Driver Review
When our family recently traveled around Bali for two weeks, we used a number of drivers. I thought a review might be helpful to some of you.
BEST DRIVER AWARD
Of the several drivers /guides we hired, Wayan Merta was by far the best. I did a search of drivers on the forum and tried to stay away from all drivers, who post those phony reviews about themselves. After a lot of research, we settled with Wayan Merta. We were not the least bit disappointed with him. He is top-notch! His English is excellent and he loved to carry on a conversation. He is also well educated about the countries his clients come from. His vehicle was very nice and clean and the AC worked great. He was by far the safest driver we had during our two weeks in Bali. Never once in our whole day with Wayan did he attempt to take us to 'a friend's' store or restaurant or sign us up for 'water sports' or another tour. Our time with Wayan was like driving around with a long time friend. If we ever get a chance to return to Bali, Wayan Merta will be the first, and hopefully only, driver I contact. For anyone interested, I'll include his web address and email address below.
His current email address is: wmerta@indo.net.id
Website http://www.bali-paradise.com/see-bali/
WORST DRIVER EXPERIENCE AWARD
I have a feeling that some on the forum will not like this review, but oh well, it's my review, based on my experience. A recent favorite driver on the forum is Made Mangku. I contacted him before our trip and set up a tour that would take us from our hotel in Ubud to our hotel in Medewi. To make a long story short, he did not show up and sent another driver. The other driver could barley speak English and did not have a clue about any arrangements I had previously made with Made. The van he came to pick us up in was dirty, smelly, and very tired. I was furious. I called Made on his cell phone and complained. He said was busy with a wedding, but our entire hotel staff said that local weddings were not held on this day. I told Made I'd not pay our agreed upon price and that I was extremely upset with the way he had handled our agreed arrangements. I was stuck, so I told the driver to take us directly to Medewi with no stops. Fortunately he understood that. Two hours was all we could take in that smelly van. Even if Made was telling the truth about the wedding, he shafted us with a poor replacement driver and vehicle. I'm glad that some people have had a good experience with Made Mangku, but we did not. I'd not recommend him. Who knows if he will have a wedding to go on your scheduled tour and you'll get stuck with the smelly hot van instead?
All our other drivers were from hotels. In Ubud, free transport came with our cottage at Taman Hamun Cottages. We even got free transport to the Bird Park and back! While in Medewi, we used the hotel transport for tours and hotel transfer. The price was as cheap as hiring a regular driver / guide. In Sanur, we used drivers hanging around the Paradise Plaza to take us out to eat and such. Rather than fuss with meters or rates I'd walk towards a driver and say, 'I'm going to Dunkin Donuts and back for 10,000.' Most times they would say a higher price until I started to turn my back on them. I always got it for what I told them. I found this much easier than intense bargaining or watching meters. I later hired one of these drivers to take my wife and me to the large Makro store just outside of Sanur.
This post is meant to be helpful to those who are interested in drivers and transportation in Bali. I did not intend this post to turn into a debate on who is the best driver, an argument about Made, or a spot for drivers to advertise for themselves. Please start another post if you'd like to do those things.