Before visiting, we did extensive research online, but influencers/travel bloggers only talk about the pretty photo spots. There was little information about what Bali is actually like and what things to watch out for. No culture tips, no “bad” travel moments, just luxury resorts and aesthetic pics. Kind of misleading.
It’s broken down by categories of areas in Bali, where to go for how long, and the best travel tips. We hope this helps and inspires you!
Bali is hella cheap (like $1-10 a meal, $40 hotels, $7-20 massages cheap). It’s just expensive to fly there. But when you compare it to Europe etc, it might end up being cheaper for a 2 week trip. In 2 weeks, flights were $1100 and everything else was roughly $500-800 including hotels, and we BALLED OUT.
Weather! Bali is tropical (obvi) so it might rain during the day. When it does, it’s warm and you can just wait it out. You don’t need jackets or umbrellas. Keep in mind the season you go in though… they have rainy and dry seasons, so google which season you’re going in!
It’s HOT. Always.
Bali is famous for its floating breakfasts. You can get them at most hotels as an add on, and they are a super unique experience. We got one on our first morning at La Vie Villa in our private pool! This was the coolest hotel we stayed at in Bali.
Most restaurants take card in Bali, but not in Nusa Penida Island. Before embarking on your trip, we highly recommend bringing your country’s money in cash and Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) to Bali. It was helpful to have IDR on hand when we first landed there so we could pay our taxi right away and just get to our hotel.
Download THIS free offline currency converter app. It was a lifesaver!
There are currency exchange stands on every corner that make it easy to get IDR quickly instead of running around finding an ATM, so bring US cash (but leave in the hotel safe during the day). Keep your eye out for them and take mental notes of the best rate where you go. If you see a great one and you’re in a taxi, don’t be afraid to politely ask to stop. We saw a GREAT rate once and kindly asked our driver to pull aside so we could get cash. Homie was amazing and waited for us. A king. I’m not saying everyone will do this, but generally this is the overall kindness of most people there.
For a two week vacation, we recommend the following money and cards:
$400 USD cash
$500 USD worth of IDR pre-exchanged at a US bank
Chase Sapphire Card because it doesn’t charge you for foreign transactions (plus you get to stack your points)
Charles Schwab Debit Card to take out cash if we ran out USD
A backup credit card just in case
Ever heard of Montezuma’s revenge? Well, Bali Belly is the equivalent: diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, light fever, and fatigue. Unfortunately, we had first-hand experience with it, but it’s avoidable as long as you’re careful.
Good rule of thumb is don’t eat street fruit that’s been peeled or cut, and only drink or use bottled water or water from a restaurant. Do not drink sink water or use it to brush your teeth. Only buy fruit you can peel.
When we got it, we experienced the whole spectrum of symptoms for at least 5 days. Typically it goes away on its own and you need to just drink lots of liquids and have immodium and pepto bismol on hand to help with the pain. I had to take an antibiotic when I returned to the states because I was having symptoms for over 5 days (yaaaay). Like I said, just be mindful of what you eat and drink and you’ll be okay.
AKA Uber. Apps are always safer than local taxis, but the taxis are safe too. They will cost 2-3x as much money though.
Take a scooter everywhere if you’re comfortable driving one. Uluwatu is a good place in Bali to learn, but GO SLOW and wear a helmet. Ubud center is another good place to use a scooter, but the traffic is gnarly. Scooters are cheap ($7 a day) and it’s way more convenient than a car. We did this in Ubud and Uluwatu, and we honestly LOVED it. 10/10 experience and it was really fun.
If you’re going anywhere remote, like Nusa Penida, the waterfalls near Ubud, the north, or east sides of Bali, consider getting a private driver for the day. We did this twice for 550k IDR ($37) for the day. You can negotiate the price, but agree beforehand and with no overtime fee. We HIGHLY recommend having your hotel arrange this for you, as we don’t trust random taxi drivers.
Be careful of “local taxi” only areas. You’re allowed to be dropped off by a a Grab or Gojek app there, but you are not allowed to be picked up by one. This is common in really high touristy areas like Canggu. Canggu and parts of Ubud are local taxi only.
Yes, like all the blogs say, traffic is a thing. Make sure you account for that during your travels. This is why we recommend not doing day trips, but staying in hotels close in the area you want to be. If you’re wanting to be near the beach, don’t book a hotel more than a few kilometers away.
Bartering. You can barter your ass off there. Be fair, but know that if someone gives you a price, you can haggle it down almost always. For reference, oftentimes vendors would tell us a rattan purse would cost 400k IDR, “but they would give me a good price” or “that’s not the final price” to open the door to negotiation. I found myself just curious how much things cost just to get an estimate and just because i was curious. Know that if you do this, the vendor WILL hound you to negotiate and try their best to get you to buy that item. If you are serious and want the item, go for it. But conserve your energy and don’t look too interested in anything if you have no desire to buy something because it can feel exhausting turning down every single vendor.
The Balinese smile a LOT as a culture. People are generally extremely friendly.
In the US, we are taught (especially women) to ignore, not smile, or look at people who randomly talk to you on the street. In Bali, you do. They consider it really disrespectful to be ignored. You’ll get bombarded a lot by street vendors and taxi guys asking you to use their services or buy their things. Just say “no, thank you” with a smile each time. Don’t just ignore. It can be a lot sometimes, but responding like this is important. They take “thank yous” really seriously too, so just be more polite than you would in America. You can still be safe while being polite.
They often do little head bows and hands when saying thank you, so it’s polite for you to do the same.
Don’t wear just bikini tops there. Toss on a tank top over your cute suit and respect the culture of Bali.
Sarongs for temples. They will give you one and I don’t think you need to worry about covering your shoulders.
Indonesia is mostly Muslim, but Bali is 90% Hindu. You’ll often see temples and offerings in baskets everywhere. It’s very important to not step on the offerings when you see them on the street.
Bali is huge and it’s honestly too much to do everything. When you’re there, you’ll want to do a mix of relaxing and site-seeing. As people who always want to go-go-go, we found ourselves too tired or hot to do everything we planned, and our favorite things in Bali were the more chill parts in the end. So, we would recommend scheduling in chill time in the afternoons when it’s hot.
Jet lag is on your side– consider waking up early 6-7am and get out of the house at around 8am. The weather is the best in the morning, so that’s the time to do site-seeing. After a later lunch, that’s a good time to relax, go to the beach, or go to the spa, especially because that’s when it gets reallyyyyy hot in Bali. Then, shower, and head out to dinner and a sunset! We recommend keeping with the jet lag and going to bed early, since there’s not much to do at night in Bali anyways. Best to wake up early!
We didn’t go to the north or the east, but it’s remote and far. We can’t say anything positive or negative about our recommendations for these areas.
This area was by far our favorite in Bali. The surfer vibes, safety, and food was the best we experienced in Bali. It’s way less crowded too. Perfect waves for surfing, gorgeous water, white sand, epic cliffs. Canggu/Kuta/Semiyak have black sand beaches that are pretty gross, trash everywhere, and the ocean isn’t that pretty. We recommend coming here first when you land in Bali since you’ll want to explore and go to the beach right when you get there. Plus, it’s closer to the airport.
FYI, all of the beaches here require some sort of stair climbing, since the parking lots are usually on the cliffs. Leg day is every day.
Take a scooter everywhere if you’re comfortable driving one. It’s a good place in Bali to learn, but GO SLOW and wear a helmet. Scooters are cheap ($7 a day) and it’s way more convenient than a car. They also feel nice when you’re sweating under the Balinese sun.
Padang Padang beach – small, white sand, most popular, Eat, Pray, Love filmed here. This is a famous surf spot.
Uluwatu Temple – this temple was our favorite of the ones we visited. It’s built right into the cliff, so the views are incredible. It’s beautiful and such a marvel. They have a famous Kecak Dance there, so go during that time to see it! They have monkeys here, so make sure to leave all belongings at home or locked inside your scooter. The monkeys here are more aggressive than the ones in Ubud. They will give you a sarong to wear inside, so no need to pack one.
Suluban Beach – hidden cave beach. Double check the tide so it’s not too high to enter though! Explore at low tide – there’s a secret beach next to it. This is also a popular surf spot, but the current is dangerous. Keep in mind that parking costs abot 5000 IDR per bike. It also is quite a trek all the way down to the beach itself. Afterwards, enjoy a drink at Single Fin, right above! Entrance fee: IDR 20,000 (about USD $1.60).
Karang Boma Cliff – one of the most epic photo spots! It’s down a dirt road, but totally fine on a scooter. You have to walk around when you get to the edge to go find it, but it’s relatively easy to figure out!
Dreamland Beach – a great beach for beginner surfers. You can rent boards for about 100k IDR there. It’s a great beach to lounge around.
Bingin Beach
Nyang Nyang beach
Pantai Blue Point
Balangan Beach
Palmilla Bali Beach Club – difficult to scooter to but gorgeous! Pretty expensive too but it’s great for a half day pool/ocean-side. Photos below.
Kembang Kuning – $57 a night
It overlooks Bingin with a staircase down to the beach. Best 180° view ever! You can take a photo with the infinity pool. The breakfast is also AMAZING (try the jaffle and mie goreng). The A/C and wifi are great too. Right next door, you can take an 8am yoga class. Our favorite part was the proximity to Cashew tree (we walked there 2x) and the scooter rental place. We rented scooters every day for 100k IDR (about $7). It’s not the most comfy room ever, and there’s no hot water (but it’s hot outside so cold showers are nice), but it served us well and we loved staying here. If you want something luxury though, I’d recommend somewhere else nearby.
This area had the best food in Bali.
Drifter for their breakfast (their smoothie bowls were the best we had in Bali).
Cashew Tree – anytime of day. Sometimes they have live music and a laid back surfer party in the evenings! Go early or reserve a table for those nights. Everything on the menu is incredible, but honorable mentions for their fish tacos or vegan food.
Single Fin – sunset beach view restaurant and bar. Make a reservation for the sunset deck and you won’t regret it! One of the coolest spots in the area! We heard they have a great party on Sunday nights.
Barraca – best Italian food not in Italy. The owners are Italian and it’s super cheap too.
This street vendor has the best satay and peanut sauce on the island!
Bingin Seafood – on the beach. It is such an experience – you choose your food right there!
Padang Padang beach party – Saturday Nights
Suka – great eats any time of day.
Street food in the Bukit is everywhere and it’s so good. Get adventurous and try some!
The jungle, rice field, traditional market hub of Bali. We saw the most culture here, got the best massages, were at peace with nature, and had the best time shopping for boho rattan purses and souvenirs. This area is great for wellness treatments, relaxing, and adventures.
After enjoying the beaches and surfer lifestyle of Uluwatu, we were really excited to experience “real” Bali in Ubud.
Monkey Forest – this was our favorite thing in Ubud. Yes, it’s touristy, but it’s worth the hype. We didn’t think we’d love it as much as we did! You can also take a photo with a monkey for free or 20 IDR, which was my DREAM!!! The staff will lure a monkey to you with food. The monkeys are much gentler here than in Uluwatu. They are all wild but are cared for by the staff here.
Traditional Markets – Save your shopping for Ubud! There are markets and vendors everywhere, and you can get the BEST stuff for so cheap. Bargain your butt off (we got rattan bags for 100k IDR). We found that the later in the day, the better the price because they’re closing.
Rice Terraces – The main one is Tegallalang, but we didn’t like that one. You couldn’t walk into the rice field for that epic photo. Instead, we liked Uma Ceking more. There are other rice fields in the area that are bigger if you are really interested in walking in them. These are all very touristy and you have to pay to get in, and pay again each time you want to go on a swing. You can bargain the price for taking a photo on a swing. The swings are everywhere, so you don’t have to go to the famous Aloha swing.
Waterfalls – You can hire a driver to take you to some northern waterfalls, and this was one of our favorite things on the trip. Have your hotel arrange a driver. You won’t regret it! Bring a towel so you don’t soak their car if you swim. We paid 550k IDR to go to 3 waterfalls. We went at 7am so we could get there before too many crowds, and we’d highly recommend that!
We went to these 3 waterfalls from 7am-1pm: Tukad Cepung, Suwat, and Kanto Lampo. Tukad Cepung was beautiful, but it was really dark at the time we went. We’d do that one closer to noon or in the afternoon if we could do it again. Suwat was the coolest one and there was hardly anyone there in the morning, so we could get this epic photo! Kanto Lamp is a super popular influencer spot, and the photos were epic, but just know you’re gonna have to deal with a lot of people taking their photos.
If we were to visit more, we’d go to: Tegenungan, Leke Leke, Pura Gunung Kawi Sebatu, Banyu Wana Amertha, and Goa Rang Reng Waterfall. There are hundreds of waterfalls in this area of Bali, so you really can’t go wrong.
Cultural performance at the Ubud Palace – 150k IDR per person at 7pm. You can buy tickets same day by any of the sales people outside Ubud Palace. The show lasts 1.5 hours.
Massages & Wellness – Ubud is kind of the “wellness” capital of Bali, so we recommend really enjoying the hotel aspect of Ubud. Whether you’re staying at a nice one or not, you can get cheap massages, go to the spa, do yoga, take a sound bath, or enjoy a hotel pool just about anywhere. We loved spending afternoons this way after exploring in the morning.
Speaking of hotels, we highly recommend staying at Adiwana Svarga Loka Hotel. Their food is amazing, they arranged rides/scooters for us, and their spa is to die for. We got fancy af massages for $12-35). They have incredible facilities like a yoga room and a lovely pool, and the property is so beautiful and lush that it’s also a great place to take photos. It was super close to the town center and easy to get around. But the staff is what made it the best for us. They are not only kind and helpful, but they went above and beyond for us when my phone got stolen (they even drove us to the police station and translated for us). By the end, we were like family. The price of the hotel is fair too ($55 a night). Again, not an ad; we just loved it here.
Taman Ayun Temple
Campuhan Ridge Walk – it was close to our hotel and was nice to go on a little hike!
Daily Baguette – we went here for croissants 3x. As a croissant connoisseur, I can safely say that these were the best croissants I’ve had outside France.
Honestly we weren’t blown away by the food in Ubud, but there are so many restaurants and cute places that you can’t really go wrong.
Bali Bohemia is amazing for reggae night on Mondays. They are next to the monkey forest so there are monkeys hanging around the restaurant/bar! We were gonna go, but on our way, my phone got stolen OUT OF OUR HANDS by a driver while riding on our scooter. So don’t have your phone out anywhere near the street.
We would only go for a day max. The beaches are dirty, it’s overcrowded and overhyped, but it’s good for partying (if you’re into that), trendy restaurants, and clothes shopping. The store shopping there is still cheaper than the US in some places, but not by much.
We must say, when we first got to Bali, we liked Canggu at first. People talked about how fun it was, but after seeing the rest of Bali and then going back, we decided we hated it haha. It’s worth it to check it out to find out for yourself though!
We did enjoy eating there and shopping though. Here are our highlights we’d recommend.
Love Anchor – BEST market to go clothes and jewelry shopping. We bought matching sets here and we loved it. More expensive than the markets in Ubud, but they have different stuff. You can get a cute set for 400k IDR.
Tanah Lot – Although this famous sunset temple right on the water is about an hour north of Canggu, we really enjoyed seeing it. It’s good to take some pictures, people watch, shop at the traditional markets, and enjoy some culture. If you have a free day and don’t mind the drive, it’s fun to check out! I would not put it high on your list though if you only have a limited amount of time. Keep in mind that after sunset, everybody is grabbing rides and it’s far from the city, so it might be difficult to find something that’s not a local taxi. We were not able to get a ride from an app, and we didn’t feel comfortable getting a taxi from there, so we actually ended up befriending some other tourists and hopped in their car. Which is sketchier? Who knows.
Beach Clubs – there are plenty of really cool beach clubs and restaurants right on the water too.
Bikini shop at the entrance to Echo beach – $30 pieces!
Walk along the beach – the beaches are much longer and easier to get to than the ones in Uluwatu. However, they are much grosser and crowded. Definitely not the spot to go swimming or laying out. But we did enjoy simply walking on the beach at Sunset.
We did not stay in Canggu but instead stayed in Kuta at La Vie Villa, which was our favorite hotel on Bali! My friend recommended staying at the Spare Room hotel for a cheap and great option ($25/night).
Milk and Madu
Moana for ahi tuna and poke bowls
The Loft
La Brisa – night partying, pool, restaurant, bar, and sunset beach club
To be honest, Nusa Penida was not our favorite. It’s beautiful there, but there’s a lot of cons that travel bloggers/influencers don’t talk about. It’s extremely remote– as in the roads are steep and undeveloped, no ATMs on the island, and we found a lot of scams here. Because it was such a struggle to get around, we’d only recommend coming here for one night max, or come for just the day on a private tour. Private tours are more expensive, but they can minimize the other risks and struggles.
You can only reach the island via boat. There’s a harbor on Sanur beach and there are plenty of boats that leave early in the morning. The boats back from Penida leave in the early morning or afternoon. We got scammed by booking boat tickets online, so we recommend getting to the harbor around 7:30am to make sure you buy a ticket for 8 or 8:30am. You can haggle a little bit, but we found tickets were 200k IDR each way.
You can also book a private tour for the day which includes excursions, boat rides, and transport around the island. We think private tours for a Manta excursion are likely the best option.
When you arrive at the harbor, you’ll be bombarded with people wanting to give you rides or rent you scooters. Do NOT ride the scooters. The roads are impossible… just trust me. You’re better off asking your hotel on Bali to give you a recommendation for a private driver on Penida island for the day. This way will minimize getting in a car with someone who claims they are a “taxi” driver. It should cost around 550k IDR.
#1 Recommendation: Snorkeling with Manta Rays – This is by far the best thing to do in Penida. Our hotel arranged this for us, and it cost only 200k IDR per person, including the boat ride out, equipment, and the transport. Buying tickets online is much more expensive, and it’s easiest and cheapest to ask your hotel to arrange the excursion for you. We loved our tour! We snorkeled at 3 spots and they were the most beautiful reefs I’ve ever seen.
#2 Recommendation: Kelingking
The view is insane. If you’re afraid of heights tho, this ain’t it for you. So epic for photos, but know you’ll have to wait in line and be on a steep staircase if you want that classic shot. You can walk down to the most beautiful beach you’ll ever go to below, BUT once you get there, you’ll see why very few people go. The walk down/up is long, steep, and in full sun.
#3 Recommendation: Diamond Beach
Same thing as Kelingking – the beach is hard to get to BUT the view is phenomenal. You can also go to the other side and hike out to another beautiful spot called Thousand Islands View point.
Crystal Bay
Angel’s Billabong and Broken Beach are not real beaches. They are beautiful photo spots, but you can’t swim in them. We think if you’re only going for a day, skip it.
Suwehan Beach
Bintang Bungalow – We loved it here because it’s close to Crystal Bay and they were so helpful with getting us free rides and the manta excursion. The bathroom was so cool and the pool was great to relax by. We could also pay them via card, which was a huge win considering there’s hardly any of that on the island. Wonderful staff, food, and vibes. They also booked us a boat ride back to Bali and drove us to the harbor. The only thing is the wifi is spotty.
Amok Sunset – We HIGHLY recommend it. When we were feeling annoyed af in Nusa Penida, this place revived us. We needed something bougie, and we got it. Beautiful sunset view and happy hour with treehouses, a pool, lawn, and patio. We ate here 2x and we highly recommend the cocktails, chicken fingers, and pork tostadas. All for like… $20???
If you call, they will even pick you up from Bintang Bungalow and some other hotels nearby and take you back!!! Such great service you’d expect from only luxury hotels. The road to the restaurant is definitely wild, keep in mind!
We haven’t been to these places, but heard they’re good:
Penida Colada first great restaurant on the island
Warung Nengah Mesin indonesian food
Penida Espresso: $4 smoothie bowls
Sweet Spot for breakfast
Street food is incredible and so cheap. You can get a whole plate of food for $2. Some of our favorite meals were from street vendors. Peep this chicken satay that we’ll be dreaming about for the rest of our lives.
Balinese don’t really eat weird stuff, so it’s a great place for adventure eating.
“Warung” basically mean Indonesian restaurant
Snake fruit: kinda like an appley-tasting fruit, quite good!
Balinese steamed cakes: made out of rice flour with a wide array of fillings, wrapped in a banana leaf
Mie Goreng: Basically Chow Mein with meat and an egg on top.
Nasi Goreng: Basically fried rice version of mie goreng.
Sate: chicken skewers with peanut sauce (our cult favorite)
Nasi Campur: mixed rice dish that comes with a simple selection of steamed rice and side dishes including steamed Long beans, meats, vegetables, peanuts, eggs, and fried-shrimp krupuk
mango sticky rice
Balinese coffee: strong black coffee
Babi Guling: suckling pig; a combination of crispy pork skin, pork blood sausage, pork roll, and fried pork meat and has a reputation for being Bali’s national dish.
Bebek Bengil: crispy pig, literally translated to “dirty duck”, deep fried to a crispy finish. Whole duck
Prawn crackers: the crispy chip looking things at every meal. Not fishy and super good.
Ginger anything
Allll the fresh juices
Whole young coconuts
Smoothie bowls!
Water you’re served at restaurants etc. is fine but don’t drink tap water
Dragonfruit – the besttttttt. Don’t eat too much though because you’ll poop.
Slides (we wore these from Old Navy every day and they were a LIFESAVER. So comfy and perfect. This isn’t an ad, just a tried and true favorite)
Fanny pack (we can’t recommend it enough)
Reusable water bottle
Deet – for Ubud, anytime at night, and Nusa Penida. The mosquitos are real.
Imodium (see Bali belly tips)
Pepto bismol (see Bali belly tips)
Face towels/wipes/deodorant for the plane- big game changer and helped us feel fresh during our long flights
Sleeping pills, earplugs, eye mask, compression socks, snacks, and this neck pillow for the plane (Bea got the best plane sleep of her life with it)
Download games/movies/shows on your portable device before the trip
Matching sets, cute tank tops and comfortable shorts
Everyone dresses for the beach and dresses cute there
Chacos or grippy shoes for waterfall hikes
Underwater cameras
Portable chargers
Adaptors – we used these and they worked great!
An extra suitcase in your first luggage if you want to avoid buying an extra one to bring home your haul of gifts like we did.
Sneakers (mostly if you go to the rice fields cuz bugs)
Bathing suits (but you’ll wear them less than you think you will)
Sunscreen (please buy reef safe sunscreen)
Face sunscreen (you’ll be happy when your face isn’t super greasy. You’ll be sweaty enough)
Minimal makeup- don’t wear much, if any. You’ll sweat it off.
Hat
Sunglasses
Hairbrush
detangler/ travel sized hair products. Your hair gets crazy with the humidity, salt, etc. you’ll want to hydrate it to avoid wanting to chop it off.
Travel shampoo/ conditioner/ body wash
Passport!
Long sleeves
Long pants
Hair dryers or curlers/straighteners (don’t even try… it won’t work)
Expensive electronics or jewelry (we got our phone stolen. Pickpocketing and theft are common here. Be especially careful when walking or scootering, cause you will be a target for theft).
We know this was long, but we hope you felt it packed with helpful information for your trip. Comment below if you have questions!
Leave your favorite tip in the comments!
June 29, 2022
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