Bali is a tropical island in Indonesia, accessible by its main airport Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar. We are sure many of you are familiar and have been here several times before but for those Bali first-timers, the island is large, roughly 4 times bigger than London and our wedding will take place in Seseh near Canggu, about a 1-hour drive from the airport. You can fly direct to Bali from Singapore, Sydney & Melbourne, and via Doha, Dubai, or Singapore from London.

We look forward to spending time with you in Bali and hope you’ll take full advantage of your time on the island. To make your time comfortable and fun, we’ve prepared the following recommendations.

ACCOMMODATION

There are 2 main types of accommodation in Bali; hotels, and villas. Staying in a hotel will give you access to familiar amenities, however renting a villa through Airbnb/online will allow you privacy, your own pool, and space. One of the things we love most about Bali is the villas, and there is something for every budget. For the wedding weekend, expect traffic to be extremely heavy. Coming from Seminyak will take you at least 1.5 hours due to the bad traffic on Jalan Batu Belig. We, therefore, recommend finding accommodation in Canggu which will be a 15-30 minute drive from the venue. Some recommendations include:

• The Double View Mansions $ (hotel) about 5-15 minutes by car to the wedding venue, it’s very closeby but not walkable unless you want to cross a river!

• Shore Amora Canggu $ (hotel) about 10-20 minutes by car to the wedding venue

• Masmara Resort Canggu $$ (hotel) about 10-20 minutes by car to the wedding venue

• The Haven Suites Berawa $$ (hotel - we are staying here before our wedding) about a 1 hour drive to the wedding venue

• COMO Uma Canggu $$$ (hotel - new and highly rated) this would be roughly a 30-45 minute drive to the wedding venue

There are plenty of villas available on Airbnb within walking distance to Shalimar Villas if you are staying as a group. Although many resorts are on the beach, do note that the beach is volcanic ash sand and is not suitable for swimming due to the strong currents. If you’re after nice beaches, we recommend extending your trip and traveling to Nusa Lembongan or even the Gili Islands nearby.

WEATHER

Bali is hot! August is typically the dry, windy season and while it’s not as humid as Singapore, temperatures will range from 25-29c. You should pack light, cooling, and comfortable clothing, sandals/flip flops, and a pair of trainers if you’re going to do any exploring on foot. Pack lots of sunscreen! We’d advise against wearing heels for the wedding, as it’s on a flat terrain that’s primarily grass.

GETTING AROUND

Bali’s traffic in the busy areas is notoriously bad, so we suggest allowing plenty of time to get to the ceremony and in general, anywhere you want to go. Always allow double the time Google Maps is telling you via car. When you book accommodation, it’s a good idea to take their airport transport. Most of the time, the driver will give you his/her number, and you can WhatsApp them for future journeys. You can also book a car or scooter via Gojek. We highly recommend downloading Gojek for transport, food deliveries, grocery shopping, and even medical assistance! If you’re familiar with riding on the back of scooters, it is by far the easiest, quickest, and cheapest way to get around. Make sure you wear a helmet! We also have a few contacts of local drivers if you need recommendations.

CURRENCY

Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) is the currency in Bali. Bring lots of cash - although you can use cards in most shops and restaurants, you’ll find that you will use cash for a lot of taxi or scooter rides, when you Gojek food, market shopping, and beers. It’s always nice to tip as well :) We normally calculate IDR 100k as S$10 or £6, to give you an idea. Gojek rides in a car within an hour duration should cost you no more than IDR 100k.

VISAS

Bali now requires a paid visa on arrival for most passports which is IDR 500k (about S$50 or £30) per person - bring IDR in cash for this. To save a potential 2-hour queue in a hot immigration hall, we strongly recommend using the VIP fast track service of Tic Bali who’ll meet you at the gate and escort you quickly through the airport. This needs to be booked in advance.