What to do in Bali
Discussion
Went to Bali a couple of years ago, beautiful place.
We hired a driver for a few days, dosn't cost much, about 90 US$ for three days i think. He was brilliant and took us to all the places you wouldn't even find in the guide books.
Ubud is nice and is the arts and crafts centre of Bali, they also have a monkey forest there (a must do!) The temples are also a must see, i can remember the Lake temple being the best.
Kuta is like the Australian Ibiza so unless your into that sort of thing its best avoided.
We hired a driver for a few days, dosn't cost much, about 90 US$ for three days i think. He was brilliant and took us to all the places you wouldn't even find in the guide books.
Ubud is nice and is the arts and crafts centre of Bali, they also have a monkey forest there (a must do!) The temples are also a must see, i can remember the Lake temple being the best.
Kuta is like the Australian Ibiza so unless your into that sort of thing its best avoided.
Tim.s said:
Kuta is like the Australian Ibiza so unless your into that sort of thing its best avoided.
Yep, the beach used to be dirty too. The street sellers were annoying (I spent 5 weeks there back in 1995).Get yourself a sarong when you are there so you can visit the temples.
The people who live there are pretty poor, but friendly (I was always being asked for my clothes). Please explore the island and don't stick to the perfect hotel area.
p.s. The monkeys smell and love to jump on you
I went for my honeymoon 2 years ago, fantastic place which I will visit again, I stayed in Sanur, it was quite as the bomb on Bali has really hit the tourist trade, Make sure you do the trips and get about, like previously mentioned hiring a car and a driver is one way of doing it. The temples were superb.
Awesome place to go. In 2 weeks we did....
Quad Biking: Amazing track thru villages and on the edge of hills. If weather is good, awesome trip. IIRC it is near Ubud.
White Water Rafting: Again, amazing trip, down the River Ayung. can do different levels depending on skill/size of balls.
Mountain Hike for Sunset: Good trip also, tiring, worth it when up there. You will crap yourself on pick up as it comes across as being highly dodgy, esp when if theres only 2 of you. They pick you up in the middle of the night, take into mind there is NO street lighting so its all pitch black, then you'll walk up a Mountain for 4-5 hours, again in the dark, still crapping yourself, then when the sun starts to rise, you are at the top for an amazing view!
Jimbaryan (sp?) Fish BBQ/Market: This area is towards the South, fish caught that day are served up for dinner. Again, amaizingly fresh!
Seminyak: Cool bars/restuarants. Some very slick places
Bird Park/Reptile Park: Must check out a Komodo Dragon
Kuta: Worth checking out, bit chavvy ie Hard Rock etc but not bad
Monkey Forest: Quite fun, don't give all you bananas away at the first monkey! Hide them as you can get lynched!
Mosaic Restuarant: Supposedly best place in Ubud, 7 courses, cost 1million+ of there local currency!
Cycling: Quite nice in Ubud as nice views/hills
Elelphant Safari: Quite nice trip
Sanur: Quite good for chilling, not much really happening there
HTH
BTW, re Bombings etc. If anything, it is very safe to stay, there are checks at all of the Hotels etc so you feel very safe. The people are Hindu, so in turn are very placid and chilled in nature. Very friendly and hospitality is second to none!
You'll enjoy it, PM if any more advice/help needed. I read some of the guide books prior to going for where to go, so use them!
Quad Biking: Amazing track thru villages and on the edge of hills. If weather is good, awesome trip. IIRC it is near Ubud.
White Water Rafting: Again, amazing trip, down the River Ayung. can do different levels depending on skill/size of balls.
Mountain Hike for Sunset: Good trip also, tiring, worth it when up there. You will crap yourself on pick up as it comes across as being highly dodgy, esp when if theres only 2 of you. They pick you up in the middle of the night, take into mind there is NO street lighting so its all pitch black, then you'll walk up a Mountain for 4-5 hours, again in the dark, still crapping yourself, then when the sun starts to rise, you are at the top for an amazing view!
Jimbaryan (sp?) Fish BBQ/Market: This area is towards the South, fish caught that day are served up for dinner. Again, amaizingly fresh!
Seminyak: Cool bars/restuarants. Some very slick places
Bird Park/Reptile Park: Must check out a Komodo Dragon
Kuta: Worth checking out, bit chavvy ie Hard Rock etc but not bad
Monkey Forest: Quite fun, don't give all you bananas away at the first monkey! Hide them as you can get lynched!
Mosaic Restuarant: Supposedly best place in Ubud, 7 courses, cost 1million+ of there local currency!
Cycling: Quite nice in Ubud as nice views/hills
Elelphant Safari: Quite nice trip
Sanur: Quite good for chilling, not much really happening there
HTH
BTW, re Bombings etc. If anything, it is very safe to stay, there are checks at all of the Hotels etc so you feel very safe. The people are Hindu, so in turn are very placid and chilled in nature. Very friendly and hospitality is second to none!
You'll enjoy it, PM if any more advice/help needed. I read some of the guide books prior to going for where to go, so use them!
If you are going to be there for a while, 2 weeks or so I would suggest taking a few days out of Bali and travelling to the Gili Islands. I took the long route in getting there - travel across Bali, take a ferry to Lombok, travel up to north coast of Lombok and then get a public water taxi to Gili Trewangan - that took about a day and a half. I believe that you can fly from Kuta area to a harbour in the south of the Bali and then get a speed boat across though if time is a constraint.
The Gili Islands are beautiful - white sand, bright aqua marine sea with amazing diving and snorkling (wrecks and turtles everywhere) There are no cars on any of the islands and the apart from walking the only way to get about is pony and cart. Gili Trewangan is the more lively of the islands with beach side bars and some great sleeping huts. The other two islands are slightly more romantic and honeymoon orientated.
A few pics for you:
The Gili Islands are beautiful - white sand, bright aqua marine sea with amazing diving and snorkling (wrecks and turtles everywhere) There are no cars on any of the islands and the apart from walking the only way to get about is pony and cart. Gili Trewangan is the more lively of the islands with beach side bars and some great sleeping huts. The other two islands are slightly more romantic and honeymoon orientated.
A few pics for you:
I'd highly recommend Lombok too - but if you have the time Id spend a few days in PadangBai - the fishing village where the ferry leaves from Bali to Lombok. It's normally used as a stopover for the ferry but is a gorgeous little village to spend a few days - there are short walks either side of the bay over headlands to small white sand beaches which were deserted last time I was there. Makes a lovely place to chill out for a few days.
The East coast is really lovely too and pretty unspoilt. Amed is a nice place to spend a few days.
The best advice I could give overall is to get out of Kuta asap, dont aim for places like Jimbaran Bay and not be too focussed on Ubud - its a nice place but overatted IMHO. The best thing about Bali is the people, so get out into the middle of nowhere, find a little family compound to stay in and you'll have a fantastic time.
The East coast is really lovely too and pretty unspoilt. Amed is a nice place to spend a few days.
The best advice I could give overall is to get out of Kuta asap, dont aim for places like Jimbaran Bay and not be too focussed on Ubud - its a nice place but overatted IMHO. The best thing about Bali is the people, so get out into the middle of nowhere, find a little family compound to stay in and you'll have a fantastic time.
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