The short answer
Coverage is good across southern Bali and the cities, and patchy in the highlands and on the smaller islands. A local SIM is cheap but requires passport registration in person; a travel eSIM is set up before you fly and works the moment you land.
Coverage away from the tourist strips, what a local SIM really involves, and how much data a fortnight takes.
- Coverage
- 4G, 5G in cities
- Registration
- Passport, for local SIMs
- 2 weeks
- 5-10 GB
Where the signal actually is
Canggu, Seminyak, Ubud and Denpasar are well covered. Head into the mountains around Munduk, or out to Nusa Penida and the Gili Islands, and it thins quickly.
Boat crossings are effectively offline. Download anything you need before you leave the harbour.
Local SIM or eSIM
Indonesian law requires SIM registration against a passport, which means a shop, a queue and handing over your document. Prices are genuinely low once you are through it.
The airport kiosks charge several times the street price, and that is where most arriving travellers buy, tired and in a hurry.
A travel eSIM avoids all of it: installed at home, connected on landing, with your own number still working for the messages your hotel sends.
How much data to buy
Maps, messaging and uploading photos for two weeks fits comfortably in 5 GB. If you plan to post video daily, start at 10 GB.
Common questions
Is there Wi-Fi everywhere in Bali?
In cafes and hotels, usually yes, and it is often slow in the evening when everyone is on it. It is fine for messages and poor for uploads, so do not plan to rely on it for work.
Does one plan cover the other Indonesian islands?
An Indonesia plan covers the country, including Java, Lombok and the Gilis. Coverage on the smaller islands depends on the local network rather than on the plan.
Going to Indonesia?
Install your Indonesia eSIM before you fly and land already online.
See Indonesia eSIMsKeep reading
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