# Bali hotels and crypto: what is legal, and how to book (2026) > Paying a Bali hotel in crypto on the spot is illegal. Booking online first is different: top up from $25, held until it confirms. Hotel tax up to 10%. - URL: https://staysats.com/hotels/bali/ - Last updated: 2026-10-13 - Publisher: StaySats (https://staysats.com) Paying shops or hotels in crypto on the spot is illegal in Indonesia, and Bali announced sanctions against tourists who do it. Booking online before you travel is different: you pay StaySats, and we pay the hotel in rupiah. **Quick answer — Can I pay for a hotel in Bali with crypto?** Not at the hotel: paying shops or hotels in crypto on the spot is illegal in Indonesia, including Bali. Booking online before you travel is different. With **StaySats**, you top up from $25 and pay us. We pay the hotel in rupiah. The total is held, not charged, until the hotel confirmation number is issued. ## Search hotels in Bali Search hotels: https://staysats.com/app/hotels/search?q=Bali&city=bali Live prices in USD for the whole stay; taxes and fees are included when the hotel publishes them. Bookings are made on request: nothing is charged until the hotel confirmation number is issued, and a higher total needs your agreement. ## Bali hotels: key facts | Attribute | Value | | --- | --- | | Country | Indonesia | | Airports | Denpasar I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS) | | Time zone | Central Indonesia Time (UTC+8) | | Local currency | Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) | | Paying in crypto on the spot | Not allowed: Crypto may be held as an asset but not used to pay (Law 7/2011 on Currency); Bali announced sanctions against tourists who pay in crypto (May 2023). Booking online before you travel is different: you pay StaySats in crypto and we pay the hotel in local currency. | | Places listed on BTC Map within 25 km | 15 places, 5 of them verified since 2025, 3 hotels (BTC Map, October 12, 2026) | | Booking with StaySats | Available | | Legal basis of the ban | Law 7/2011 on Currency: payments in Indonesia must be made in rupiah. Penalty: up to 1 year in prison and a fine of up to IDR 200 million | | Levy for foreign visitors | IDR 150,000 per entry, paid to the province, apart from the hotel bill (Bali Regulation 6/2023, amended by Regulation 2/2025) | | Hotel tax | Regional tax on hotel services (PBJT), capped at 10% by Law 1/2022 | | Foreign guest report | Hotels, villas and guest houses register foreign guests in the immigration app APOA (Immigration Law 6/2011 as amended, article 72) | | Airport (DPS) distances | I Gusti Ngurah Rai airport is at Tuban, next to Kuta. In a straight line, it is about 6 km from Seminyak, 9 km from Nusa Dua and 29 km from Ubud | | Foreign arrivals | 697,110 in July 2025, the highest monthly figure we found for that year (BPS Bali); about 7.05 million by air over 2025 (provisional) | ## Is paying in crypto legal in Indonesia? Not allowed: Crypto may be held as an asset but not used to pay (Law 7/2011 on Currency); Bali announced sanctions against tourists who pay in crypto (May 2023). At a press conference in Denpasar on May 28, 2023, the Governor of Bali said foreign tourists who pay in crypto face firm action. He listed deportation, administrative and criminal sanctions, and the closure of businesses. The Bali office of Bank Indonesia said crypto is allowed as an asset but prohibited as a means of payment. Under the Currency Law, not using rupiah in a payment is punishable. The penalty is up to one year in prison and a fine of up to IDR 200 million. These rules apply to every payment in Indonesia, not only in Bali. This is information, not legal advice. ## Can I still book a Bali hotel with crypto before I travel? Booking online before you travel is different from paying on the spot. With StaySats, you pay us in crypto from your balance, and we pay the hotel in rupiah. The hotel receives a normal prepaid booking and never handles crypto. On site, pay everything in rupiah or by card: extras, the tourist levy, a scooter, a restaurant bill. Do not offer crypto to a hotel, a villa owner or a driver in Bali, even if they ask for it. ## Do hotels in Bali accept crypto at the desk? They should not. BTC Map still lists 15 places, 3 of them hotels, within 25 km of the reference point of our dataset for Bali (October 12, 2026). A listing on a community map does not make a crypto payment legal in Indonesia. If a hotel or villa offers to take crypto at the desk, decline and pay in rupiah. Your StaySats booking is already paid. ## Where to stay in Bali? Bali is an island, not a city: pick the area first, then the hotel. Traffic on the main roads is slow, so the distance from the airport matters. - **Seminyak**: beach hotels, restaurants and shops north of Kuta, about 6 km from the airport in a straight line. - **Canggu**: surf beaches and cafés popular with remote workers, about 12 km from the airport in a straight line. - **Ubud**: inland, among rice terraces and temples, about 29 km from the airport. - **Nusa Dua**: a resort area in the south-east with large beach hotels, about 9 km from the airport. - **Uluwatu and Jimbaran**: cliffs and surf beaches on the Bukit peninsula; Jimbaran bay is next to the airport. - **Sanur**: a calm east-coast beach with a seafront path, where boats leave for Nusa Penida. ## What is added to the bill in Bali? Hotels add a regional tax on hotel services, the PBJT, which Law 1/2022 caps at 10%. Many also add a service charge set by the hotel. On StaySats, these charges are part of the hotel's price when the hotel publishes them. We confirm the final total, taxes included, before you are charged. Foreign tourists also pay a provincial levy, apart from the hotel bill. StaySats does not collect it. > **The levy in detail** Foreign visitors pay Bali's levy to the province, apart from the hotel bill. Where to pay it, who is exempt and what proof to keep: see hotel taxes by city. ## Will the hotel ask for my passport or a deposit? Yes, bring your passport. Under article 72 of the Immigration Law, owners and managers of lodgings must give immigration information about the foreign guests who stay with them. They register each guest in the APOA app, with check-in and check-out dates, so the desk scans or copies your passport. Hotels and villas may also ask for a deposit for extras, in rupiah or by card. StaySats sends the hotel only the lead guest's name and asks for no ID upload at checkout. ## When is Bali busiest? In the middle of the year, in the latest data. BPS Bali counted 697,110 foreign arrivals in July 2025, up 11.42% from July 2024, the highest monthly figure we found for that year. Over 2025, about 7.05 million foreign arrivals came by air, according to provisional figures. For July, search early. The total is held on your balance only after you accept a rate. Its cancellation rules are confirmed with the hotel when it confirms your booking; until then, treat it as non-refundable. ## Held, not charged 1. **Your balance is held at checkout** — The exact total shown is held on your balance. Nothing is charged yet. 2. **We book the room for you** — Bookings are made on request: we book the room with the hotel and confirm the final total. If it is higher than the amount held, you accept the new total or the amount is released. 3. **Charged only when the hotel confirmation number is issued** — Your balance is charged when the hotel confirmation number is issued. If we can't confirm the booking in time, the full amount is released to your balance. If the total changes before the hotel confirms, you see the new total and choose: accept it, or have the amount released. Nothing extra is ever taken without your agreement. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is it illegal to pay with crypto in Bali? Yes, as a payment on the spot. Law 7/2011 on Currency requires rupiah for payments in Indonesia. In May 2023, the Governor of Bali announced sanctions for foreign tourists who pay in crypto, up to deportation. Holding crypto is allowed; using it to pay a shop, a hotel or a driver is not. ### Can I book a Bali hotel with USDT before I travel? Booking online before you travel is different from paying on the spot. You pay StaySats in USDT (TRC-20 or ERC-20) from your balance, and we pay the hotel in rupiah. The hotel receives a normal prepaid booking. At the hotel, pay extras in rupiah or by card, never in crypto. ### What happens to a tourist who pays in crypto in Bali? The Governor of Bali said in May 2023 that foreign tourists who pay in crypto face firm action. He listed deportation, administrative and criminal sanctions, and the closure of businesses. The Currency Law also allows up to one year in prison and a fine of up to IDR 200 million. ### Which area of Bali is closest to the airport? Kuta, Tuban and Jimbaran surround the airport. Seminyak is about 6 km away in a straight line, Nusa Dua about 9 km and Canggu about 12 km. Ubud is about 29 km inland, and traffic can make the trip much longer than the distance suggests. ### Why does a Bali hotel scan my passport? Because Indonesian immigration law requires lodgings to report their foreign guests. Hotels, villas and guest houses register each guest in the APOA app, with check-in and check-out dates. The hotel needs your passport details for that report; StaySats does not collect them. ### Does the crypto ban apply to the rest of Indonesia? Yes. The Currency Law applies across Indonesia, including [Jakarta](https://staysats.com/hotels/jakarta/). Bali added its own announcement of sanctions in 2023. Booking online before you travel works the same way everywhere in Indonesia: you pay StaySats, and we pay the hotel in rupiah. ## Sources 1. [Bali to crack down on foreign tourists using crypto as payment](https://en.antaranews.com/news/283182/bali-to-crack-down-on-foreign-tourists-using-crypto-as-payment) — Antara (May 28, 2023; checked 2026-10-12) 2. [Love Bali: tourist levy](https://lovebali.baliprov.go.id/) — Bali Provincial Government (checked 2026-10-12) 3. [Bali Regional Regulation No. 2 of 2025, amending Regulation No. 6 of 2023 on the foreign tourist levy](https://lovebali.baliprov.go.id/gubernur/v5/8.pdf) — Bali Provincial Government (checked 2026-10-13) 4. [Lodging managers must report foreign guests through APOA](https://imigrasi.go.id/berita/pengelola-penginapan-wajib-lapor-keberadaan-tamu-asing-lewat-apoa) — Directorate General of Immigration, Indonesia (April 15, 2025; checked 2026-10-12) 5. [Law No. 1 of 2022 on central and regional government financial relations (PBJT)](https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Details/195682/uu-no-1-tahun-2022) — BPK legal database (checked 2026-10-12) 6. [Foreign tourist arrivals in Bali, July 2025 (BPS Bali)](https://www.detik.com/bali/wisata/d-8090962/kunjungan-wisman-ke-bali-juli-2025-capai-697-ribu-wisnus-tembus-2-29-juta) — detikBali (September 1, 2025; checked 2026-10-12) 7. [Foreign arrivals in Bali reach 7.05 million in 2025](https://ekonomi.bisnis.com/read/20260104/12/1941391/wisman-ke-bali-pecah-rekor-tembus-705-juta-kunjungan-pada-2025) — Bisnis.com (January 4, 2026; checked 2026-10-12) 8. [BTC Map (places listed by its contributors)](https://btcmap.org/) — BTC Map (checked 2026-10-12) 9. [OurAirports open data (airport coordinates for the distances)](https://ourairports.com/data/) — OurAirports (checked 2026-10-12) --- StaySats: StaySats is a hotel booking site paid only in crypto: BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC, with USDT on TRC-20 or ERC-20. You top up a balance from $25, and a booking is held, not charged, until the hotel's confirmation number is issued.