Travel Tips

• Travel Tips
• Money Matters
• Getting Around
• Tipping
• Phone / Internet
• Business Hours
• Bargaining
• Street Wise
• Outward Bound

Telephone / Internet

All telephone numbers listed on paradise-bali.com website are local numbers. To reach any number in Bali from outside Indonesia dial: your international access code + 62 + 361+ (local number). Wherein "62" is Indonesia country code and "361" is the most common area code for Bali. Be advised that most Bali telephone numbers are 6 digits though some are still 5 digits. Cellular service in Indonesia is GSM. If you bring your own GSM handphone you may purchase a prepaid calling chip from any number of vendors (kiosks are everywhere) and it is much cheaper than using your home country service.

Telecommunication capabilities have improved greatly over the last few years but patience is still the keyword when trying to dial overseas from Indonesia - especially during office hours. Most high end hotels offer International Direct Dialing (IDD) and Home Country Direct (HCD) services. Overseas calls can also be made at state-run telephone offices known as a wartel (warung telepon).

Need to get online? Surprisingly it is very easy and cheap to get on-line in Bali today (even easier more convenient than Singapore believe it or not!) as most cafes and restaurants offer 'free' internet access with minimum purchase of say a cup of coffee or glass of beer or snack. Usually the cafe offers between 30-60 minutes of access when you buy a drink but it's not strictly metered. Just bring your laptop or 3G phone for VOIP, get the password and Bob's your uncle - no passport, no registration. The only draw back is the connection speed is not always that fast (often around 128-256kbps). If you can't find a free hotspot there are any number of internet shops known as warnets (warung internet) with prices that are next to nothing (i.e. charges are about Rp. 5-15,000.- (.50 -1.50 USD) depending on the area and euipment for the first hour with discounts for longer periods with speeds starting at 256kbps.

As well, all large major Bali hotels and even most small budget hotels and villas will have wireless broadband access in public areas or business centre. That said, some hotels still charge for in-room access. For those staying in smaller hotels or in remote areas there are any number of warnets with inexpensive connections that are suitable for voip i.e. skype (hint... if you're coming to Bali without a computer abd planning to skype at a warnet with a desktop computer and need to use a headset, better you bring and use our own headset).