For our honeymoon, The Hubby and I spent 5 nights in Bali. However since we arrived in the evening on the first day and spent our last day lounging around the resort, we truly only spent 3 days exploring the island. Our itinerary was tight, and we did end up cutting a few activities (no underwater scooter). Since we were in Bali for only a short time, I decided to stay at one resort and hire a driver, rather than moving from city to city. We chose to base ourselves in Nusa Dua, where many of Bali’s luxury resorts are located, because we wanted to spoil ourselves and enjoy the stunning white sand beach.
Tips
- – Tackle one area of the island at a time. Traffic in Bali was awful, at one point we even decided to hop out of the car and walk to dinner, rather than crawl along on the road.
- – Prioritize, what’s more important? Catching the sunset at Tanah Lot? Or Avoiding crowds? In general, I prefer to avoid crowds.
- – Money exchanges were literally every few steps, and each offered a different rate, which fluctuated daily, sometimes hourly. We exchanged USD to the amount of IDR we needed for 2 days at a time. With the ease of money exchanges (many open at 8am and close around 6pm) and the fact that IDR is difficult to exchange back into other currencies, I wouldn’t worry about having IDR before landing at Denpasar and exchange only the amount needed for a few days at a time.
- – The monkeys in Ubud are fearless. I would not recommend a visit for anyone who’s not comfortable with the thought of having monkeys randomly jump on you without consent.
- – Hire a private driver, the cost is fairly low (~$50 USD/day) relative to the convenience.
- – Bargain. I am not good at haggling and don’t think I made a single purchase that was well-priced. I think I got better by the end of the trip, but I’m sure I still overpaid for every souvenir.
- – Take advantage of the fresh tropical fruits. Mangosteen every day!
- – Massages are incredibly well priced. We really enjoyed the service and treatment at Bodyworks
Day 1 – Ubud
Explore the green rice paddies in Ubud. At the very touristy area, as we hiked through the paddies, there were people collecting “donations” to maintenance. However, as you wander, you may run into the toll booths multiple times and the villagers may be pushy and aggressive with their collection efforts. After that, we stopped by a cafe close by that served Luwak coffee and walked us through the process. We drove into the city for lunch at Naughty Nuri’s and to visit the Monkey sanctuary before heading back to relax at the resort.
Day 2 – Ubud
Spend the day with one of the many cooking classes in Ubud. The day starts early with a tour of the morning market, before turning hands-on. After preparing a traditional Balinese meal, classes will end around 2pm, the perfect time to head to a massage. Both the cooking class and massage should be booked at least one day ahead of time. Originally, I had planned for dinner at Locavore, but they were all booked a day ahead. I would recommend making reservations at least one or two weeks ahead of time. If you have a chance, I would also recommend picking up some fresh fruit to enjoy throughout the week.
Day 3 – Seminyak
Start with a visit to Tanah Lot early to avoid the crowds. Grab a lunch of Babi Guling on the way to a beach club, Ku de Ta or Potato Head to spend the afternoon people watching and enjoy the sunset. Both clubs have direct access to the beach, loungers and DJs. We sipped on cocktails until the evening set in. For dinner I would recommend trying Mama San or Sardine.
Day 4 – Nusa Dua (Optional)
Relax at your resort, stroll on the beach and take a dip in the pool. We spent the day lounging and snacking on fresh fruit and chocolates. While the ocean was too choppy for us to venture into, I enjoyed my beach time sipping on coconut water and reading.
