Whether you’ve got one or two weeks for your trip in Bali, below is the route we took and would recommend to others. While not all the places below are the usual tourist traps i.e. Sanur, the slower pace of life is nicer than the hustle and bustle of Seminyak and Kuta. Note to reader: Stay away from Kuta. It’s a hole.
Day 1-3: Seminyak
Given the airport is only about 25min away, it makes perfect sense to start your trip here. We stayed about 10 mins from Seminyak in Denpasar, but it felt a little bit too far away from the shops and restaurants. You don’t need to be right on the beach, as most accommodation will have a pool, and taxis are relatively cheap. There’s also an abundance of Uber to use to get around (just don’t tell the taxi drivers you’re using Uber as they don’t like it).
Seminyak is full of restaurants and bar options, catering to the European/Australian/NZ market. It’s way classier than Kuta it’s southern counterpart, and the beach is a whole lot nicer. Check out our post about our favourite places to eat and drink in Seminyak here.
Spend some time on the beach, lap up the sun at the beach bars, spend some time shopping (there’s plenty of it) including markets and relax into your holiday. From Seminyak you can easily take a day trip up to Tanah Lot or Canngu. We’d recommend a driver for these trips, which costs approx 500,000 IDR a day. Getting to either place via Uber is all good, but you’ll struggle to get back once you’re there and will have to rely on the local transport.
Day 4-5: Ubud
Ubud is considered the ‘art and cultural hub’ of Bali and I’m not sure what we were expecting here, but it wasn’t quite what we experienced as the town was far busier than we imagined it would be. The main activity of choice here seems to be shopping the markets, and they’re quite large as far as markets go. You’ll find most people selling similar items, but the number of stalls, means you can get yourself a bargain. Don’t be afraid to barter if this is your first experience. You can get a pair of ‘Bali pants’ for as little as 50,000 IDR.
We’d recommend the Ridge walk in the morning or evening. You can access this at the bottom of the town, near the bridge. It’s pleasant and makes for a nice photo or two. Take a cooking class, maybe a tour or two while you’re here.
The Tegallalang Rice fields are one of the nearby attractions. As we were heading to Sanur for our next stop, we hired a driver for the day and had him take us. You won’t need long here and keep in mind there’s a small entrance fee you’ll need to pay. Our driver also took us to a coffee plantation (not that we asked for this) and the coffee samples were free, he got a free coffee and everyone was happy. Yes, you exit through the gift shop, but not a bad impromptu stop.
We also visited the Tenganungan waterfall, it’s a steep climb down (and steeper back up) and keep in mind busier than you’d probably expect. Lots of people were swimming, we just took some photos and left.
6-8: Uluwatu
We had a driver for the day for our trip from Ubud, and only visited Uluwatu for a half a day, but we wish we had spent more time here. It’s a way more relaxed vibe than you’ll find up north. While the temple is the draw card for this place, feel free to give it a miss and just head to Blue Point. Spend some time at the Single Fin Beach Club (they have a pool) or just head down the stairs to the ‘hidden’ beach below. You’ll find what we refer to as ‘Mermaid pools’ and a pretty sweet spot to spend a day relaxing. It’s probably easy enough to hire a scooter around here and check out some of the more famous beaches in the area too if you have the time.
8-10:Sanur
Sanur was more of a hub 10 years ago than it is now, and you won’t find the nightclubs or bars here that you will in other places, but we enjoyed the seaside town, and experienced a slower pace than we found in Seminyak. We spent a day on the beach (in front of where the old Hilton was), hired loungers and ordered drinks from the beach bar.
There’s a decent amount of shopping to do here, night markets that are worth checking out and a few restaurants that we would recommend. Stop and have a drink at one of the bars along the main stretch. We’d probably suggest finding accommodation, which has a pool so you can relax in the late afternoon with a swim.
From Sanur it’s pretty easy to get a taxi to the airport if you’re flying out of Bali (about 30min by car), or it’s a perfect departure point if you’re heading off to Lembongan or the Gilis. You can find some more info about this here.
