These are the taxi and ferry prices in Bali, which I managed to gather in October 2022. Currently the following locations are covered: (1) Amed, (2) Padangbai, (3) Bali-Gili and Gili-Lombok ferry, (4) Gili Air-Bali or Gili Air-Lombok, (5) Ubud, (6) Kuta, (7) Sanur and (8) Others.
Attached is also some additional information: shuttle bus and how to get the best prices and avoid paying 50% markups.
Three categories: (1) private cars, and (2) shuttle buses, and (3) ferries and boats. All are grouped per destination below.
What is a shuttle bus?
Shared shuttle is usually a (Toyota/Isuzu) minibus or a larger Toyota/Daihatsu car leaving on fixed schedule. You buy an individual seat to your destination. Most probably, there will be several stops depending on the other passengers. For example, from Amed the same shuttle will go to Sanur, Ubud, Kuta and the Denpasar airport.
You might get a lower price if a driver already has a few passengers, and you will be his pure additional profit. Always ask how many tourists are already booked on this particular shuttle. You probably do not want to be too squeezed either.
Shop around for best price
Overall, the cost differences are usually wide with the more expensive providers quoting up to 50% higher prices. The taxi and ferry prices on Bali are fragmented and opaque to achieve a high level. Overall, food is excellent and inexpensive, and accommodation well-developed and adequately priced. However, transportation is expensive in relative (and sometimes absolute) terms. Yes, the gas prices have gone up a lot, but there are still hefty margins in this business.
Please do not pay the inflated prices. Clearly, it will be good for your wallet. But you will also help future tourists by NOT increasing the price level, and not encouraging the agencies and drivers to get away with excessive quotes.
So what is driving the car price? Car prices depend on how you book, location, distance to be traveled, your hotel price, perceived evaluation of your wealth when negotiating, and life in general on the agency’s or car driver’s side.
How to get good taxi and ferry prices in Bali?
(1) Your lack of time
If you are pressed for time, your options are limited. You will have no time to get a few quotes from the drivers and agencies. You will probably have to settle for a private car, which will be more expensive at the last minute.
(2) Agency versus direct price
It is always cheaper and better to agree on the price with the driver, who will actually be in the vehicle with you. Even more preferably, it will be his own car. Two reasons: (1) Each agency and homestay is charging (sometimes a hefty 50-100%) commission. (2) You will be able to evaluate the car and the driver for their safety and reliability. A huge advantage as some cars might be a bit vintage. That is definitely not great when going up a mountain. Finally, it is generally easy to find direct drivers on Bali. Given their abundance, they will usually find you before you can spot them (“Hello, where are you going?” with a broad smile).
(3) Your accommodation
More expensive hotels/homestays will quote higher prices for the same service than the less expensive ones. Secondly, even when you are stopped on the street and asked if you need transportation, the drivers and agents will ALWAYS ask which hotel you are staying in. They will try to determine your ability to (over)pay. If you are lucky to be in one of the top accommodations on the island, it might be not the best time to mention. Otherwise, it will be harder to get to a more fair cost.
(4) Driver’s price calculation
My experience on Bali has been that drivers’ two biggest factors are distance and time traveled. The car brand or age seem to be less important as most of them are the similar (Toyota, Daihatsu). Also, if you want a one-way trip, the driver will add the distance and time for the trip back and charge it to you. All drivers are currently sensitive to the distance due to the higher gas prices. However, some are more relaxed about their own time and might quote a lower price.
(5) Driver’s experience
Some will also quote with hesitation and vastly different prices for the adjacent locations. That probably means that the driver has not had that many clients. More experienced driver usually deliver a realistic quote quickly without mentioning how many tourists they had driven around in the last week or month. More fluent English is also usually a sign of more tourist business.
(6) Driver’s personality
Finally, it always pays attention to driver’s behavior. You will be stuck with him for a few hours in a confined space, so it is better to have someone who is positive and conversational.
(7) Check Grab prices
Always check Grab prices as your benchmark. Grab is the equivalent of Uber or Lyft with a major difference. Contrary to their U.S. competitors, you pay the Grab driver directly (similar to Yandex Go in central Asia). Grab does NOT charge your credit card. This has an advantage that anybody in your hotel, restaurant or even on the street can order a Grab taxi for you.
Secondly, when negotiating a price with a private taxi driver, just mentioning Grab’s price usually does wonders to establish a realistic price level.
Bali taxi and ferry prices, and timetables per location
The prices are for the whole car one way, unless otherwise noted. The prices have been rising quickly with the increasing gas prices. Check for the current levels.
For longer or multi-stop trips, it might be cheaper to hire a car with the driver for the whole day. The current daily rate is USD50-55.
Ferry and boat tickets are per person one way.
(1) Amed
(1a) Private car from Amed to Bali destinations
Amed – Mount Agung (with waiting while you hike): IDR 700,000
(1b) Shuttle bus from Amed
Check prices across different agencies and with drivers directly. Prices differ up to 30%. Below is one of the lowest for a safe vehicle (a Toyota or Daihatsu minibus in a good condition).
Free pickup from any hotel in Amed. Departure: 10:00-10:30am.
Driving time:
Amed – Padangbai (ferry to Lombok, Gili, Nusa Penida): 1 hour
Amed – Ubud: 2.5 hours
Amed – Sanur: 2 hours
Amed – Kuta: 3 hours
Amed – Denpasar Airport: 3.5 hours
(1c) Ferry Amed to Gili and Lombok
Fastboats to all Gili islands and Lombok (Bangsal) depart from JEMELUK. They do NOT depart from the other Amed harbor further north-west. Do NOT trust Google maps as they have the wrong fastboat link. Do NOT make the same mistake as I did.
Fastboats departing daily at 09:30am from Amed to all Gilis and Lombok. There are two boat types. I came on this one below “FreebirdExpress Escape 99“: large, stable, no engine smells, departed on time, arrived on time, not crowded.
Direct price: IDR 300,000 per person one way. Agency price: IDR 500,000. Buy direct at the harbors in Amed, Gilis or Bangsal.
The other boat is smaller and more bumpy. I was also told cheaper at IDR 250,000 direct price.
(2) Padangbai taxi and ferry prices
(3) Bali-Gili and Lombok-Gili ferry and boat
Bali-Gili and Lombok-Gili fast and slow boats, their prices and timetables are here: How to get to Gili islands.
(4) Gili Air – Bali or Lombok
(5) Ubud
The running price for Ubud central to the Denpasar airport is IDR 300-350,000. The lowest real quote I received was for IDR 250,000 (a modern and clean Toyota sedan, arrived on time, English-speaking driver).
The shuttle buses are cheaper but usually for 2 pax minimum. However, even if you travel solo, you can pay IDR 85,000 twice (=IDR 170,000), which will be still cheaper than the lowest private taxi.
Ubud taxi prices (November 2022):
Ubud – Sanur: IDR 250,000
Ubud – Padangbai: IDR 300,000
Ubud – Sidemen: IDR 300,000
Ubud – Kuta / Seminyak / Canggu: IDR 300,000
Ubud – Lovina / Munduk: IDR 495,000
Ubud – Nusa Dua / Jimbaran: IDR 375,000
Ubud – Uluwatu: IDR 400,000
Ubud taxi hire per day (November 2022):
Half Day 5 Hours for the whole car: IDR 350,000
Full Day 8 Hours for the whole car: IDR 450,000
Ferry or fast boat prices from Ubud are sometimes cheaper if you build your itinerary yourself. For example, you buy a seat in the shared taxi or shuttle and separately a Padangbai-Gili boat ticket.
(6) Kuta
(7) Sanur
(8) Others
