In Reply to: Advice - Lovina to Amed to Ubud or posted by Ginanz on Saturday, 17. May 2008 at 07:26 Bali Time:
I'm assuming your starting point is Ubud, that you are self driving and don't intend to do all this in one day.
Personally I'd head straight up the middle (Ubud to Lovina) allowing about 4 hrs with short stops via the world famous Pura Ulun Danu temple that seems to float on the shores of Lake Bratan, and maybe a stop at the renowned Git Git waterfalls.
Lovina to Amed is about a leisurely 2 hours drive (add more though for photo stops and lunch etc...) passing thru the Tulamben area and the grey landscape of the 1963 volcanic eruption of Mt Agung then leaving the main road at Culik and on to Amed.
If you have a car that is reliable and don't mind a few twists and turns then take the ocean road loop from Amed to Amlapura via the seaside villages of Bunutan, Cape Ibus and Tanah Barak as the scenery is truly magnificent. This ocean road is narrow, very hilly and with many twists and bends but with each bend a breathtaking picture postcard scene of rugged cliff tops and beautiful bays lined with 100's and 100's of colourful traditional fishing boats set against a backdrop of palms and clear blue ocean.
If your car is not so good or you aren't too keen on winding, ocean roads then from Amed simply backtrack yourself and rejoin the main road at Culik and travel down along the main drag to Amlapura via the "Royal Pools" at Tirtagangga and the beautiful vistas of terraced rice paddies along the way. Then from Amlapura back to Ubud via Candi Dasa, Klung Kung and Gianyar .
I would suggest purchasing a yellow Bali Road map as it is very good or better still a Periplus Bali Street Atlas for more detailed maps of each major area/town.
We have a group of 12 going over in July and we'll be doing the above trip again as we have 5 Bali Virgins with us this trip. Starting and ending from our base in Sanur we will stop overnight in Lovina (Bali Paradise Hotel) and a night in Amed (Life in Amed).
My apologies if I have misspelled any of the towns or villages.