staple. Photo: Gunawan Kartapranata / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The market is cheaper still. Singaraja's Pasar Banyuasri (map) and the village morning markets sell fruit, snacks and cooked food to the people who live here.

Imported wine, cheese and branded spirits are where a north Bali budget leaks. The drinks of north Bali covers the local drinks instead.

Stay: Book Direct, by the Week, Just Off the Lovina Strip

Guesthouses, homestays and small villas are the north's budget beds, and three habits bring their rates down further.

Book directly rather than through a platform, wherever you can. Take several nights instead of one, and ask about a rate for the longer stay. Look slightly outside the central Lovina strip too, where rooms are usually cheaper and often quieter.

For a stay of weeks, monthly rates are a different market, covered in long-term rentals in north Bali. If a private villa is what you are after, Palm Living lists its own villas around Lovina on its site.

Getting Around: a Scooter If You Are Licensed, a Shared Driver If Not

A scooter is the cheapest way to move, and the coast road is the easiest riding in north Bali. Get the paperwork right first. The UK government's travel advice for Indonesia is a fair model for any visitor:

• a home licence on its own is not enough
• you can drive on an International Driving Permit
• hold the right licence for whatever you ride
• check that your travel insurance covers riding
• wear a helmet in good condition

If that rules you out, hire a driver for the day. Split between three or four people, it is cheap for what you get. The driver knows the mountain roads, waits while you walk to a waterfall, and takes the hairpins home in the dark.

Private drivers in north Bali covers how it is usually arranged. Organised group tours are generally the expensive way to see the same places.

Activities: Most of the North Costs Nothing

This is where the north pays you back. These are free, or ask only a donation at the gate:

• the beaches at Lovina and along the coast
• the sunsets
• a walk through Singaraja's old town and its harbour, where you will also find the Gedong Kirtya lontar library
• the Buddhist monastery at Brahma Vihara Arama
• the village markets

Most of the waterfalls are cheap, with an entry fee paid at the gate. The regency's Visit North Bali listing covers them alongside the tourist villages.

Gitgit, one of the north's waterfalls with an entry fee at the gate. Photo: Thomas Fuhrmann / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Two trips are worth the money. The first is the dawn dolphin boat out of Lovina. The second is a day snorkelling or diving at Menjangan, inside West Bali National Park, where the park entry and the boat usually come as one booking.

When to Go: the Wet Season Is Quieter and Cheaper

The wet season, roughly November to March, is the quieter and cheaper half of the year. Rain tends to come as warm afternoon downpours. In return, a rough morning can cancel the dolphin boat, and the waterfall paths get muddy.

Prices rise in July and August, from Christmas to New Year and in Easter week. Indonesian school holidays and long weekends bring domestic travellers too. The best time to visit north Bali goes through the whole year.

How to Fit It In: a Budget Week from Lovina

Base the week in a guesthouse a short walk back from the Lovina sand. Eat at warungs, and move by scooter or shared driver. Then spend the days like this:

• two days that cost nothing but a walk and a swim
• two waterfall days, with a gate fee each
• one dawn dolphin boat
• one day west to Menjangan or Pemuteran

For the whole money picture, see what a Bali trip costs. For cash, cards and ATMs on this coast, read Bali currency.

Practical Notes

• Tourist levy: pay it and keep the voucher, since it is checked at the airport, tourist sites and places to stay
• Scooter: an International Driving Permit, the right licence for the bike, insurance that covers riding, and a good helmet
• Entry fees: most waterfalls charge at the gate, while the beaches, old town, monastery and markets are free or by donation
• Rooms: book direct, for several nights, and ask for the longer-stay rate
• Pricier weeks: July and August, Christmas to New Year, Easter week, Indonesian school holidays and long weekends

FAQ

Is north Bali cheap to travel? Yes, it is one of the most affordable parts of the island. Rooms, food and transport all cost less than in the south, and many of the best things here are free or close to it: the beaches, the temples, the village walks and the sunsets.

What are the unavoidable costs of a Bali trip? The visa, the Bali tourist levy on foreign tourists, and getting from the airport in the far south to wherever you are staying. Everything after those three is a choice.

What is the cheapest way to get around north Bali? A scooter, if you hold the right licence for it (for most visitors that means an International Driving Permit) and your insurance covers riding. If not, a driver for the day split between three or four people is cheap, safer, and better on the mountain roads.

How do you eat cheaply in north Bali? Eat at warungs, the family kitchens serving Balinese food at local prices. Buy fruit and snacks at the village markets or at Pasar Banyuasri in Singaraja. Imported drinks and Western menus are where the budget goes.

Are north Bali attractions expensive? No. The beaches, the old town, the monastery and the markets are free or run on a donation, and most waterfalls charge an entry fee at the gate. The dolphin boat and a Menjangan day are the main paid items.

Is north Bali cheaper than south Bali? Yes, noticeably, across rooms, food, transport and activities, and with far fewer people. A Bali budget stretches a long way in the north.

When is the cheapest time to visit north Bali? The wet season, roughly November to March, when the north is quieter and cheaper and stays drier than the south. The pricier stretches are July and August, Christmas to New Year and Easter week.

Sources

• Bali Provincial Government, Tindak Lanjuti Perda Pungutan Wisatawan Asing (the foreign tourist levy and voucher checks), read September 2026 (in Indonesian)
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Indonesia travel advice: safety and security, for licences, helmets and insurance, read September 2026 (in English)
• Buleleng Regency tourism office, Visit North Bali, for the regency's waterfalls and tourist villages, read September 2026 (in English and Indonesian)
• Palm Living, villas for rent around Lovina, read September 2026 (in English)

Next: what a Bali trip costs, the best warungs in north Bali, and how many days you need in the north.