INDONESIA · GETTING AROUND BALI
How do you get around Bali without a scooter?
You do not need a scooter to see Bali well. You need a base that fits your plans, a driver for the days with several stops and honest travel times between areas. This page compares the options, shows how to plan a driver day and lists the road times our routes are built on.
Can you get around Bali without a scooter?
Yes. For a sightseeing day with several stops, hire a driver and agree the hours, stops, waiting time and overtime before you leave. For short transfers, ask your accommodation to arrange the ride or to explain how pickups work at your address, and walk within areas where the route makes sense. The bigger lever is planning: group sights by region, keep boat trips on their own day and remove one distant stop rather than looking for a faster vehicle. Distance is a poor guide on Bali, so plan with travel times, not kilometres.
- Several stops in a day
- Driver, with hours and waiting agreed
- Short hops
- Ride arranged by your accommodation
- Ubud to Jatiluwih
- 90–150 min by car, planning buffer
- Ubud to Bedugul
- 90–180 min by car, planning buffer
Driver day, short transfers or on foot?
Most visitors combine all three. The skill is choosing the right one for each day and knowing what to confirm before you set off.
Best for regional days with several stops
A driver picks you up at your accommodation, waits at each stop and brings you back. This is how our routes north of Ubud, to Jatiluwih, to the Bedugul highlands and to the east are designed. Agree the hours, the stops, the waiting time and what happens with overtime before departure, ideally in writing. The catch: a driver does not make the island smaller, and a long list of stops still turns into a day in the car.
Best for dinner, a beach or a single sight
For one trip within your area or to a neighbouring one, ask your accommodation to arrange a car or to tell you how pickups work at your address. Some lanes and villa entrances are hard to reach, so confirm the pickup area and any local access arrangements. The catch: short transfers add up in traffic, and the return after dark needs as much planning as the ride out.
Best for Sanur, central Ubud and slow days
Walking is rewarding in selected areas: the Sanur promenade, the centre of Ubud, the Campuhan Ridge Walk in suitable conditions. It works best on days built around one place. The catch: pavements and crossings are inconsistent, and a walk that looks short on the map can mean road shoulders and busy junctions, so ask the hotel about the actual route to dinner after dark.
Our suggestion: book a driver for the two or three regional days of your trip and keep the others local, on foot or with short transfers arranged by the hotel. If most of your plans are in one region, stay there instead of commuting: Ubud for the inland days, Sanur or Jimbaran for the south, an eastern base such as Sidemen for the water gardens. Canggu and Seminyak suit local days, but are a less convincing base for a trip built around temples and eastern Bali.
Planning a driver day, step by step
Three steps that turn a long day in the car into a good day out.
Choose one region per day
Start from the region, not from a list of sights. North of Ubud, Tegallalang, Tirta Empul and Gunung Kawi make one day; Jatiluwih deserves a day of its own; the lake temple Ulun Danu Beratan and the Bali Botanic Garden belong together in the highlands; Tirta Gangga and Taman Ujung make an eastern day. In the south, Uluwatu pairs with Jimbaran.
Check the road buffer before the first stop: from Ubud, allow 90–150 minutes to Jatiluwih and 90–180 minutes to Bedugul. If the drive is longer than the time at the sights, move bases or choose a closer day.
Agree the terms before you get in
Confirm with the driver or your hotel: pickup time and place, the stops in order, the total hours, waiting time, overtime and what the price includes. Put the route in writing so there is no discussion at the second stop.
Save the driver's contact offline and agree where you will meet after each stop. Temples ask for suitable clothing and often have stairs, so plan time for changing and a calm pace rather than squeezing in another sight.
Start early, finish before dark
Leave early to use the cooler morning, and protect a long lunch rather than filling it with a detour. Be back before the evening turns into another transfer problem.
If heat, ceremonies or weather change the day, drop a stop. A good plan usually removes one distant stop rather than finding a faster vehicle.
Rain, boat days and changing bases
The days that go wrong on Bali are usually the overloaded ones.
Rain, heat and long days
An upland shower can arrive while the beach districts stay bright. Check the current forecast before long drives, start exposed walks earlier and have an alternative ready: an art museum and a long café break in Ubud, or one temple instead of three. Nyepi affects movement and services, so if your dates overlap, ask your accommodation about the current arrangements.
Boat days and moving to a new base
Keep boat excursions from Sanur Harbour on their own day, check the operator, destination, luggage conditions and weather policy, and never put a crossing right before an important flight. Moving between distant regions, for example from the south to Ubud or to Sidemen, works best as a transfer day of its own, with a light plan on arrival.
How long does it take between areas?
Our day routes use these planning buffers by car: Ubud to Tegallalang 30–50 minutes, then 15–30 minutes on to Tirta Empul and 45–90 minutes from Gunung Kawi back to Ubud; Ubud to Jatiluwih 90–150 minutes; Ubud to Bedugul 90–180 minutes; Jimbaran to Uluwatu 45–90 minutes; Tirta Gangga to Taman Ujung 35–60 minutes. From the airport, allow about 30–75 minutes to Sanur or Jimbaran, 45–120 to Seminyak and 90–180 to Ubud. These are editorial buffers, not promised journey times, and traffic can stretch them. Short hops inside Ubud can be slow too, so do not assume a nearby museum is a quick ride.
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Worth knowing
- Plan no more than one long drive per day.
- Treat a change of base as a day with a light programme.
- Check the forecast the evening before any highland, eastern or boat day.
Plan your days on Bali with a Tabiara guide
Our Bali guides are instant digital downloads in English, Spanish or German. The Confidence Kit explains getting around in detail; the Itineraries turn the regions above into ready day plans.
Where to start: Start with the Travel Confidence Kit if transport is what worries you; choose the Itineraries if you want the driver days already planned.
Bali Travel Confidence Kit – Getting Around & Problem Solvers
Explains private drivers, ride-hailing, scooters and Bali's slow roads in plain language, with payment tips, offline preparation and six problem solvers for days that change.
Bali Itineraries – 10 Day Routes + 3, 5 & 7-Day Plans
Ten day routes with visit times, travel legs, a daily budget and a rain alternative, including rice terraces and sacred water, Jatiluwih without rushing and Uluwatu, plus 3, 5 and 7-day plans.
Where to Stay in Bali – Best Areas Compared
Compares six bases, from Ubud and Sanur to Jimbaran / Bukit and Sidemen, by transport, noise and walkability, so the base does the work instead of the car.
Bali Travel Guide – Complete Master Guide (PDF)
The complete 90-page guide: arrival from DPS, areas to stay, getting around and ten flexible day routes in one file.
Bali Offline Place Guide – 23 Curated Places (PDF, CSV, HTML)
23 curated places, from Tegallalang to Tanah Lot, in a searchable offline directory and a CSV for your map app, useful for grouping stops by region.
Before your first driver day
Five things to sort out before you set off.
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Getting around Bali, your questions answered
Do I need a scooter in Bali?
No. A scooter should not be the default solution in an unfamiliar road environment. With a driver for regional days, short transfers arranged by your hotel and walking within one area, you can see a lot of the island without riding.
How do I hire a driver for a day in Bali?
Ask your accommodation or book a driver directly, and agree the hours, stops, waiting time and overtime before you leave. Put the route in writing and save the driver's contact offline.
How long does it take from Ubud to the south of Bali?
We do not publish a fixed figure for every pair of areas. As a guide, our planning buffer between the airport in the south and Ubud is 90–180 minutes, so treat a move between Ubud and the coast as a transfer day, not a quick hop.
Can I visit Ubud, Uluwatu and Tanah Lot in one day?
It may look possible on the map, but it is not a good day on the road. Uluwatu belongs with Jimbaran, Tanah Lot is a half-day from the southwest and Ubud's sights fill days of their own. Split them by region.
Is Bali walkable?
Within selected areas, yes: the Sanur promenade and central Ubud are good examples. Between areas, no, and pavements and crossings are inconsistent. Ask your hotel about the actual walk to dinner after dark.
Which Tabiara guide helps with getting around?
The Travel Confidence Kit explains drivers, ride-hailing and scooters, with six problem solvers. The Itineraries add ten ready day routes with their travel legs. Both come in English, Spanish or German.
Check the details before you go
Road conditions, prices and local arrangements change. Check the official pages and ask your accommodation before you travel; travel times on this page are planning buffers.
- Indonesia Travel: Bali
- Bali Airport: ground transport
- Indonesia Travel: Jatiluwih tourism village
- Indonesia Travel: the subak landscape
- Official Bali visitor levy
Planning suggestions by Tabiara. Choose the pace that suits you.