After a quick introduction, here we are again in the green and sultry lands of Bali, spiritual and relaxing island in the heart of the Indian Ocean. This time, however, here there are some tips about our itinerary to help you enjoy as much as possible the magical atmosphere of this place.
As written before, my partner and I spent there 2 weeks in September and we decided to split the itinerary into 3 main moments: 5 days in the Northern Bali, 5 days in Ubud, almost in the middle of the Island, and 4 days in the south, place that did not really steal my heart as the previous two.
Let’s start saying that, having only 2 weeks and wanting to enjoy the experience as much as possible but, at the same time, wanting to relax a bit, we decided to use quite often drivers for the transfers between the places. Obviously not a very traditional or folkloristic mean of transport, but for sure it helped us a lot to find a middle gound between all our needs.
But now let’s get into details!
(Photos by Stefania Del Sette)
We arrived from Dublin, after an almost 24 hours journey, to Ngurah Rai International Airport and, after the quite long controls at the frontier, we finally were ready to start our adventure. Waiting for us there was Patrick, a nice driver that, as we found out later, was one of our hosts in the first accomodation.
We spent the first 5 days near Kintamani, in the Northern side of the Island: our hotel was the Volcano Lake View, highly recommanded. The view was spectuacular and the sounds of the animals overnight was so relaxing that even my insomniac partner slept for 8 hours straight each night! From there, we visited Kintamani and other villages in the nearabouts. Best things of those 5 days ( a part from the amazing food made by our hosts, the view, the silence, the magic atmosphere of the cultivated camps next to us and the hot water termal pools)? The hike overnight to the top of Mount Batur, one of the numerous volcanoes of the Island.
After a early wakening, we all reunited with other groups of tourists and, with the help of expert guides, we made it to the top of the volcano to enjoy the view of the sunrise. It has been such an emotional experience! And I have to admit that I cannot complain also about the following breakfast on the volcano and, after that, the morning spent enjoying the sun in the hot springs.
If you are in the area, do not miss the coffee plantation. Yes, they are touristic and yes, you can survive without them, but they can be a good break from long days of visiting. You can enjoy traditional teas and the most expkensive coffee of the world, the one made from luwacks’s feces. Following 5 days in Kintamani, thanks to Mowgli, our driver for the day, we moved to Ubud to savour the next step of our experience.
Ubud is known for being one of the most popular destinations in Bali as well as one of the most touristic. Over there, it is possible to find numerous restaurants, markets and it also well known as the city, for excellence, where to find your spirituality through the reconnection with the body. In Ubud, in fact, there are several venues for yoga, for both beginners and experts, along with places where to receive the best massages of your life. Unfortunately, I am not able you give the name of the place we stopped by, but I assure you that in Ubud we received the most relaxing and effective massage of our lives, followed by a bath with scented flowers and a scrub made with sugar and pulp of papaya.
But Ubud is not only massages and yoga, it is also the realm of temples and monkeys. We had the opportunity to go to the Monkey Forest, real forest inside the city, where monkeys can be your best friends as well as the robbers of your pockets, so pay attention! At the beginning, the personnel will tell you to keep on eye on your personal belongings and trust me when I say to put everything in your bag and hold it very well! Fun fuct: a tiny monkey literally opened the bag of my partner and tried to take her wallet! Thankfully, I noticed it and we stopped it quickly.
Alway in Ubud, we had the opportunity to observe a show of traditional dances and let me say that it was absolutely magical: the use of the music, almost hypnotic, and the movements of the body, eyes included, can nearly make you forget where you are, making difficult to take your eyes off them.
From Ubud, you will also have easy access to the famous Tegalalang Rice Terrace and, if you are looking for Instaworthy places, the swings, where you can both enjoy an amazing view and take pics that will help you grow your Insta followers.
Accomodation wise, Ubud offer every kind of place: from the villa with the private pool to the hostel and the prices are absolutely reasonable. So you only have to make up your mind and decide which place is the best for you. If you are planning on not using any means of transport, I recommend you to choose a place in the immediate proximity of the Monkey Forest.
The last part of your trip is the south of the Island, in the vicinity of Jimbaran. Quick note: while moving onto the south, do not miss the temple of Tanah Lot. Stunning temple directly on the ocean, you can enjoy it both with high ald low tide, with different views. Over there, we also enjoyed an amazing sunset with colours that will let you absolutelty amazed.
Let me start saying that we took these last few days with a completely different mood, needing to rest and aware that we would have come back after few days so we needed a moment to relax and regain strenght.
Jimbaran is known for its beaches for surfers and for the fresh fish served directly on the beach. Unfortunately we are not surfers, but luckly we enjoy fresh food so we were anyway in the right place.
The driver that was helping us in the last few days also organised us a surprise for our anniversary and booked a table directly on the beach from a near restaurant, asking them to make us a special night. Everything was perfect, from to food to the candles to the atmosphere and the music.
From Jimbaran it is possible to book day trips to Nusa Penida, amazing Island next to Bali where there are some of the most beautiful views. These same trips can be also booked for 2 or 3 days, depending on your availability.
The night before leaving we had the opportunity to see a show in the proximity of Jimbaran that is directly on the cliffs: this show is done during the sunset and the use of fire is one of its main components. The colour of the sky mixed with the performance made everything absolutely enchanting, probably the best experience in Southern Bali.
After this last night, we unfortunaly had to leave the following day but there is no doubt Bali will see us again. We came back to Dublin with a different warmth in our hearts and Bali really, in a magical way, can help you to reconnect with yourself.
Stefania Del Sette 
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