In Reply to: Need someone's help planning itinerary.. posted by twitterz on Friday, 20. August 1999 at 08:14 Bali Time:
I will try to help out if I can. My husband and I were Bali virgins and made our first trip in July. We stayed in Ubud and made plans to stay in Sanur, but enjoyed Ubud so much that we made it our homebase. Never made it to Sanur but did venture out to Amed and were able to take day trips to other spots from Ubud very easily. First, the Bali forum was critical in planning our trip. We read the forum religiously and printed material that we found interesting and helpful for planning our trip (much of it I organized, stapled by category and brought it with us). The information provided by seasoned travellers to Bali (Aussies in particular) was invaluable and we were not disappointed in the least. We also took along the Lonely Planet guide (which I left in a taxi in Jakarta, but found another in Ubud). Enough said and I will now share how we handled our itinerary. We flew from the states, to London, to Jakarta and on to Bali. British Airways had a smokin' deal. Fly from London to wherever and get two free world round trip tickets. Not a good plan if you don't adjust to time zones well but now we can fly back for free next summer. We were also able to spend a few days in London as well. We bought the tickets to Bali at the Jakarta airport (Air Garuda) and found it to be significantly cheaper than buying them from the states or from a travel agent. We did not have reservations and we had no problems. I recommend that when you land in Denpasar that you visit Matahari's to check out prices for items that you might find in Ubud and Sanur and want to buy. I wish had done this early on in our trip as it helped me get an idea on how I should handle my bargaining in the markets (and I did quite well). From the airport we took a BlueBird Taxi into Ubud. My husband bought the ticket at the airport and it was cheaper than hiring a driver. We did not make hotel reservations and it really wasn't necessary and we stayed in a couple of hotels. Two recommended on the forum (Ananda Cottages and the Bunga Permai, our absolute fave!). We ended up at another place right across Ananda, and I can't remember the name. It is recommended in LonelyPlanet guide, had air conditioning but not our favorite. There are so many places to choose from and we met a number people who were based at homestays and some at very expensive hotels and some at in between. Anyway, at practically any hotel or street you will find any number of drivers anxious to take you on a tour. Our first day out we arranged a tour from Ananda and ventured out to Batu Bulan, Celuk, Mas, Elephant Cave Temple, Kintamani, Holy Spring Temple, and the beautiful rice terraces where any number of aggressive children are screaming at you to buy their wares (I thought it was hilarious). That kind of thing did not bother us at all as we are so used to that sort of thing in Mexico. That trip took one day. Another day we rode the bemo's throughout Ubud, saw the sites of the city, got an idea of where we wanted to go and stop. I recommend the bemo's for taking a cheap tour and you will mingle with the locals. At the Bunga Permai (Awesome place) the manager provided us with a map and we took a two hour walking tour along the river and through the mountain. This was really something as we practically walked without seeing another tourist and did see beautiful rice paddies, some ruins of some sort, huts, farmers, roosters,bathers, a village where an artist gave us a tour of his family compound and he was very knowledgeable about Balinese culture, more roosters and of course the dogs. The views were spectacular and this particular hike led us right into Ubud. A great little trek if you like to take pictures. Another day we took a bus (bought the ticket in Ubud) to Amed. The bus was another great way to see parts of Bali and we were able to go through alot of towns. We stopped in Candidasa (so, so) and hired a driver to take us into Amed. A great drive until you get close to Amed and the road gets a little bumpy and rough. Again, we had no reservations and we stayed at the Amed Cafe (Great Place!). Amed is a sleepy place, and offers a black sand beach that we found to be clean and the water warm. The snorkeling was disappointing. Much of the coral was dead but we did speak with some divers who took the trip out to the Liberty and they all were raving about the dive and the sealife. It really reminded me of some sleepy village that you coud find on a Mexican beach. A lot of diving places, very quiet and mellow, hotter than Ubud, friendly tourists and we loved it. From Amed we returned to Ubud and decided to skip Sanur. Some of the people we met in Amed were venturing on to Lombok and some to Mt. Batur. We had arranged for our Candidasa driver to pick us up and take back to Ubud. He took us on a different route and we had a beautiful drive through Mt. Agung. Just know ahead of time, any driver you meet will want to take you to places to stop and shop. We were into sightseeing and made sure our drivers knew it. Anyway, that drive was beautiful and worth it to us. We had planned to travel to Lombok, but were short of time. Got back to Ubud lounged around and ran into a zillion Aussies and Japanese. I definately think Bali is to the Australians as Mexico is to the United States. I can provide more details of the places we stayed, addresses, numbers, names and more in depth info. on our likes and dislikes, restaraunts etc. One thing though, if you have the chance while in Ubud run don't walk to Naughty Nuri's for some Bintang on draft and a delicious meal. Also have info. on Maria's a great value for a massage, facial, pedicure etc. this place was heaven and cheap. I would have gone every day if my husband let me. Oh, you mentioned you did not want to go the Bird Park etc. until 10 o'clock. If you want to avoid the crowds and the noise go before 10 and avoid the rush. Same thing for the Monkey Forest. We got there at 9 and left at 10 just as it was getting crowded. By getting there early we were able to participate with the park rangers feeding the monkeys and talk with a university group studying the monkeys. Another great day trip--rafting. Hope this helps. Missy.