Am going to Bali, Indonesia next month with my g/f for a week.
We plan to spend some time in Kuta and Ubud.
Anybody have any experiences in these cities? Where should we eat/sleep/party/explore?
Also, is there anywhere else in Bali that you recommend going/seeing?

Kuta is way over-flowing with tourists, drunk Ozzies, traffic jams, etc. IMO it's not the best place to stay. A lot depends on your budget, but staying in Legian or even Seminyak is IMO a better choice.

Ubud is def. worth visiting for a couple of days, just depends upon what you want to do. Lot quieter there, less of a party scene, obviously no beach.

When asking people's opinions about where to go, what to see, do, etc, it's helpful if you describe what your interests / desires are, what your budget is, etc.

I love renting a motorcycle and spending the day riding the back roads around the interior of Bali.

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not interested in partying TOO much, but love the beach and snorkeling/scuba/water stuff.

we wanna do some sightseeing which is why we're going to Ubud. apparently there's a nice temple in a monkey forest or something.

also love watching a nice sunset/sunrise, so any suggestions as to where we can see one of those?

we're looking to do some active things, but we don't wanna be overwhelmed with travel. and we def. want some relaxation time at the beach.

budget: we are young and poor so we don't want to spend too much. really liked Thailand where you can get a hut on a beach for 150 baht. looked up some hotels in Kuta and $30-40 USD...seems a bit expensive, but not really a big problem. looking to spend less than $100 USD/day.

will def. rent a scooter.

how far away are Legian and Seminyak from Kuta? And what to do there? my concern is time b/c we are only there for one week.

if you're only going for 1 week then just go to kuta and ubud imo. kuta includes seminyak and legian really as they're all on 10km or so of beach, basically kuta accom around $30-$120/night and the other 2 regions probably $120+. if you and ur gf want to share your pavements and beaches with 16-25 yo ozzies and party a night or two, kuta. if you are prepared to pay a little more and would prefer your beaches with a few scattered families/couples go to seminyak. legian is somewhere in between. you can always take a 15 min taxi between these regions. any west coast beach has great sunsets

the monkey forest in ubud is cool for about 1hr or so, then you're just pretty much enjoying the restaurants (consistently nicer than kuta) and tribal mask/bongo shopping for the rest of your time here, i.e. im on my bike and out of here after a couple of nights. def take a bike north for the day to mount batur for the stunning views, just watch out for the hawking when you arrive- it was the most aggressive we encountered in 3 weeks.

there's world class scuba/snorkelling around bali but i can't see a way you could fit it in, if you were there for longer id def try and get to the gili islands

hi. i went august last year with my GF as well, we had an awesome time. We went to Ubud, Kuta, Jimbaran but stayed in Nusa Dua / Tanjung Benao Beach. Very cool hotel.

http://www.novotelbali.com/


I also asked for tips last year around here. Maybe you`ll find something helpful here

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/92...i-trip-550661/

I can def. recommend the markets in Ubud, the Jimabaran Beach with awesome seafood, Bintang beer and the setting sun. Def eat a lot of lobster:-) Good Stuff.






We also went to learn surfing, at the Quicksilver Surfing School in Kuta. Good Times.



We took a 8hour tour around the best places to see all around the island. We just booked some driver from the streets for, I think 30€ together. Bali is really cheap and you get a lot for your money.

Def. check out the Bali Collection for Shopping and Food. It has many great restaurants and Sushi at Hanabi is very, very good.

http://www.bali-collection.com/



You should also visit the temple, on that lil island, I can`t remember the name but its famous there.



We went swimming with some Dolphins, i def. recommend that as well.



I can`t think of anything else now, I`m a bit in a hurry. So sorry if there are any spelling mistakes.


All in all it was a perfect vacation. Hope that helped a bit. Have a good time.

sanur is pretty cool for seafood on the beach @ sunset. there are fisherman in the water with lanterns and stuff at night. kinda cool.

i forget what its called, but the volcano in volcano crater thing with a lake is pretty cool too.

thanks for the help.

thinking of spending a couple days in kuta, then go to ubud, then up to lovina beach.
is this possible to do in a week without killing ourselves?

kuta: are there surfing classes that take less than a day to complete?
lovina beach: the scuba/snorkeling and dolphin tours are appealing to us. read that the diving is especially good here. are there any other good places to dive/snorkel? read that the dolphin boat tours can be a bit of a bust b/c there are so many boats on the water at the same time. anyone taken one of these?

i remember lovina being kinda crappy and not worth it.

I'd definitely forget Lovina. There's nothing up there except dolphin tours which I heard are very meh. The beach is black volcanic sand which is just dominated by the white beaches in the South.

Yes you can't walk 5 yards on Kuta beach without someone offering surf lessons.

I went to Lovina as well. Not great. Went snorkelling, but wasn't great at all. It's not bad if you're looking for a less crowded beach, but pretty far and not worth it if you only have a 1 week trip.

If you and the g/f are in to hiking and fairly fit you should look at climbing Mt. Agung. Pretty awesome, but will take a full day, or two if you go slower.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Agung

You should also head south of Kuta, and go to Uluwatu. There's a cool temple and lots of monkeys.

Not sure what you want in Ubud. I stopped there for lunch. I gather there's lots of monkeys and crafts made out of wood there. Could be relaxing, but didn't seem like my kind of place. Maybe somewhere good to be with a g/f though.

If you had more time I'd recommend going to the Gili Islands. They are awesome. I only went to Gili Trawangan, as there is a bit more going on there than the other 2, but still remote. There are no motorized vehicles allowed on the island, only horse draw carts. It's small enough to walk around in an hour and a half or so. It's a full day trip to get there via the slow boat, but you can take the fast boat for about $50 each way and it takes 2 hours. Also saw lots of jumping dolphins on this trip. I'd definitely rather spend a couple days there than in Lovina. I also did 6 dives from Gili and they were awesome.

I stayed at a place in Bali called Arena II I believe. It was $17 a night and had 2 beds, fan, tv, pool, swim-up bar, etc. It was right in the touristy area of kuta beach, but worked for me. wtf is with these $30/night places? Also rented a scooter with surf board attachment and board, for $5/day. Scooter was like $3 and the board was $2. Bombed around town all the time with the surfboard. Stopped 3 times by the cops for various infractions. Went straight from a left turn lane, had girl on back wearing my helmet and I had none, went down 1-way street the wrong way to get to said girls hotel. First two times I paid them $5, the last time I refused to pay and just left.

I'm also not sure if you want to do a surf lesson. I'd never surfed before in my life, and got a board and just learned myself. I don't know how much a lesson could really teach you in a day, and if it would really be worth it. Just rent a board and give it a go. Also don't rent a board from some dude on the beach. Rent it from some shop. It is way cheaper.

Man, I want to go back now.

I miss Bintang beer. If you ever get a chance try out Batak cuisine, especially the seafood it is GREAT!!!

Bintang Battalion!

Been 3 times and stayed in a 4.5 star and a 2 star.....watch what you eat and only eat at resturants...like Yanni's, The bounty, Macca's lol and even KFC.... go and see the monkey forest, just dont get sucked into your guides advances to spend money at there friends places after the tour. Go to Sinajagga(*sp) Falls which is past Ubud rice fields....go with another cple if you can to keep cost down...which are cheap anyway...hire a transport car for the day off the street...there everywhere....shop till you drop and barter hard, they love it if your the first sale of the day, so go early....and dont be afraid to walk away, the item will probably be somewhere else....all in all, have fun with the people, they will bug you till you say yes, but keep saying "no thanks" and they will appreciate it more than saying F OFF.

I'm typing this quick, so bare with me...any questions PM me....im old and dont party, so can only help you on what to see and do side of things...not how much to drink...lol..

Best hotel is Bali Dynasty for me, its only a 15min walk to center Kuta, and trsut me you will be full of sweat just in that short walk...but shop for hour, back to hotel, swim, sex in your room, back for a swim, cocktails at the bar, swim, eat some fgood by the pool...shop and repeat.

Also need to do the crusie boat thingy....hmmm....whats the name....arggh.....anyway do the island one not the seafood ocean one.....more cultural island, and see how they really live.

Have fun

Also as someone said, make sure you do the Jimabeen Bay beach thingy dinner at sunset......awesome view and food, and cheap.........

+1 for uluwatu. i went there by accident and the scenery is amazing. huge cliffs and a really neat temple right on them.

also, i think its a hot spot for big wave surfing. met some california guys up there that were surfing. ppl were taping 1 or 2 surfers at a time from the big cluffs.

also, tanah lot temple is really awsome too.

any bali discussion should really start with whether or not you're going to surf. if you are into surfing there are many surf forums that will tell you all you'll ever need to know about the good/bad/crowded/empty spots.

kuta's fun for a few nights at clubs but going to bali and just staying there is a mistake. for a chilled out atmosphere and some nice waves i think nothing beats getting a guesthouse room in canggu and just kicking it there for a while. renting scooters is a must and navigating around bali isn't too hard.

i miss bintang too

Guess I should have thought of this when I first replied to your post . . .

You wrote that U R going to Bali for a week; R U only going to Bali? For only one week?!?!

That's a hell of a long flight for only one week, personally I wouldn't consider spending 18+ hours each way if I only had one week, but to each his/her own I suppose.

But if you've only got one week, I can't see you fitting in much more besides Kuta area, Ubud, + maybe a day spent at a temple somewhere. Others have given you good advice, I'd skip Lovina, not enough time & not so great anyway. Menjanagin (sp) Natl Park is good for snorkeling & diving, but way way too far away for you to see.

I've been to Ubud dozens of times and never once walked into the Monkey Forest area--the LAST thing I want to have happen while I'm on vacation is have one or more large monkeys, most of whom are overly agressive & some of whom occassionally bite tourists, jump on my shoulders.

If you're sleeping/eating backpacker style you should do OK on $100/day, but I think you're going to have a hard time finding anything decent for less than $15-$20/night.

Where did you find a hut on the beach in Thailand for 150 baht a night? That's less than $4/night! Must have been somewhere really off of the "gringo trail" or a real #$%@# dive.

the monkeys in monkey forest arent aggressive unless you have bananas that you're not giving them. they arent large either.

i mostly stayed in places for $5-7CAD/night that were totally decent.

if you're just learning to surf kuta beach is probably the only good spot. i was a pretty new surfer and also scootered up to the sanur area with my board. was about a 30 minute drive. it was really good there, but definitely more difficult. it required a lot of paddling, and the waves would often just crush me. kuta beach is your best bet, or kuta, lombok if you have the time, but you don't really.

if you head further west (i believe is the direction. right, as you face the water) along kuta beach, there are a few less surfers there than the crowded populace of the general kuta area.

Thanks guys

I live in Taiwan right now, so its not that far of a flight for me to Bali.
And we got a pretty basic hut on the beach in Koh Samui for 150baht.

We have never surfed before, but i think we're pretty much obligated to try it when we're there. I'm sure we'll find something in Kuta.

Our flight arrives at 2:00am on a Saturday night. I've been in contact with some hotels in Kuta, but they don't reply that quickly. Do you think I will need to reserve a room for the night we get there? OR will we be able to take a taxi from the airport to Kuta and find accommodation easily enough at like 3:00am?

Lovina is out I think. Gonna stick to Kuta and Ubud. But I'm not really excited to stay in Kuta for more than 3 nights. I think we'll probably just get on the motorcycle and find somewhere quieter, maybe Uluwatu? We will do a lot of beach bumming and temple hopping I'm sure.

I don't think we'll climb Mt. Agung, but I might like to try to go see it at least. Are there any other attractions around there? Is it accessible by scooter via either Ubud or Kuta? Would it be worth it to go for a day even though we won't climb it?

Can you snorkel around the south of the island anywhere?

You guys have been very helpful. Leaving Feb 13.

I'd 100% reserve Kuta accom before arriving. At 3am after a flight you'll appreciate it I promise!

I would consider avoiding motorcycling out of kuta unless you know what you're doing. The northern roads of bali are much quieter. There are tourist traps in the form of road police that wait on the roadside outside kuta pull over anyone white and basically the deal is they confiscate your passport if you dont pay them $10 or something

Damn Monkeys!!

Do not go in with a bag of nuts or fruit.
I was ganked of my bag within 45 seconds of entering by a mean mofo of a monkey.
He ripped the bag out of my hand and took off.But gave me one of those looks like
"What you want some of this"? before splitting.

If you buy any wood products check them for termites.
I bought chess board and it was raped by those little buggers.

tunehotels.com for simple money place to stay in bali.

The beds are unreal good for a 10 buck a night hotel.

hey, maybe you the Indonesia Episode of No Reservations is helpful to you.

From end of part 3 Anthony Bourdain visits Bali.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XViDo...eature=related

Stayed in Bali for 6 days and 6 nights.
My girlfriend and I each probably spent about $500 USD. Not incl. airfare.
We stayed 3 nights in Kuta, 1 in Ubud and 2 in Uluwatu.
We had a great time.

We spent 3 nights in Kuta. At the Simpang Inn. It had a pool, and A/C. We had problems with our room confirmation and airport pick up, but I think that was the travel agent's fault. 3 nights, two in an A/C room - $105 USD.

Kuta was cool. And like you guys said it was a party town. The street vendors overwhelmed me at first. They were aggressive, but usually after two - no, thank you's, they would give up. The beach was dirty - dead fish and a lot of garbage in the water. This could be a result of the afternoon rains, but it was gross. While I was surfing I had to untangle a plastic bag from my leash and every step I took in the water was on some piece of garbage. It was disgusting near the shore.

Alot of different restaurants. My favorite part of Kuta (aside from surfing), was walking up and down the streets shopping and stopping at different bars for a Bintang beer.

We surfed at Big Kahuna Surf School. 8am-11am. ~30 USD$/person. It was really fun and worth the expense. They had a photographer take pictures while you were in the water and they sold you a CD with all your pics on it for 10 USD$.

We rented a scooter for 5 USD$/day plus $2 insurance. We drove to Ubud. My g/f and I were commenting on how surprisingly civil the driving was. People checking blind spots and stopping before the pedestrian crossings at red lights - things we are not used to in Taiwan. At a major intersection i pulled up in front of a car and was across the pedestrian crossing. Immediately a cop started walking towards us. He told us to pull over our bike and follow him. He gave me the option of paying 30 USD$ on the spot or go to Denpassar tomorrow to pay up to 200 USD$ for a fine. Looking back on how he sloppily copied down my information and that I would be leaving the country soon (probably before they processed my violation) I think i should have told him I would go to the city to pay the fine. But I ended up giving him 300 000 rupiahs - 100 000 for each cop on duty no doubt.

In Ubud we got a really nice room w. A/C, pool and an amazing view of the top of the city. 36 USD$
We went to the monkey forest and it was really cool. My g/f got bit by a monkey when it climbed on her back and wasn't ready to leave when she had had enough of it. The doctor was not worried at all, luckily. Although apparently Bali does have a rabies problem with dogs. So beware of stray dogs that don't have red collars. The food and shopping in Ubud were both amazing. The vendors were much less aggressive which was nice. I really liked Ubud and wish we would've stayed there one more night.

Then next morning after a massage and more shopping we drove back to Kuta, rented the scooter for 3 more days and headed down to Uluwatu. Our hotel was again really nice, no A/C though. Nights were hot. 50 USD$ for two nights. The sunsets were amazing and if I was more confident with my surfing I would of had a go at the surfing beach, but I saw too many guys with nasty cuts from coral. The food was really good and cheap and the beach at Padang-Padang was really clean, nice and not over-crowded (but during peak season I could see it getting crowded maybe). There was also another temple that had monkeys, which were more aggressive and perhaps trained to steal from tourists.

We headed back to Kuta and spent ten hours bar hopping and shopping, killing time before our late night flight. My bartering was rusty, but got much better by the end of the trip.

The beer was great, the food was amazing (outside of Kuta for the most part), the country is beautiful and there is lots to do. And you can do it all fairly cheap if you want. I would go again and explore other parts of the island. And surf again.