We present to you our itinerary for spending two weeks on Bali. Besides the most beautiful and interesting places and the most important temples you can enjoy three nights on Gili Trawangan (or one of the other Gili Islands). A great mixture of seeing much and relaxing!
Data by OpenStreetMap
Car with driver – great and not expensive in Bali!
By renting a car including driver on two days we could see as much as we wanted to. We didn’t have to care about others’ opinions. And this luxury is really affordable on Bali: After some negotiations you shouldn’t pay more than € 30 including petrol for the whole day!
Relaxing in Ubud!
We would recommend to take your time to enjoy Ubud with some extra time. Relaxing and just doing nothing special is really great here. Of course, the beaches are also perfect for ‘wasting’ your time, doing nothing.
What was missing?
Afterwards, if we had had some more days, we would have spent some time in the Amed area in the east of the island. It’s supposed to be beautiful – The next time!
Our itinerary in detail:
1. Legian
After arriving at the airport we took the overpriced taxi to our hotel. The Rosani Hotel was beautiful and perfect for spending the first three nights. You can have great food and lie on the beach in Legian. You realize Kuta being so close, but it’s not that crowded and, very important, no clubs or discos are here.
We made a one day trip to the north from here. The Royal Temple of Mengwi, the Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, a coffee plantation and Pura Tanah Lot at sunset were on our list. It was a long, but beautiful day. A recommendation!
2. Ubud
Taking a transporter we drove to Ubud. You shouldn’t believe in your first (loud) impression. Leaving the main roads it’s more quiet and really beautiful. Our accommodation for 5 nights was Angga Homestay and it was fantastic. A great garden and a temple just next to our room. The whole family was nice and friendly and the talking bird was the highlight!
We made a one day tour to Mother Temple (Pura Besakih), to Pura Tirta Empul and to the Tegalalang rice fields from here.
The other days were filled with the Monkey Forest, a spa, a Kecak dance performance, some shopping at the market and lots of relaxing. We really loved enjoying the surprisingly good Balinese wine overlooking the beautiful rice paddies.
3. Gili Trawangan
After crossing the sea by speedboad (cheaper than in the guidebooks after negotiation) we arrived at loud and dirty Gili Trawangan. We knew about its reputation, but we wanted some infrastructure like the night market and fresh water showers. On the other Gili Islands this would have been very expensive or not possible at all. Well, it was really loud until late and the inside of the island was extremely dirty and smelly.
Our room in the Le Petit Gili was on the (a bit more) quiet side, so the music was not too loud. Staff was really nice and helpful and the room itself was really OK.
The sea is clean with all shades of blue and turquoise. There are no dream beaches but sunsets are amazing every day. All in all we weren’t sure if we really liked it. It’s not likely that we we will come back on this island near Lombok.
4. Jimbaran
We arrived Jimbaran after a stormy crossing. It’s south of the airport, perfect for your last days. A beautiful, yet not spectacular beach was just 10 minutes from our lovely accommodation Celuk Homestay.
We made a trip to Padang Padang Beach: perfect for surfers and picturesque between high rocks but very crowded. After that we spent sunset time at Uluwatu Temple. Definitely worth a recommendation and just beautiful. The temple is high on the cliffs over high waves and the sun is disappearing behind the horizon.
Jimbaran’s highlight: the seafood restaurants on the beach. Every afternoon they bring tables and you can sit down for dinner, your feet in the sand and enjoy delicious and cheap seafood. Best view on the sunset is included. Perfect!
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