Tourist Visa In Bali

[girlx]

i am going to bali for a week and i need to apply while i am there for a tourist visa for thailand. any advice on where or how to do this? can i get a double entry? other bali tips appreciated, especially for solo female...

thx

[The Professor]

Bali is a great spot, I love it. It is mainly Hindu so you get a lot of folks similar to those you might find on say Chulia St Penang. I know you're going to love the place, I surely did. no clue on the visa situation; hopefully you can get a single entry but I wouldn't count on it. The good news is that a trip to Bali is never a wasted trip regardless of whether you get a Thai visa. When I went there, it was just for a vacation and not a visa. Very nice friendly folks, but then again I'm a guy. I have heard about farang girls getting harassed by locals. Apparently they are rather pushy on the beach and in town and dont know what no means. I'd read lonely planet forum on this. I almost didn't take the trip cause of what people (a lot of girls and others) were saying on that forum about Bali. As it turned out, I loved it but I'm easy to please being a CA surfer. Give me a wave and I am happy. nothing else matters

[LaoPo]

i am going to bali for a week and i need to apply while i am there for a tourist visa for thailand. any advice on where or how to do this? can i get a double entry? other bali tips appreciated, especially for solo female...

thx

Don't know if this info is still up to date...

THE ROYAL THAI CONSULATE (Bali)

Mr. Peraphon Prayooravong - Honorary Consul <[email protected]>

Mr. Poramate Khemwongthong - Consular Officer <[email protected]>

Address:

Jl. Puputan Raya No. 81, Renon Denpasar 80235

Phone: 263 310, Fax: 238 044

Email: [email protected]

Office hours:

Monday to Friday 09.00 - 12.00 & 13.00 - 16.00

Visa hours:

Monday to Friday 09.00 - 12.00 & 13.30 - 16.00

LaoPo

[ovenman]

Bali is a great spot, I love it. It is mainly Hindu so you get a lot of folks similar to those you might find on say Chulia St Penang.

Uh-oh, I think you may have just ruled out Bali if it's as seedy as Penang!

[MTW]

I'm going to Bali for my 4th trip at the end of this month. I would advise you not to stay in or around Kuta, and I think the best area is Seminyak. The hotel where I always stay is called Bali Agung Village which has beautiful grounds, nice pool, Bali style architecture, and good basic rooms with minibar, aircon, UBC type TV, nice staff and you can walk to the beach in 3-5 minutes. I usually pay direct $28 USD for a double room, includes 21% service & tax, and breakfast. They are not on a lot of internet hotel booking sites, but Asia.com I think has it now for $27. I got this rate by showing them a printed page of that rate at one of those sites the first time I went. (I didn't book first because I wanted to go there and see it before deciding.)

I've gotten a couple single tourist visas there and the consulate is easy and has never had anyone there but me when I went.

Re men annoying you - taxi drivers usually sit along the sidewalk to wait for customers and will say hello, as will everyone you pass, or try to engage you in conversation by asking where you are from, etc. Just say hello, and keep walking. Also, men stand outside bars/nightclubs and some restaurants to try to get customers, instead of having bar girls. It is a little shocking after being in Thailand a long time to see men so foward acting. But I have never had anyone be rude but I also don't stay and chat. Same for the beaches, know that the second you buy one thing, 20 more vendors will instantly appear and not want to leave because they know you are a buyer. And your first day on the beach will be the worst.

I tell them I live in Thailand and can buy everything cheaper there, and that I never buy things on the beach. They won't believe you at first, but if you don't give in, you will suffer less. If you do buy, remember they usually ask for 10-20 times what their real price is, and will stay 2 hours to negotiate it down ... the women with seashell jewelry are the worst, close your eyes, wear sunglasses, put your towel over your head, tell them you are sleeping and please let you enjoy your vacation, if they are rude, call them on it and usually they will back off.

Also, watch your money carfully when you buy things. Some vendors have tried to tell me I gave them 10,000 notes when I gave them 100,000 notes. The ATMs give out 100,000 notes so that is all I had and didn't make a mistake. If you buy a service (massage, manicure) on the beach, make them REPEAT the price in their own voice that they agree to do it for. Because they will nod and look like they have accepted your price, and try to change it after by saying "I said 80,000" but I responded, "I can't pay more than 30,000 and you nodded and started work" OR they will have 2 girls do the work, and pretend they are confused and you meant 30,000 per person.

They have a lot of tricks there (I've spent a total of about 3 months over 3 trips) and saw a lot of things that never happen in Thailand. But I do love Bali. Also, they fight there, in other words, raising your voice and fighting back, being a little rude/tough seems to be respected there, you don't have to shy away from arguments like in Thailand ... so if you have some stress built up, go ahead and let it out when appropriate. (Sometimes touts in Kuta will glue themselves to you, I have even been told by one that it was against the law for me to shop in the local outdoor market without one. Being sweet and polite will not do the job there to get rid of annoying people).

Seminyak has a lot of nice, fixed price shops ( pretty much, but some will discount 10% if buying a lot), good restaurants, a big bar nightclub area, good beach not at all crowded, and generally the people are more friendly than Thailand and speak English very well.

Also, if you get a massage on the beach, or anywhere outdoors, the ladies try to take your top off, then encourage you to roll over facing up, with nothing on, and tell you no problem, nobody is looking. In minutes, several guys will show up and the woman won't care ... but Balinese are very modest, same like here. Why they want to encourage you to do that, I don't know, maybe their brothers like it. I asked one once, when I had to fight to keep my front covered, "what would your husband do if he saw you like this" and without hesitation, she said "he would shoot me."

Have a great time!

[girlx]

i have been advised to skip kuta area and go straight to ubud, any comments? can anyone at all tell me about getting a visa there?

edit: thanks MTW you posted at the same time as me!

Edited April 2, 2007 by girlx

[LivinLOS]

Kuta is a bit Dumpsville these days.. But lots of cheap eats and bars around there..

Sanur can have some nice places, legian / seminyak also.. I rent a bike for almost nothing for the month and drive about all the time.. My Brother has a house on the bukit so I dont think about accomodations.

[MTW]

I forgot to tell you, almost nobody knows where the Thai consulate is. The only good way I have of getting there is to hire the driver from my hotel, or a tour guide type driver, negotiate a fixed price RT, give them the address and ask them to call and ask for directions. It isn't far from the American consulate if you find that, but on another road around the corner.

I once got a double toursit visa, and was told the next time I could get 6 months if I brought my house contract, something I thought I packed but hadn't. The next time I could only get a single tourist visa, even though I brought the papers they wanted, and was told, things had changed. That was about 1 year ago, so before the Oct crackdown. One time I just didn't get try to get a visa as I didn't need one.

Ubud is okay but I think you can see it on a day tour. I realize you live at the beach, but Bali has fun beaches with waves, you can surf, bellyboard, get some real exercise. Great diving or snorkel if you like that, better than many, many places in the world. And you should visit the southern beaches where the serious surfing is, you can get a private driver for maybe 20-25 USD to drive you around all day, visit some beautiful beaches, sit on some cliffs and watch good surfing, wonderful views that don't look at all the rest of Bali, and the driver will wait for you.

And the eastern part of the island is great for diving and you will see a volcano and another different looking area, if you book dive/snorkel trips to that area, you will get a nice tour just on your drive.

Ubud will be a little like going to Chiang Mai, but on a very tiny scale. Lot of health food places, yoga retreats, medium shopping but I would be bored there after 1 day. I've been twice for day trips.

Hope this helps.

[MTW]

By the way, in case you don't know, Ubud is not the beach, or anywhere near one. It is a good 2-3 hour drive from any beach, sort of a hilly, high area, why I compared it to visiting Chiang Mai.

[girlx]

i asked MTW already but am wondering if anyone else knows how long it takes to process the Thai tourist visa in Bali these days? I emailed the consulate but got no response.

edit: I finally got through to the consulate by phone (001-62-361-263-310 from Thailand), and these are the requirements for a Thai tourist visa there now (according to the man on the phone anyway)-

-2 4x6 centimeter passport photos

-copy of passport

-plane ticket or copy of e-ticket itinerary

-$25 USD *per entry* (or about 1000b, he said they would accept Thai baht though I have heard otherwise)

-takes 2 days to process

I will update again when I return from my trip.

Edited April 5, 2007 by girlx

[jinjok]

i think the consulate is in sanur...

nothing wrong with kuta for a visa run. its only a few days and if you must...you can find quite nice hotels very inexpensive. its they typical jumble over asian overbuilding and tourism on steriods. its very cheap from teh airport.

ubud is perhaps worth a trip depending on how interested you are in balianese culture and time you have. i think its 4 hours by minibus - but its been years. its nice, cheap. you can also go to the port twhere ferry leaves to lombok (forget name). its ok as well although better places for relax and snorkle.

gilli islands are fun and cheap :-))

[girlx]

just wanted to update- i just got back from bali and you can get a double entry tourist visa from the consulate in denpasar. you have to show a ticket leaving thailand though. the officer is very nice.

[tropo]

just wanted to update- i just got back from bali and you can get a double entry tourist visa from the consulate in denpasar. you have to show a ticket leaving thailand though. the officer is very nice.

That's very interesting Girlx. I haven't heard of anyone obtaining a double entry tourist visa from an embassy in SE Asia since the new regulations took effect.

[ovenman]

just wanted to update- i just got back from bali and you can get a double entry tourist visa from the consulate in denpasar. you have to show a ticket leaving thailand though. the officer is very nice.

A ticket leaving Thailand within what timeframe (seeing as how it's a double-entry visa)?

[timonase]

good question, was thinking about it too????????????????

regards

timo

[girlx]

i should add that i did not get the visa myself because i did not have a ticket out of thailand and was not in a position to buy one... but the officer assured me that if i had had a ticket (as far as i know it just has to show that you will leave thailand in the future, he didn't specify a time frame), i would have been granted a double entry.

[tropo]

i should add that i did not get the visa myself because i did not have a ticket out of thailand and was not in a position to buy one... but the officer assured me that if i had had a ticket (as far as i know it just has to show that you will leave thailand in the future, he didn't specify a time frame), i would have been granted a double entry.

So you went all the way to Bali on a pleasure visa run and returned without a visa?

If you could have gotten a double-entry tourist visa in Bali with an onward ticket, why didn't you just buy a cheap one way e-ticket to Penang. You could have found one for under 2000 baht for the benefit of a full 6 months in Thailand without having to do a visa run.

[girlx]

yes i know that but i did not have money on my credit card and i didn't have time in the end anyway to wait for the visa to process. no big deal, i will just go to penang at the end of the month.

[Fred Sanford]

Bali's a loooong way to go for a 30 day turnaround, lol.

[girlx]

yeah but i wasn't there just for the visa.

[thaiman]

If you could have gotten a double-entry tourist visa in Bali with an onward ticket, why didn't you just buy a cheap one way e-ticket to Penang. You could have found one for under 2000 baht for the benefit of a full 6 months in Thailand without having to do a visa run.

How long does a double entry tourist visa allow you to stay in thailand for? so, if you have to show an onward ticked out of thailand what time frame would you reccommend showing on the ticket?

[girlx]

both your questions were asked and answered already

[girlx]

has anyone gotten a double entry tourist visa in bali lately? want to check that i can still get one before i book a trip...

[lazygourmet]

has anyone gotten a double entry tourist visa in bali lately? want to check that i can still get one before i book a trip...

Not quite sure about Bali. Last May, I flew Air Asia, early morning flight, to Jakarta. Dropped my passport at the consulate. Double entry tourist visa was ready the next day, afternoon. Then, I bought a Garuda ticket to spend a few days in Bali. Total transportation costs around USD350! I hope this will help...

[girlx]

hmm maybe i will try that, thanks!

[tropo]

has anyone gotten a double entry tourist visa in bali lately? want to check that i can still get one before i book a trip...

Not quite sure about Bali. Last May, I flew Air Asia, early morning flight, to Jakarta. Dropped my passport at the consulate. Double entry tourist visa was ready the next day, afternoon. Then, I bought a Garuda ticket to spend a few days in Bali. Total transportation costs around USD350! I hope this will help...

What was your visa history like? i.e. Did you have many previous tourist visas in your passport?

What were the requirements? Did you need to show a return ticket leaving Thailand?

How long was your double entry visa valid for? 3 months or 6 months?

[astral]

Please make up your mind.

In another post you were off to Hongkong.

All this makes me think you are a serial visa runner,

which is what the embassies/consulates do not like??

[girlx]

Please make up your mind.

In another post you were off to Hongkong.

All this makes me think you are a serial visa runner,

which is what the embassies/consulates do not like??

i am trying to decide where to go. mind your own business.

[lazygourmet]

What was your visa history like? i.e. Did you have many previous tourist visas in your passport?

What were the requirements? Did you need to show a return ticket leaving Thailand?

How long was your double entry visa valid for? 3 months or 6 months?

Briefly, I received, last May, 3 months -double entry- tourist visa. Paid 2000 (in Thai currency) no question about air-ticket, but I had one, just in case. Had already on this one-year old passport 2 double t.v. (Brussels & Vientiane) + numerous 30 days stamps and extentions of stay (7 & 30 days)... Hope it helps...

[tropo]

Briefly, I received, last May, 3 months -double entry- tourist visa. Paid 2000 (in Thai currency) no question about air-ticket, but I had one, just in case. Had already on this one-year old passport 2 double t.v. (Brussels & Vientiane) + numerous 30 days stamps and extentions of stay (7 & 30 days)... Hope it helps...

Yes, that helps a lot!

I'm surprised no one else has made any comments about this as double entry tourist visas are a rare commodity in SE Asia, and up until reading your report I didn't know of anywhere to get them besides Vientiane.

Jakarta could be a decent alternative to Vientiane because flying to Vientiane directly costs about 4,500 baht more than flying to Jakarta (going by the cheapest tickets available booking a month ahead).

Thanks!