Indonesia Travel Guide

Indonesia, especially Bali, has been popular with travellers for years. Visa-on-arrival is straightforward, flights are short, and a week-long trip costs a fraction of equivalent European destinations.

The currency is the Indonesian Rupiah, large numbers can be confusing. IDR 100,000 is roughly ₹500. Carry a small USD reserve for the Bali tourist tax (IDR 150,000) and for places that prefer dollars over rupiah.

The Rupiah and the Rupee

The Indonesian rupiah runs in big numbers, and the mental maths takes a day or two to settle. A nasi goreng costs around 50,000 rupiah. A villa night in Bali runs into the millions. The trick is dropping the last three zeros, divide by a thousand and the figure becomes manageable.

There is a small but important constraint travellers should know. Indonesian law restricts the export of large amounts of rupiah out of the country. The practical rule for a tourist is to convert what you need on arrival, spend it, and avoid leaving with a wallet full of rupiah. Carry small leftover amounts back if you must, but do not stockpile rupiah in India before flying. The cleanest approach is to carry US dollars from India and convert on the ground, or load a forex card with USD.

Rates move every day. The number on Google is the live interbank rate, what authorised dealers use to trade with each other. It is not the rate most banks and forex providers actually sell at. They build a markup into their selling price, usually 2 to 4 percent, and it never appears as a separate line item on the bill. On a forex order of a couple of lakh rupees, that markup quietly adds up to thousands.

How Much Cash to Carry

Indonesia is mainly a cash economy for everyday spending. Warungs (small local restaurants), street food, beach bars, fruit sellers, traditional markets, intercity transport, taxis outside Jakarta and Bali tourist zones, and most local experiences run on cash. Cards work at four-star and five-star hotels, branded restaurants in Seminyak, Canggu, and Ubud, supermarket chains, and major tourist sites like the Tanah Lot temple complex.

There is one important payment-side distinction in Bali. Many warungs, cafes, and small businesses accept Indonesian QR payments through QRIS, but QRIS is tied to local bank accounts and is not directly usable by travellers. The signs are everywhere; the wallet does not work for visitors.

A Sensible Cash Plan

Carry US dollars from India in clean, undamaged notes, torn, marked, or pre-2009 series notes are routinely refused at Indonesian exchange counters. Convert in batches on arrival rather than all at once. Keep a forex card loaded with USD as backup, both for ATM withdrawals in Indonesia and for hotel and restaurant payments where cards are accepted.

Indian residents can carry up to USD 3,000 equivalent in foreign currency notes per trip to Indonesia. Anything beyond that goes on a forex card or as a wire transfer. Most leisure trips will not approach the ₹10 lakh per person per financial year TCS threshold, so no tax collection at source applies.

Where to Exchange Money

The cheapest forex you will buy is the USD you buy in India before flying. Indian airport counters and tourist-area money changers run a noticeable markup over the interbank rate. Hotel front desks run worse. Online forex providers are typically a few percent better than both, and show you the rate and the applicable charges before you confirm the order.

Inside Indonesia, the authorised money changers operating under PVA Bali licences offer the best rates, far better than banks and far better than airport counters or hotel front desks. The catch is that there are also a number of well-known scam money changers in Kuta, Seminyak, and Legian. Stick to PT Central Kuta, BMC, and other PVA-licensed brands. Verify the licence sticker on the door, count the money carefully before leaving the counter, and never accept a rate that is suspiciously better than nearby competitors.

Skip the airport exchange counters at Denpasar and Jakarta for anything beyond the immediate cash you need on arrival.

Cards in Indonesia

Visa and Mastercard are accepted at four-star and five-star hotels, branded restaurants in Bali's tourist zones, supermarket chains like Pepito and Bintang, big shopping malls in Jakarta, and most established tour operators. Acceptance drops sharply outside those circles. American Express works at international hotel chains but not much else. JCB has decent acceptance through Japanese tourism volumes. RuPay has effectively no acceptance.

Apple Pay and Google Pay work at most card terminals that accept contactless. QRIS, the local QR system, is everywhere on signs but not directly usable by travellers.

Two Things Indian Cardholders Should Know

Online payments in Indonesia trigger 3D Secure verification, which means an OTP to your registered Indian mobile number. Keep your Indian SIM active on roaming, or use an eSIM that keeps the number reachable. Otherwise online bookings, particularly for domestic flights and ferries, fail at the OTP step.

At hotels and large restaurants, the card machine sometimes asks whether to charge in rupiah or in your home currency. Always pick rupiah. The home-currency option is dynamic currency conversion and adds a markup of several percent on top of whatever your card already takes.

ATMs in Indonesia

ATMs are everywhere in Bali, Jakarta, and the major tourist towns. Bank Mandiri, BCA, BNI, and BRI are the main networks. Foreign cards work at most of them, though withdrawal limits per transaction tend to be lower than what travellers are used to, often capped at around 2 to 3 million rupiah per withdrawal. Plan multiple withdrawals if you need cash for a multi-day trip.

There is a long-running ATM skimming concern in Bali. Use ATMs inside bank branches, large hotels, and major tourist centres rather than standalone roadside ATMs. Cover the keypad when entering your PIN. Check your account afterwards for unfamiliar transactions.

Skip the airport ATMs for anything beyond emergency cash. The fees are high and the rates are poor.

The fees, the withdrawal limits and the skimming precautions are covered in full in our guide to ATMs in Bali.

The Bali Tourist Tax

Since February 2024, Bali charges a tourist levy of IDR 150,000 per foreign tourist on arrival. The levy is paid online before flying through the official Love Bali portal, or on arrival at Denpasar Airport via card or cash. Pay before flying, the airport queues for on-arrival payment can be long. Keep the receipt, in case you are asked to show it at attractions.

The levy applies once per visit, not per night. Children are charged the same as adults. The funds go toward Bali's environmental and cultural protection programmes.

What You Will Spend Each Day

On the ground, daily spending in Bali splits into three rough tiers.

Backpacker: hostel or homestay, two warung meals, one cheap restaurant dinner, scooter rental, free beaches and rice paddies. Bali at this tier is among the cheapest serious-travel destinations in Asia.

Mid-range, where most travellers land: a private villa or boutique hotel in Seminyak, Canggu, or Ubud, two restaurant meals a day, a private driver for day trips, paid attractions like Tanah Lot or the Sacred Monkey Forest, occasional spa visits and surf lessons.

Premium: a five-star resort in Nusa Dua or Ubud's hill country, fine-dining restaurants, private guides, helicopter tours, the high-end wellness retreat budget. Bali at this tier rivals the Maldives for honeymoon spend.

Jakarta is similar tier-for-tier but feels more business-traveller than holiday. Yogyakarta and the smaller islands run cheaper across all three tiers.

A 7-day mid-range Bali trip for two is one of the better-value beach holidays you can plan from India. Flights and hotels are usually paid in India before departure and sit on top.