Saturday, 31 March 2012

Advice on Renting a Villa in Bali

NB - Click here if you are looking to rent a house  in Bali!

This post is intended as a follow up to my post about renting a house/apartment in Bali as many of my readers want to know specific information about renting a villa in Bali rather than just a house. For this, I will try to give as much info as possible about the said villas and costs involved.

One of the first things to note is that, similar to renting a house/apartment in Bali, long-term rent is usually paid in a lump sum in advance for the 6-month/year period of tenancy as, from the owners' perspective, anything less would not be worth it compared to renting it out short-term to tourists. Unfortunately, that is the way it is here - although you can find monthly villa rental, this usually equates to a much higher price for obvious reasons.




Villa location is high up on many people's lists - obviously, prices vary greatly depending onthe area in which a villa is located. For example, the most expensive areas to rent a villa are generally Seminyak, Nusa Dua, Sanur, Canggu, Ubud, the island of Nusa Lembongan or the Bukit Peninsula due to their close proximity to beaches and abundant tourist facilities such as supermarkets and restaurants.  As for the cost of rent for 1 year's rent in any of the above locations, expect to pay upwards of US$4,000 a 3-bedroom villa - please note that this is a rough estimate based on current prices! Cheaper villa options (starting at around $3,000 per year) are available in Jimbaran, Tuban, Kerobokan and Denpasar (around Renon is probably best) but this also means being further from the beach and having slightly less tourist amenities than the areas mentioned previously. If you are wishing to get away from it all and live in relative seclusion from all things western, then very good prices on villa rentals can be found in places such as Tabanan, Lovina, the island of Nusa Penida and the Karangasem Regency in East Bali and just about anywhere else in north, central, west & east Bali. This topographic map of Bali should help you to have a better idea of exactly where these places are.

Moonlight Villa, Courtesy of Allbalivillas.com
Another point about villa rental in Bali is that many villa owners will offer to include a maid (or pembantu in Indonesian) - this may or may not be to your tastes as most people I know who have had one are divided 50/50 by those who have had positive or negative experiences. Maids in Bali are easy to find and inexpensive (many working for as little as US$100 full-time) but knowing exactly what work has been done is an issue and the problem of security of your personal belongings is very common - this is not to say that all maids are untrustworthy but finding a good one can be stressful and time-consuming. You could try Bali Krisna Service, a job agency run by a friend, who offer maids and other domestic workers for long or short-term work at competitive prices. These can be live-in maids or simply ones who work as and when required.


As for the costs of living in a villa in Bali, this will also depend greatly on location - an airy villa on the Bukit Peninsula will not require nearly as much air-conditioning as one in the heart of the immensely over-crowded Seminyak, affecting electricity bills quite substantially. As a rough estimate with current prices, it would cost around US$150-200 per month for electricity with an average family of four  staying in a villa.

Villa Dadi, Canggu - courtesy of
Topcangguvillas.com

One final point to note would be that of furnished villas - houses for rent in Bali generally come unfurnished while villas in Bali are usually furnished - you can get a substantial discount on an unfurnished villa yet this is not an ideal option for everyone as furnishing one can be an unnecessary hassle. All the same, make sure you ask the villa owner if it is furnished or not in clear terms as they do sometimes avoid telling potential tenants until after receiving payment! Obviously, if you are already here in Bali, this can be easily resolved/avoided.


That's all for now! If there's anything I've missed or which is unclear, drop me a comment below and I will get back to you ASAP!

I hope it helps and happy villa hunting!

Here are some useful links for finding accommodation in Bali:



Here is some useful vocabulary for house hunting in Bali:

Indonesian                             English
     AC                                        Air-con
 air panas                               hot water
 bulan                                     month
 bulanan                                 monthly
 dapur                                    kitchen
 dijual                                     for sale
 disewakan                             for rent
 juta                                       million
                                kos                                        bedsit / boarding house
 kosong                                  empty
                                 lengkap                                 complete (i.e. furnished)
 listrik                                    electricity
 mandi                                    shower
pembantu                              maid

                                        perumahan                            housing complex / residence
tahun                                     year


© Stephen Beale @ livebali.net 

Sunday, 25 March 2012

Made in Bali: Hollow Balsa Surfboards by Vince


For the next post in the Made in Bali series, I wanted to mix surfing with an eco-friendly product made in Bali, hence Vince's hollow balsa surfboards seemed like a perfect fit!


Vince Surfboards
 Vince Surfboards are made in Bali using sustainable woods such as balsa and teak with the waste products from the process (wood chippings and offcuts) going into a compost heap which is later used to fertilise new trees - a full cycle and a refreshing change from the highly toxic standard polyurethane (PU) surfboards that are the standard in the surf industry.

Contact Vince Surfboards on Facebook 
Vince, who hails from France but has lived in Bali on and off for the last 35 years, has a technical background in both the aeronautical industry and the world of catamarans - but it is surfing, and the crafting of hollow wooden boards, which has attracted his attention in recent years.

Vince's hollow balsa and teak surfboards are made by using strips of wood sandwiched together which is lighter and stronger than using the skeleton structure that some shapers of wooden surfboards employ.

The other day I finally got a chance to ride one at Nusa Dua and it went great! I rode the Rawit model which is a 6'2 shortboard - it has a quite a lot of volume and reminded me of my first surfboard from the early 90s - it went really well and felt very nice on the water.

These wooden surfboards look and feel great and come with a lifetime warranty against snaps. As Vince himself assures me, a customer of his is "a customer for life" and he will gladly repair the boards should his customers have any problems while in Bali. He also says that minor repairs are easily fixed due to the wooden composition of the board - if you are good with your hands, you should be able to do it yourself but if in doubt, a carpenter or furniture makers would know exactly what to do!

Visit Vince Surfboards' Facebook Page or Email Vince Surfboards 

One of Vince's shortboards
@ Nusa Store, Bukit, Bali
Having been up and running for 3 years, Vince and his team have a select range of surfboards - including longboards, SUPs, shortboards, retro boards and alaias - but can also make different,  custom shapes upon request.

Vince Surfboards are available direct from Vince himself, but you can also have a look at a range of Vince's hollow wooden boards at the Nusa Surfwear store on the Bukit (near Dreamland),where you can also try out a demo board with a minimum 300,000 Rp purchase, the  Betel Nut Cafe in Canggu or the Soul Surf Project's eco-friendly surf store on Jalan Nakula in Legian

Contact Vince Surfboards on Facebook Or, alternatively fill out your details to contact him directly from this page (and yes, your details are safe with us - they go directly from the webmaster to Vince and no-one else!)



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