Living in Bali Long Term (2026): Visa, Housing & Setup Guide
- Last Updated:
- By: Peter Orsel
Dreaming of becoming an expat, a digital nomad, retiring, or living off your savings? If there’s one island that keeps attracting people, it has to be Bali. Is it because of the people, the food, the cost of living in Bali, or the climate?
I guess it’s all of the above and more, so I decided that it’s a place where I want to settle for a while. This blog will tell you all you need to know about living in Bali long term: the actual costs, where to base yourself, how to make the move, plus visas, food, motorbikes, gyms, SIM cards, and more. A lot of people package this exact information into a paid handbook or a 1:1 consulting call. I’m sharing what I’ve learned for free, because I don’t see why you should have to pay for it.
In This Post
Looking for things to do in Bali? Consider a trip to the Tegallalang Rice Fields, or see sunset at Batu Jaran!
How to actually make the move to Bali
Here’s the order I’d do things in, based on what’s actually worked for me and for the people who’ve messaged me about this.
- Decide how long you’re actually staying. This decides your visa path, so figure it out first, not last. Really not sure yet? Start on a Visa On Arrival – and make it a priority to find out if you want to stay and need a longer visa.
- Book 1-2 weeks in a guesthouse or Airbnb before committing to anything long-term. Don’t sign a year lease from your home country. Come, look around, feel the traffic and the heat for yourself first.
- Get an eSIM before you land, so you’re not searching for wifi on day one. Swap to a local Telkomsel SIM once you’re settled.
- Sort your visa properly, even if it means paying an agent. This isn’t the place to cut corners, more on that below.
- Spend your first couple of weeks actually visiting areas, not just the one you booked. Rent a scooter or grab a Gojek and go see Canggu, Ubud, Sanur, and Uluwatu with your own eyes before deciding where to live long-term.
- Once you’ve picked an area, house-hunt through Facebook Marketplace and local FB groups, not the “luxury villa” websites that show up on Google.
- Get your Indonesian driving license if you’re staying long-term and plan to ride a scooter. Don’t skip this one, it matters if you’re ever in an accident.
- Find your people. Whether that’s a gym, a church, a sports group, or a coworking space, this is what turns a long holiday into an actual life here.
The rest of this article goes deeper into each step.
Where should you actually live in Bali?
One of the most important deal breakers for your time in Bali, is the place you decide to live.
These are the main areas:
- Canggu. Good for co-working spaces, communities, digital nomads, western and local food. Down side: Noisy, traffic on Jalan Raya Canggu and always being around people.
- Ubud. Good for nature, wellness, art and culture. Down side: no beach, more rain and traffic.
- Sanur. Great for families, good infrastructure for walking and cycling. Down side: lack of young community, no sunsets and a bit more outdated compared to Canggu.
- Uluwatu. Great for experienced surfers, beautiful beaches and a Canggu vibe with windy roads. Down side: You need a bike for everything and everything that’s not Uluwatu will become far.
Once you decided what area is good for you, you can narrow it down to sub districts. I personally live in Dalung, not too far from Canggu. Around Canggu, some districts narrowed down are:
- Kerobokan – Local, but not too local. Close to everything and relatively quiet compared to other parts of Canggu.
- Umalas – My personal favourite, but can be noisy at night too.
- Batu Bolong – The streets that never sleep. Party vibe and noisy, but close to all action.
- Pererenan – Relatively quiet with the best modern cafes and restaurants and still some rice fields
- Cemagi – The quieter version of Pererenan
Cost of Living in Bali
The question I get most about long-term living here is simple: what does it actually cost? I already broke this down in full, month by month, in Cost of Living in Bali, with every price in IDR and USD. Start there for the real numbers instead of a rough guess.
For this guide, the short version: visa, accommodation and food is where your money goes.
Where to stay in Bali?
Next step, finding accommodation. Most of the people who stay in Bali for more than a month, decide to stay in a guest house or a villa. I have more experience with the guest house market than the villa market.
Guest House
A guest house will usually come with these facilities:
- A private room with AC and a private bathroom
- Housekeeping, change of bedsheets and towel at least once a week
- Electricity is sometimes included, sometimes it’s not. If it’s not included, expect to pay a maximum of about 500k IDR a month for normal usage.
- Usually a shared pool
- Sometimes a shared kitchen
A room in a guesthouse with a shared kitchen should cost you between 4 million and 6.5 million IDR. Anything above that is too expensive if you ask me. There’s a wide range of guest houses available and I’ve stayed in an 8 million guest house and a 5.5 million guest house with similar facilities. After that I paid about 4 million IDR on a great location, with a private kitchen, but without a swimming pool. If you really want to stay in Pererenan or Seseh, know that you’ll pay the price for that. Guest houses there will cost you around 10-12 million IDR.
Villa
A villa has privacy, a pool and a lot of comfort you probably can’t afford in your home country. The market is hot and many people spend at least 25 million IDR per month on a villa. That’s about $1.600 USD. This is the price of yearly rent for most Indonesians. A big difference between the rich and poor. Most villas come full furnished.
Some things I’d look out for in a villa:
- Fully equipped kitchen. A lot of kitchens are the “forgotten” part of an Indonesian villa, making them much smaller than you’d want.
- Enclosed living. Many villas are built for the outdoor living vibe. I personally don’t like sitting outside without AC every day of my time in Bali. Nice when it’s cool at night, but it gets humid, attracts insects, and is no fun when it rains every day.
- Greenery. Many villas are built on a plot as small as 1 are (100m2), squeezing in a pool and the house onto as little space as possible. As a result, there’s no breeze, no natural rain drainage, and in my opinion no atmosphere.
- Washing machine. A lot of people have had their clothes ruined at least once while living in Bali. Doing your own laundry means you can only blame yourself if it goes wrong.
- Mold. Construction quality in Bali is bad. Really bad. I’ve had lots of water issues in my newly built house. Everything is built as cheap as possible, houses aren’t built to last 50 years, just the next 5. Check this properly. This doesn’t just apply to villas, it applies to all kinds of accommodation.
Kos or a house
If you want to live like a local, you can search for a kos. This is like a boarding house with generally spoken lower standards and more options towards the Denpasar area. A kos usually can’t be found online, but the price will be around 2 million IDR or $125 USD a month, or starting from 4 million in Canggu.
The last option is finding a house. The difference between a house and a villa is the pool. A house comes without. Most houses are only available per year which you pay upfront, and you can find a proper 3 bedroom house for around 100 million IDR or $6,200 USD per year.
Extra fees for long term rent
As soon as you decide to rent yearly, keep in mind that you usually have to arrange the facilities yourself. Think about cleaning staff, internet, eventually pool maintenance, garden maintenance, the local banjar fees and garbage collection. In general your staff will cost you about 50.000 IDR per hour. Internet is about 300.000 IDR per month (GlobalXtreme, that’s it) and the local fees will cost you around 200.000 IDR a month.
As soon as you decide to rent yearly, keep in mind that you usually have to arrange the facilities yourself. Think about cleaning staff, internet, eventually pool maintenance, garden maintenance, the local banjar fees and garbage collection. In general your staff will cost you about 50.000 IDR per hour. Internet is about 300.000 IDR per month (GlobalXtreme, that’s it) and the local fees will cost you around 200.000 IDR a month.
How to find your next Bali home
Facebook Marketplace (pick your area, search 1BR or 2BR Rent, or the Indonesian word sewa) and Facebook groups (search Rumah Murah, or Rent Bali and similar) are where the best listings are. There aren’t really any web portals with affordable listings right now, if you Google for places to rent, you mostly find the expensive luxury villa sites. If you’re relocating and looking for a villa, you might want to hire a real estate agent.
Visa (the short version)
One of the most complex things are visas. But I’m here to make it easy for you.
When I applied for my visa, I ran into multiple problems because of sudden closures at the immigration office. It looked like my visa wouldn’t be ready in time, which would’ve meant I couldn’t enter Indonesia. Thankfully, I had a great agent who secured my visa right before I landed, so I didn’t have to wait it out at the airport. A close call, and exactly why I’d always hire an agent for any visa beyond the Visa on Arrival.
There are four possible paths, depending on how long you’re staying and whether you’re working:
- Under 2 months: Visa on Arrival, about 500,000 IDR or $35, extendable once for about 1,000,000 IDR or $60. You can easily apply by yourself through the official website.
- 2 to 6 months, working remotely for a foreign employer: The B211A used to be the default here, technically a visit visa, unofficially used by many people to work online. Enforcement on this has tightened noticeably through 2025 and 2026. If you’re working (read: earning money) while you’re here, go for the digital nomad visa.
- Long-term, working remotely, earning $60k+/year: The E33G, Indonesia’s dedicated remote worker visa. Costs more upfront but you’re not relying on a gray area and you can enter Bali as many times as you want.
- Long-term, not working, have capital: The Second Home Visa, 5 or 10 years, via a bank deposit or property purchase.
Please note that none of these visas give you the opportunity to work in Indonesia. If you’re starting a company or applying for a job that can be done by expats, ask your visa agent or employer for the correct visa path.
I’m not a visa lawyer, and rules in Indonesia move fast. If you’re making a decision, talk to a licensed agent, and don’t rely on a blog post, mine included. One more thing worth knowing: cross 183 days in Indonesia in a rolling 12 months and you’re generally treated as a tax resident, which matters if you’re planning a long stay. Talk to a tax advisor before you hit that line, so you know what to expect.
Getting a SIM card in Bali
If you’re interested in getting a SIM card, you can choose to arrange it beforehand or to do it once you’re here. For your first period of time, it can be useful to get an international eSIM. A great option is Airalo, ranked as one of the best eSIM providers in the world.
Once you’re settled in Bali, it’s smart to take a local SIM. The best option is Telkomsel and you can buy a card at any vendor with Telkomsel logos on the streets. A first SIM card shouldn’t cost you more than 150.000 IDR for the first 30 days and you can top up your credit through their app.
Unlocking your IMEI for Indonesia
If you stay in Bali for more than 3 months, make sure you unlock your phone and IMEI. There’s a regulation that blocks your phone after 3 months, unless you pay the import tax. On the day of your arrival, you can import a phone up to $500 USD for free and pay the tax (40%) on the remaining part. If you’re only staying for less than 3 months, there’s nothing you have to do. Read this blog for more information about the IMEI process. If you bought your phone in Indonesia, your phone is automatically unlocked.
Transportation in Bali
Bali is an easy place in terms of transportation. There’s always a driver available and if you want, you can drive a bike too! For a holiday it can be useful to hire a private driver. If you’re staying long term, use apps like Gojek or Grab, or get your own bike!
When you’re talking about driving a bike in Bali, it’s not about a bicycle, but about a motorbike. As everyone seems to drive a motorbike, it might be tempting. BUT, keep in mind that you need a proper license. If you don’t have a license and you get an accident, you won’t be covered by your health insurance.
Hospitalisation can be very expensive and has to be paid before your treatment, so I won’t recommend taking the risk. Even if you have a driving license in your home country, this doesn’t particularly mean you’re allowed to drive in Indonesia too.
Getting an Indonesian Driving License (SIM) in Bali
If you’re staying long term, go and visit Polresta Denpasar to get your SIM, the driving license in Indonesia. It took me about 4 hours and I decided to get my car and bike license at once. The total costs were about 500.000 IDR or $35 USD.
I followed the steps of this blog by A Brother Abroad. It’s a detailed description of all the steps you have to take to get the driving license and it will protect you from issues with an insurance company if you have a (heavy) accident.
What's the Price of a Rental Bike in Bali?
Most people who stay long term in Bali rent a bike. The price depends on the model and the age of the bike, but these are the average monthly prices you can expect:
- Yamaha Scoopy / Freego / Honda Vario 125cc: 1,000,000 IDR ($56)
- Honda PCX / Yamaha N-Max 160cc: 1,500,000 IDR ($84)
- Yamaha X-Max 250cc: 2,000,000 IDR ($112)
Make sure you have a valid license, wear a helmet, and actually know how to drive before you rent. Getting into an accident on Bali’s roads doesn’t always have to be your fault to leave you with the bill, or worse, an insurance claim that gets denied because you weren’t following the rules.
What's the Price of Petrol in Bali?
There are two options for your bike: Pertalite and Pertamax. Most people use Pertalite, the cheaper option. Prices at official stations are the same everywhere, since Pertamina is the only company distributing fuel in Indonesia.
- Pertalite: 10,000 IDR ($0.56) per liter
- Pertamax: 16,250 IDR ($0.91) per liter
A full tank on a smaller bike costs around 40,000 IDR ($2). A bigger bike, which takes up to 7 liters, can cost you closer to 70,000 IDR ($4). Expect to drive about 35-40km on a single liter, and those prices are based on Pertalite.
Can I Buy a Bike in Bali?
If you’re staying long term, buying is usually cheaper than renting month after month. I bought my own bike in 2024 and it’s money wise one of the best decisions I took.
To register a bike under your own name, you need a KITAS, Indonesia’s temporary stay permit. It’s different from a tourist visa or a Visa on Arrival, and without it, the bike has to go on someone else’s name instead of yours.
To buy a bike, go to an official Honda or Yamaha dealer directly. For the most common models, you pay somewhere between 24,000,000 and 40,000,000 IDR ($1,341-2,235).
If you’re renting for longer than about two years, buying and registering a bike almost always works out cheaper than a monthly rental, on top of not depending on a rental company’s availability every time you need one.
Health Insurance
Insurance is something I never save on. It’s important to be covered against potential (health) risks. You won’t have access to BPJS, Indonesia’s national health scheme, as a short or medium-term foreign resident, so private health insurance is effectively mandatory.
Hospitalisation in Bali has to be paid before treatment starts, which is exactly why this isn’t optional. For anything serious, you’re looking at hospitals like BIMC or Siloam, both used regularly by the expat community.
No insurance yet? No worries. Safetywing offers a great solution for travelers like you and me. You can easily calculate your premium with the tool below.
Dental Care
Living in Bali long term means you’ll need a dental clinic sooner or later. Don’t skip your check-ups, invest in proper dental care instead. The clinics here are very, very good and offer top notch service for a fraction of the price you’d pay elsewhere. I use SG Dental in Seminyak, and where I used to dread my treatments back home, it’s a breeze here. Canggu has good options too, CS Dental is a solid choice there. On Sunset Road, BIA Dental is another proper option.
Where long-term residents actually go
Maybe the title should say: where I actually go. Or where I send my friends when they visit Bali. Of course I recommend some. Two honourable mentions are for Meat Emporium (the most affordable steak) and 7AM Bakery. These places have my heart and I get back all the time.
For a full list of the best restaurants, the best co-working spots and more, head to my Bali Travel Guide to find out more of my ultimate go to spots.
Supermarkets and groceries
Bali’s supermarket scene splits roughly into two categories. Pepito, Bintang, and Grand Lucky are the three most common expat-oriented supermarkets, all carrying imported goods, wine, and specialty items, at a price premium. For daily basics, Indomaret and Alfamart are the 24-hour convenience chains on nearly every corner.
If you want fresh produce at local prices, the traditional pasar (markets) beat any supermarket, though it helps to know a bit of Bahasa to navigate them. GoMart (through Gojek) and HappyFresh both deliver from most of these supermarkets straight to your door, useful if you don’t have transport yet.
Payment options and local banking
It’s always handy and necessary to carry some cash, but it’s slowly disappearing in Bali too. QRIS, the QR code payment system, is accepted almost everywhere now. You usually need a local bank account for that, but there’s a way to use it without. Add balance to your Gojek account (for example at Indomaret) and you can scan QRIS through your Gojek app.
VISA and MasterCard are widely accepted at all restaurants that accept card payment. AMEX is accepted pretty well too, look for the BCA terminal and it will be accepted. I personally use an Amex Green Card for most of my payments.
If you’re staying long-term, it’s worth opening a local bank account once you have a KITAS. BCA is generally the most practical choice, it has the largest ATM network on the island and an English-language app. Opening one also unlocks Indonesian pricing on things like Netflix and Spotify, which is a bigger saving than it sounds.
Must Have Apps
There are some apps that will make your life easier in Bali, so install them beforehand! Here are my favourites in random order. If you click the link, it will take you right away to the iOS App Store!
The ultimate app for everything you need. You can order food, transportation, groceries, pay for your electricity, pay for online bills and so much more.
You can top up your GoPay credit through Indomaret as well. This will give you the option to pay by QRIS, a QR code that’s commonly available in even the smallest food stalls. Don’t expect your credit card to work everywhere out of Canggu or Ubud, instead top up your GoPay and pay like a local.
Equivalent of the above, but international as it’s available in other countries like Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand too.
An app like Amazon that lets you order anything in Indonesia. I can’t live without Tokopedia. Payment goes through local bank cards or GoPay. Another option would be to shop through Shopee. Both serve different markets and I use them all the time.
Learning a language is fun, especially with a wide range of apps that’s available nowadays. I almost finished the Duolingo course, but it won’t teach you Bahasa gaul, the informal daily language that people speak on the streets. If you want to hire a teacher, let me know and I’m more than happy to bring you in contact with my local teacher!
Finding Community
If there’s one thing that’s super important, it’s finding community. If you’re staying somewhere long term, you want to have some people that you can count on. At first it’s fun to meet new people every week, but after living here for a while, you want to invest in people that stay instead of the backpackers and travelers that come and go.
The best way to find community, is to find a place where you’re happiest. For me it’s church! There are several great churches in Indonesia. For English church services in Bali, I can recommend Kingdomcity. Besides Kingdomcity there’s New Tribe and several other English churches. There’s a Hillsong campus too, but you’ll receive a translation kit to translate their service from Bahasa Indonesia to English.
Sports in Bali
Another way to find community is by going to a gym, or joining other sports classes. Famous sports in Indonesia include surfing, padel (mainly for the expats), mini soccer/futsal, hyrox and of course the national sport badminton. Classpass is widely available.
After all you’ll find the people that match the place you visit. You want to meet party people? Go to parties. You want to visit sports people? Join a sports team. You want to find a church community? Go and visit a church.
Finding a Gym
I’m a member of FitHub myself, around 300,000 IDR / $18 USD a month. An Indonesian gym branche. No pool or wellness area, but clean, with hot showers, and the subscription works at all 80+ FitHub locations across Indonesia. Bali locations include Sunset Road, Teuku Umar, Renon, Gatsu Timur, and Uluwatu.
Beyond that, there are countless options in every area and every price range, from Canggu’s premium wellness clubs to super local gyms in Uluwatu and Ubud. Pick yours based on what you actually want out of it. Wellness facilities or not, a café or not, and whether the gym is genuinely part of your lifestyle or somewhere you go to be seen. It’s easy to feel intimidated, but some people decide to pay the price as it inspires them to become who they want to be.
The honest struggles of a long term resident in Bali
Living in Bali long term isn’t all cocktails, rice terraces and sunsets. A few things that took me time to get used to, and that I still deal with:
- Contractors. They’re often responsive and your best friend, until the contract has been signed. After that? Good luck getting something fixed. Unfortunately I experienced this myself.
- House maintenance. You’re gonna need a tukang (handyman). The moment they see a western phone number or hear you speak English, the price goes up 5x. Know the price and don’t overpay because of your skin colour.
- Rainy season. Gojek drivers won’t deliver in heavy rain, so keep some emergency meals at home. You really don’t want to go out when it pours.
- Danger on the road. You can be a careful driver and it still won’t be enough. Wear your helmet, watch for potholes, and stay alert for other people’s less carefull driving.
- Slow life. Refreshing at first, but when you actually need to get something done, it can get complicated fast.
- Being the outsider. Get into an accident, make a mistake, end up in a situation you didn’t choose? As the foreigner, you’re often the one who ends up taking the blame, fair or not. Worth knowing before it happens to you.
- Reading between the smiles. Balinese culture leans toward indirect, non-confrontational communication. A smile doesn’t always mean agreement, and disagreement is rarely said outright. It takes time to learn what’s actually being communicated underneath the politeness.
- Short-term decisions, long-term consequences. Plenty of everyday decisions here get made for immediate convenience without much thought for the wider effect, a car double-parked in the only lane, a shortcut that blocks someone else’s driveway. Took me a while to stop taking it personally.
- Ceremonies. They happen everywhere, anytime, and they take priority. If that means the road you need is blocked? Not their problem to solve, yours to plan around.
- Infrastructure. Bali overdeveloped faster than its roads could keep up. Most roads are barely wide enough for one car, and two need to share it anyway. There’s nowhere to park, so cars park on the road, and that’s most of your traffic jams right there.
Living in Bali: Conclusion
That’s everything I’ve learned from living here long term: the visas, the real costs, where to base yourself, and the parts nobody puts in the brochure. Most of this would cost you money elsewhere, a paid handbook, a 1:1 call, an agency retainer. I’d rather you have it for free and make a better decision because of it.
Bali isn’t perfect. The struggles above are real, and they don’t disappear just because the sunsets are good. But if you go in with your eyes open, it’s still one of the best places I know to build a life.
If there’s a topic you’re missing, tell me in the comments and I’ll add it. For anything else, reach out directly.
There is more in Bali
About Me
Peter Orsel is a Dutch travel photographer based in Bali, specialized in drone and landscape photography. He has visited over 40 countries and writes detailed, no-nonsense guides based on firsthand experience.
4 Responses
Hi Peter,
My name is Meg and I came across your blog which I found super useful and fun to read.
I am currently in the process of consolidating plans to move to Bali, and I am really struggling when it comes to finding a place to live. I plan to live there at least a year and wanted either a house / villa (nothing too fancy!) However, when I search, there is so many ‘luxury villa’ websites which are just sooo expensive. I love your cute home you shared, and was just wondering if you have any recommendations of websites to use, or even contacts. It seems harder than I realised!
Thanks
Meg
Hi Meg, thanks for your message! Great plans to move to Bali. I’d always recommend to look for a long term place while being in Bali. So get a place on Booking/AirBNB for one or two weeks, and decide where you want to stay. The best ways to find something:
– FB Marketplace (decide your area, search for 1BR or 2BR Rent (or use sewa, the Indonesian word).
– FB groups (search terms like Rumah Murah (cheap houses), Rent Bali and similar groups.
At this time, there are no web portals with affordable listings. So if you google for places to rent, you won’t find anything in an affordable price range.
My house is another story. I rented it while they were still building it. Without furniture and for a year in advance. Something like that is hard to find, especially if you just come to Bali. Feel always free to send me an email/DM on insta if you need any advice!
Do you need to disclose how much money you have to live in Bali for 12months
This depends on your visa! Some visa might require it, some don’t. It’s best to ask a Visa agent as I’m not updated about the latest policies.