Forget Uber on Bali: another app rules here (travelling cheaply)

If you want to travel cheaply, you may think of an Uber on Bali. But in Asia another app is hugely popular. For getting around Bali you take a Grab.

Exploring Bali by scooter was an unforgettable experience for us. Only not everyone dares. Understandable enough, because dangerous situations do arise regularly.

Hiring a driver to get around Bali

The roads and the traffic are a touch different from the Netherlands. You can imagine that it is sometimes wiser to play it safe. Hire a driver each time to get around Bali.

Hiring a driver does not immediately square with travelling cheaply. Certainly not when a scooter cost you the equivalent of 3 euros a day, at pre-corona prices. Even so, it can work out well.

Uber on Bali? No, it is Grab

Without scooters you seem condemned to pricey taxis. Happily there is Grab. A sort of Uber on Bali, but the Asian counterpart. The concept is almost identical.

Through the app you see which drivers are nearby. You can accept fares, which are often good value. Then you are picked up fairly quickly and taken neatly to your destination.

Although, neatly… not always. Perceptions of risk simply differ from European standards. Either way, someone is driving who is used to this. You can trust that. It remains your own choice.

Travelling cheaply: why Grab?

• You know the price of your ride in advance. With traditional taxis you only know afterwards.
• The average price with traditional taxis is quickly about 3 times higher than with Grab drivers.
• You can choose a scooter driver (hop on the back with me) or a car driver.

Download the Grab app free to get around Bali. Say where you are and where you want to go. The nearest driver heads your way. You can already see the number plate and you can chat. Perfect.

Drawbacks to Grab?

Grab is extremely popular with tourists, but not with all Balinese. Representatives of hotels or attractions sometimes set up ‘no Grab zones’. So you get almost everywhere en but not everywhere.

An alternative to Grab

Besides Grab as a replacement for Uber on Bali, there is another popular app with drivers. It is called Gojek (also spelled Go-Jek). They too are not equally welcome everywhere.