In Reply to: Booking yourself vs booking via agent posted by Jody on Thursday, 30. June 2005 at 09:52 Bali Time:
but I have heard that some airlines will not let you do that and some travel agents will tell you that it can't be done. Last August I contacted Air Paradise in Perth and they told me that they would do a cheap package deal of up to 35 days return with a minimum of 3 nights pre-booked and I don't suppose this has changed.
I find it a lot of fun to check out other accomodation and negotiate a deal. You need to bargain, but you soon get the hang of it. Make sure you have somewhere else to go before you check out of your last hotel, because if you turn up at a place looking anxious, with all your luggage in the taxi and your driver doing the talking for you, then you will almost certainly pay more than you need to.
And if you decide to spend a few days on the other side of the island, it's probably a good idea to have your last couple of days secured at a hotel not far from the airport.