How To Find Your Perfect Bali Villa Rental

Living in Bali comes with a million perks, but one of our favorites is being able to afford to live in luxurious villas for months at a time. 

In this blog post, we share how to find your perfect long-term stay, the requirements we suggest for a villa rental in Bali, and how to snag your dream villa for a shockingly low price.

Starting The Process

The first step in finding your dream villa rental is research. 

For us, we found that using sites such as Aibrnb and Vrbo were great options, along with joining Bali community groups where you can post what you are looking for. 

Another option, which only applies when you are physically in Bali, is to walk around and ask the locals to help you find your next long-term rental. 

The chances are high that any of the locals that you talk to will either own a villa they are renting, work for someone who owns one, or has a friend or family member looking to rent theirs out. 

Plus, if you rent one through a local, they will likely get paid commission for the villa rental, which is incredibly helpful especially in these hard times during Covid-19. 

If you choose to find your villa through sites such as Airbnb or Vrbo, there are almost always “monthly discounts”, which save you a lot of money in the long run. 

When deciding on our villa rental for our first month in Bali, Matt and I spent quite literally hundreds of hours doing research, contacting hosts, and looking at a map to make sure we wouldn’t be too far from the city center. 

Not only did we conduct research to ensure that our villa would be in a great location and come out to an affordable price, but we also watched YouTube videos and read countless blog posts about what we needed in our new home for a long-term stay. 

So, after conducting all of our research, we have come to a concrete list of everything that you NEED to look for if you are interested in a long-term stay here in Bali, Indonesia.

Our List Of Requirements For A Bali Villa:

• Private Villa – You can also do a shared villa,  which usually means a shared pool and a shared kitchen & living area, so it just depends on what you want…also keep in mind the shared villas are often significantly cheaper.
• 1 or 2 Bedrooms – For Matt and I, we only need one bedroom. But, if you are traveling with a friend or another couple, then oftentimes you can find villas with 2 bedrooms that meet all of these requirements for a similar price. 
• Private Pool – Bali gets very hot, and if you are living in Ubud like us, it’s nice to have a pool that you can dip into when you need to cool off.
• Wifi – This is very important, especially if you work from home. The wifi speeds are very good in Bali, so you shouldn’t have a problem finding a villa with wifi. But, if you prefer to work away from home, remember that there are countless cafes with free wifi where you can get your work done while enjoying the delicious food & coffee they have to offer!
• Air Conditioning – This is VERY important, it gets so hot and humid here in Bali, so make sure that your villa has an AC unit so you aren’t waking up dripping in sweat every morning.
• Indoor Kitchen & Living Area – The majority of the villas in Bali have an outdoor kitchen and living area, but there are still plenty of options with indoor ones. The reason why we recommend an indoor kitchen and living space is because of the extreme amount of mosquitoes, lizards, and other insects/reptiles that live here. If you don’t see yourself cooking a lot or spending a lot of time inside, then you can definitely manage with an outdoor kitchen and living area, but for us, the obvious choice is an indoor kitchen and living space. 
• Indoor bathroom – Just like the outdoor kitchen and living area, having an outdoor bathroom and shower is very common in a lot of the villas here. Sure, outdoor showers are aesthetically pleasing and beautiful to use, but for a long-term rental it’s crucial to think more realistically. If it’s the middle of the night and you need to use the bathroom, you would much rather use one inside rather than having the chance of encountering a massive lizard while you’re trying to do your business – trust us. 
• Modern / Newly Built – Although there are thousands of villa options here in Bali, many of them were built a long time ago and may have cracks in the roof, spaces in the doors allowing for critters to come inside, or are just plain dirty. Make sure to contact your host prior to booking and ask for recent pictures of your villa, because many of the listing photos may have been taken up to 10 years ago.
• Proximity – Our final, but potentially most important requirement for a long-term rental here in Bali is how close it is to the city center. Currently, we are located in Ubud, Bali and we have found that being within a 10 minute scooter drive from the city center is ideal. If you see yourself going to early yoga classes, cafes in the morning, or looking to get more involved in the community like us, then definitely make sure you are living close by.

Rental Cost

Now that you know what to look for in your ideal long-term villa rental here in Bali, let’s discuss the total cost. 

For a villa including everything that we mentioned in our list of requirements, the price for a one month stay can range anywhere from $300 – $1,500 USD (this usually includes electricity as well, but make sure to double check with your host!!). 

Of course, if you are balling on a bigger budget, there are plenty of options for more expensive, more luxurious rentals. 

But, for Matt and I and what works best for our budget, we try to stay anywhere between $500 – $900 USD, which comes out to $250-$450 each per month. 

In our opinion, that is INSANE for the price of rent for one month… but maybe that’s just because we are coming from the US, where you pay $2,000 a month for a shoebox apartment with no view, no privacy, and no sense of luxury. 

Final Thoughts

What do you think of our list of requirements for our long-term villa stays in Bali? 

Are you shocked at the affordability of these villas? 

Would you consider living here? 

Thank you so much for reading our blog, and please share in the comments any thoughts or questions that you may have! 

We hope that you enjoyed this post and that it inspires you to pack your bags, move abroad, and live the life that you deserve to live.