A complete guide. 
List of the best cafes/restaurants where to work from and co-workings. Tips to work from your place, internet services and VISA.

Ubud, Gianyar Regency, Bali, Indonesia

Bali, Indonesia

Indonesia

Bali for Digital Nomads

Bali is ranked on NomadList as one of the top #10 destinations in the world since many years already.

Along with obvious reasons, like tropical climate and low costs of living, Bali is a perfect place for Digital Nomads because it’s safe, there are fast and reliable internet connections, amazing food and nightlife, very friendly local and foreigner community, all framed into a slow pace lifestyle surrounded by beautiful nature and authentic local culture.

You can have an experience for a short period but you can easily find yourself in love with the lifestyle and eventually decide to settle down, as happened to many before you including myself 🙂.

In case in your place, or the one you want to rent, internet speed is not good, you can still talk with the owner and find a deal to install a better internet provider. Usually you'll have to sustain all the expenses for this solution but you don't need any special document or residency, your passport is enough.

In my experience, I saw that GlobalXtreme is the fastest and most reliable internet provider. For any issue you can easily contact them on WhatsApp and they usually solve the problem in short times.

In case you need a proper desk and a chair, you can check the many offers on Facebook Marketplace. Use Indonesian "Meja" and "Kursi" as search terms in order to get more options. When you find a good deal, arrange a meeting with the owner in his place, check the item, its conditions and its measures. Finally, when it's time to move the item to your place, you can either ask to the owner to arrange the transport or you can simply use GoBox, 1 of the amazing services of GoJek app.

Another option is to make the desk as you wish. Bali is probably the best place in the world for this kind of things. Balinese furniture makers are renewed for their artisanal skills and can realise whatever you have in mind for a relatively cheap price (it also depends on your bargain skills 😜).

Just take a ride in Kerobokan on Jalan Tangkuban Perahu to have a look of the large offer inside the shops or to find your furniture maker.

A very important thing to note is that you must register your phone (especially the last versions of iPhones) at the custom office in case you bring it from abroad and you planned to stay for more than 1 month. Yes even if it's your personal phone (it sucks I know!). In fact after 1 month, in case you didn't register your phone, you won't be able to use any mobile services provider.

The best mobile services provider is Telkomsel, the main phone carrier in Indonesia. 4G connection is available almost everywhere in Bali. I use my phone as hotspot whenever, in some cafe/restaurant, I need a better connection or when I escape in some rural village to relax. It’s also the best solution in case you will travel around Indonesia. From their app you can easily top-up anytime you need. 

Most of foreigners usually can get in Indonesia through 2 types of tourist VISAs. The 1st is the free tourist VISA, released at the international airport of arrival (usually Bali or Jakarta) and that is valid 30 days. The 2nd is the VISA on Arrival, released at the international airport of arrival as well but you must take a different line when you get into the immigration hall and pay about 40$. This VISA is valid for 30 days as well but it can be extended for additional 30 days (remember to extend it largely before the expiration of the first 30 days).

Other types are social and business VISA. 

They are both valid 60 days but they can be extended up to 4 times, for a total of 6 months of stay. They usually are the best options for who plans to stay longer without going out and then in again in order to get a new tourist VISA. These VISAs can be requested before the arrival, through Indonesia embassies/consulates around the world, or while your stay in Indonesia with a tourist VISA.

For the application and extension process, I highly recommend to use services of local VISA agents in case you don't want spend days at the immigration office, due to the very complex Indonesian bureaucracy and their slow information system. They usually charge double of the price that you would pay if you do the application by yourself.

Plenty of choices here but my favoruites are:

Below a selection of the best places to work from.

If you still have questions, contact me on Instagram @marco.melluso or email me to yo@marcomelluso.com

If you decide to work from the place you rent or want to rent, you need to have a fiber internet connection installed. 

To check internet speed you can gently ask the Wi-Fi password to the owner and navigate to speedtest.net on your device. Usually a download/upload speed of 20Mbps is good enough for any kind of work and video calls.

A list of recommendations of things to do and visit, along with some tips.

Italy

Laos

Vietnam

Bangkok, Thailand

Singapore

Thailand

Spain

Personalised travel plan

Consider having a video call with me and answer any kind of question regarding your trip. 
Your mate can join the online meeting as well.

Myanmar (Burma)

Taiwan

Consultation video call - 30 minutes

Consider having a video call with me and answer any kind of question regarding your trip.
Your travel mates can join the online meeting as well.

Bali for Digital Nomads

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