Need an excuse to book a trip to Bali?

Don't dismiss it too quickly, there is a lot to love!

When you think of Bali, what image does it conjure up?

As I sit in my family home in Ireland, I think about how the Northern Hemisphere folk would like have a Fiji-like affiliation with Bali; palm trees, island life, turquoise water and pure summer tropical heaven.

However, for those of us who are from or who have spent a significant time in Australia (it’s me, hi), the images that come to mind tend to be a little more tarnished. It’s likely you’ve that you’re picturing Bintang singlets in Kuta, the mass volume of dupe designer clothes/ sunglasses/ bags and perhaps hoards of Australians on the hunt for the most Aussie-like pub and grub that they can find.

There’s also the yoga retreats in the mountains, the monkey forests, the extremely inexpensive nail salons and massage parlours, the hectic backpacker islands and a whole lot of scooter traffic. A mere three hours from Perth and six hours from Sydney, Bali is extremely accessible for Aussies, with over one million tourists visiting from Australia in 2023, resulting in a place that tries to cater for it’s biggest market.

Bali really does have mixed PR amongst Australians but no matter where you sit on the Bali reputation scale, my mind was changed so much on this most recent trip that I am compelled to share the best bits!

My fiancé, Ant, and I almost didn’t go on our recent trip to Bali, mostly because we thought we would be pregnant by then (more on that life update here) and doctors advise against travelling to Indonesia when pregnant due to mosquito borne viruses. But as well as that, I really felt like I had “done” Bali - I had been four times, had seen a lot of the island and am always so acutely aware of how much of the world I want to see that, sometimes, repeat trips can feel to me like a wasted opportunity for newness!

But in the end, we leant into spontaneity and decided to go for two weeks - one week with friends and one week on our own and we really loved every minute of it. Bali has changed a lot and if you haven’t been in the last couple of years, there is definitely a few things to note (which I do, below!) My most recent trip prior to this one was in 2022 where a friend and I were working remotely from Canggu for two weeks - we were in the first wave of travellers post-COVID and since that time, it feels like Bali has taken on a new life, with more expected to change as Indonesia’s new president, who was inaugurated whilst we were there, has announced plans to build a new airport in Northern Bali, with desires to turn Bali into the “Hong Kong or Singapore of Indonesia”. 

So, with all of that in mind - now seems like a good time to visit and nothing brings me more joy in life than researching for holidays and sharing the insights. So, with that in mind, here is the Bali blog! A blog that can be shared, a blog that can be saved for later, a blog that can be a subtle nudge if you were on the brink of booking your next trip. There will also be a part two of food/ accomodation and other recommendations because if I included all of that here, it would turn into War and Peace.

Need a reason to visit? 

Let’s start with this: why Bali? And this one really does apply mostly to the Southern Hemisphere pals amongst us. You know the obvious ones; easy flight times, daily flight options, inexpensive travel if you book in advance or catch a sale, but what about some of the others reasons?

1. A dose of sunshine 

We went in late October and although you expect the weather to be tropical with odd storms, we revelled in two weeks straight of 30 degrees. It didn’t deviate, it got slightly cooler in the evenings but was beautifully consistent and it was heavenly after a long wet winter in Sydney. Every time I’ve been the weather has been great, sometimes with more shower than others but always hot.

2. The locals

They’re just divine. Not once did we ever feel at risk or like we might be taken advantage of. They are kind, friendly, warm and want to go above and beyond in welcoming you to Bali. They really made the trip for us, in every interaction and kindness.

3. The food, oh lord, the food

Where do I begin?! I am a firm believer of eating the local thing in the overseas place - you’re not likely to find me at a Mexican in Italy BUT Bali is definitely the exception. Yes, you can get some epic local Nasi Goreng and other star local dishes, and we did eat some delicious Indonesian meals but the beauty of the Bali food scene is in the variety. More on where exactly to eat to follow in part two, but on our first night, I had one of the best Thai meals of my life in Seminyak! If a foodie holiday is what you’re after (it is always what I’m after), Bali can easily be a foodie mecca. (Run, don’t walk).

4. Cost of holidaying 

Plain and simply, it’s a cheap holiday. In comparison to Australia/ New Zealand/ Pacific Islands, you are going to get more bang for your buck in Bali. However, our group noticed fairly quickly that it is not as cheap as it used to be. If you’re like my fiancé and comparing beer prices is how you do your international cost of living conversions, some bars and bottle shops actually matched Australian prices but mostly they were about half the price. If you’re more likely to math in my category of price comparison (brunch and massages), I’d say it was about half or a third of the price of Australian prices, with the average massage sitting at around $25 and a brunch for two at around $40. Accomodation also varies (and more recommendations in part two) but you definitely get a lot more for your money and that luxury life is definitely within touching distance whilst not breaking the bank!

5. Kid-friendly

This has to be the biggest appeal for families willing to make the trek across the Indian Ocean. On our first week as a group, we were with friends’ kids who were aged between 8 months and 5 years old and it just stood out to me how accessible it is as a place for young families. From rented villas to resorts to childminding options to kids entertainment, there were plenty of options and avenues depending on how you like to holiday and I definitely bookmarked it as a place to visit with groups of friends and families in future. 

6. Wellness

Put bluntly, to pamper oneself here is an absolute bargain in comparison to Australian costs. The last time I was in Bali there were an abundance of nail salons and massage options, but this trip I could see how Bali, like the rest of the world, has succumbed to the wellness obsession. If wellness is your bag but the price tags of the Bondi/ Byron/ LA lifestyle are holding you back - Bali is for you. From wellness resorts to luxury spas to sceney icebath and recovery centres that feel more like a boozeless nightclub or boujee beach club than a fitness centre to plant-based raw food restaurants offering to “nourish your life force”, the variety of affordable wellness options really is impressive. If this is your jam, you will thrive. (It is my jam, I thrived, and I dragged my poor other half to aforementioned raw food restaurant about four times. He’s a good man.)

The area guide

So, a quick guide to some of the areas I’ve been to and why you would go, and what to do once you’re there. Again, list of recs coming in part two.

The mountains 

1. Ubud

It’s well known, it features a monkey forest, it’s famous amongst the yogis and zen seekers and for good reason; high up, in cooler temperatures, nestled into the mountains surrounded by rice patties, it really is stunning. Expect local food, villagers going about their days and some truely stunning accomodation in all range of budgets.

Ubud, however, in recent years has become extremely popular. The last time I visited in 2022, it was so busy and chaotic and the natural zen and energy of the place was somewhat offset by the noise, tourists and sheer overpopulation in the main town. In saying that, there are so many beautiful, peaceful, serene accomodation options that if you chose to retreat to one of those for a few days, your experience will be very different.

2. Sideman

When I asked Chat GPT and the internet to provide me with an “off the beaten path” travel itinerary for Bali, Sideman kept coming up. About an hour from Ubud, it is significantly smaller, a lot more local and oftentimes, we were the only non locals wandering around. I adored this couple of days in the mountains. After a busy week with a big group in the city, the peace and calm of Sideman washed over us. We also hadn’t fully decided where to stay, so we booked a much discounted room at one of the nicest hotels we’ve ever stayed at, Wapa Di Ume.

There aren’t enough good things to be said about this eco resort. The food, the views, our private pool, the hotel pool, the river walk, the complimentary afternoon tea, their awareness of dietary requirements, the views - did I mention the views!? It was out of this world. In comparison to previous experiences in Ubud, opting to stay here was soothing on our nervous systems. We borrowed bikes, cycled to local markets, went for walks around the rice patties, did morning yoga that the hotel ran, and just soaked it all up.

I couldn’t recommend this spot more; it’s not cheap for Bali standards but if you book directly on the website and keep an eye for last minute deals, it can be significantly less expensive.

The coast

1. Ullawatu

The beachy highlight. When you’re coming from Australia, your base level of beach expectations is extremely high. We have it all and we are very spoilt. The beaches in Seminyak, Canggu, Legion, even Nusa Dua, leave a lot to be desired (think rubbish, grey water, dark sand, angry, dumpy waves). We spent our last few days of this trip in Ullawatu and when we first caught sight of the piercing blue water and stunning beaches we breathed a sigh of relief, and were also convinced that now Bali does have it all!

This was my first time in Ullawatu and apparently it is the current most popular spot for many tourists, Canggu having had its moment a few years ago. It’s a popular surfing area with perfect waves for beginners and pros alike. With the surfer influence, the vegan/ plant based/ gluten free cafes and very many yoga studios, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in the Byron of Bali.

Our days here involved exploring new beaches on a scooter, watching sunsets and surfers, eating healthy, delicious, epic meals and feeling salty and sunkissed throughout the days. It was gorgeous!

The resorts

1. Nusa Dua

I hadn’t heard great things about Nusa Dua and I am not really a resort girlie. I like exploring, adventuring, seeing new things and trying every food available to me and the idea of sitting in a resort for multiple days in a row with the same restaurant and pool tends to incite feelings of claustrophobia. In saying that, this was by far one of the best resort experiences I’ve had. Nusa Dua is a funny little part of Bali, it’s a gated community of resorts, all lined up on the beach featuring everything from the Marriot to the Novotel and everything in between. (The latter being where our group stayed.) But again, after a week in Seminyak and surrounds, this laid back resort with kind and friendly staff, happy hours, beach accessibility (although, nowhere near the level of beauty of Ullawatu beaches) and not a whole lot that we needed to do, we all really enjoyed it.

If you are a resort fan, any in this area will be the go. Again, for friends with families, I’ve only heard good reports; it’s easy to be there with young kids and feel like you, as parents, are having a gorgeous, relaxed tropical holiday. It’s also extremely close to the airport and has a very different vibe to the more hectic city areas. Depending on what you’re looking for, Nusa Dua could definitely tick the boxes if you’re a resort lover, have a young family, are travelling with a group of friends or family or just fancy relaxing in luxury. A hot tip: leave the resort for massages, pampering and groceries - you’ll save a fortune!

The busy towns

In conversations I’ve had over the last few months about Bali, I have heard people say “Avoid Seminyak like the plague” or “Canggu is done, it’s not what it used to be and would not recommend”. Whilst I can totally see how you would get there, after spending a week in Seminyak this trip and two weeks in Canggu on the last trip, I would have to disagree.

Again, Bali is what you make it, but I definitely have a few compelling reasons to visit each.

1. Seminyak 

Kuta is mostly known as the least cultured, most touristy, most chaotic part of Bali. That seems to have spread to the next town over in Legion and, in recent years, has spread further to next town along, Seminyak. I can see why people would avoid it; it’s busy, the scooter traffic is chaotic, it’s getting more built up and the beaches, as I said before, are just not very nice. It also attracts tourists who only want a certain Bali experience - it would not have been my first choice but we went as a group and we really made the most of the week.

Seminyak is the villa hub - there is development all over Bali but if you are in the market for a big villa to stay in with friends, this is where you’re going to get the most choice. And I can’t say enough good things about the villa experience. We were 16 people and we chose a villa suitable for families and couples and it was the absolute ideal situation for four nights; we had our own private pool, we could opt for chefs to come in to cook dinners and breakfasts, we could have masseuses come on site, we each had our own private stand alone villa with a big break out area and lots of space for the kids to run around too.

It is an extremely cost effective way of travelling - I think ours cost about $600 total per couple for four nights. They vary completely in budget and you can go way fancier than ours but after four days of quality hangs, excessive pool times, daytime explores out into town and just a lot of fun, I have book marked renting a villa in Bali with friends and family as an absolute must do again in future.

Seminyak and Canguu being the two main tourist towns, this is where you’ll find a lot of your avenues to spending cash. Everything from dupe Crocs and Birkenstocks (every single street there will be a man trying to sell you those pretty good dupes) to stores of Australian brands to small, expensive boutiques, Seminyak is your shopping central. There is also a massive cafe and food culture and, for the time we were there, my GOD we ate well. We stayed longer than I would have had we not been in a group but that resulted in the satisfaction of feeling like we tried every hyped up, raved about and hidden gem restaurant in the area. Some of the meals were truely mindblowing. (Again, part two coming soon).

As well as the food, you obviously have the beauty tourism, but there is also dental tourism and tattoo tourism, all of which you’ll find easily in these parts if they tickle your fancy: dentists, teeth whitening, beauty clinics, luxury spas, tattoo parlours, skin product stores and homewares (this is where I spent most of my shopping time, mapping out various homeware stores and stocking up on cushion covers and linen, about half the price of what you’d pay at home.) You can also find some really amazing leather stores that can customise shoes/ bags/ belts/ clothes for you. I brought in a few photos to Lemona, a highly rated leather store that I saw people rave about on TikTok. I got a pair of leather sandles, a belt and wallet made and whilst it was not cheap in comparison to high street prices, they were a decent price for exceptionally made, quality leather and the team were fantastic to deal with and I love my bits that will presumably last forever!

1. Canguu

Canguu has also changed a lot - it has similar vibes to Seminyak and has undergone so much development and foreign investment in the last couple of years. It’s known for being home to the digital nomads of Bali and most cafes you go to, you’ll find dozens of Westerners behind a macbook with a matcha on the go. It is definitely where tourists seem to settle for the medium to long term. There are tonnes of cafes and restaurants that, again, are just next level food wise, there are beach clubs (something I won’t be writing much about - there are lots of them, people love them, they’re not my scene), there are fitness studios, gyms and a lot of other services around to cater to tourists who live in Bali full time. I have fond memories of zipping around on scooters and dragging my laptop around in the heat from my first trip and it’s definitely worth a visit for the shops, the salons and some restaurants/ cafes, but if you’re thinking about going, it’s not family suitable, it’s getting really busy, it’s actually even hard to walk around as everyone is on wheels and after we spent one day there on this trip, we felt like that was enough.

The islands

I can’t touch on Bali without covering off the islands but I don’t have a lot to report on as it’s been many years since I’ve been to some, and have never been to others. If you’re after island life, a quick-fire reference below:

1. Nusa Pedina

Famous for snorkelling and diving with manta rays, it’s stunning, it’s worth a visit. We did it in a day trip and it’s definitely worth looking into

2. Nusa Lembongan

We didn’t go as Ant had been before but I would have otherwise. It is meant to be chilled, relaxed, beautiful - I have a friend who spent some time there recently and adored it. Most people go here and it seems very worth the trip.

3. Lombok

We had flights booked to Lombok in an effort to go off the beaten path but we ended up hearing mixed reviews, couldn’t find great accomodation options and couldn’t see much online about good food experiences so we shifted that part of our trip. I’m sure it’s a much calmer experience to Bali and worth a visit but that’s where we landed on visiting this time.

4. The Gilis; Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air

Infamous even when I backpacked through Bali first in 2010, my understanding is that it is still a backpacker hotspot although, like anywhere, I’m sure there are pockets of beauty to be found. I won’t tarnish their reputation by regaling my own backpacking experiences of the Gilis but my overriding memory is getting the most serious case of Bali Belly/ Gastro I’ve ever had in my life!

Hints and tips

If you’ve made it this far, you probably intend to visit (or you’re just having a nice time reading it, which is also lovely) so here are some tips to make it easier:

• Pre book an airport driver (everyone who has been to Bali has a contact number for a Bali driver, I have a Bali driver, message if you need a Bali driver!) 

• Do all your customs documentation online in advance. You then get to skip the massive queue on arrival - lovely, who doesn’t want to skip the queues?

• Download the GoJek or Grab app. The Uber/ Uber Eats of Bali, you can order cars, scooters, food and there is always an abundance available so you’re never stuck.

• Be brave and get around on scooters - less than a dollar a ride on the apps above. Do always ask for the spare helmet as they usually won’t offer you one and jump on the back. It’s such a nice way to get around, once you start to trust that the chaos of the roads actually make sense to the locals.

• If you have dietary requirements (I’m coeliac so gluten free), some places are amazing but you just need to do some prep in advance. You roll the dice on whether they have any idea what you are on about, so google reviews are your friend here. In saying that, pretty much anywhere that caters to Westerners are a sure thing.

• How to avoid Bali Belly - don’t drink the water, don’t brush your teeth with the water, don’t let the water near your mouth in the shower! The most extreme advice is to avoid all salads/ raw food/ ice/ anything that has been washed, but we had no issues at all in any restaurant so I think they do go to great measures to make sure the food is tourist friendly.

And that’s it! As noted above, part two recommendations coming soon! I’d love to hear if you go, if you found anything helpful or if you have had similar or different experiences yourself!?