Bali is a famous tourist destination situated in Indonesia. It is located east of Java and west of Lombok. The province consists of the island of Bali and a few smaller islands like Nusa Ceningan, Nusa Penida, and Nusa Lembongan. It is very famous for its arts like metalworking, sculpture, painting, traditional and modern dance, leather, and music.
Bali is a famous tourist destination in the world, and a major part of its economy depends on tourism. Let’s take a look at some of the most common tourist traps and scams to avoid in Bali.
A list of the most common tourist traps and scams to avoid in Bali is given below:
1. Be careful when you change your Money in Bali
The money changers in Bali will indicate a high exchange rate on their whiteboard to attract tourists. Once the tourists approach them, they will pretend to be honest by using a calculator.
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Then they will add the actual amount of rupiahs according to the latest exchange rate, though it is not correct. The trick they employ is that they will make you believe that they only have 10,000 rupiah notes and do not have any other notes.
2. Seafood at Jimbaran
Jimbaran is one of Bali’s famous fishing villages and seafood markets. It is very popular amongst tourists because of the presence of the famed seafood.
You can taste a variety of seafood at dinner by the beach in Jimbaran. Apart from this, you can also enjoy dinner by watching the setting sun.
3. Experience an Authentic Balinese Market
Ubud market is a very famous location for tourists who love to experience the lifestyle of the local people. You can also shop for beautiful souvenirs and knick-knacks in this market.
Most of the shops in Bali sell items at higher prices, and mainly tourists fall into their traps. For example, t-shirts and wooden trinkets can be found in every shop here, but the prices of these would be entirely different from one another in each place.
4. Taking Taxi Rides in Bali
Taxis are the most comfortable means of transport to travel across Bali to visit the famous tourist spots. However, some drivers may take advantage of you. They will charge extra rates from you if you are not well aware of the actual taxi rates here.
For example, if you want to travel to a faraway place, such as from Kuta to Ubud or Amed, some drivers will try to charge extra for the trip by convincing you with various excuses.
5. How to deal with Temple Touts – Besakih Temple
There are many temples in Bali, which are some of the major attractions. You can see many touts here who will try to charge you money. For example, when you visit the Besakih Temple entrance, you will be able to see a few people who may ask you to pay an amount of $15 per person to enter the temple.
These people at the entrance will sometimes be frauds and will try to fool you if you do not have any knowledge about the place.
6. Tour Guides at Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave)
There are some tour guides in Bali who may offer to guide you through Goa Gajah and tell you about the history of the place. These guides will first say that the tour is free, but later they will charge you money.
This free offer attracts many tourists, and they fall into this trap. Later, after guiding you, they will try to convince you with various excuses to pay them some money.
7. Touts at Kuta Beach
You can see many touts at Kuta Beach who may try to fool you. There are many ‘buses’ or aunties at the beach who will try to offer their services. They will offer to give you a massage, braid your hair, or do a pedicure in order to get some money.
They mostly charge high prices for their services, which are unknown to tourists. These touts will try to impress you with various offers, but these are their tricks to get extra money.
8. Drinking Traditional Balinese Alcohol
The traditional Balinese drink is very famous among tourists. Arak is a traditional Balinese spirit made from toddy palm trees. This is a popular drink among locals during special festivals and celebrations.
Though it is a famous drink in recent years, there have been many cases reported due to poisoning. There have been occasional cases of methanol poisoning due to the consumption of arak or alcohol.
9. Police Corruption
Corruption is another major problem in Bali. You can see many corrupt police officers in tourist destinations in Bali. Some traffic police often catch tourists on rented motorbikes or cars without any particular reason.
They may try to charge a fine for simple offenses, like not wearing a helmet. These fines they collect are mostly in the form of bribes.
10. Phony Commission Drivers
Some tourists prefer to hire a personal driver to take them around Bali instead of taxi drivers. Though getting a driver in Bali is easy, the cost of getting a driver and a huge passenger car will cost you a huge amount, unlike taxis.
If you like to hire personal drivers, you should be well aware of commissioned drivers, as they may charge extra money.
These are some of the most common tourist traps and scams to avoid in Bali. This place is best to visit during April or October because the climate is ideal for tourists to travel. Although the weather is ideal for travelers, the island is also subject to humid days. So, if you plan to go on a vacation to Bali, note the points mentioned above; there is a high chance that you might get cheated.
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