Dear Upcoming Intern
The course of the internship
The internship in Bali varies in length depending on your education. As a pedagogue student, the internship is about 6 months. Social work students have a duration of 5 months. Student teachers have a 6-week internship, while AP service, hospitality and management students have 13-20 weeks of internship. You will be allocated an internship based on your wishes and motivated application as far as possible and as long as there are vacancies. As far as possible, you must spend your entire internship here.

Vaccinations and other reservations
The information below is based on recommendations from the Statens Serum Institut (SSI) applicable to Indonesia.
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- Tetanus
- Japanese encephalitis
- Tuberculosis
- Malaria
- Diphtheria
- Rabies
- Typhus
- COVID-19
Always consult your own doctor before departure.

Arrival
When you arrive at the airport, I would recommend to withdraw cash at one of the airport's ATMs. When you get out of the airport there are plenty of taxi. On the way to your accommodations, you can get the taxi to stop at a sim card shop, so that you can get a local sim card with data. I would recommend, if possible, that you come a few days before your internship starts to familiarize yourself and explore the area you will be living in.

Information meeting
Shortly after your arrival you will be invited for a meeting, where we talk a bit about your upcoming internship, expectations, culture, Bali, etc. Here you will also be able to get a lot of practical information such as refilling SIM cards, where you can get a local driver's license, rent a scooter bike etc. (you can find a lot of information on our Instagram @balifefoundation in highlights). Here you also get the opportunity to meet all the other fellow students for a cozy evening. When the meeting is over, the plan is to stay and get to know each other.
Starting up at the internship site
The first few days will consist of an introduction to the institution, handing out work forms, a tour and a few days to settle in and get to know everyone.
Transportation
The most common way to get around Bali is by scooter bikes. You can rent a scooter bike and get a local driver's license, or you can order Gojek, which is an app you can download where you can order a scooter bike driven by a local and you can just sit on the back. Or, you can take taxis or order cars driven by locals from Gojek as well. Scooter bikes are basically the easiest and cheapest solution. See more about where you can rent a scooter bike and how to get a local driver's license at @balifefoundation in the highlights. Transportation expenses in the form of renting a scooter bike etc. is always covered by the students themselves.
Gojek app
This is the app that can become your best friend. Here you can order everything from a Gojek driver who can drive you to your desired destination or deliver your dinner or even just ice cubes. There is almost nothing you can't order on the app.
Holiday
Whether you have your own holidays during your stay depends on your field of study and the length of your stay. However, if you are a student in a school or day care centrez and have the 5-6 month internship, it is not uncommon for the institution, as we know it in Denmark, to have holidays closed in between. For those students where this applies, we try as much as possible to offer students alternatives which may consist of going out to other institutions that are not closed for the holidays or lessons at various organizations that collaborate with Balife Foundation, which offer activities with children and young people. This will be mutually agreed with the students.
Budget
One of the frequently asked questions is how much money should you bring?
It is, of course, difficult to give a very precise answer to this question. But broadly speaking, it is really about how much you can manage to save before the internship starts and how much would you be able to afford in your spare time?
Danish interns will be receiving SU during their internship as a financial support. This may look different depending on your country of origin.
You can live in Bali by relying on your SU if you find cheap accommodation and eat locally for most of the time or shop and cook yourself. A budget-friendly version is to find a fellow student to share accommodation with. Naturally, the better you want your accommodation to be and the more things you want to do in your spare time, the bigger the savings you need to have.
If you already wish for an internship early on, then there is also more time to save up. Prices vary a lot out here depending on which area you will be in. The most expensive areas are Canggu and the Seminyak area. As an example, a 3-bedroom villa in Canggu costs 20-30 million rupiah per month (and up). In comparison, you can rent a 3-bedroom house around Sanur, for example, for 40-60 million rupiah per year.
If you would like to get a diving certificate, climb volcanoes, visit nearby islands, and go on overnight stays around Bali, I would recommend saving up around 20 million rupiah a month to cover your living expenses, experiences, etc. A bit lesser than that will do as well. About 15-16 million rupiah would be a decent range, but it mostly depends on how much you will be spending in your spare time. It is also possible to have an even smaller budget if you can consider choosing a placement in the cheaper areas of Bali.
How much does housing cost?
The most common choice of accommodation is a guesthouse. There are endless possibilities when it comes to finding one. Here you must consider how close you would like to live to where you will be conducting your internship. When you have chosen an institution and this has been confirmed, you have the opportunity to get the contact information of a housing agent who collaborates with Balife Foundation. She can offer guesthouses situated near many of the different internship opportunities.
In Canggu, an ordinary room in a guesthouse costs 7-8 million rupiah and up. Here, there is usually a shared pool and access to a shared kitchen. The rooms basically have a bed, bedside table, sometimes a desk, a chair and a private bathroom. Not far from Canggu area, similar guesthouses can be found for around 5 million rupiah, and the further away from the most expensive areas, the cheaper it gets. The housing agent can be helpful in finding a solution that matches your budget.
I would always recommend that you draw up a rental agreement where you pay per month and not the full amount in advance, so you are guaranteed not to waste your money if you end up wanting to move during your internship.
Scholarship
Before your upcoming internship, you can apply for a financial support scholarship during your stay. There are many different options and the earlier you apply, the better. Some foundations have application deadlines and different application requirements. You can find out more about these on the scholarship handbook, fonde.dk, or seek advice and guidance from your school. They could also be offering scholarships.
When it comes to the application, I often get the question "What makes a good application?" and my best answer is that there is no specific recipe for what a good application should contain. I have seen many different applications from those who have been both approved and rejected, and I would recommend writing your own best bid for an application and be yourself.
Here are some additional prices to start from:
If you eat at western-inspired expat cafés, a meal costs about DKK 60 per meal, whereas if you eat at local establishments you can get a meal for only DKK 20.
- Scooter bike rental
If you are comfortable getting around on a scooter bike, then the smallest and cheapest scooter bike out here is a Scoopy. It costs approx. DKK 350 per month to rent. Vario is also one of the smaller models for approx. 350-400 kroner per month. If you'd like a bigger scooter bike, you can go for models such as Nmax and Lexi. These cost approx. DKK 6-700 per month, depending on condition.
- Driver's license
For those who will stay in Bali longer, I always recommend getting a local driving license for scooter bikes. Your regular driver’s license does not work out here. I have seen police officers reject international driver’s licence as well. Check out the Tips highlight with “bike and helmet” symbol on @balifefoundation to find information on a contact person, who can help you get a local driver's license. It costs approx. 1,6 million rupiah (one-time payment). If you are stopped while driving a scooter bike without a local driving license, you will be fined. The fine varies between 400,000-1,4 million rupiah, and the police officer will gladly follow you to an ATM if you don't have enough cash on you.
- Water
Now that you are not allowed to drink tap water in Bali, there is also an expense in getting plenty of water. Most guesthouses have a water tank where you can fill a large drinking bottle as you wish. If they don't have one, or there isn't one in the room, it might be worth going out and finding one. You can get a cheap water container for approx. 200 kroner. Here you give approx. DKK 10 for a large water container with 19 liters of water. The vast majority of guesthouses can be helpful in finding such water containers, as well as give you the contact information of someone who can come and change it when it runs out. This way you can save a lot of water bottles and a lot of money.
- Visa prices
The prices mentioned here are indicative. Minor changes may occur from time to time, but when your internship is in place, you will get in touch with a visa agency that will help you through the process, and they are always up to date with the latest changes.
In order to be allowed to do an internship in Bali, you must have a special visa. This is because you are, in principle, carrying out work without a work permit. So this visa gives you permission to do an internship at a Balinese institution. There is no way you can do an internship without this visa (it is illegal without it).
90 days before departure you can get in touch with the visa contact you are assigned to. They are partnered with the Balife Foundation, so they are familiar with the kind of internship you will be doing.
The price of the visa you apply to before arrival costs approx. 2200 kroner. This covers 60 days. After those 60 days, this must be extended. Most of the time, the agency will remind you when it's almost time, but to be absolutely sure, ask them from the start to send out a reminder when it's time for an extension. The extension costs approx. DKK 1,350 and provides an additional stay of 60 days. Afterwards, it must be extended again for the same price. Your original visa can be extended for up to 6 months, after which you must travel out of Indonesia. So for education students, you must be aware that you cannot stay more than 6 months. If it is a matter of a few days, then you must contact the visa agency, and they can help with payment for the days in question.
You don't want to leave Indonesia on an overstayed visa. This could result in large financial fines and blacklisting from Indonesia.
Animals and plastic
Animal welfare in Bali
When it comes to animal welfare in Bali, I think it's pretty safe to say that it's non-existent. Bali offers many different opportunities to interact with different animals from swimming with dolphins, bathing with elephants, holding reptiles and much more. I would strongly advise against partaking any of these activities. The animals are by no means treated optimally, although they have found better ways of presenting the activities with them. Be a conscientious and considerate tourist. For example, there is an elephant park where you can come and interact with rge rescued elephants — but when you look more closely at their website, they also continue to offer rides on them. They have even been invited to events with "Elephant painting" where people paint on them — but it does, after all, use organic paint. Any show of support for animal abuse is strongly discouraged.
If, on the other hand, you want to help some animals in Bali, one of Bali's biggest challenges concerns all the street dogs. Begin by helping the neighbors get their dogs sterilized or go out to visit the various dog rescues and newborn puppies. Your precious time can be spent better this way as these places are often run by donations making it difficult to have enough staff. Recommended places:
- Luckydogrescuebali
- Irescuebalidogs
- Bali.paws
- bawabali_official
Plastic
Plastic is definitely one of Bali's biggest challenges, as they do not have a system to handle plastic. What we throw in our own trash ends up in a field somewhere where they try to burn it, regardless of what it contains. So it is generally always a good idea to limit one's own consumption of plastic. Little things like having a refillable drinking bottle, a net when you shop, buy a big bottle of shampoo, or get your old bottles refilled at some of the sustainable supermarkets and shops. Sign up for a waste sorting scheme. You can get some good ideas on the following pages:
- IbuBumi
- Zerowastebali
- ecobalirecycle
Administration fee
Your internship is only secured and confirmed once you have paid your administration fee. The fee is a one-off amount that covers the administrative costs of your stay in Bali, including company costs. What you receive covers the internship contract, quality-assured institutions, close cooperation with your educational institution, welcome meeting, support and guidance in the visa process, help in finding accommodation, scooter bike, driving license etc. and Facebook community with your fellow students. I will be available 24/7 via phone or email before and during your stay. I can help if your internship location does not meet your expectations and you want to change your place. I am available as well if you want to exchange or discuss professional ideas and perspectives, or if you just need to vent your thoughts and frustrations and/or if you need any help. I can also help you to participate in various projects and activities if you wish as well as starting up new and enterprising projects. Any profits go to charities supporting local causes in Bali. As a student, you can get the opportunity to be a part of these projects, and you can follow @balifefoundation to see where the profits go to.
As a student, the amount varies slightly depending on which field of education you come from and the length of the internship. All the amounts paid go into the Balife Foundation's account. I recommend transferring with Wise from IDR to IDR, which is an advantage for you to have in Bali for e.g. rent payment and scooter bike rental etc. PayPal may also be an option. With Wise, you have to create an account with your own currency (linked to your payment card). You can either do a transaction from your own currency and send it to be received as IDR. Or, you can create an IDR currency on your account and transfer money from your own currency which will be converted into the IDR currency, so you can transfer from IDR to IDR. If the first mentioned solution isn’t working, try the second one. The transfer fee is approximately 8.000 rupiah. Please note that the amount cannot be refunded. When you are asked for a recipient, you can use the email simonelangholz@hotmail.com.
You can click the button below to start creating your Wise profile.
Pricelist
Pedagogue Students: ≈ 5,2 million rupiah
Social Worker Students: ≈ 5,2 million rupiah
Student Teachers: ≈ 4 million rupiah
AP Service, Hospitality & Management: ≈ 4,8 million rupiah
As soon as the receipt of your transfer has been received, you will receive a final confirmation.