Indonesia for Digital Nomads

• The biggest nomad community in Asia. In Canggu and Ubud you will meet other remote workers on your first day, at coworking spaces, cafes, gyms and events.
• Visas for every length of stay. From the 30-day visa on arrival to the six-month C1 visa and the one-year E33G remote worker visa.
• Lifestyle. Surf, yoga, diving, rice-field walks, temples and sunsets, with villas and pools at prices far below the West.
• Good value. A comfortable month in Bali costs about $1,700 to $2,000, and less in Lombok or Yogyakarta.
• Flights. Bali’s airport has direct flights to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Tokyo, Seoul and most Australian cities.

Indonesia suits social nomads, surfers, yoga and wellness fans, founders who want to be around other founders, and anyone working with Australia or Asia. It is a great place for a few months, and many people come back every year.

It suits you less if your work depends on rock-solid home internet, if you dislike riding a scooter in heavy traffic, or if you need US business hours (9am in New York is 8pm or 9pm in Bali). South Bali’s popularity has brought congestion, construction and higher prices, and the wet season from November to March brings floods and rubbish on the beaches.

These are the Indonesian bases with full digital nomad guides:

Monthly costs are what one person spends living comfortably: a private room in a villa or a one-bedroom apartment on a monthly rate, eating out most days, a coworking desk, a scooter and a social life.

• The full nomad scene: Canggu, with the most coworking spaces, cafes, gyms, beach clubs and events.
• Wellness and nature: Ubud, among the rice fields and jungle, with yoga, healthy food and a calmer pace.
• Surf and cliffs: Uluwatu and the Bukit, with world-class waves and a growing community.
• Quiet and easy: Sanur, a calm east-coast town popular with families and long-stayers.
• Fewer crowds: Lombok or the Gili Islands, a short boat ride from Bali.
• Culture and low costs: Yogyakarta, Java’s cultural capital, near Borobudur and Prambanan.

Indonesia’s main options as of October 2026:

• Visa on arrival (VoA or e-VoA): 30 days for about IDR 500,000, extendable once for another 30 days, for citizens of around 97 countries. Buy the e-VoA online before you fly to skip the queue.
• C1 visit visa: a single-entry e-visa for 60 days, extendable twice in Indonesia for 60 days each, up to 180 days. This is what many nomads use for a season in Bali.
• E33G remote worker visa: Indonesia’s nomad visa, valid for a year, for remote employees of companies outside Indonesia earning at least $60,000 a year, with $2,000 in the bank. Most people use an agent.
• Second home visa: five or ten years for people who can keep IDR 2 billion (about $125,000) in an Indonesian bank.

On every entry you also complete the free All Indonesia arrival declaration online, and in Bali pay the IDR 150,000 tourist levy. Visit visas are for tourism and visiting; working for Indonesian clients needs a work permit. Our Indonesia visas guide covers each option in detail.

A comfortable month for one person costs about $1,700 in Ubud and $2,000 in Canggu, with Lombok, Yogyakarta and Sanur cheaper. A lean budget, in a simple guesthouse room and eating at warungs, is about $1,000 to $1,300; $2,600 to $3,200 buys a private villa with a pool and plenty of eating out. These are ballpark figures at about IDR 16,500 to the dollar.

Costs that catch people out:

• Villa prices in peak months (July, August and December), when monthly rates can double.
• Short lets booked online, often 30 to 50% above prices found on the ground.
• Imported alcohol, which is heavily taxed. Local Bintang beer is cheaper.
• Visa extensions and agents, which add up over a long stay.
• Health insurance with evacuation cover, because serious cases often go to Singapore.

The taxes and money page has costs by base, banking and how tax residency works.

Indonesia has three time zones, none with daylight saving. Bali, Lombok and the Gili Islands are on UTC+8, like Singapore and Perth. Jakarta and Yogyakarta on Java are on UTC+7, like Bangkok. Bali suits people working with Australia and Asia; your evening overlaps with the European morning. US hours are hard: 9am in New York is 8pm or 9pm in Bali.

Most of Indonesia has a dry season and a wet season, and it is warm all year.

Nyepi, the Balinese Day of Silence, falls in March. For 24 hours the whole island shuts down: the airport closes, nobody may go outside, and mobile data is usually switched off. Plan around it.

Home internet is the weak point. Villas use fibre from Biznet, IndiHome (Telkom) or MyRepublic, and good connections reach 50 to 300 Mbps, but a shared villa line can crawl in the evening and outages after storms are common. More places now have Starlink as a backup. Always ask for a fresh speed test before you book, and use a coworking space with backup lines for important calls.

For mobile, Telkomsel has the best coverage, with XL and Indosat cheaper. Tourist SIMs work in foreign phones for 90 days; a normal local SIM only works in phones registered with Indonesian customs (IMEI registration). An eSIM gets you online as soon as you land.

• Scooters are how almost everyone gets around Bali, at about IDR 1 to 1.8 million a month. You need an International Driving Permit with a motorcycle category or an Indonesian licence, and a helmet. Police checkpoints fine foreigners regularly.
• Gojek and Grab have motorbike taxis, cars and food delivery. Some local taxi groups block app pickups in certain spots.
• Between islands, fast boats run from Bali to the Gilis, Lombok and Nusa Penida, and domestic flights connect the rest of the country.

Bali has good private hospitals for most needs, including BIMC in Kuta and Nusa Dua and Siloam in Denpasar and Kuta; Jakarta has a wider choice. Serious cases are often evacuated to Singapore or Jakarta, so get nomad health insurance with evacuation cover. Common problems are stomach bugs, scooter injuries, infected surf cuts and dengue. Rabies is present in Bali: avoid stray dogs and monkeys, and get treatment immediately after any bite or scratch.

• The new criminal code. Since 2 January 2026, sex outside marriage and unmarried couples living together are crimes. Prosecution needs a complaint from a spouse, parent or child, so it rarely affects foreigners, but it is the law.
• Drugs. Penalties are extremely severe, including the death penalty for trafficking.
• Working. Visit visas don’t allow work. Working for Indonesian clients needs a work permit, and the E33G covers remote work for foreign employers only.
• Respect in Bali. Dress properly at temples, don’t climb sacred trees or shrines, give way to ceremonies on the road, and don’t ride shirtless. Bali has published a list of rules for visitors, and foreigners have been deported for breaking them.