Bali.. A beautiful Indonesian Island known for its volcanic eruptions, beautiful temples. Bali is a forested island with amazing coral reefs, beaches and iconic rice paddies. If you are travelling to bali from India or from anywhere in the world this guide will help you plan your trip easily.
Traveling to Bali Indonesia from India? (Or from anywhere in the world)
You can take a flight to Denpasar, Bali from where you can start your journey. We traveled from India and we chose Garuda Indonesia airlines which had direct flight to Bali from Mumbai, There are many connected flights available in case you don't get a direct flight. You can choose flights from whichever city you are flying from. Being famous tourist destination, there are flights from all over the globe to Bali.
Places To Visit In Bali
Let us share our detailed itinerary along with some helpful tips which can help you plan your Bali trip. You can always customise according to your preferences and suggestions given in the blog.
Day 1 : Sanur Beach Bali
We decided to spend our first 2 nights in Sanur while travelling to bali from India. Wayan a local driver was ready to pick us up from airport. Sanur a cosy town to Southeast Side Of Bali. It is a beautiful coastline where colourful fishing boats rest on the sea bed. This stretch has Shallow waters. As we reached here after a long flight we had to rest and the place could be none other than this beautiful sea side sipping hot cup of coffee.We checked into the hotel and relaxed for some time. We spent our day exploring beautiful Sanur town and Sanur beach. Sunset at Sanur beach was really beautiful
You can choose Kuta (price wise cheap but is generally crowded with tourists) or Seminyak (bit expensive than Kuta but less tourists comparatively) instead of Sanur as your starting point as per your preferences.
Day 2 : Nusa Penida Island
Our Day 2 was a trip to Nusa Penida Island. There are different tours of Nusa Penida Island which you can choose according to your preferences and can even stay at Nusa Penida and cover Nusa Lembongan Island as well. There are multiple tour operators in Sanur as well as other parts of Bali who can take you for Island tours. You can bargain and choose a best option. Staying at Sanur helps in easy traveling to Nusa Penida as majority of tours start from Sanur as their base and this was one of the reason we chose Sanur as our starting point for travelling to bali from India.
We chose a trip from one of the local operator which covered following places on Nusa Penida Island. They picked us from the hotel, then ferry to Island, covering places along with Lunch on the Island and then drop back at the Hotel.
Places:
Klingking Beach
Broken Beach
Angel Billabong
Crystal Bay
Klingking Beach
Day 3 : Ubud (Things to do at Ubud)
After the scenic and quiet Sanur our next destination was one of the most popular town in Bali - Ubud. Terraced Rice paddies, Hindu Temples and Shrines, beautiful views and some amazing places to stay are highlights of Ubud.
As Check in is usually late in the resort we decided to visit few places on the way and Wayan our driver was super awesome in terms of suggesting routes to cover certain places and also sharing his immense knowledge and experience about Bali.
We started our day by visiting Jatiluwih Rice Terraces(UNESCO site) which is less crowded, less commercialised and bigger compared to Teglangla terraces. However it is bit far from main Ubud. Teglalang is near to Ubud and commonly visited is also beautiful. You can visit any one of these rice fields or both as per your time and preference.
One thing not to miss is to have a lunch in the hotels near Jatiluwih terraces which gives mesmerising view of Rice Terraces.
After the rice terraces the next stop was Hindu Shrine Pura ullun Danu Bratan temple located on the lake bratan(source of irrigation). This is a major Shaivite water temple on Island. Localites say as the water level rise it appears like the temple is floating. There is a small street market just outside temple where you can buy some souvenirs.
The next stop was Tanah Lot Temple which we wanted to visit at Sunset and you can count on us about it as you will witness one of the most beautiful sunsets here. The temple sits on a large offshore rock, shaped continuously by the ocean side. After visiting this beautiful temple and witnessing one of the most beautiful sunsets ever we returned back to hotel and had a good luwak coffee on our way back to the hotel.
Day 4 : Ubud
Ubud has really great resorts with beautiful views and relaxing atmosphere. We kept this day for relaxing and roaming around Ubud center. You can have a good food, relax in a pool, have a dinner at some good place and enjoy your stay at Ubud.
If you are not keen on covering all the places we covered on Day 3 you can divide those between Day 3 and Day 4.
Day 5 : Ubud
If you love trekking you can go for Mount Batur Sunrise trek from Ubud. There are many local tour operators take you for this trek. They pick you from hotel early morning and it takes around 2 hours to reach at the top and you will see breathtaking view from the top.
You can also see Mount Batur from a view point there is a place from which you can see beautiful mount batur while having a sip of coffee or lunch.
At the sunset time you can go for Campuhan Ridge Walk. This 1.5km walk is nice trail with greenery around. At night you can watch Kechak dance if interested and have some good dinner at one of the restaurants in Ubud.
Day 6 : Besakih temple Bali and Amed
We had a good breakfast and started our journey towards our next destination Amed. We decided to visit Besakih temple on our way. Besakih is a temple in the village of Besakih on the slopes of Mount Agung in eastern Bali, Indonesia. Besakih Temple, known as Bali's 'Mother Temple' for over 1,000 years and is one of the most beautiful temples in Bali. One thing you need to take care that if you take a guide while getting entry ticket, after your temple visit guide might ask you more fee than the entry fee so suggestion would be to be careful about it and if you are taking a guide finalise amount beforehand to avoid issues later.
After our visit to Besakih Temple we decided to have a lunch and Wayan took us to Mahagiri resort where we had a good lunch viewing beautiful Mount Agung. A must visit place for lunch with a good view.
Post lunch we started our journey towards Amed and our most awaited Homestay at Solaluna Guest House. Amed is a small fishing village in Karangasem Regency on the east coast of Bali, Indonesia. Many of the small villages in this area have black volcanic sand as they are close to Mount Agung, Bali's largest volcano.
Amed is popular for Scuba diving, Snorkeling and Yoga etc. It is slowly developing for tourism but holding its tradition and that's the beauty of this place. Amed is not a place for everyone but if you want to get a feel of bali relaxing, sipping drinks, having brunch on a seashore staying in a budget homestay there can't be beautiful place than this.
Owner of Solaluna Beach Homestay(Highly Recommended) told us that we were first Indian couple to stay at his Homestay.
Day 7 : Amed Bali
Amed is known for free diving, Scuba Diving, Snorkelling. You will see many diving centers offering you guided trips or gears. You can spend your day for doing activity of your choice along with getting feel of this amazing fishing town of Amed. Many home-stays will offer you free Kayaking as well. We woke up early to witness beautiful sunrise and spent a quality time here in Amed.
Our homestay owner told us being a fisherman they would like to invite us for dinner for staying at their house and would like to offer a fish. We were so touched by the gesture and had an amazing dinner.
We have been to many places but Amed will have a special place in our hearts for sure.
Day 8 : Seminyak
We decided to spend our last day of our trip in Seminyak where you can visit some good bars, have a drink with a view, go for some shopping and have fun. Seminyak is one of the popular choices for tourists to start their trip considering its atmosphere and comparatively less crowded than Kuta. It is near from airport like Sanur and Kuta.
We visited Uluwatu temple. The temple is built at the edge (ulu) of a high cliff or rock (watu) projecting into the sea. It is indeed a beautiful sight. The temple is inhabited by monkeys, who are known for snatching visitor's belongings so you have to be really careful. A Kecak dance performance based on the Ramayana is performed daily in Uluwatu temple at every 6pm on the cliff-side with beautiful sunset at the background. So along with Ubud you can watch Kecak dance performance here also and you can choose as per your preferences.
While coming back from temple we went for a shopping at Shri Krishna Shopping Centre which is famous for Souvenirs. The advantage is you don't need to spend your time bargaining here as they have fixed price but very affordable and correct prices for respective items.
You can visit various popular bars with nice view like Rock Bar, Potato Head Beach Club, Woo Bar etc.
Day 9 : Flight Back to India
We had a good breakfast at hotel and started our journey for airport.
Important Tips:
1. Be careful with currency exchanges and exchange only at authorised currency exchange centers, avoid currency exchanges in local shops as there are many cases where tourists have experienced fraud like less amount handed over etc
2. In case you are planning to check in at the hotel late as you might be traveling from somewhere or visiting places before check in make sure you call the hotel and tell them about your booked room type and you don't want to change it for any other room type
FAQs:
What is the best way to reach Bali from India?
The flight is the best and fastest. You can take a flight from all major international airports in India to get to Ngurah Rai International Airport.
Is it worth going to Bali?
Bali is a fantastic destination with its unique culture, stunning landscapes, beautiful beaches, and exceptional accommodation options