Prices on Bali move around, and a lot of the confusion comes from not knowing what is in the number. Here is how it works when you book a car and a driver for a day, and what changes the figure.
What a day rate normally covers
Eight to ten hours, the car, fuel, parking, and me. Air conditioning on, water in the door. What it does not cover, unless we agree it, is entrance tickets, boat tickets, guides inside an attraction, and your lunch.
That last one confuses people. A tour on a big platform quotes you one number with everything inside it. Booking a driver directly is cheaper, but you pay the entrance fees yourself as we go. Neither is a trick, they are just different ways of counting.
What makes it more
Distance, mostly. A day in Ubud and a day to Amed use very different amounts of fuel and hours. Night trips, so a two in the morning pick-up for the Batur sunrise, cost more because the day starts in the middle of the night. A bigger car for six people costs more than a car for two.
Waiting for a delayed flight is not one of those things. I track the flight and I wait, and that is not extra.
How to pay
Cash in rupiah, or QRIS, at the end of the day. No deposit, no card machine, no fee. If you want to change the plan halfway through the day, we change it and settle at the end.
The honest bit about tips
Tipping is not compulsory here and no driver should make you feel that it is. It is normal and it is appreciated, and that is all it should ever be. If a driver pressures you or takes you to a shop you did not ask for because he gets a commission, that is a bad driver, not a local custom.
