Expensive by Indonesian standards and worth it to most people who choose it: real hospitals, direct international flights, and a foreign community large enough that you are never the first person to have your problem. Sanur and Ubud draw the retired crowd; Canggu does not.
What a month costs
Rp 28–45jt — US$1,550–2,500 for a couple, per month.
Dollar figures converted at Rp 17,900 to US$1, the rate in August 2026. Rupiah amounts are the ones that matter — the exchange rate moves, your rent doesn’t.
Healthcare
Internationally accredited care on the island
Bali has the strongest private healthcare in Indonesia outside Jakarta. Siloam Hospitals Bali holds JCI accreditation — the only JCI-accredited hospital group on the island — and BIMC Kuta is accredited by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards. Bali International Hospital opened in the Sanur Special Economic Zone, built expressly so that fewer patients have to fly to Singapore or Australia for complex care. Sanglah, now Prof. Dr. I.G.N.G. Ngoerah, is the main public referral hospital.
The figures that matter for planning: without insurance, a standard emergency runs roughly US$5,000 to US$25,000, and a medical evacuation to Singapore costs US$55,000 to US$100,000. That second number is the one your policy limit needs to cover.
Climate
Warm all year, at sea level
Sanur, Denpasar and the southern coast sit essentially at sea level, so nights stay warm year-round. Ubud, at around 200 metres, is a little cooler and noticeably wetter. There is no altitude escape on this island in the way there is in the West Java hills — if you want cool nights, Bali is not where you find them.
Getting there
Ngurah Rai (DPS) is Indonesia’s main international gateway after Jakarta, with direct services across Asia and Australia. For most retirees this is the single strongest practical argument for Bali: family can reach you without a domestic connection.
Renting
Rp 12–20jt a month, estimated
Sanur and Ubud, two-bedroom furnished villa on an annual contract. Canggu and Seminyak run well above this — three-bedroom villas there start around Rp 27jt a month. Bali is three to four times the cost of anywhere else on this list.
Estimated monthly equivalent for a two-bedroom furnished house or villa on an annual contract, for comparison between destinations. Note that Indonesian rentals are normally paid a year in advance rather than monthly — the day-one cost is twelve times these figures, plus deposit and fees.
Buying property
Minimum price for a foreign buyer: Rp 5 billion for a landed house; Rp 3 billion for an apartment
Bali is in the top band. A landed house must cost at least Rp 5 billion — around US$280,000 — before a foreigner may buy it, and an apartment unit at least Rp 3 billion. In practice this rules out most ordinary housing and pushes foreign buyers towards developer stock and villas, which is precisely what the rule intends.
Foreigners cannot hold freehold. A landed house is held on Hak Pakai — granted for 30 years, extendable by 20 and renewable for a further 30 — and where a property is currently Hak Milik or HGB, the title must be converted before it can be transferred to you. Land is capped at 2,000 m² per person or family without ministerial permission, one plot each, and the home is supposed to be lived in rather than let out.
Thresholds are set by province under Ministerial Decree No. 1241/SK-HK.02/IX/2022. Bali figures shown. Diaspora Indonesians pay 75 per cent of these floors. Verify against the current decree before committing — these figures move.