Everything I packed and everything I booked, for two months in Bali on a waitress’s budget.
Some of the links on this page earn me a small commission. Your price is the same either way, and I don’t put my name beside anything I didn’t use. Nothing here was given to me, comped, or sponsored.
How I paid for it
I was a fifty-nine-year-old waitress. I did not have the money for this trip, so I built it out of things I already had.
I rented my house on Furnished Finder while I was gone, which covered the mortgage and the bills. I flew on points. I slept forty of fifty-nine nights in hotels I didn’t pay for. I came home with more money than I left with.
None of that required a windfall. It required about a year of setting things up correctly, and knowing which cards to hold. That’s what this page is.
The Points Strategy
Two cards did the heavy lifting. The Chase Sapphire Preferred covered the flights — the sign-up bonus, once I met the spend requirement in the first three months, was roughly a round trip to Bali, and the points transfer to partner airlines. The IHG One Rewards Premier covered the hotels, and it’s the reason I slept forty of fifty-nine nights in rooms I didn’t pay for.
I started about a year out. That’s the part nobody tells you. This isn’t a trick you run the month before you fly — it’s a year of putting the spending you were doing anyway through the right card.
I had to pay for groceries and gas and bills regardless. I didn’t spend extra. I routed what I was already spending and let the card do the work.
Offers change constantly, which is exactly why this is here and not in the book.
The rule: pay the balance in full every single month. No exceptions. This is a points strategy, not a debt strategy. The moment you carry a balance, the math inverts.
Both are referral links. If you sign up through one, I earn points. It costs you nothing, and I use both cards myself. Current bonuses and fees change constantly — check the offer on the card’s own page before you apply.
The IHG strategy, in my own words
I am not affiliated with IHG. Nobody paid me to say any of this. I say it because I did a two-month trip to Bali largely on points, and IHG was the engine that made the hotel part work.
The fourth night free
This is the single most useful thing about the program. Book four consecutive nights on points and the fourth is free. Automatically. No calling in, no asking at the desk. You also get one free anniversary night a year.
You need to hold an IHG card for it to work. Three options:
- IHG One Rewards Premier — the one I use. Annual free-night certificate and automatic elite status. The sign-up bonus alone can fund several four-night stays once you factor in the free fourth night.
- IHG One Rewards Premier Business — same perks, higher annual fee, built for freelancers and small businesses. Worth it only if you have business spend to route through it.
- IHG One Rewards Traveler — no annual fee, and it still gets you the fourth night free. Smaller bonus, zero commitment.
What IHG actually covers in Bali
Most people hear IHG and picture a roadside Holiday Inn. Not what we’re talking about.
Luxury — InterContinental Bali Resort, the beachfront flagship on Jimbaran Bay, with lounge access for top-tier elite members that includes afternoon tea and happy hour. That was my dinner more nights than not. Also InterContinental Bali Sanur, Six Senses Uluwatu, and Regent Bali Canggu.
Boutique — Hotel Indigo Bali Seminyak Beach, one of the highest-rated IHG properties on the island, right on the beach. Voco Bali Seminyak. Kimpton Suntaya Bali Ubud, opening early 2027.
Family and mid-range — Holiday Inn Resort Baruna Bali near the airport, Holiday Inn Resort Bali Canggu near Batu Bolong Beach, Holiday Inn Bali Sanur.
Where I’d actually stay
- Hotel Indigo Bali Seminyak Beach — The best blend of Balinese character, walkability, restaurants and beach. Boutique all the way, a neat find.
- InterContinental Bali Resort, Jimbaran — The classic big-resort experience. I highly recommend – this is where you want to spend suite upgrades and lounge access once you qualify. Enjoy.
- Six Senses Uluwatu — if budget is less of a concern and wellness is the point. I haven’t stayed here, out of my price range.
- Kimpton Suntaya Bali Ubud — opens early 2027. Watch it if Ubud is your focus- will be on the expensive side as it’s sparkling new / high-end.
Buying points at the right price
IHG periodically runs 100% bonus sales — buy a block of points, get the same amount free. That works out to about half a cent per point, which is the number that makes redemptions pencil out.
Wait for the 100% bonus. Don’t buy at 80%. The difference compounds when you’re stacking nights.
The practical number
The point of all this isn’t to turn you into a points hobbyist. It’s to show you that two months in Bali wasn’t funded by a trust fund or an expense account.
It was funded by a waitress who paid attention and planned ahead.
You can do exactly the same.
Travel insurance
I used SafetyWing. Two months cost me $336.70, from the day I left to the day I came home — medical evacuation, hospitalization, emergency dental, trip interruption.
I never had to use it. I’d buy it again tomorrow.
Two months on the other side of the world is two months during which something can go wrong. The cost of not having insurance isn’t the premium. It’s the most stressful financial decision of your life, made while you’re already in the worst situation of your life.
This is the item most budget travelers skip and the one I’m most insistent about. I highly recommend buying a policy before your flight. Budget for it early so you are fully protected against the unexpected.
What I packed
Two months in a carry-on backpack, with room to spare.
Pack less than you think you need. Two things make that possible: laundry service is everywhere and costs almost nothing, so pack lightly and let the service handle the cleaning. And clothing in Bali is so inexpensive that you’ll want the empty space when you get there. I suggest to wait to buy clothes and necessities on the ground.
This is not roughing it. This is smart.
Clothing
- 2 flowing sundresses or lightweight linen sets — loose, natural fibre only
- 2 lightweight tops
- 1 pair loose-fitting light pants and 1 skirt/pair of shorts — dresses up or down
- 1 long-sleeve white button-down — layers over everything for temples, evenings, over-cooled restaurants
- 1 light sweater — Ubud evenings get cool
- 2 bathing suits
- 1 compact umbrella — a must. I never used a rain jacket.
- 1 pair sandals — cushioned and get-wet-friendly. Find yours when you arrive, $8–15. I bought buckle sandals at the Ubud market for $7.82 and I still wear them every day at home.
That’s it. That’s two months. You’ll want to buy more while you’re there.
For the journey
- Puffy jacket with a hood, for the plane. It compresses small into your backpack or ties around your waist. Non-negotiable for me — I freeze, and it’s a long haul from the States.
- A comfortable outfit and shoes for both flights
- A small journal and pen
- Laptop, only if you genuinely need to work. Otherwise leave it home and journal instead.
Essentials
- Type C/F power adapter — Bali runs two-pin European outlets. Buy before you leave.
- RFID Blocking sleeves — for your cards and passport. Cheap, weightless, and they take one worry off the table. Your passport and cards live in a bag on your body for two months, in markets and on scooters and in crowds, and these mean you’re not thinking about it.
- Portable charger — long days, few outlets
- Cross-body or anti-theft pack — your cash and phone stay in front of your body, especially on a scooter
- Carry-on backpack — the size and weight that clears local airline checks without a conversation
- Packing cubes and a dry bag
- Prescription medications, full trip supply — bring what you take
- Backup glasses or contacts
- Reef-safe sunscreen — a 2 oz starter supply, more available there
- Toiletry essentials only — everything else is at the pharmacy or the 7-Eleven
- A shower filter — see below. This one surprised me.
The shower filter
This is the thing I almost didn’t bring, and the thing I’d tell every woman to pack.
I got the idea from Facebook groups before I left — women talking about what Bali water does to your hair. The tap water there is hard. High chlorine, heavy minerals, sediment. It strips the natural oils out of your hair and skin, and by week two you’ll have the frizz and brittleness that everyone who’s been there recognizes immediately.
A compact multi-stage travel filter fixes it. It screws straight onto the shower arm where the head unscrews — it took me about a minute in every hotel and homestay I stayed in, and it came off just as easily when I left.
It saved my skin and my hair for two months. Small, light, and the best thing in my bag.
The ones that matter most
- Type C/F power adapter — Bali runs two-pin European outlets. Half the “universal” adapters sit loose in a Balinese socket, and a loose adapter is how you wake up on a travel day with a dead phone.
- Carry-on backpack — local carriers within Indonesia enforce size and weight limits most international travelers have never had to think about. This is the configuration that goes through without a conversation.
- Cross-body or anti-theft pack with RFD protection — your phone and your cash go in front of your body. Always, and especially on a scooter.
- Shower Head Filter — to prevent damage to your hair and skin, staying healthy for the duration of your trip
What to leave home
- Hair dryer
- Full-size bottles of anything
- The ‘just in case’ outfit
- A third pair of shoes
- Anything whose purpose is to make you feel prepared rather than actually prepare you
Getting it all home
Here’s something I wish I’d known before I left.
I didn’t realize how much room I’d need coming back. Gifts, clothes, oils, incense, products you can’t get anywhere else — Bali treasures you don’t know you want until you’re standing in front of them. I bought a small suitcase there for almost nothing and paid for the extra bag at the airport, which cost me more than it needed to.
Here’s the plan I’d make instead: add and pay for a checked bag on your return leg when you book, or as far ahead as your airline allows. It’s cheaper booked early than bought at the counter, and if you don’t fill it, that’s a far better problem than standing in Denpasar doing arithmetic with a queue behind you.
Either way, pay the fee. Shipping a box back to the States costs about the same, takes months, and may not arrive at all.
One rule that isn’t optional: lithium batteries fly in the cabin, never in a checked bag. Power banks, drone batteries, spare camera cells — take them out and put them in your carry-on, or they’ll be pulled at check-in and you won’t get them back. Check your airline’s watt-hour and quantity limits before you fly; they vary.
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The apps I used daily on my phone
Set these up before you fly, not while standing in the airport.
- WhatsApp — this isn’t a messaging app in Bali, it’s the phone system. Every healer, every homestay host, every driver.
- An eSIM — data from the moment you land. I used Saily and it cost $46.54 for two months. Shop around; they all change.
- Grab — cars and motorbikes across the island. Link your card before you land.
- Google Maps — download the offline Bali map while you still have hotel wifi.
- Google Translate — type or dictate your conversations. Turn on the camera function. Point it at menus and labels.
- A currency converter — I used the free one from Wise. When someone says 150,000 for a massage you want to know instantly what that is. An iphone come with one automatically on the top right of the calculator
- IHG app — points versus cash, live availability, included breakfasts. Your planning tool if you’re on points.
- Booking.com — use the app, not the desktop site. Better prices and easier cancellation.
- GetYourGuide — Tirta Empul, cooking classes, waterfalls, Gates of Heaven, Bali Swing, etc.
The other things to set up before you fly
- Indonesia visa on arrival, plus extension — about $66. Work out how long you’re staying first; 30 and 60 days are priced differently. Apply on the official government site, evisa.imigrasi.go.id. A fee increase is pending — check current pricing.
- Bali tourist levy — about $10, paid once.
- Card annual fees — $194 for the two cards. Apply three or more months ahead so the sign-up bonuses have runway.
These sit outside the trip total, the same way the card fees do. They’re real money and nobody warns you about them.
Take it with you
The Bali Packing Checklist — everything above on two pages, plus the Indonesian brands worth buying when you get there. Print it and carry it to the store.
The Bali Budget Worksheet — what my two months actually cost, line by line, with blank columns for yours. Page two is the comparison that decides it: two months of ordinary life at home cost me $2,170. The trip cost me between $1,680 and $1,986. I didn’t save up to go. I spent less than I would have spent standing still.
Already on the ground?
Where I ate and what it cost, where to shop, the homestays with real nightly rates, and current updates to the healer directory are in The Bali Field Guide.
The healers’ names and numbers are in Appendix A of the book, free, for anyone who has it — I receive nothing from any of them.
