Bali, a hot island country and part of the beautiful country of Indonesia. Who wouldn’t want to go to that?
The island has all… white sand beaches, turquoise water, beautiful fields, great walks, delicious food and it is very affordable.
Unfortunately, we only had about 2 weeks to travel, so we could not see everything here. BUT this means we have to go back one day!
The best & best places I found within 2 weeks of players on the island of Bali.
Before arriving in Denpasar, we made a stopover in Dubai. Because we had 9 hours till our next flight, we decided to get out of the airport and explore the city a bit. The catch… The stopover was during the night. So we left the airport at 1 a.m., but of course, there is not too much to see during the night. We took a taxi to the famous Burj Khalifa. This 829-meter building is spectacular, also during nighttime. The site around is also very beautiful. The LUCKY US, next to the building was a Starbucks that was open until 3 a.m.!!! We needed some caffeine to stay awake. We were actually very happy to be there during the night because it was so hot then. How hot is it when the sun comes up?!
STOP 1: KUTA Bali Indonesia (3 nights)
Our first stop was Kuta and I think you either hate it or love it… We had some mixed feelings about the city. For us, it was too touristy. We chose Kuta for our first stop because we wanted to be around the beach and we love to surf. In the Netherlands we took some classes, so we wanted to improve our surfing skills in Bali and the island be like pros in the end :D. Unfortunately, the waves were too strong for us newbies, so no… still no pro…
During the drive to the south, we also stopped at a local coffee plantation, where they made the famous Luwak coffee. This is the most expensive coffee in the world and they show you how it is made there. At the end of the tour, you get to taste that coffee. The coffee is made of coffee beans, which have been digested by the animal, named Luwak… Not too tasty after finding that out…
The day after the guy we met took us to his father’s water sports company, where we could enjoy all sorts of water sports, such as flyboarding, banana boat, walking underwater, …
STOP 2: UBUD Bali Indonesia (3 nights)
Ubud was definitely the best place we’ve been to in Bali. The small city has this amazing vibe! It is less touristy than in Kuta and it feels like the real Bali. The vibe is relaxed and there is so much to see around Ubud.
During our first day, we rented a scooter so we could explore the nature around Ubud. We drove to the famous rice fields in Tegalalang. If you want those stunning cliché pictures of Bali, this is the place to be! There is this amazing view over the rice fields and you can actually walk through them. For lunch, we ate at a restaurant that has a picturesque view of nature. Drink a coconut and enjoy your delicious food there.
After the rice fields, we drove to the mountain Batur. If you go there, make sure you bring a jacket, because it is higher than the rest of the country, so it is colder out there.
The next day in Ubud we stayed within the city. At first, we walked to the well-known monkey forest, which is maybe the biggest tourist attraction in town. You buy a lot of bananas at the stands in the forest and feed the monkeys. Watch out, they are not that sweet… they do anything for the bananas you have and don’t make them angry, because if they bite, you are in serious trouble!!! They climb on you and if you give them the bananas everything is fine… One of the monkeys even peed on Gilles’ shoulder! Not only the monkeys are fun here, but also the walk through the forest is pretty impressive.
At night you can go to the temple Pura Desa, where they have a typical Balinese show playing every day. It is a story from their culture that they bring with traditional dance and music. Definitely worth the visit!
STOP 3: Great Of LOVINA in Bali (2 nights)
We expected more about this place, but it was still beautiful. During our drive to the north, we stopped at a temple, called Ulun Danu Bratan and a small waterfall. The Hindu temple is located at a big lake ‘Bratan’ surrounded by mountains. Around the temple, there are lovely gardens where you can walk and enjoy the beauty of it all. If you are lucky some typical Balinese shows are going on, so you can soak in the typical Balinese culture.
At our stop at the waterfall, we could enjoy some cold water and refresh after a day in the car. We chose not to go to the most famous waterfall to avoid big crowds.
Our hotel in Lovina was located right on the beach. Lovina for us was all about relaxing on the black beaches and enjoying the island ocean. We watched astonishing sunsets and snorkeled between the fishes and corals in the island ocean.
The north of the island is known for the dolphins swimming close to the coast. Before sunrise, a boat picked us up at our hotel and we started looking for the dolphins. Unfortunately, there we so many tourists there that the animals weren’t too keen to come close to us. We’ve seen some, but they told us that normally they come and play with you. Hopefully, you have more luck than us!
While we were on the boat looking for dolphins, we saw something else floating in the ocean. Somewhere on the coast, there was a water park with some attractions where you can play on. Of course, the boys felt like little boys again and had the time of their lives….
We also visited the holy hot springs, called ‘Air Panas of Banjar’. This sacred place is set in the middle of the jungle in a nice tropical garden. The water has a volcanic origin and is very hot (around 37°C), but it has a healing purpose. It should be very good for people with rheumatic diseases. The best time to visit is in the morning because a lot of people tend to come here in the afternoon.
STOP 4: PADANG BAI (1 night)
After Lovina we wanted to go to the tropical island, Gili Trawangan, to enjoy the rest of our holiday. Because the distance from Lovina to there was too much, we stayed the night at Padangbai.
Along the way to Padangbai, we made a few stops. One of them was nice (I forgot the name I’m sorry) where our guide told us more about the history of Bali and their religion.
Another stop we made, was the one at Tirta Gangga. It is a former royal palace in the east of the island. This is also called the water palace, and the water is considered holy. It is a very peaceful place where you can take a lot of stunning pictures.
STOP 5: GILI Island TRAWANGAN (4 nights)
The little Bali island is beautiful, but it is totally built for tourists…. The beaches of the hotels are pretty, but the beaches owned by the government are dirty and full of waste of partying tourists. Not really what we expected there.
Despite that, we had a very good time on Bali island. We liked the fact that there are no cars or scooters on the island. You can only get around by foot, bike, or on a horse… We never used the horses when we were there because we didn’t believe they were treated very well… It was scorching there, and they had to work too hard, so we decided not to use them. We hope that in time, all tourists decide to do the same because these animals aren’t made to do that.
The nicest thing we did there was going snorkeling around the three islands (Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, and Gili Air). We saw so many colorful fishes and we saw, OMG, a turtle!!
This is a beautiful islandif you take the time to plan, it took me a month before I went to discover all these amazing places, we did not get any help from the guides or tourist information. I am happy to share this post to help you get the best out of this Bali island, kneel to see the local attractions & I hope it will help you if you are planning to visit Bali. Feel free to ask questions in the comments, I will be eager to answer them all! have fun.