A 14-Day Solo Trip to Indonesia: Detailed Transport and Food Tips

Traveling solo on a budget in Indonesia for 14 days, visiting Bali, Lombok, and the Gili Islands, I saw Jimbaran Beach—rated as one of the world's top ten sunsets—went into the sea and saw sharks, encountered dishonest travel agents, and met kind strangers who asked for nothing in return. Here I share my experience with you.

**Pre-trip Preparation**

1. **Visa**: Since I didn't leave the airport in Malaysia, I didn't need a Malaysian visa. Indonesia offers visa on arrival, requiring only inbound and outbound flight tickets—a true spontaneous trip.

2. **Luggage**: Mostly shorts and t-shirts, but pack a long-sleeved shirt and pants for visiting temples. Bring mosquito repellent; the local mosquitoes are fierce.

3. **Accommodation**: As a budget traveler, I found a host on Couchsurfing for my first stop in Bali, saving on hotel costs. Most Chinese travelers stay near Kuta Beach, which has many shopping malls, restaurants, and bars, making it convenient, though crowded. I decided to find accommodation on arrival for other destinations. If you're uneasy, you can book hotels on Booking.com or Agoda, which is very convenient.

4. **Currency**: It's best to exchange for US dollars in China, as using USD to get local currency gives a better rate.

**Departure**: I booked AirAsia tickets one or two months in advance. Outbound: Kunming to Kuala Lumpur (720 RMB), overnight at Kuala Lumpur airport, then Kuala Lumpur to Bali (560 RMB). Return: Lombok to Kuala Lumpur (250 RMB), then Kuala Lumpur to Kunming (740 RMB).

**Day 1**: A little excited, a little nervous—my first time traveling without any visa. But after providing round-trip tickets at the airport, I cleared immigration smoothly. Landed at KLIA2, a new terminal with good facilities and many restaurants. If you've already checked in online and have no checked luggage, you can stay airside. Without a boarding pass, you can print it at the Sama-Sama hotel front desk for 2 RM per page. With checked luggage, it's trickier: you must go through immigration, get a transit visa (free, just show your ticket), collect your luggage, and re-check in for your next flight. I stayed overnight at KLIA2—you can rest at a sports bar or movie bar (not too pricey), or the Sama-Sama hotel (various room types, minimum 6 hours, different rates). If you'd rather not spend, you can sleep on a bench.

If you want to leave KLIA2, just show a flight departing within 120 hours, get a free transit visa at the counter (fill a form, stamp, done in 5 minutes), and explore Kuala Lumpur.

**Day 2**: Boarded the plane to Bali. Onboard, you can fill out the arrival card and customs declaration, or do it after landing. After landing, pay the visa-on-arrival fee of 35 USD (I've heard it's now free, but I haven't personally verified). Then get your passport stamped at immigration. After entering, you can buy a local SIM card at the red store called Simpati just outside the arrivals area—choose a package based on duration and data. There's also a currency exchange counter with decent rates and no fee. Alternatively, exchange money at Kuta Beach, where many exchange shops exist—compare rates. The airport has a dedicated taxi counter where you can buy a ticket to your destination; it's safer than hailing a taxi outside. If you do take a taxi outside, choose Blue Bird—good service and no rip-off. In the evening, I ate the famous local fried rice (nasi goreng) at a street stall: very cheap, 10,000 IDR per portion, with chips and a fried egg.

**Day 3**: Slept in, then a local friend took me on his motorbike to Nusa Dua for a try-out dive—the thing I most wanted to do. But when we got there, the beach was dirty, the sea wasn't the blue I imagined, and one dive cost over 100 USD—unbelievably expensive. Later I found online that Nusa Dua is a complete tourist trap: high prices, poor environment, chaotic management. I regretted not doing more research beforehand. So a reminder: before traveling, consult multiple websites for prices and reviews, like TripAdvisor—quite reliable. Don't get cheated like I did. I had wanted to dive at Tulamben and see dolphins at Lovina, but they asked me to pay double, so those plans fell through. I realized solo travel has downsides—some places are really hard to reach. In the afternoon, I went to famous Jimbaran Beach for sunset, said to be one of the world's top ten. But I got cheated again: I went to an expensive restaurant to eat and watch the sunset. Later I found it's totally unnecessary—you can just go to the other end of the beach and enjoy the view without spending much. By the end of the day, my impression of Bali was very negative; I realized I had encountered a travel agent who tricked me into spending a lot. I felt terrible.

**Day 4**: I signed up for a Ubud day trip. In the morning, I took a bus from Kuta to Ubud. Ubud felt much better—a quiet little town with many craft shops, buildings, streets, and goods full of artistic atmosphere. Worth staying longer. If you have enough time, stay two or three nights in Ubud; food and accommodation aren't expensive, and there's much to explore. Back in Kuta in the evening, I went to a KTV with locals and some foreigners. I didn't expect foreigners to like karaoke too. The local KTV charges per person, not per room like in China, and drinks are expensive. So for two or three hours of singing, I didn't buy anything, which felt odd. I still prefer China's KTV.

**Day 5**: Decided to leave Bali for the nearby islands. I bought a combined bus+ferry ticket from Bali to Gili Trawangan for 350,000 IDR. Waited for the bus from 7 am, took about 2.5 hours to reach the harbor, boarded the ferry around 10:30, and finally saw the blue sea. My mood improved—I always love an endless, clean blue ocean. Around noon, I arrived at Gili Trawangan, a very small island with no motorized vehicles, no scooters, quiet and clean. Found a hotel near the main street for 250,000 IDR per night, with hot water and AC—a good deal for the island. For cheaper options, walk further from the main street to find homestays around 100,000–200,000 IDR per night, but without hot water or AC (only fans). For nicer stays, choose villas or resorts with pools and sea views—pricier. Settled in, then strolled to the beach. Many sea-view restaurants; you can pick one, lie on a lounger, relax, read, drink, sunbathe, with the blue sea before you, listening to the waves—very peaceful. Decided to rest on the first night, so I didn't go to the bars.

**Day 6**: I've always wanted to get a diving certification, and now was my chance. The island has many dive shops, PADI and SSI, many with nice pools and boats, some including hotels and restaurants. Along the road, I found one with a Chinese-speaking instructor. I went in, asked, and signed up for the course. The Open Water course can be 3 or 4 days: 3 days = 1 day in the pool learning skills, 2 days diving in the sea; 4 days = 2 days in the pool, 2 days diving. Since learning with a Chinese instructor would be faster without language barriers, I chose the 3-day course. Previously I only knew about PADI, but abroad I learned there are many agencies. PADI is older and more famous in China; SSI is newer and popular in Europe and America. After comparison, the content is the same, but with PADI you get the certificate after two months (mailed from Australia), while SSI gives it immediately. I'm impatient, so I chose SSI. The course starts tomorrow morning; today I got the study book and homework. I didn't expect so much theory—it felt like being back in school. I had to finish the book in two days, which felt stressful, worrying I might fail. But I heard almost everyone passes, so I relaxed a bit.

**Day 7**: Class started at 8:30 am. The instructor first explained basic diving theory, then we assembled our gear and learned in the pool. I learned a lot in one day—it's been a while since I absorbed so much information quickly, and it was challenging. Luckily, the instructor was patient and explained everything until I understood. Very grateful. Tired but happy—excited that tomorrow I'd finally go underwater to see beautiful creatures.

**Day 8**: Arrived at the dive shop at 8 am. The instructor explained the day's dive plan and what to pay attention to. A little nervous, but excitement took over. The first two dives could go to 12 meters. First dive at Halik—I saw so many beautiful fish swimming around me, colorful and cute, my eyes couldn't take it all in, plus various beautiful corals. Second dive at Meno Wall—saw different things, including a huge sea turtle—gorgeous. I completed the required exercises underwater, one step closer to becoming a certified diver.

**Day 9**: Today we could dive to 18 meters. Went to Manta Point and Shark Point. I saw a shark for the first time, very close. I never thought sharks could be so not scary—they were actually cute. The closest I've ever been to a shark; my heart almost stopped. On the fourth dive, my instructor brought my certification card underwater. I was overjoyed when I got it—I never expected such a surprise. Now I'm a certified diver, able to dive anywhere in the world—a new door opened for me. After returning, the instructor said there was one more secret skill. Curious, she brought two glasses of local vodka and a packet of Extra Joss (a vitamin powder). She demonstrated how to drink it, and I tried—the taste was surprisingly good. First time I found vodka so enjoyable. In the evening, I celebrated with other newly certified students and instructors at the local Irish bar—very lively, lots of drinks, everyone was high.

**Day 10**: Drank too much the night before, still a bit tipsy, lazed in the hotel.

Here are some island tips:

1. From Bali to Gili, you can buy a combined bus+ferry ticket. One-way should not exceed 350,000 IDR; round-trip 700,000 IDR. If higher, you're being ripped off. The return ticket is open—you can use it any day back to Bali, just confirm at the ferry company one day in advance. Companies: Ekajaya, Ocean 2, Gili Getaway.

2. From Lombok to Gili, go to Bangsal harbor and buy a public boat ticket: 23,000 IDR per person. Don't take the fast boat; they'll say it's faster, but the public boat only takes 30 minutes to an hour anyway—no need to spend extra.

3. In both Bali and Lombok, choose Blue Bird taxis to avoid scams.

4. There are three Gili islands: Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, Gili Air. If you book ahead, be clear which island. Trawangan is the liveliest, with many dive shops and bars, can be noisy at night. Meno is more upscale, hotels are generally expensive. Air is quieter but slightly pricier than Trawangan.

5. Local food is close to Chinese cuisine—mostly stir-fries or grilled items. During the day, eat at local restaurants for about 25,000 IDR per meal, not expensive. At night, there's a concentrated night market selling local food for around 50,000 IDR per meal. For seafood, go to restaurants—mostly grilled seafood, pricier, but with sea views and nice ambiance. Western food like steak, pizza, burgers, pasta is common—I personally didn't like it much.

6. Muslim prayer calls broadcast across the island every few hours, including at night. If you're a light sleeper, choose your hotel away from the speakers.

7. Diving prices are standardized across the island, so no need to ask each shop. Certified fun dive: 35 USD per dive. Open Water certification: 395 USD. Advanced: 320 USD.

8. The dive shop where I studied is Manta Dive, the only one on the island with a Chinese-speaking instructor. If you're interested, you can contact my instructor first for a discount. She's a girl from Yunnan, very kind. Even if you don't dive with them, she can patiently recommend places to stay and eat. WeChat: Sevengg37 (shared with her permission).

**Day 11**: Continued relaxing on the beach, went to a bar in the evening. Life is so leisurely. No money left for more diving, but I still went to the dive shop to have a drink and chat with people. Really didn't want to leave.

**Day 12**: Left Gili, bought a ferry ticket to Lombok—very cheap, public boat, 15,000 IDR. Arrived in Lombok, took a bus to Senggigi, a famous quiet town. Found a nicer hotel with an infinity pool, spa, and good breakfast—wanted to treat myself on the last day. In the evening, went to the town center, found a bar with live music, ate sushi and seafood—an expensive meal, but nice atmosphere.

**Day 13**: Took a bus to the airport. Though reluctant, I had to leave eventually. Four and a half hours back to Kuala Lumpur.

**Day 14**: Spent a night in Kuala Lumpur, then headed home.