Frequently Asked Questions

Simply come and visit our school in Ubud and please arrange to meet us in Sanur.
Our contact details are here, and the map to the school is here.

Our course fees in Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) include our discount for KITAS holders in Indonesia. We offer discounts for students who have completed courses at Cinta Bahasa, as well as staff with NGOs that have agreements with Cinta Bahasa.

We also do referral discounts! If you want to join a group course, and have a friend or partner who joins with you, you both receive a Rp 500,000 discount on the cost of the course. If you would like to become a referral partner and receive discounts on your language learning with us, please ask us about this by email.

There are literally hundreds of homestays, guesthouses, hotels, villas, ranging from as little as Rp. 100,000 (11 US) to Rp. 35,000,000 (3,500 US) per night. We want you to be satisfied with our Indonesian Language course, and not dissatisfied with our accommodation recommendations. Therefore, we encourage you to do your own search for accomodation. We suggest you choose a place which is near to Campuhan or Sanggingan.

We also have a page of possible options within walking distance of our school at:
Accommodation Options

Yes, we have Group Beginner courses starting the first Monday of every Month. They are usually full two weeks before the class starts, so please register for the course and confirm your reservation as soon as possible to guarantee yourself a place.

Our Schedule is normally full a week in advance, so please contact us, register and arrange your classes as early as possible.

If you would like transportation from the airport, please let us know, along with the details of your arrival, and we can arrange a driver to pick you up for a rate that is less than the price of a taxi.

The initial deposit is 50% of the course fee before the course starts, and 50% to be paid preferably before start of the first class.

We ask for a deposit to confirm your schedule.

We calculate the rate in IDR (Indonesian Rupiah) based on the www.oanda.com/currency/converter rate at the time the invoice is issued, at the standard 3% Cash/Kiosk rate for buying IDR cash. This usually works out exactly to be the cost of the course in IDR.

The official minimum is 4 and maximum is 6, sometimes class sizes are smaller than this. We confirm the start of the class when this minimum number of students who have paid a deposit has been reached, or at our discretion.

Although we firmly believe that the Group Beginner course is the best way to start learning the language, yes you can take a Beginner course as a Private course. That said, we have found learning as a group to be much more effective for someone who is new to the language.

However, if you are multi-lingual and experienced language learner, you will probably learn much faster in Private Classes than in Group Classes.

The vocabulary size is about 600 words, and the level of proficiency will be general communicative and conversational, polite but informal language, useful for communication with anyone across the country. How proficient you will be really depends on how much effort you put into building up your vocabulary using the flash cards, media resources, and developing your conversation abilities inside and outside of class.

As our private courses are tailored, it really depends on what you want to focus on. You will be able to write letters and emails, communicate formally both in terms of grammar and tone, and begin to separate between written and oral language, as well as formal and informal language.

Because our Group Beginner Course is semi-intensive and daily, we attract people who are serious about learning Indonesian. Perhaps they are professionals working in Indonesia who are tired of not knowing what is said around them, or someone who is residing in Indonesia who wants to expand their circle of friends to include Indonesians who do not speak English. They are often people who are business owners or managers, development workers, artists, chefs or educators. We’ve had the Ambassador of Germany to Indonesia learn with us, high-ranking military officers from America and Australia (and probably other countries as well), Diplomats, CEOs of companies, Journalists, Professors and Researchers, Linguists, Retirees and Polyglots-people who learn languages as a hobby.

We’re so glad you enjoyed learning with us, and feel you got the best value for your investment. Our teachers love their work and are passionate about teaching you to speak Indonesian. We pay them very well because they deserve it. According to School Policy, they are not allowed to receive gifts of any kind, except for items related to their work teaching or only with the permission of the School Director. A nice testimonial, a post on Facebook, and a “terima kasih” are the best ways to show your appreciation. Thank you!

Ubud has a very wide range of activities, from taking courses in drawing, painting, carving, dance, music and gamelan, to studying yoga and meditation, volunteering for local NGOs and such. The options are too numerous to mention, fortunately there are a lot of great web resources such as the Bali Spirit website. Please take the time to explore the internet to see all that Ubud has to offer!

No, you don’t need a special visa to take Indonesian language courses with Cinta Bahasa. You can enter Indonesia on a Tourist Visa on Arrival, which is valid for one month and can be extended for another month. You can also apply for a 6 month Social-Budaya Visa if you’d like to stay longer in Indonesia for travel or learning.