Conrad Bali stay coming up - taxi from DPS ok?

[Moopere]

Lived in PER for decades now but have never made the hop over to DPS before. Going to fix that soon Normally, when I first visit a new spot I'm inclined to getting an airport transfer car from the hotel, tends to remove stress when I don't know whats going on. Once I get a feel for a place I almost always swap over to local taxis.

So, with that in mind, is the DPS taxi system relatively sane? Conrad are offering a mini van for something like 383,000IDR (about AU$40?) which isn't a shocker, though the trip is only about 15km or less and some tripadvisor reports from a year or so ago are suggesting that taxis should cost around 150,000ish.

Any advice?

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Taxi - no brainer.

 

[Freq Flier 2013]

I would get a cab in Bali. Conrad does charge a premium.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

Taxis are fine but if you get one at random they might try to overcharge you.
There is a taxi desk as you leave the customs hall which will charge you the proper fare and give you a voucher.
However there is a sometimes a long queue.
If there is you can look at the signs displaying the fares and then try to make a taxi driver commit to the right fare before you agree to follow him to his car.

 

[Cynicor]

I don't remember the Conrad being so expensive for transfers. Is that return?

I have always taken their transfer option for simplicity but a taxi will be cheap. Around 150000 sounds fine.

 

[Deleted member]

My standard rule for when arriving somewhere for the first time, I always try and use transfers.
Once after getting to know the place and I feel more confident, then I make my own plans.
The first time it backfired was in Koh samui. The transfer didn't turn up and we waited for over an hour , I could have caught a cab and had a much easier time of it. Que sera. !

 

[Moopere]

I don't remember the Conrad being so expensive for transfers. Is that return?

I have always taken their transfer option for simplicity but a taxi will be cheap. Around 150000 sounds fine.

No, its one way. (edit: Actually, on reflection I checked their email again and they don't specify, I just assumed. I'll check with them again.)

My standard rule for when arriving somewhere for the first time, I always try and use transfers.
Once after getting to know the place and I feel more confident, then I make my own plans.

Yep, always the same for me. I need to get to know the lay of the land then I'll take on some adventures

Having said that though, I've noticed that things are improving a lot around the place with regards to taxi's out of the major airports. With regulated taxi desks charging known, static and reasonable fares thus my question here.

I'm guessing that I'll need to visit an ATM right after deboarding though. Seems like the visa on arrival needs to be paid in cash and maybe the taxi desk is the same (ie; no cards?)

 

[Cruiser Elite]

FWIW we are staying at Double 6 Seminyak Dec 23 to Jan 02 - I emailed hotel and requested comp transfer - initially declined - when I pointed out Padma provided comp transfers last 2 stays all of a sudden comp transfers were offered by Double 6 - go figure. Might be worth a try Moopere.

 

[Cynicor]

Checked my last email, was USD 22nett per way for a transfer in July to the Conrad.

 

[Moopere]

Checked my last email, was USD 22nett per way for a transfer in July to the Conrad.

and Nett presumably means +10%+11% for tax and service fees. Its a bit much really if the standard price is closer to AU$15 all in.

 

[Cynicor]

Nett is all in.

So not that bad for a hotel pickup. They've never actually charged me as a diamond, either. They say they will then don't.

 

[Daver6]

The blue taxis are fine. Make sure the meter is on. If not, get out. They'll turn it on.

I've taken the Conrad transfer previously. Its quite nice not worry about the hassle and having to get cash etc etc. Also some water provided was a nice though.

Uber also operate in Bali, but not tried it yet.

 

[DAC1]

Uber also operate in Bali, but not tried it yet.

I tried Uber 2 weeks ago from DPS to the W in Seminyak. It was under 50,000 rupiah which is dirt cheap, even cheaper than taxis. However, I found finding the driver a little difficult on my first time at the airport and the data service to mobiles wasn't great to be able to track where he was.

 

[wannabeinvestmentbanker]

In October I did two trips from DPS to Conrad Bali by taxi. No matter how much you try and haggle they will insist 180,000 from the airport. However, from the Conrad you get to the airport for as little as 80-100,000 plus the 10k for the toll by taxi.

At the end of the day, it depends if you are willing to pay for the ease and comfort of the transfer but if taking a taxi be firm with the price.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

In October I did two trips from DPS to Conrad Bali by taxi. No matter how much you try and haggle they will insist 180,000 from the airport. However, from the Conrad you get to the airport for as little as 80-100,000 plus the 10k for the toll by taxi.

At the end of the day, it depends if you are willing to pay for the ease and comfort of the transfer but if taking a taxi be firm with the price.

Only airport taxis are allowed to pick up from the airport.
Hotels will also generally only arrange their favoured taxi with fixed fees.
Metered taxis are much cheaper. If you walk into the street and hail one.

 

[Moopere]

In October I did two trips from DPS to Conrad Bali by taxi. No matter how much you try and haggle they will insist 180,000 from the airport. However, from the Conrad you get to the airport for as little as 80-100,000 plus the 10k for the toll by taxi.

Who is charging 180,000 from the airport? The taxi desk? If so, thats half what the Conrad wants to charge me.

The other figure would be hailing from the street or a taxi rank at/close to the Conrad I'm guessing? There does indeed seem to be some anecdotal evidence to suggest that Conrad->DPS is cheaper than DPS->Conrad, which is a bit weird.

 

[wannabeinvestmentbanker]

I have never used the taxi desk at DPS, as to be honest, I have no idea where it is located. I generally just walk outside and find a taxi driver as I am usually sick of waiting by then as the luggage takes forever to arrive at the carousel.
When haggling, the taxi drivers tend to get out a piece of laminated paper with set prices to certain hotels and apparently Conrad is 180,000. At the end of the day, this may be a little too much but still isn't going to break the bank and you just want to get to hotel and start relaxing rather than traipsing around the streets in the heat to save a few dollars.

From the Conrad, I just get the young guys at concierge to book me a taxi. The figures I quoted above are using those taxis booked by the hotel so I don't think there is a premium charged. Maybe just mention you have been many times before and keep an eye on the meter to keep the taxi driver honest.

 

[Moopere]

Heres a page with a table describing the taxi fares to various places. No idea of the validity of the information - it could be 'made up' or it could be drawn from official sources.

Taxi Fares from Bali Airport - My Destination Bali



Taking a stab at whether the Conrad is considered closer than Nikko or Mulia in Nusa Dua, looks like 150K IDR is about right.

 

[Austman]

For goodness sakes! At DPS, as has been the case for decades, only "official" taxis can be used FROM the airport (as per the case in many other airports).

You can however take any taxi TO the airport.

There is an "official" taxi desk in the arrivals hall that will charge you a fixed amount and give you a docket. Then a taxi will take you to your destination. No further payment needed.

The price is not as good as a metered rate but it's not bad either. And you never know the traffic. Yes, you can walk past and get pestered by the taxi touts and even (if you don't have luggage) make it outside to the public road (quite a walk now from the new terminal!) and hail a cab.

But, just pay at the taxi desk and get their taxi.

It still will be cheap and is about 1,000,000 times less stressful if you have never been to Bali.

 

[Moopere]

In October I did two trips from DPS to Conrad Bali by taxi. No matter how much you try and haggle they will insist 180,000 from the airport. However, from the Conrad you get to the airport for as little as 80-100,000 plus the 10k for the toll by taxi.

At the end of the day, it depends if you are willing to pay for the ease and comfort of the transfer but if taking a taxi be firm with the price.

So, I've been and come back. Heres the skinny:

DPS Taxi desk now charges 200,000IDR for DPS-Conrad - a ridiculous figure as it turns out. They only seem to use the 'dark blue' taxi's.

The dark blue taxi I got from DPS didn't have a meter and a lot of this variety seem to be this way. I had a fixed price so of course it didn't matter.

However, that was the last dark blue taxi I took whilst in Bali. The light blue versions seem to always have a meter, or at least the ones I peeked into and took always did. The 'real' price DPS-Conrad or any combination thereof, is 80-100K as Wannabeinvestmentbanker suggests, plus 11K for the tollway.

You don't need to get a taxi from the airport taxi rank, you can walk outside and grab one of the light blue ones from the front of the airport.

Thanks to all respondents to this thread - I had a good idea of what I was walking in to and it always makes a difference.