In Reply to: Info needed: Ubud to Amed posted by JarJar on Tuesday, 11. October 2005 at 17:59 Bali Time:
I would guess going straight to the Amed area would take 1 1/2 or 3 hours, depending on where you start and where in the Amed area you are going. We are allowing the entire day for the trip, though won't begin the trip until after a leisurely breakfast, our goal being to be in our hotel in Amed for dinner.
Depending what route you take, you could go to Bangli and see Pura Kehen, the Bali Aga villages of Penglipuran and Kayubihi, Amlapura, Tirtagangga, Bali Aga village Tenganan...or maybe approach from the south via Candidasa and Padang Bai, moving on to Amlapura and Tirtagangga. In Sibetan there is a salak plantation you can visit. Lonely Planet Bali and The Natural Guide to Bali are both good guidebooks with good information that I can recommend.
I would hire a driver. We are using one from our hotel, the same one who took us up to Lovina last year. You can do that, use one recommended to you, or just meet one there. There are plenty of drivers, so you need not worry about a driver until you get to Ubud unless you want one and only one specific driver.