My fav Bali (& Indonesia) places and itinerary 

Bali, Indonesia

Bali essential travel guide

The international airport is in a strategic point, close to famous areas such as Kuta, Seminyak and Canggu. Canggu is the nicer one with cool cafes, boutiques and beautiful sunsets but can be crowded. That's why I would spend there only a couple of days and then move directly to the southern part of Bali. 

Bali holds a special place in my heart, I've been many times and every time is a new experience. Here's a list of all my special places and an itinerary that you can adapt depending on how many days you have.

My suggestion is to spend in the surf paradise at least 3 full days. The beaches are much more beautiful, some are still empty and wild, there is a great selection of cafe and restaurants and the views are amazing with a relaxed atmosphere. My favorite area is Bingin, a great vibrant area perfect to visit the south of Bali. Here's a list of all must see:

- beaches: Green Bowl, Nyang Nyang, Thomas beach, Bingin, Padang Padang

- Uluwatu Temple, visit in the late afternoon to watch sunset from here

From Uluwatu you can book transportation to the islands to spend more days in the sun! Booking is very easy from hostels, agency or little kiosk in the streets. In the price of the speedboat is usually also included pick up from your hotel and drop off (usually Ubud, Canggu, Denpasar, Jimbaran).From Sanur harbour you can reach Nusa Penida for less than 20€ otherwise from Padangbai harbour you can get to Gili islands or Lombok. It really depends how many days you have in your itinerary, Nusa Penida or Gilis needs 3 days at least, Lombok is much bigger so even a week. 

- beaches: Atuh, Diamond, Crystal, Suwehan 

An authentic, natural part of Bali is Nusa Penida a small island with incredible views and a relaxed vibe.

- the super famous Kelingking Beach with his extremely path 

We rented motorcycles to move around but keep in mind that some of the roads can be dangerous especially near the port where traffic is quite bad and is full of drivers.  

This laidback island is worth visiting when traveling Indonesia. We spent a week here with Kuta as our base. We visited during rainy season so was quite empty and we saved lots of money on hotel deals!

- beaches: Tanjung Aan, Selong Belanak, Tampah, Mawun

- day trip to Secret Gili, 3 small islands with private boat for a full day

Unfortunately because of the weather we couldn't hike the Mount Rinjani so we'll definitely come back!

The heart of nature, culture and spirituality of Bali: Ubud. A special place surrounded by lush green rice terrace, small family temples, vegan hip cafe, yoga places. I'd recommend you to spend here at least 4 days, is a great starting point for day trips to visit waterfalls and temples in the area. With the tourism is more and more touristic in some areas so you can visit less touristic places and stay a bit outside the central area or choose to visit during the rainy season. 

Here's a list of famous attractions: Monkey Forest, Tegallang rice terrace, Royal Palace, Pura Tirta Empul, Mount Batur sunset hike.

Tip: when visiting the bigger islands (Nusa, Lombok) pre-book your transfer from the port in advance, once you arrive in the harbor can be overwhelming.

Some less known places, which I love are: the beautiful hike of Campuhan Ridge Walk, Lotus Temple, Jatiluwih rice terraces, Tibumana waterfall.

In the northern part of Bali, a more authentic calm place is Munduk. Here you'll find waterfalls, rice fields, coffee plantations. 

We rented a scooter in Ubud and on the way we stopped at the Leke Leke waterfalls. In less then 2 hours we arrived in Munduk where we stayed for 2 days, sleeping in silence, in the middle of rice fields. 

Another less known area of Bali is on the east side, Sidemen. I recommend spend here at least 2 days, is a relaxing authentic area full of nature. The best spot to visit is definitely the rice terrace, such an incredible scenery, I got mesmerize, when we arrived with our scooter we had to sit on the side of the road to enjoy the colors of nature. You can also do a guided trekking in the rice fields.

Gilis are much smaller and there are no cars, heaven!!

- water purifier bottle (can't recommend enough my Grayl ultrapress)

Don't pack too much, there are so many nice markets, boutique and shops with beautiful ethical sustainable clothing!

If you have extra days I'd recommend you a 3/4 days Komodo island tour.

All the restaurants pinned are vegan friendly. Eating in Bali as a vegan is very easy, lots of dishes are already vegan (remember to ask without egg) and make sure to try mie and nasi goreng, gado gado, tempeh satay. 

Make sure to produce as little garbage as possible, Bali doesn’t have a recycling program so try to avoid packaging food or plastic bottles. 

When going to the beach bring with you a bag and pick up some trash, it doesn’t take long and you’re preventing trash to pollute the sea.

We didn’t book in advance because our itinerary was very flexible and we spent 40 days in Bali. We stayed mostly in homestay, typical house with the kindest hosts where breakfast was usually included. 

Accommodation is very cheap here, a great way to save money is to find homestay or hotels on Booking.com, search the place in Google and then contact them on Whatsapp. You’ll have a better deal and they will not pay commission to Booking. 

Make sure to visit Git Git and Munduk waterfalls, Lake Tambilngan and the viewpoint overlooking the twin lake.

Visit Gembleng waterfall for a refreshing dip. There are many other attractions but we decided to take some time off and just enjoy this place. 

Remember that if you want to rent a scooter you'll need an international driving license. 

Bali essential travel guide

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