In Reply to: Go to Lovina posted by Mullansson on Monday, 17. April 2006 at 23:25 Bali Time:
I agree that I wouldn't go all the way to Lovina JUST to see the dolphins - I have heard of some people that have gone out dolphin spotting and haven't seen any. I was lucky and saw hundreds - there were pods jumping about everywhere. The trip cost 50,000 rupiah per person, and left at 6am, for a couple of hours.
Lovina has a lot of offer other than the dolphins though. It is a nice quiet little coastal town with lots of nice restaurants and a few bars. There are some interesting day trips that you can do around northern Bali - Git Git waterfall is very nice, the hot springs are worth a visit, and the Buddhist monastery (the only one in Bali) is worth a visit.
We stayed at the hotel Puri Bali, which was cheap (75,000 rp a night for a fan room) and really nice with a good restaurant and a really fantastic pool. It was right near the beach (a couple of minutes walk) and the central area of Kalibukbuk in Lovina. The staff can organise trips, and a really reasonable shuttle service to your next destination in Bali. They have a website actually - just do a google search.