Cost for private driver for 12 months

Last activity 05 February 2015 by tcollins

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tcollinsMember05 February 2015 01:24:45

We are looking to be in Bali for 12 months next year and wanted to get some indication of the costs to have a driver for that time period?

Not exactly sure how this normally works, and I am sure we would not need a driver for every hour of the day, so is there a particular way that things normally work?

Our kids will be attending a private school, and they have a 2-way bus service that would end up costing us about US $4k for the year. I thought that a private driver might be cheaper or atleast comparable but with the addition of us having the freedom to use him/her for other times of the day.

If someone can please let me know their experiences it would be greatly appreciated.

As a side note, if anyone can provide some indicative costs for staff whilst in Bali it would be greatly appreciated. We have never had hired help before so this is a rather new thing to us.

Thanks

UbudianIndonesia Expert05 February 2015 03:15:15

3189

Whose car...yours or the drivers?

And, are both your kids going to the same school?

$4k US a year to shuttle them back and forth to school each day is nuts. Our bus service takes two of our kids to two different schools, round trip, one school only about 10 minutes from home, the other about 35 minutes and we pay 500K IDR a month. 4.2 million IDR a month is way, way out of line.

tcollinsMember05 February 2015 04:41:12

Thanks for the reply.

We would be looking for a driver and their car as we will not have one of our own.

Can I ask if the bus your kids get is arranged by the school or just a public bus?

Would you have any tips on how we would go about hiring a driver with a car on an ongoing basis?

Thanks

UbudianIndonesia Expert05 February 2015 07:56:15

3189

Our “shuttle service” driver was suggested by the school, and in addition to two of our boys, he also shuttles three other kids who attend the same schools. It is pretty normal around here that the school will have made arrangements with drivers they are accustomed to for this exact sort of service.

We pay the driver directly, and not the school. As it turns out, Nyoman (the driver) is from the village next to ours and well known to some of my wife’s family.

You’ll eventually come to learn that the best sources of information, suggestions, help, staff…whatever, will come from the Balinese in your own village.

Often overlooked by new expats is the essential need to get to know the folks in your village, starting with the kepala desa (village head). The more you get to know the local Balinese in your village, the more you will feel welcomed and come to enjoy the benefits of community life. However, this is up to you.

A nice visit and chat with your village head should be your first stop in trying to find a reliable driver. It is always preferable to hire staff from within the village where you live.

When you go to see him at his family compound, do what the Balinese would do...bring a pound or two of coffee, sugar, and some sweat cakes or cookies. That little gesture will do wonders all in itself.

tcollinsMember05 February 2015 08:00:56

Thanks very much for the great suggestions.

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