Bali SIM Card & WiFi Guide 2026

Staying connected in Bali has improved dramatically over the past few years, but it’s still not as straightforward as landing in a major city and expecting seamless coverage. The island offers several connectivity options — local SIM cards, eSIMs, WiFi, and mobile hotspots — and the right choice depends on how long you’re staying, how much data you need, and whether you’re working remotely or just need navigation and messaging.

This guide covers every option in detail, with current pricing and practical advice for 2026.

Option 1: Local SIM Card (Best for Most Travelers)

A local Indonesian SIM card is the best option for most visitors. It gives you a local phone number, reliable 4G/5G data, and the ability to use ride-hailing apps (Grab, Gojek), Google Maps, and messaging apps without WiFi dependency.

Which Provider to Choose

Indonesia has several mobile providers, but only three are worth considering for Bali:

Telkomsel (Best Coverage) The largest provider in Indonesia with the most extensive coverage on Bali, including rural areas, mountains, and the Nusa islands. Telkomsel consistently delivers the fastest speeds and most reliable connections across the island. If you’re heading to Lovina, hiking Mount Batur, or taking a Nusa Penida day trip, Telkomsel is your safest bet.

Tourist SIM packages: 15-50 GB for 30 days
Price: 100,000-250,000 IDR ($6-16)
5G available in some areas of South Bali

XL Axiata (Best Value) The second-largest provider with solid coverage in tourist areas and competitive pricing. XL offers more data per dollar than Telkomsel, though coverage in remote areas isn’t quite as comprehensive. For travelers staying in Seminyak, Canggu, Ubud, and Uluwatu, XL is excellent value.

Tourist SIM packages: 20-60 GB for 30 days
Price: 80,000-200,000 IDR ($5-13)

Indosat Ooredoo (Budget Option) The budget choice with adequate coverage in major tourist areas. Speeds can be slower during peak hours compared to Telkomsel and XL, but if you’re primarily using data for messaging and maps (not streaming or video calls), Indosat gets the job done at the lowest price.

Tourist SIM packages: 20-50 GB for 30 days
Price: 70,000-180,000 IDR ($4-12)

Where to Buy a SIM Card

At the airport (Recommended): Multiple SIM card counters are located in the arrivals hall at Ngurah Rai International Airport, right after you clear customs. The staff will set up the SIM, register it with your passport (required by Indonesian law), configure your APN settings, and test the connection before you leave the counter. Prices are slightly higher than buying off-airport, but the convenience and guaranteed setup are worth the small premium.

At provider stores: Official Telkomsel (GraPARI), XL, and Indosat stores in major towns offer SIM cards at standard prices. Staff can help with setup and troubleshooting.

At convenience stores: Indomaret and Alfamart sell SIM cards, but registration can be more complex. You may need to complete the registration process yourself via SMS or the provider’s app, which requires an Indonesian language interface.

Important: Since 2018, all Indonesian SIM cards must be registered with a passport or national ID. Don’t buy SIM cards from unlicensed street vendors — unregistered SIMs may be deactivated without warning.

How Much Data Do You Need?

Here’s a realistic breakdown of data usage for a Bali trip:

Usage Type	Daily Data
Maps & navigation	100-200 MB
WhatsApp/messaging	50-100 MB
Social media (browsing)	200-500 MB
Social media (posting photos/videos)	500 MB - 1 GB
Video calls (Zoom, FaceTime)	1-2 GB per hour
Streaming (Netflix, YouTube)	1-3 GB per hour

Casual tourist: 15-20 GB for a 2-week trip is sufficient for maps, messaging, social media browsing, and occasional photo uploads.

Active social media user: 30-40 GB if you’re posting daily stories, uploading high-resolution photos, and video-calling home regularly.

Digital nomad: 50+ GB if you’re working remotely with video calls, uploads, and streaming. Consider supplementing with WiFi at co-working spaces.

Option 2: eSIM (Best for Convenience)

If your phone supports eSIM (most phones released since 2020 do), this is the most convenient option. You purchase and activate the eSIM before you even leave home, and you’re connected the moment you land.

Popular eSIM Providers for Bali

Airalo — The most popular eSIM provider for Southeast Asia. Bali-specific and Indonesia-wide plans available. Data-only (no local phone number), starting from around $5 for 1 GB / 7 days up to $26 for 20 GB / 30 days.

Holafly — Unlimited data plans for fixed periods (5, 7, 10, 15, 20, 30 days). Speeds can throttle during heavy usage, but the unlimited model eliminates data anxiety. Prices range from $19 (5 days) to $47 (30 days).

Nomad — Competitive pricing and good coverage through local network partnerships. Plans from $4 for 1 GB up to $30 for 20 GB.

eSIM Pros and Cons

Pros:

No physical SIM swap needed — keep your home SIM active simultaneously
Set up before arrival, connected instantly on landing
Easy top-ups through the provider’s app
No passport registration hassle

Cons:

Data only — no local phone number (can’t receive SMS or make local calls)
Typically more expensive per GB than local SIM cards
Can’t use for Indonesian apps that require local number verification
Coverage depends on which local network the eSIM provider partners with

The Hybrid Approach

Many travelers use both: an eSIM for immediate connectivity on arrival and a local SIM card purchased at the airport for a local number and cheaper data. Dual-SIM phones handle this seamlessly — use the eSIM for your home number and the local SIM for data and local communications.

Option 3: WiFi

Hotel and Villa WiFi

Almost every accommodation in Bali offers free WiFi, but quality varies enormously. Luxury resorts and modern villas typically provide fast, reliable connections (50-100+ Mbps). Budget guesthouses and traditional homestays may offer connections that struggle with video streaming or drop frequently.

Tips:

Ask about WiFi speed before booking if connectivity is important to you
Properties in Ubud often have less reliable connections than coastal areas due to infrastructure limitations
Request a room closer to the router if signal is weak in your room
Many villas provide a portable WiFi device that you can take around the property

Cafe and Restaurant WiFi

Bali’s cafe culture is inseparable from its digital nomad population, which means most cafes in tourist areas offer free WiFi with the expectation that you’ll order something. The quality ranges from excellent to useless, sometimes within the same venue depending on how many people are connected.

Reliable WiFi cafes by area:

Canggu: Crate Cafe, Hungry Bird, ZIN Cafe, Dojo Bali (co-working), Outpost (co-working)
Seminyak: Revolver Espresso, Shelter Cafe, Sisterfields
Ubud: Seniman Coffee, Kismet, Hubud (co-working), Outpost Ubud (co-working)

Co-Working Spaces

If you’re working remotely, co-working spaces provide the most reliable internet on the island. They invest in business-grade connections with redundancy, so you’re far less likely to drop a video call than at a random cafe.

Top co-working spaces:

Dojo Bali (Canggu): The original Bali co-working space. Fast WiFi, community events, pool. From $15/day or $150/month.
Outpost (Canggu & Ubud): Professional environment, Zoom rooms, air conditioning. From $20/day or $200/month.
Hubud (Ubud): Beautiful bamboo building, strong community, reliable connection. From $18/day or $175/month.
B-Work (Seminyak): Newer space, fast internet, good meeting rooms. From $15/day.

Option 4: Portable WiFi (Pocket WiFi)

Pocket WiFi devices provide a personal WiFi hotspot that you carry with you. You can connect multiple devices and share with travel companions. Several companies in Bali offer rentals.

Typical specs: 4G speeds, 5-10 device connections, 8-12 hour battery life, unlimited data (with fair usage throttling).

Cost: 35,000-50,000 IDR per day ($2-3.50).

Where to rent: Available at the airport, through hotel concierges, or pre-ordered online for collection on arrival.

Best for: Couples or small groups who want to share one data source, or travelers with multiple devices (phone, tablet, laptop) who don’t want to manage multiple SIMs.

Coverage Around the Island

Connectivity is not uniform across Bali. Here’s what to expect by area:

Excellent coverage (4G/5G): Seminyak, Kuta, Canggu, Denpasar, Sanur, Nusa Dua, Jimbaran. These southern coastal areas have the best infrastructure and fastest speeds.

Good coverage (4G): Ubud, Uluwatu, Tabanan. Reliable for most uses, occasional dead spots in rural areas or deep valleys.

Variable coverage (3G-4G): Lovina, Amed, Sidemen, Munduk. Coverage exists but can be patchy. Streaming and video calls may buffer during peak hours.

Limited coverage: Interior highlands (around Kintamani/Mount Batur summit), remote north coast villages, middle of rice terraces. Telkomsel has the best chance of working in these areas.

Nusa Islands: Nusa Penida, Lembongan, and Ceningan have improving but still inconsistent coverage. Download offline maps before you go.

Practical Tips

Download offline Google Maps for Bali before you arrive. Even with a SIM card, navigation in areas with poor signal is much smoother with offline maps.

WhatsApp is king. In Bali, WhatsApp is the primary communication tool — restaurants, drivers, tour operators, and accommodation all use it. Having a local number on WhatsApp makes everything easier.

Grab and Gojek require a phone number. If you’re using an eSIM (data-only), you may need to register these apps with your home number before arriving, as they require SMS verification.

Data recharge is easy. Once you have a local SIM, you can top up at any convenience store, through the provider’s app, or at street-side kiosks. Just tell them your number and how much credit you want.

Speed test before committing. If you’re buying a SIM at a non-airport location, ask the seller to activate it and run a speed test before you pay. This saves headaches with misconfigured or defective SIMs.

What Gede Recommends

For most travelers, Gede recommends picking up a Telkomsel tourist SIM at the airport on arrival. It takes 10 minutes, costs under $15 for more data than you’ll use, and gives you reliable coverage across the island — including during day trips to more remote areas. If you want to be connected immediately on landing, activate an eSIM before departure as a bridge until you get the local SIM.

Planning your trip? Get in touch and Gede will make sure every detail is covered.