In Reply to: Bali for the Solo Traveller posted by Lauren87J on Tuesday, 9. August 2011 at 11:22 Bali Time:
for long. There is a veritable tide of young travelers in Bali. We like to sit in Poppies Lane 1 and watch a never ending parade of younger people from around the world, complete with backpacks, looking for a good hotel deal.
Therefore if you go for a hotel in "Poppies Lane 1" in Kuta and book it for the first maybe 2 or 3 days, you will then find it easy to join up with others and move on around Bali. Many of them seem to use the Perama shuttle bus which works out cheaper than hiring a driver if you are on your own. If there are say 4 of you to share the cost, then you may as well hire a driver if you want to.
If your parents really won't budge on the escorted tour thing maybe book a short one for a couple of days and then wing it. I don't think you will enjoy the escorted tours from what I have seen of them.