Our first experience in Bali is an insanely long wait at immigration. We landed around 2pm, but by the time we get to our hotel, about an hour drive from the airport, it’s almost sunset. The hotel welcomes us with fresh coconuts which we enjoy while watching the sun set over the rice fields – we have arrived in Bali.
We came to Bali twice and were accompanied by friends most of the time. We started our stay in Canggu, then went to Ubud, Uluwatu, and Nusa Lembongan. When we came back a couple of weeks later, we stayed in Amed, another few days in Ubud, and in Permuteran.
Our favorite spot by far was Amed. We could snorkel just in front of our bungalow and, within a short scooter ride, you find many other great snorkel spots. You can take a day trip to see beautiful temples, jaw-dropping rice field views, and to dive (or snorkel) at the famous Liberty wreck. Below we’ve written down our impressions of every place we went to. If we were to go back to Bali, we would certainly visit Amed and Ubud again, and explore some more of East Bali.
If you plan to visit Bali, keep in mind a few things:
- Distances seem short, but due to the conditions of roads, and due to traffic, most trips take longer than they seem. It can easily take an hour to do 30km.
- Beaches in Southern Bali and Nusa Lembongan aren’t great for swimming; most of them are great for surfing but either waves are too high for swimming or the water before the surf break is very shallow with lots of stones.
- Bali is more expensive than the rest of Indonesia. It will be difficult to find, as an example, a nasi campur (mixed rice) or nasi goreng (fried rice) for less than 2-3€ – in Java or Sumatra it is common to find such dishes for 1€ or less. The record price we saw for a nasi goreng in Bali was around 8€.
- Bali is by far the island with the most Western tourists in Indonesia. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if you want to get in touch with locals or do something off the beaten track, you have to look a little bit. Don’t get us wrong – we loved Bali and being the only predominantly Hindu island of Indonesia, it is a truly special and unique place, despite the increasing flux of tourists.
Canggu
It’s supposed to be the most laid back area of this beach stretch starting in Kuta; it has a pretty chilled vibe, but it is quite Western; it’s the place for people watching, and it’s full of hip, beautiful cafes, bars and restaurants; we had a good time there but frankly, it’s not really our scene – why come all the way to Bali to only see Westerners and eat food that doesn’t really have anything to do with local culture? This being said, if you enjoy yoga, and surfing, this is certainly one of the best spots to do either or both. Note that the beaches in most of southern Bali aren’t really good for swimming. But you can watch the waves and the surfers, and the sunset!
Where to stay
The Lebak Canggu: such a lovely place, a bit away from the busy beach area, in the middle of rice fields; restaurants and shops close by, to the beach it’s better to have a motorbike or take a Grab
Beaches
- Batu Bolong Beach for Sunset
- Seseh Beach (if you’re not by motorbike, make sure to have the number of a driver, because Grab/Gojek aren’t allowed to pick up people from there)
Food
- Brian Local Resto: this was definitely our favorite food discovery in Canggu! Away from the hipster vegan salad bars, serving straight forward and delicious Balinese food.
- Cabe Cafe – right at the beach, had a really nice bbq and cocktails there. Excellent spot to watch the sunset.
- Just Warung – nice for breakfast (very close to the hotel)
Ubud
Ubud counts about 70k inhabitants but welcomes over 3 million tourists each year – you can imagine the result: in high season, it gets crazy busy. We came in July and it was quite ok, in August (not surprisingly) the city was brimming with tourists. However, Ubud remains incredibly beautiful and we wouldn’t miss it on a Bali trip. For the city itself, you won’t need more than a couple of days.
Where to stay
- We first stayed at Citrus Puri Villa in Penestanan, which cost around 70€/night (breakfast and daily cleaning service included), so for five people it was a real steal (there are beds for up to seven people). Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a pool, a big kitchen and a rice field view out the back – frankly, our jaws dropped when we first entered. Now we have no comparison to other villas but we would have happily spent a few more weeks here. 🙂
- The second time, we stayed at Gerebig Bungalow (around 27€/night with breakfast), almost across the street from the villa. The bungalows themselves are a little dated but the garden and the pool are so beautiful, and owners and staff are so very kind. Breakfast is wonderful.
From both places it’s about 15 min walk into the centre of Ubud. The centre is quite busy with lots of traffic so we were happy to stay a bit away from there.
Food
- Warung Mendez – great local food
- Element Restaurant – very good burgers
- Indus Restaurant – this is a bit of a fancy place but it’s so good! So if you’re in the mood for something fancy, go there. The cocktails are amazing (so you could even just go for sunset drink), and the food, especially the vegetarian is incredible.
- Warung Bernadette: it’s specialty is Rendang, which is a beef curry from Java. They also do a veggie version with jackfruit, that’s why we came here. Otherwise, you can find the Rendang elsewhere as well.
- Old Friends Coffee: cute place with delicious coffee and wonderful banana bread; they do a banana – coffee – coconut milk shake, so good!
Activities
- Campuhan Ridge Walk: nice walk in the middle of the rice fields, you just start from the centre of Ubud. We walked maybe half an hour or so and then back, but you can walk more if you like. Plenty of places to have lunch or a coconut.
- Pura Dalem Ubud: one of the many beautiful temples in Ubud (around 70cents/person)
- Sacred Monkey Forest: This was much more fun than we imagined, but if you don’t like monkeys or are afraid, don’t go, as there will be close encounters. It’s a quite beautiful park and in most parts, monkeys really just care about themselves and food. The monkeys are cheekiest at the entrance – make sure to tuck away anything valuable. Once we entered the park a monkey immediately jumped on our friend and pulled out a pack of tissues that she kept on the outside of her backpack. Entrance is around 5€/person. As usual, be there early.
- We took a driver for a day tour with the following stops: Tegalalang Rice Terrace, Goa Gajah, Tegenungan Waterfall, Celuk Silver Village; this cost around 35€. If you have a motorbike you can easily reach all the places. The rice terrace was great, but after seeing the Jatiluwih one, we’d recommend you go there instead (see below); for Tegalalang, it’s still beautiful but be there early, it gets busy (we arrived around 8.30 and it was ok); Goa Gajah and the waterfall were a little underwhelming for us; the waterfall in particular was quite disappointing (too many people, loud music, shops). Maybe it’s better if you get there early but of course you can’t get to all the places equally early if you do a tour with a driver. Make sure to agree the price beforehand with the driver and also let him know where you’d like to eat. Our driver took us to this super fancy place, probably thinking we’d like it and possibly also receiving a commission for it, but after we saw the prices in the menu we asked him to take us to a simpler place (all we wanted was a nasi or mie goreng, really) and there he even agreed to join us, so we got to know him a bit, which was great.
- Definitely don’t miss getting a Balinese massage (or ten). Botanica Day Spa is an amazing place which offers flower or spice baths in addition to massage and other beauty treatments. Taking a bath with a view on the jungle is really a one of a kind experience.
Further afield from Ubud
We drove from Ubud to Permuteran and stopped in Taman Ayun and Jatiluwih Rice Terraces.
- Taman Ayun: about 45 minutes from Ubud – it was nice to see but nothing too exciting; it can make sense to go when you’re on the way to Jatiluwih but we wouldn’t call it an unmissable stop.
- Jatiluwih Rice Terraces: just wow! You reach them in about 1h drive from Ubud; you should plan to spend minimum 2h, but you can easily spend much longer than that exploring, enjoying the views, and taking breaks in one of the little restaurants. We arrived around lunchtime and it was quiet – not sure if these terraces are just less visited or if we were lucky!
- Munduk: we only stopped here for a quick photo of the twin lakes on the way to Permuteran, but it was breathtaking. There are supposed to be a bunch of amazing waterfalls. Careful for carsick people, the road is the worst.
Bukit Peninsula
The south eastern part of Bali is more chilled than the beach towns west of Denpasar. We stayed in a Villa in Ungasan, but if we were to come back we would probably try to find accommodation in Bingin Beach – that was our favourite area. You can go into the water on many beaches even as a non surfer, but again, it’s not the best for swimming – shallow and lots of stones.
Beaches
- Bingin Beach: really nice atmosphere here and stunning sunset; not very crowded when we were there
- Padang Padang Beach: very beautiful, quite crowded, there’s some monkeys hanging around.
- Pandawa Beach: popular with locals, so super busy on the weekend, but should be quieter during the week; not as picturesque as some other beaches but maybe the best for swimming
Activities
Uluwatu Temple – stunning views, really really beautiful. Go early to avoid crowds and monkeys. Keep your belongings safe from the monkeys.
Food
- Bingin Ombak at Bingin Beach had one of the best Nasi Goreng we ate during our time in Indonesia; there was also this place called Lucky Fish at the beach which seemed to have a great seafood bbq.
- Sunset Point Uluwatu, as the name suggests, is a great place for sunset. The crowd wasn’t really our favourite (bit of the douchy surfer types).
Sanur
We only took a day trip to Sanur, had some spa treatments, a lovely lunch, some beach time, shopping, and got our street food fix at the night market. Sanur is known to be a bit more quiet than the other touristic spots in Southern Bali. We wouldn’t necessarily spend several days here, but we really enjoyed our time there.
- The Nest Beachside Spa: As the name promises, it’s right on the beach; best to book in advance
- Lilla Pantai: great Indonesian food with a modern twist
- Nightmarket: small but such delicious food!
Nusa Lembongan
We came to Nusa Lembongan after the Bukit Peninsula. The boat ride to go there is short, but definitely unpleasant, not to mention expensive (we went with Rocky Fast Boat from Serangan Harbour). Nusa Lembongan is known as a pristine diving spot, particularly to see Manta Rays, which you are pretty much guaranteed, unless the sea is too rough. However, unless you really want to scuba dive, we wouldn’t necessarily put the island on our top list. The landscape is very similar to Bukit Peninsula and the beaches aren’t better for swimming, so we found that a little frustrating after a while – always looking down at beautiful beaches, but not being able to swim, or even sit on the sand.
Where to stay
Warisan Villa (28€/night with breakfast) is in walking distance to Mushroom beach and many restaurants and shops; very nice bungalows with beautiful outdoor bathroom
Activities
- If you’re not diving, you can snorkel and also see the manta rays – the sea is pretty rough at Manta Point though. Snorkel trips can be organised with your hotel.
- Get a massage at Harumaya Day Spa
- Admire the waves at Devil’s Tear – be prepared for crowds, but it is a very impressive spot
- Admire the sunset at the Cloudland Bar
Getting here
We took Rocky Fast Cruises from Serangan Harbour (around 20€ one way). It is well organised and punctual, and the trip to Lembongan takes about 45 minutes. We arrived a bit early at the harbour so they even let us take the earlier boat. The ride is extremely bumpy and if you get seasick easily, definitely take something before. Drop off and pick-up in Lembongan is included, in Bali it depends on where you are/want to go. There are other speed boats and also sometimes slower boats, which are cheaper but seem to leave on an irregular basis. You can also join Lembongan by boat from Lombok.
ATMs on Lembongan
Many guidebooks and blogs still claim that there are (almost) no ATMs on Lembongan. This information is outdated, as it is no problem to find an ATM in any busy tourist area. Double check whether your hotel takes cards. Booking.com claimed that ours didn’t but it turned out they did – would have saved us some stress about getting cash.
Amed
Amed was our favourite place in Bali. We snorkelled right in front our bungalow. We took a day trip to visit two temples. We ate delicious food. It was one of the hardest places to leave during our entire trip.
Where to stay
Our bungalow at Bamboo Bali was place right on Jemeluk Beach. We literally went snorkelling right from our terrace (hide key under the seat cushion, go snorkel, come back). The bungalows themselves are not that exciting but they are just fine. They also have some bungalows up the hill on the other side of the street which have hammocks (not unimportant!) and probably a nice view. There’s also a pool there. But we were so happy beachside. Breakfast was also very good, we discovered jaffles there. They also rent motorbikes and snorkel/fins.
Activities
- Snorkelling
- at the Japanese Shipwreck (so much life there!!),
- at Lipah Beach (entrance at Vienna Resort, this is the nicest beach for sunbathing),
- Jemeluk beach (where the hotel is)
- Diving: Amed is one of the best diving spots in Indonesia, and one of the most comfortable: you can just dive in from the shore, which means you don’t have to get up super early and don’t come back late even if you do three dives in one day. We dove with Bali Reef Divers and had a very good experience.
- Tirta Gangga: the drive there is super beautiful and so is the temple itself. Come early if possible.
- Pura Lempuyang: as above, get there early if you want to avoid crowds. The views are breathtaking either way!
- In case you pass by Tulamben, you can try snorkelling at the Liberty ship wreck, which is a famous dive spot. Tulamben is about 45 minutes from Amed and you never know if you can actually snorkel, because of the waves. We went because Brice went to dive there and Julia caught a wonderful day and it was great snorkelling. But don’t make the trip just for that, as you may be disappointed, and there’s not much going on in Tulamben, and the beaches are all stones.
Food
Jemeluk beach has a bunch of Warung (local eateries) that are fine (handy to reach from the hotel). Our favourites where elsewhere:
- Warung Enak – delicious local food
- Galanga – this is a bit more expensive but it has such a lovely garden and the food is to die for
- Sama Rasa Warung: this is just a little food stall across the street from Galanga; to this day the best Nasi Campur we ate (nasi campur is white rice with a range of dishes; depending on where you are you choose the dishes or you just get whatever has been cooked for the day; usually it’s tempeh, some curry, maybe egg, some corn fritters…).
Permuteran
This was our last stop in Bali, only half an hour away from the ferry to Java. It was quite nice, yet, in our opinion, if you go to Amed, no need to come here. You can snorkel and dive, but Amed is better (and it’s easier because you can just go from the shore for whatever you want to do).
Where to stay
Molleh Guest House was quite nice, though nothing incredible. The rooms were good with nice outdoor bathroom and there was a terrace, but it was missing something comfortable (hammock or sun chair); good location close to the beach and restaurants.
Activities
- Snorkelling on Menjangan Island. We went with Searovers so Brice could dive and Julia could snorkel. It was very nice snorkelling but it was pretty expensive (around 50€) for what it was; we were lucky and also saw deer on Menjangan island
- You can also snorkel from Permuteran beach, but it’s a fairly small area
Food
- Poleng beachfront: feet in the sand! Delicious but expensive; good cocktails with arak (the Balinese version!)
- Warung Santai: had a lovely lunch here
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