Bali Express

You reserve your spot for free and pay nothing to join, and reservations close 7 days before departure. Once enough travellers have signed on, usually around 10, we confirm the departure and email you a confirmation with an invoice for the full trip price. You pay it by card or bank transfer within 7 days, in US dollars, pounds, euros, Australian dollars, Canadian dollars, New Zealand dollars or Indian rupees, and the price shown for each date is what you pay.

No. Both are in the price: the sunrise trek with a local guide, breakfast at the top, the boats to Nusa Penida, a driver on the island, the manta snorkel and the island's entry fees.

Solo travellers aged 18 to 40. Most people come on their own, and some come with a friend. The maximum for each departure is shown with its dates, and it's never more than 16.

The Trip Host travels with the group for all seven days, sorts out every transfer, boat, ticket and check-in, and is the person you go to if anything goes wrong. A licensed local agency and licensed local guides run the ground services, including the Batur guides.

It starts at our hostel in Canggu on the afternoon of Day 1, and we send the address when you book. It ends at Sanur harbour in the late morning of Day 7. In between we use social hostels and small guesthouses with air-con, picked for location and cleanliness: near the beach in Canggu, within walking distance of the centre in Ubud, and near the north coast on Nusa Penida. You share a twin or small dorm room with travellers of the same gender.

We run this trip in Bali's dry season, April to October. May, June and September tend to bring calmer seas around Nusa Penida and fewer crowds than July and August. In the wet season the Batur summit is often in cloud and the boat crossings get rougher. Nyepi, the Day of Silence, falls on Monday 8 March 2027. For 24 hours from 6am the airport closes, no boats run and everyone stays in their accommodation with the lights low, so the trip doesn't run over it. If you're in Bali that week anyway, plan around it.

Most visitors, including those from the UK, US, EU, Australia and India, need a visa on arrival, which you can buy online in advance as an e-VOA. You also fill in the free All Indonesia arrival card within 72 hours before you land, and pay the Bali tourist levy (IDR 150,000), which is easiest online before you fly. Rules and fees change, so check our Bali visa guide and the official Indonesian immigration site before you book flights.

The Sanur to Nusa Penida crossing takes 30 to 45 minutes by fast boat. We only book daytime sailings, and in big swell crossings are delayed or cancelled. If that happens we wait it out and change the plan. Bali's boats have a mixed safety record, and a fast boat sank at the entrance to Sanur harbour in August 2025, so ask the Trip Host about the operator for your departure.

Pack a soft bag or backpack, because you carry it onto boats. Bring clothes that cover your shoulders and knees for temples, a warm layer and a torch or head torch for the Batur climb (it's cold at the top before dawn), shoes with grip, a swimsuit, reef-safe sunscreen, a refillable water bottle and a dry bag for your phone and passport on the boats. You also need some cash: pay in rupiah, in cash or by QRIS, and change money only at licensed money changers. ATMs are easy to find in Canggu and Ubud but few and far between on Nusa Penida, so take out what you need before the boat.

Insurance is a condition of joining. It must cover medical treatment and evacuation, and check that it covers volcano hikes and snorkelling. You need to be fairly fit: the Batur climb takes about two hours on loose volcanic ground in the dark, and you walk down after sunrise. If you can manage a long uphill walk, you'll be fine at your own pace. For snorkelling you need to be comfortable in open water, and life jackets are available.

You won't need a scooter, because we get around by van and by car with a driver. To ride legally in Indonesia you need a motorbike licence from home plus an International Driving Permit that covers motorbikes. Police check foreigners at roadside stops, and most insurance won't pay out if you crash without the right licence. Penida's roads are steep and broken. Canggu's nightlife is fine with the usual care. Drink spiking and fake spirits containing methanol have both been reported in Bali, so stick to sealed bottles and beer, skip cheap cocktails and home-made arak, and never leave a drink unattended. Drugs of any kind, including CBD, carry very heavy penalties in Indonesia.

No. We don't visit elephant parks, dolphin shows or coffee plantations serving kopi luwak, which come from caged civets. The only animals you'll meet are wild ones in the sea. If you visit the Monkey Forest in your free time, don't feed or touch the monkeys. Rabies is present in Bali, and any bite or scratch needs treatment the same day.