Hiring A Driver In Bali - Is It Worth It?

When we decided we were heading to Bali, it didn’t even occur to me that we might want to go anywhere beyond our resort.

Not because we weren’t interested, but I figured we’d take a tour or two arranged through the hotel and spend most of our time by the beach to rejuvenate ourselves for the rest of this year.

Beach view at Hyatt Regency Bali — It’s not a bad view but maybe we’d like to see something else over 10 days.

Almost immediately after our announcement, a friend from the UK recommended a driver – Putu.

We never considered renting a car or motor bike in Bali. Now, having been there, I feel like this is something we could do – driving there was busy but very different from other experiences we’ve had overseas in Thailand or Jamaica. The speeds are lower and there’s some structure to the chaotic streets. We’ve driven on both sides of the road in the UK, Europe, Australia and the US, so we do have a fair bit of driving experience. But I think we enjoyed ourselves more and paid probably the same as a car rental (or less!) going the route of hiring a driver in Bali.

I contacted Putu and he advised me that he was looking busy during that time. However, one of his other drivers would be available. I decided to book with his company (without bothering to research any others – who needs to when you have a recommendation!?) and I’m so glad I did.

For our 15th wedding anniversary I planned a waterfall trip for Stephen (the traditional and modern gifts are watches and crystal, so I got him some whiskey and a crystal whiskey drinking glass and then planned to take him to “watch” waterfalls), so I booked a 10 hour trip with Putu’s company.

I knew that my itinerary might not work, but I didn’t quite realize how far was I really trying to go. We didn’t end up using my itinerary in the end, but that was no bad thing because we ended up doing even more awesome things and planned a second day trip with our driver as a result of his recommendations.

Our driver was Nyoman War, a safe driver who lives in the mountains about 2 hours from our location. He has a family and speaks very good English. He shared so much about Bali traditions, customs, sights and more – but was also quiet when we were flagging by the end of the day. He arrived on time both days and was very kind, patient and flexible with our itinerary.

First Day Trip With Our Driver In Bali

We took our first day trip to two waterfalls (Leke Leke and Nungnung) and a coffee plantation. This adventure still took about 8 hours with traffic, driving speeds and terrain. We were picked up promptly at 10am and returned around 6 or 7pm.

We visited the Leke Leke waterfall first. You walk down for 10-15 minutes to reach the bottom of the falls.

There were also some farm animals along the way, so I stopped and got, not only my obligatory selfie, but also this sweet picture of a cow snagging a little snack in the shade from passersby.

After Leke Leke we thought we’d head to our next waterfall, but Nyoman suggested a coffee plantation. There was a swing at Leke Leke, but he thought we might enjoy the swing more at the Baturiti Luwak coffee plantation. Neither of us are coffee drinkers, but we are adventurous and like to try all.the.things. We therefore agreed to add this diversion to our original itinerary.

It was a great recommendation by our driver. We tried something we never would’ve otherwise and had a memory on one of those famous, Instagram-worthy swings.

Our final stop of the day was Nungnung waterfall. Nyoman recommended this despite its 500 steps and we’re glad we took his recommendation yet again. I’d planned for other waterfalls, but I’m so glad we didn’t miss this one. It was one of our favorite memories of the trip, and possibly one of our top memories from our travels over the last 15 years. This waterfall was even cheaper than Leke Leke at only 20,000 IDR per person.

As we made our way back up, I was given moral support through trickery. I love to pet all the things, so the chance to pet another pupper while I was missing Truffles was an oppawtunity I didn’t want to miss. That wiley pup though made me follow him to the top for pets and selfies! It did make the last leg of the trek back up much more enjoyable though.

Having heard that I like animals and seeing my attempts at selfies with every dog and cat we saw, Nyoman suggested another day trip if we were interested which would include a trip to the Sacred Monkey Forest of Ubud. I was already sold on another day trip with Nyoman as he had been so friendly and helpful, so it seemed a waste not to see him once more and take some of his recommendations. We got his WhatsApp number so we could communicate with him directly about our potential itinerary and arranged a day that suited us both, as we wanted to keep our fantastic driver.

Second Day Trip With Our Driver In Bali

Nyoman’s original suggestions for our second day trip included:

Traditional Balinese dancing
A visit to a traditional Balinese home
A visit to a Hindu Temple – Batuan Temple
The Hidden Canyon
The Sacred Monkey Forest
1-2 waterfalls depending on time

We tweaked it to include the following based on our interests and previous experiences in Southeast Asia:

Batuan Temple
The Hidden Canyon
The Sacred Monkey Forest
Balinese lunch
2 waterfalls

Nyoman was really helpful in figuring out what we could fit in and he worked hard to make it happen. We even asked to make two quick stops on the way back for souvenirs. Not only did he accommodate this request, he made sure we crossed the roads safely since it was dark out.

One of our favorite things was the Hidden Canyon tour. We wouldn’t even have known it was something to do without Nyoman’s suggestion. Our driver in Bali absolutely made our trip with his expertise and suggestions.

The lunch spot he took us to (after we asked for his recommendation on that too!) was also incredible and worth every penny.

Babi Guling in Bali — Babi guling in Bali

Here are a few more pictures of our highlights from that day trip.

Batuan Temple

The Sacred Monkey Forest

Monkey eating a coconut at Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary

Monkey at Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary

Baby monkey at Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary

Waterfalls

Nyoman even pulled over to show us how rice is grown. We had a basic understanding that it grew in wet fields, but we learned that it grows three times per year, each growing season is four months and it can be grown year-round. It’s harvested and the grains are inside the grasses.

Rice field with the Mount Agung volcano in the background in Bali

This is what rice looks like pre-harvesting

The second day trip took 11 hours. We paid ~$50 for 10 hours and an additional $5 for each additional hour. We chose to tip over and above that amount because we were so impressed with our day trips.

Since returning home, we’ve found that many of the trips available when you search are per person; this is one thing that stood out from booking with Putu’s company – the total cost was for the day, rather than per person. This made it incredibly affordable and we were able to afford a second day trip because of this.

I can’t recommend Putu (and Nyoman) enough. There’s so much we would’ve missed in Bali if we hadn’t booked with them. If you need a driver in Bali and want to see more than your toes in the sand, book with them before your journey.

Here’s Putu’s website again in case you’re interested. We don’t get anything if you book with him other than the satisfaction that you’ll have a great experience and the knowledge that we’ve helped support his company in some small way.

Bali Trip Report

You can check out all our posts from our 15th anniversary trip to Bali below:

Hiring A Driver In Bali – Is It Worth It?

First Day Trip With Our Driver In Bali