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Traveling to Bali was a unique experience for Ryan and I, as we had never been to Southeast Asia before. Being a beginner to the country, I may have a different perspective than others. Nonetheless, I learned a lot from my trip and hope my insights can be helpful to others. Research is key when planning any trip, so I will be sharing some videos and recommendations for places to visit and food to try.
Going to Ubud first was a great way to start our adventure. We booked our stay through Airbnb and ended up finding an affordable place near the popular area. Our driver was hired through the Airbnb host, which made it a lot easier than negotiating and finding a driver that wasn't trying to rip us off.
My first travel tip is to ask other people on Facebook travel groups, what driver they hired. That way you can message them individually and sort out the price beforehand. The group that I used was Bali Life Community. You get a lot of free resources for your trip, which is super handy. As well as have access to experienced Bali travelers if you want to ask a burning question.
We booked an all day tour on Airbnb with this travel company. They had the best reviews and after price hunting and asking other drivers on Facebook how much they would charge, we found this one to be the best one with what we were after. Our full day consisted of visiting Tirta Empul Holy Water Temple, Aloha Swing, Tegalalang Rice terrace, Tukad Cepung Waterfall, and Tibumana Waterfall. What made this trip was so wonderful was how friendly our driver was and he even changed some things on the set schedule for what we wanted experience instead.
On the other days in Ubud, we walked around aimlessly. One day we went to the Sacred Monkey Forest which took us a half day to thoroughly enjoy. This was such an amazing experience! It's not too expensive to enter and you can see the monkeys monkeying around in their natural habitat. Just make sure you pay attention to the rules, because you are on their territory and they might bite or scratch you if you're not careful.
Other Experiences:
Here's a list of things to do around Ubud that we didn't end up doing, but many were recommending to check out. This is a prime example of why you should rent a bike on some days so you can drive around and create your own itinerary!
After Ubud we stayed in a gorgeous Airbnb in the middle of Canggu and Seminyak. When booking, we made the mistake of thinking it was walking distance to everything. It was not. The stay was about a 15 minute drive to either side, so keep that in mind when booking your housing.
Seminyak was what I expected. Filled with lots of people, modern, shopping and restaurants that turn into clubs at night. This is a great area if you want to get drunk with your friends and have a good time. You can also swim in the Indian Ocean which was really salty and refreshing. Some things we did while taking a day trip to Seminyak was checking out the Deus Ex Machina (there's a lot of these stores in Bali), which is a really cool motorcycle-inspired shop originally from California. If you're after partying Motel Mexicola is notorious for their table dancing patrons and fruity mixed drinks. Potato Head Beach Club is great for day drinking and watching the sunrise from the comfort of a lovely restaurant.
If you're looking to get a tattoo while in Bali, Artful Ink Tattoo Studio was were I got my kneecap tattooed at. They offer a big list of worldwide artists with a mixture of different styles at the shop. It was a bit pricey, but they include all the creams needed for the healing process, professional artists, and a great tattoo experience.
We booked our trip to this seperate island through a driver's recommendation. They picked us up from our stay and drove us back too. This tour included lunch and we were able to see the main tourist spots in Nusa Penida. Most people will stay on the island for a minimum of one or two days, but we weren't able to do that.
What we were able to see was the famous Angel's Billabong, Broken Beach, Crystal Bay and Kelingking Beach. But of course there are so many gorgeous look out spots that your tour guide will know where to take you if you didn't do your research like us. Our tour also included a gorgeous snorkeling experience where we were able to swim with the fishies.
When doing our research, a lot of people were saying that Canngu was a quiet, less touristy and more hipster version of Seminyak. We loved this area, but it was still a very popular area. There's a lot of shopping here with local handmade goods and trendy stores like the other Deus Ex Machina or Rip Curl. It was definitely not oriented towards the party scene, but it's a wonderful area to walk around and get delicious food. This area also had to most vegan resturant options, which Ryan and I loved!
On the last portion of the trip, Ryan and I stayed an extra couple of days and traveled down south to Uluwatu. This area is known for great beginner surf spots and really gorgeous beaches. The water in all of these beaches were crystal clear and the atmosphere was way more laid back. The perfect amount of people to take a stab at driving a moped. We found our accommodation through Airbnb (surprise, surprise) and stayed at a share home for $17 a night. A lot cheaper than the other stays and our Airbnb also had a house dog that hung out with us during the evenings.
We booked a massage at Yoga Searcher and ate at their cafe almost everyday! The massages were super affordable and they had a bunch of different specials going on too. Some things to do in Uluwatu include checking out the Uluwatu Temple. They have sarongs there for you to borrow, free of charge. The views were so stunning and this was probably one of my favorite temples we visited on the trip. To watch the Kecak Fire Dance, you need to pay an additional fee on top of the entrance price, but it's well worth it. Make sure you show up early to get a seat at the top which gives you a bird's eye view of the performance. Keep in mind that they will jam pack you into the stadium so you will be bumping butts with strangers for the performance.
There's also a lot of surf camps in this area since the waves are small and clean. The surfboard rentals are pretty expensive, so might be best to rent one from a shop down the street instead. The beaches we checked out were Blue Point and Padang Padang. If you're after a restaurant with a cool atmosphere for the sunset, check out Single Fin. They have a DJ every night and happy hour, but doesn't feel like clubbing.
I hope you enjoyed this in depth look at our experience in Bali! Here's a list of resources that helped us out while planning out our trip. We love supporting other Youtubers with useful content.
Our personal Youtube Cinematic Vlog is also down below. If you have any questions on anything listed above, message us on our Facebook page and I'll try to answer it to the best of my ability! ヽ(ヅ)ノ
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