Bali is Julia Roberts final destination in “Eat, Pray, Love”. The book and movie have done a decent job putting Bali on the map of many travellers. The fact that I visited Bali twice within 2 months during my vacation speaks for itself – once you have been to Bali, you either do not want to leave, or you will come back for more: Watching sunsets at Echo Beach, swinging through the rice fields of Tegallalang (see photo) or simply enjoying a flat white at many of the stylishly decorated coffee shops. Bali just has a vibe that is unmatched in Indonesia, Asia and the World. Come visit.
Bali island is made of different areas. The most frequented by travellers are Kuta, Seminyak, Canggu and Ubud.
- Kuta: This is one of the first tourist areas of Bali. So you will see a lot of typical venues like Hard Rock Cafe, McDonalds etc. Despite being less popular than Seminyak and Canggu, Kuta is in my opinion the best place for food. Since a lot of tourist from Asia come here you will find plenty of authentic Indonesian, Thai and Japanese food for reasonable prices.
- Seminyak: This is the most up-scale place to stay in Bali. It is very good for first-time visitors, since it offers all the amenities you are used to if you are from Australia, Europe or the U.S. That being said, a lot of people fly to Bali, stay in Seminyak and go back missing out on the full beauty of the island. Visit Seminyak and then be sure to move on to explore further parts of the island.
- Canggu: This is arguably the place to stay right now in Bali. Party, surf beaches and stylish cafes with the in-crowd. Despite becoming busy, Canggu is still one of my favorite places to stay in Bali. I am interested to see how this are develops, especially since the traffic can become very busy with Jalay Raya Canggu connecting all the orthogonal streets pointing towards the beach.
- Ubud: Ubud is the only place in the list without a beach. This is because it is in the middle of the island. So why should you visit this place? Well, most of the attractive sites are in and around Ubud like the Tegallalang rice field, Tegenungan waterfall and Tirta Empul temple to name a few. I will do a special blog post on Ubud with a deep dive on waterfalls etc. Stay tuned 🙂
Logistics: If you are coming from America or Europe I recommend Singapore Airlines. They offer non-stop flights to “Changi” (name of Singapore airport). From there you have many options to cover the last mile to Bali (AirAsia, Singapore Airlines etc.). Alternatively I recommend Thai Airways, since a lot of people travel to Thailand – make use of their economy of scale. I highly recommend a 1-2 days stay at your transit location. Singapore offers some of the best foods in the world (more in one of the next blog posts) and Bangkok is simply one of the most experience-rich cities I have ever been to – must-visit.
Currency: 1 € : 15.000 IDR
Hotel: Start with a hotel in Seminyak, then move either south to a hotel in Kuta or north to an Airbnb in Canggu.
Transport: Seminyak – Gojek/Bluebird, Canggu – Gojek, Ubud – by foot, Kuta – Gojek/Bluebird
Food: Nasi Campur is the dish you need to try.
Tourist Attractions: Tanah Lot Temple, Tegallalang rice fields, Tegenungan waterfall.
Special Attractions: Visit Clear cafe in Ubud – in one word, stylish. Red Dragon Ramen in Kuta is the best Ramen you will find on the whole island.
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