Visiting BALI first time, need advice/ recommendations?

[bluesky1]

going to bali soon.. but undecided which area to stay in...

1st time there so not sure if should stay in Kuta, Nusa Dua or Ubud...
all got pretty nice resorts.. but i only there for 3D2N but maybe will extend 1N..

will it be troublesome if i want to visit the beaches at Kuta or Tanah Lot if i stay in Ubud? Will travellin to diff places fr Ubud be very time consuming?

Any kind souls can advice?

 

[Iloveholiday]

How come so many of you are going bali for so many days? I am just wondering if my 4days 3nights is enough, kind of regret that i should go for 5 or 6 days instead.

Anyway, this will be my plan...

Day 1:
Arriving around 12pm and by the time check in, settle everything should be around 2pm.. Go jalan jalan around kuta area and ask around for the snorkelling package.

Day2:
Snorkel

Day3:
Go surfing early in the morning, noon time go and see volcano

Day 4:
Rest and Relax till the time to airport..


Any bali expert would be kind to tell me if the snorkel will take up whole day? Will 2hours be enough for me to surf? Am I able to squeeze in more places to go on day 3 such as like go lovina watch dolphins, Ubud or Tanah Lot?

Thank you!

 

[khee]

How come so many of you are going bali for so many days? I am just wondering if my 4days 3nights is enough, kind of regret that i should go for 5 or 6 days instead.

Anyway, this will be my plan...

Day 1:
Arriving around 12pm and by the time check in, settle everything should be around 2pm.. Go jalan jalan around kuta area and ask around for the snorkelling package.

Day2:
Snorkel

Day3:
Go surfing early in the morning, noon time go and see volcano

Day 4:
Rest and Relax till the time to airport..


Any bali expert would be kind to tell me if the snorkel will take up whole day? Will 2hours be enough for me to surf? Am I able to squeeze in more places to go on day 3 such as like go lovina watch dolphins, Ubud or Tanah Lot?

Thank you!

abit tight for u... for 4day,3nite, u need to choose whether u want to go sea or land... if u want to go sea, then likely not much time for land...

comparing snorking between, Phuket/krabi, Redang and Bali, Redang is the best follow by Phuket/Krabi... Somehow didn't enjoy much in Bali for snorking... but for those who dun like to get wet, snorking in Bali should be better... there is submersble boat to see the coral...

For ubud, u need to stay in ubud to enjoy the padi field, green, art museum... a lunch over the volcano is good enough... maybe on ur day 3, u can surf in the morning, drive up to ubud to the mkt, lunch at volcano area (there is many buffet resturant tat oversea the volcano, remember to bargain). back to ubud (monkey forest) then to tanat lot...

most of the road r 1 way... u need someone very good in topo... maps can be purchase from the car rental company...

 

[Iloveholiday]

Great advise Khee, what are the spots that will be covered for snorkel? I realize the snorkelling in Bali is quite ex.. I tried to google but cannot really get much info about it. I came across one which is 80USD which i think is ridiculous lor!

Most of the operator didn't really explain the spots that they will be covering. I do not really understand what they meant by 1hour snorkel? To where??

 

[krazyman]

Snorkelling likely in Nusa Penida. I'll be going in Sep 09 mainly for diving, hopefully get to see mola mola.

 

[kyukyu]

Snorklelling and diving, Lombok will be better than Bali.

 

[aHRoy1985]

hi,
want to ask where in Bali can get those land tours?
Like those volcano tour etc...
Can get at the hotel??

 

[snt123]

a lot hotel have travel agency who served a lot of package, you can ask the receptionist desk.
if you stay at kuta, a lot of shop sell the package also. but usually i take from hotel. Difference price not so far. May be you can check another shop first (compare) before you buy it. Better 1 or 2 days before your land tours, you make a booking.

 

[khee]

Great advise Khee, what are the spots that will be covered for snorkel? I realize the snorkelling in Bali is quite ex.. I tried to google but cannot really get much info about it. I came across one which is 80USD which i think is ridiculous lor!

Most of the operator didn't really explain the spots that they will be covering. I do not really understand what they meant by 1hour snorkel? To where??

same as phuket, there is alot of tour desk along the kuta beach... juz ask around... remember to bargain... if get from hotel, then safer lor... if get from outside, easily can save 30% to 50%...

another tips... always prepare US$ and RP.... if things r charged in RP, then pay RP. If things r charged in US$, then used US$... especially hotel... they quote in US$, but then they charge it at RP using their conversion rate... end up damp lugi...

for those tat dun like bumpy speed boat snorking trip, bali is better... there isn't much snorking location compare to phuket..

 

[boonzz]

i going for 4d3n, bali, kuta area, ramayana resort. 1st time there

any nice stuffs/activities to look out for @ kuta area?

anyone know the price range for booking the tour to volcano/tanah lot?

 

[aHRoy1985]

Any hotel to recommend for Bali???
Preferably near beach and city area....

 

[kraze]

Hi interested to know if there are other things to do other than the beaches?

what sort of packages are available and how much if anyone is kind enough to help.
Thanks in advance

 

[JDelphiNet]

Guys, it's cheap to get a car and driver in Bali. I booked a guy named Made for IDR 450,000 for 12 hours. He drives a Toyota Kijang:

Speaks acceptable english. Very courteous and a very careful driver. In that 12 hours, you'd be able to cover quite a number of places -- but not all of Bali of course. In our case we did: Tanah Lot, Jatiluwih Rice Terraces, Royal Temple (Mengwi) and Lake Bratan in a day. Could also cover Tamblingan and Buyan lakes if you want. (We didn't coz we took a bit more time than what we were supposed to in Mengwi and Lake Bratan).

You can take another day to visit Ubud, Kintamani and watch silver making, wood crafting, barong dance and so on.

You can PM me for his contact number if you're interested.

:Later,

 

[Newbie0001]

Part 1

To destress a bit here........by sharing my Bali experience.

Been there 1 year ago. Well, Bali is a nice place.

Firstly, regarding the hotel reservation, I did reservation online (through Asia Room), but didn't make any payment. Just reserve. Guess what? When I arrived at the hotels that I reserved, none of the hotels aware about that! Not until I produced the copies of my reservation, then then acknowledged that! Also, the pictures provided in the website may not 100% true.

As some forumners have mentioned, Bali itself is quite big, therefore it takes at least 1 week to cover most places if you have done some planning. If no planning like me will ended up become "carrot head" or "water fish", easy target for them (however I was quite careful at time)

For watching dolphins , if I remember correctly is around Lovina, which is quite far from Kuta and Denpasar.

Kintamani also.

Therefore please make out your mind what you want to do and what you want to cover:
i) Tanah lot in the eveing trip (day time go to some forest with monkey, padi fields, a lake in the mountain as in Rp1,000.- etc, mainly the middle and west of Bali)
ii) Another route is to Kintamani, the Volcano area
iii) Ubud and villages near by and Monkey Forest, Art Gallery, Zoo and etc.
iv) Lovina (for seeing nice beaches, different scenery) Heard there is one temple don't know in Lovina or Kintamani , I forgot, the tallest one.
v) Water sports near.... I forgot the name, somewhere towards east of Bali
vi) Other places e.g.: Kuta and Denpasar and Nusa Dua
vii) Don't forget trekking in the middle of Bali Island
viii) Lombok

So, what I want to say is that every route will take about at least 1 day to finish. So many places and so many activities to do.

 

[Newbie0001]

Part 2

As for some of you who wish to get landed then find Hotel, what I want to say is possible but you have to arrive in the day time because then you can see clearly. Do remember that for Bali style of deco, normally they keep the lighting dimmed. Therefore one hotel to them might look Balinese, to us might look eerie at a time.

Budget accomodation can be found near Kuta area. I would suggest Kuta rather than Ubud due to the following:
i) Budget and luxury accomodation orientated, therefore more choices and more varieties
ii) Convenient to plan for daily trips whatsoever.
iii) Ubud is a bit for advance backpackers who have good senses about the market prices for everything
iv) As an example, easier to get driver and trip agencies in Kuta than Ubud. But if one knows Ubud well, with getting all the necessaries ready, Ubud is quite a nice place to stay also.
v) Personally I prefer to stay in Kuta than Ubud, mainly because I feel so cramped in Ubud.

Nusa Dua is more high class and unless you have a lot of dough to spend. A lot of water sports there. This is one of the places I part my wallet with locals. So be careful if your driver brings you to participate in any water sports package, quite expensive

 

[Newbie0001]

Part 3

For driver with car, it was around Rp 300k to 400k depend on the condition of the car and the bargaining skill. But do make sure the coverage and the attitude of the driver. Some drivers are a bit cunning by doing the following;
a) bring you to buy some local souvenirs (which looks highclass but same items can be bought elsewhere with much much cheaper prices)
b) Saying this location and that location is quite far (which is not) and only bring you to few places, meaning not cooperative enough. When bargain that time will bluff how good their services are, but when doing real job, really lazy by cutting down the duration
c) Petrol. Please check the final agreed price including petrol or not. This is very important as if it is excluding petrol, then it is nearly a steal!
d) Be careful also for the restaurant (especially dinner) near Jimbarang that they bring you to. While you and your friends enjoying your dinner, the driver can have better dinner with commision, no joke. That is why seafood in Jimbarang is so overrated and orverpriced. Personally, I enjoying the seafood with sands in my slippers and at the same time I also cursing... no wonder that night the waves so strong!

Driver can be get in the souvenir street in Kuta (nobody will miss that street!)

 

[Newbie0001]

Part 4

If I remember correctly, we can rent motorbikes for Rp 50k per day. It is quite fun but only recommended for good riders, if not involving in any road accident is not a joke in a foreign country. Temp acknowledged licence can be obtained by reporting to local police station. Check the guide book for detail, any.

There are plenty of tour agencies operating in Kuta. That is why it is highly recomended to stay in Kuta because from here a lot of plannings can be done.

For an example, 1 day Dana tour will cost around Rp 300k

During that time, 1SGD= Rp 6,500

Regarding the monkey temple/ forest, at certain places, be careful with the monkeys. Do take more precaution about those cunning monkeys. they might nab almost everything that is edible from you.

Do careful also when playing water sports there.

For those who want to buy some groceries or souvenirs and lazy to bargain, the shopping mall Matahari is one of the good places. At certain places, if you are a lousy bargainer, the chances you get ripped off is rather high! Therefore if want to play safe, some souvenir can be bought in Matahari, but still, in Matahari do be careful also because seem like there are 2 operators also because one section and the other selling similar items but one side cheaper and the other pricy! .

 

[Newbie0001]

Part 5- Verdict

Highly recommended. Bali is an interesting places. For me, I can spend a day very cheaply and very expensive. Depend on what you want to do. I have no problem mingle with locals also as I can communicate well with them. Just like any other places in the world, it depends on your common sense while travelling. Whether it is accomodation, transportation, daily tour package, shopping, meals and what-so-ever, all these , when we travelling, just be careful and it can ensure not parting your wallet with other people that much! Especially Bali is a place that so commercialized!

 

[louisoh]

What $ should we change to?

USD? Ruppiah? SGD?

Change at the Bali airport or in SG ?

Thanks.

 

[Newbie0001]

What $ should we change to?

USD? Ruppiah? SGD?

Change at the Bali airport or in SG ?

Thanks.

A bit of everything should be great.
Change more into Rp though.
Change in reputable money changer in Bali.