Let's talk about the prices in Bali for food, alcohol, fruits and products in 2021. For those who are going to live on a paradise island - calculating how much life in Bali costs per month. Share tips!
We've made a HUGE guide for anyone who wants to know EVERYTHING about food prices in Bali. Almost a dissertation! Read it and you will know Balinese prices better than Russian ones.
Exchange rate: 10,000 Indonesian rupiah (IDR) ≈ 45 RUB... For clarity, we replaced the bulky zeros with the notation K - these are thousands of rupees.
Food in Bali: what to try
Nasi Goreng. Nasi goren - fried rice with vegetables, crispy chips crumble and a fried egg. Nasi goren is the head of everything, it is the main dish in Indonesia. Happens with chicken (Ayam), special with kebabs (Special), vegetarian, with seafood. Surprisingly, we eat nasi goren for months, and it does not bother at all!
Mie Goreng. Mi goren - fried noodles. Everything is the same as that of usi goren. I don't like this type of noodles because they remind me of "Rollton". Try kwetiau goreng, which is pad thaya-style fried noodles.
Nasi Campur. I call nasi champur "inlaid rice" because it is accompanied by various additives of your choice, if it is a buffet, or the choice of a cook, if it is a position in the cafe menu.
Rendang - meat stewed in spicy coconut sauce. There is Tuna Rendang - with tuna, Jackfruit Rendang - with jackfruit, etc. It's divine with tuna, we recommend!
Gado-Gado. Gado Gado is a warm vegetable salad with incredible peanut sauce. The composition can be different, the chef's taste: tofu, tempeh, boiled egg, soy sprouts, chips, corn, etc.
Sate. Sate - mini-kebabs on skewers. There are chicken, pork, beef. Usually served with peanut sauce.
Cap-Cay. Chap tea is a strange Chinese dish! A bunch of different vegetables in jelly, sometimes with seafood. Did not like.
Bakso. Bakso soup is a popular roadside food because it doesn't need to be cooked. All ingredients are simply poured over with broth. The taste is so-so, but when on the way you need to have a quick snack with something hot and cheap, it will do :) In the composition - pressed rice, noodles, vegetables and meatballs, presumably from chicken, but by taste they are not identified as chicken. If written Ayam - must be chicken, Ikan - from fish.
Soto Ayam. Soto ayam - a soup with chunks of chicken, egg, noodles and vegetables, sometimes nasty unleavened pressed rice.
Bubur. Pudding with coconut milk or black rice cream. Tasty, but they wouldn't eat the second time - ordinary rice porridge, rather bland.
Pisang Goreng. Fried bananas in batter, sometimes served with a scoop of ice cream. Hearty, sweet, hot!
Look: When is the best time to relax in Bali.
Prices for food in Bali in a cafe - 2021
White man = bag of money. This rule works almost everywhere in Southeast Asia, including Bali. The fact that Bali is cheap is already a myth. Yes, it was once cheap. Now the island is spoiled by tourists, and for foreigners, prices are greatly inflated, although in the outback it is not yet the case. So budget a decent amount for food - the cost of living in Bali is no longer low. A striking example: durian in the market in Ubud is sold for 50-100K, depending on the degree of impudence of the seller. And in the north of Bali, we bought durians of the same size for 20-25K.
Bali prices in restaurants
Here it is clear - everything is expensive. Uncomplicated main courses usually cost from 140K (from $ 10), and this is the minimum. With seafood and meat - more expensive.
Marco Polo's advice. Don't go to expensive restaurants, especially in hotels. You've come to Bali, so try the local cuisine in inexpensive authentic warungs - they cook there the same or tastier. For example, Ubud is full of cool cafes that cook well, including European dishes. We deliberately don't eat in soulless and pretentious restaurants. It's much nicer to go to a three-table warung owned by a lovely Balinese family, don't you agree? It is homely cozy there, and the staff is sincerely glad to every visitor - you can feel it.
Bali food prices at warung cafes
If you want to live in Bali on a budget, look for warung Is a cafe. However, they are also different - cheap for locals and more expensive for tourists.
Varungi for locals you can see right away: a simple interior, food behind a glass counter, a little untidy. The staff almost does not know English, not always there is even a menu. But it's cheap! They usually feed two or three national dishes: nasi goren - fried rice, mi goren - fried noodles, and their variations with meat. There are cafes specializing in one dish. For example, near the lakes in the north of Bali, there are many varungs with Bakso Ayam soup.
Marco Polo's advice. If you want to travel around the island, learn or write down the names of the main dishes and numbers in Bahasa, the Indonesian language. You know, the locals rejoice like children when they hear their native language from a foreigner! Just for the sake of these smiles, it's worth learning a couple of phrases :) Plus, this will allow you to save on food on trips.
Food prices in Bali in 2021 in warungs for locals:
- nasi goren with vegetables (fried rice) - 10-15K
- nasi goren with meat - 25-30K
- mi goren with vegetables (fried noodles) - 10-15K
- mi goren with meat - 25-30K
- bakso ayam soup - 15K
- freshly squeezed juices - 5-10K
- coconut - 10-15K (found on the highway for 5K).
In warungs for foreigners pleasant interior, wooden furniture, a closed kitchen, an extensive menu in English, the staff also knows the language. Soft music is playing, lanterns are on - in general, everything is made to the tastes of foreigners. There is a gradation in prices: there are inexpensive, average, fashionable raw food more expensive, etc.
Marco Polo's advice. Litmus paper - prices for nasi goren and mi goren. Normally, these meat dishes cost 20-25K, and if they are above 50K, then the owner is a fabulous greedy man. Once we went to a roadside untidy warung near Lake Buyan, and they handed us a menu for foreigners, where nasi goren with meat cost 80K!
Food prices in Bali in 2021 in warungs for tourists (inexpensive and medium):
- Nasi goren / mi goren with vegetables or chicken - 20-25K
- Nasi goren / mi goren with chicken - 30-40K
- Nasi Kampur - 20-30K
- Chicken with pesto sauce - 30K
- Soups (soto ayam, pumpkin or tomato) - 15-25K
- Salads (gado-gado, Balinese, Greek) - 20-25K
- Rendang with tuna - 30K
- Chicken Curry - 30K
- Omelets - 15-20K
- Meat / fish kebabs with rice - 20-30K
- Freshly squeezed juices - 10-30K.
Find out about the best excursions in Bali.
Desserts on the island are pretty monotonous, but tasty and satisfying. If you're not overly hungry, then fried bananas or banana caramel can replace a complete meal. We advise you not to repeat our mistake - order them after the main meal. Balinese people can easily bring dessert first! Here are the prices:
- Traditional Black Rice Pudding - from 12K
- Banana split - from 15K
- Pancake with sauce or filling - from 12K
- Banana Caramel - 17K
- Fruit salad - 15-30K
- Fried bananas - 15K
Please note that some establishments have a service charge - usually 5-15%.
Bali food prices - 2021
To calculate how much life in Bali costs, you need to know the prices of food. You won't eat in a cafe three times a day, will you? Usually, tourists who live on the island for a long time prepare at least breakfast at home - this saves money.
The prices for food in Bali in supermarkets are the most common. Some products are cheap, and some are more expensive than in Russia: milk, yogurt, cheeses, alcohol, chocolate.
Large supermarkets such as Coco Mart and Carrefour have a wide range of products. It is profitable to buy vegetables and fruits, fresh juices, baked goods there.
Food prices in Bali in 2021 at Coco Mart supermarket:
- yogurt (glass) - 9K
- imported milk (1 l) - 30K
- potatoes (kg) - 21K
- tomatoes - 6-10K
- shrimp (kg) - 187K
- cookies - 7-15K
- freshly squeezed juice - 8K
- juice in a bottle (0.5 l) - 14-15K
- unpeeled peanuts - 10K
- fresh eggs (10 pcs) - 18.5K
- banana muffins and other baked goods - 6-15K
In small shops along the road, like Indomart and Alfamart, we only bought water. There are all sorts of little things: juices, yoghurts, milk, bread, cookies, chips and snacks for beer.
Fruit prices in Bali
In supermarkets and street stalls in Bali, we bought fruits at the following prices (per kg in 2021):
- Pitahaya - 15K
- Melon - 20-26.5K
- Marquis - 45-47K
- Rambutans - 18K
- Pineapple (substrate) - 28.5K
- Balinese herring - 20-22K
- Carambola - 20K
- Bananas (kg) - 23K
- Watermelon (kg) - 20K
- Mangosteen - 20-35K
- Durian small 10-40K (10-15K - by the road, 40K - on the market)
- Durian large 25-60K (20-25K - by the road, 60-100K - on the market)
- Papaya - 7-15K
- Mango - 25-50K, in season - 10-15K
- Coconut (pcs) - 10-15K
- Vani - 35K
Fruit is cheaper at roadside stalls. For example, we bought medium-sized durian for 20-25k. Once we found a durian paradise - a pickup truck with fruits right by the road! Farmers knocked down durians from trees and sold us a few.
The cost depends on the season and the type of fruit. For example, it was not the season for mango, marquise and durian, so they were expensive. Prices may differ - who will overestimate how :) Find out more about all tropical fruits of Southeast Asia: when the season, how to choose which ones taste.
Marco Polo's point of view. We buy fruits almost always in supermarkets - this saves time and nerves. No need to bargain until you lose your pulse, sweat in a stifling market and make sure you don't get overweight. We do not like traders in the market and we have a negative experience of communication with them. The prices in the store are acceptable for us, and during the promotions they are even lower than the market ones. If you are adventurous and know how to bargain, buy fruit in the market - it will be a little cheaper than in the store.
Prices for alcohol and drinks in Bali - 2021
Alcohol. The most popular beer among foreigners in Bali is Bintang. Many people add the epithet "beloved" to it, but we did not like it - urine with urine, like in Vietnam (forgive me, fans of "Bintang"). If you wanted beer, they took Guinness.
Here are the alcohol prices in Bali in 2021:
- Guinness beer (0.3 l) - 28K
- beer "Bintang" (0.3 l) in the store - from 18K
- beer "Bintang" (0.6 l) in a cafe - from 35K
- alcoholic cocktail in a cafe - 70-85K
- palm wine Arak in a cafe - 10-17K
- Rice wine Brem in a cafe - 10-17K
- local wine Hatten or Two Islands costs 200K on average (there are promotions when you can buy for 150K)
- Australian wine on average 400K.
Other drinks. In the resorts, everything is more expensive. In the north of the island, we bought the same fresh juices three to four times cheaper! Obviously, a stall in the village will not make some tricky banana, but the juice from the vani fruit is no worse and costs only 5,000 rupees.
How much does life in Bali cost per month? Our budget
How much is living in Bali for a month (in terms of food)? With such prices and rather modest food, you can keep within $ 400 for two, if you chic a little - up to $ 500-600.
Cost of living in Bali per month. Our food and lodging costs (for two):
| Cafe | 334$ |
| Fruits and juices | 87$ |
| Food and drinks | 28$ |
| Beer | 21$ |
| Hotels | 744$ |
| Total for food | 470$ |
| Food + lodging | 1214$ |
Total spent on food: $ 470 for two. That is 15,000 rubles per person. Or 500 ₽ per day per person - it already seems like mere pennies!
Indeed, this is not much, given that we ate only in a cafe, overeat fruits (including expensive ones), and we never had a day without juices. But everything is learned by comparison! In Vietnam, we spent $ 250 per month - almost half as much with the same appetites.
See how much housing costs in Bali:
| A type | Price per day | Example |
| Bed in a hostel in Kuta | from 4 $ | BB Hostels |
| Guesthouse by the beach in Kuta | from 8 $ | La Mulya Legian Hotel |
| Decent hotel in Seminyak | from 15 $ | The Yogasari Seminyak |
| Villa / bungalow in Ubud with pool | from 40 $ | Lembah sentosa |
| Hotel 5 * | from 50 $ | La Berceuse Resort and Villa |
| Villa with private pool | from 100 $ | Intimate Villa |
Conclusions: is Bali cheap or expensive?
We lived in Bali for exactly a month. They themselves did not cook anything, ate in warungs designed for tourists, because there are no truly local establishments in popular resorts at all.
Bali is an incredibly tourist destination. The entire island serves millions of vacationers - a huge industry that we have never seen anywhere else in Asia.
In hotels, we were fed breakfast, and when we lived in a villa, we started the day with fruit. We had lunch and dinner only in a cafe. We had a kitchen everywhere, but why do we need it if there is so much delicious and varied food around?
The average bill for two for 2-3 dishes and 1-2 juice / coconut is $ 6-10, depending on the price level in the institution and our hunger. It's not cheap: in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and other islands in Indonesia, we spend half as much on food.
But Bali also has advantages:
- All cafes are clean, tidy and pleasant. No cockroaches, garbage on the floor, flies and other attributes of cheap eateries in Asia. Any princess will love it.
- Balinese are connoisseurs of beauty, harmony and tranquility. They decorate almost all cafes with paintings, carved furniture, lamps - it is cozy and pleasant to dine in such an interior. Quiet national music is often played, which is relaxing. No TVs and noisy companies. Okay!
- A wide variety of dishes. Tourists are spoiled and demanding people, few of them are ready to eat only rice for weeks. Therefore, every cafe in Bali offers dishes of different cuisines: Indonesian, Italian, Mexican and others. You will never get bored with food.
It can be concluded that the price / quality ratio in Bali is excellent... For little money, you can get a lot of good here: delicious and varied food, an abundance of fruits and juices, as well as cheap villas and classy hotels. Come!
