To say I’ve been lagging on writing this post would be THE understatement of the century, especially because it’s quite literally been almost a year since the last time I visited Bali, and well over a year since I wrote my last post. But to make a long story short, a lot more than time has transpired between my last blog post and today, and after over a year of neglecting my poor little blog, I am 100% back-in-action. So, let’s get into the actual reason why you’re here – BALI. The lush tropical paradise on every traveler’s list, with the freshest vegan food and some of the world’s most desired waves. If there’s any place I would never get tired of, it would certainly be this warm, beautiful island. In this post, I’ll walk you through the most popular towns in Bali, offer a few tips for getting around, and provide you with links to all of the places we stayed. Ps, keep an eye out for my next post, where I’ll be covering our favorite foodie spots and bars. For now, let’s jump on in to the incredible villas and trendy towns of Bali!
In our opinion, the best way to experience Bali in terms of accommodations is through AirBnB, especially if you’re on a budget.
It allows you to stay in some insanely beautiful villas that you’ll have all to yourself for a cheaper price point than the crazy resorts you see on Instagram (but still just as IG-worthy), and you’ll be able to interact with the most gracious, local villa hosts that you’ll ever meet. I mean, we’re talking at-your-service, will-arrange-anything-for-you. Seriously, the kindest people in the entire world.
Tip #1: Make sure to have your AirBnB host arrange a pickup for you from the airport to the villa. Many of the homes are pretty tucked away and not well marked with house numbers, so it’s usually pretty hard to find upon first arrival, depending on where you book (especially if you’re checking in later in the day). You’ll also feel more comfortable with the villa’s driver who will be familiar with the place, rather than trying to find your way with a taxi.
Tip #2: If you’re feeling confident enough to drive a motorbike, ask your host to have a bike and helmets rented for you before you arrive. That way, you’re ready to explore as soon as you arrive, and don’t need to worry about finding a place with good prices to rent a bike from.
Kuta
Don’t stay in Kuta! But really, don’t. It’s not completely bad depending on what you’re used to, but you’ll have a WAY better outlook on Bali if you just don’t. But I wanted to put this on the list firstly to tell you to just not, but also because I actually have a funny story to share.
So on our first trip to Bali, I was in charge of booking our AirBnBs, and I completely messed up…
To give some context to the story, we were booked on a red-eye flight from Los Angeles that left at 10pm with an 11-hour layover in Shanghai, and arrived in Bali technically two days after we had left LA. Which is already confusing with all the timezone differences (or maybe that’s just me), but to make matters worse, I was trying to book the AirBnB properly, given their 3pm check-in time, so that we’d be able to head right to our place when we landed in Bali at 2am. I was thinking too hard into the time and day differences and ended up booking our AirBnB check-in time for 12 hours after we had landed… So imagine Ryan and I: tired AF, sweaty AF, greasy as a skillet after bacon (okay, I was the only greasy one) after traveling for over 20 hours to get there. And I had ONE job… sorry, Ryan! Did I mention it was 2am? And our first time ever in Bali? So, barely any taxis on the road, everything was closed… but honestly we were just laughing about the whole thing (because he’s the best and we cool like that) and we jumped right into a somewhat sketchy Uber and made our way to the 100% sketchy town of Kuta, which is the closest city to the airport. After being dropped off a couple of times to attempt to find a room at some non-vacant hotels, we made our way to the trusty ‘ol Best Western like the good Americans that we are. I’m just kidding – B-dub was literally the only place open that actually had a room to give us. And surprisingly enough, the next morning (while we waited until 3pm to check-in to our AirBnB) we hopped up to club B-dub’s rooftop bar with a young DJ who was spitting the tracks to an empty pool deck that overlooked the ocean. I meeannn, not bad for a late-night decision in a seedy area of the island, amirite? But I digress…
Where we stayed:
Canggu
Our FAVORITE spot in Bali! We love Canggu; so much so that we stayed here twice during our first trip to Bali and exclusively during our second trip to the island. Being from Orange County, we gravitate towards the beach towns, and Canggu certainly did not disappoint. Not as loud and rambunctious as Seminyak but with just as much spunk, Canggu is the perfect location close to the beaches and trendy spots when you don’t want to stay in the middle of the “scene”. Ryan’s favorite surf spots in Canggu were Echo Beach, Old Man’s, and Berawa Beach, which are all conveniently located next to some really great spots to eat and drink after a day in the water!
Where we stayed:
Seminyak
We’ve never stayed in Seminyak but I figured I’d put it on the list, especially if it’s going to be your first time in Bali. Arguably one of the most popular places to stay, Seminyak is located where all of the action is – the most popular bars, foodie hot spots and streets lined with Australian fashion boutiques. Seminyak has more of that “downtown” vibe, but in an island-sort-of-way. There isn’t actually a reason why we didn’t stay here – we simply just wanted to be closer to the surf in Canggu – but we did spend a lot of time eating, drinking, and shopping in Seminyak.
Ubud
The dense, jungle-y town of Ubud is perfect for those who want a quiet retreat with a true yogi-vibe. You’ll find lots of culture in Ubud, which is so beautiful to experience. Ryan and I got the chance to watch the traditional kecak dance and learn more about the spiritual side of the locals, and we loved how relaxing the entire town felt. The one thing we intentionally didn’t venture into was the infamously wild Monkey Forest, mostly because of my not-so-secret fear of primates. Instead, we got a personal tour of the beautiful Tegallalang Rice Terrace from a local that we had become friends with while staying in Canggu, and as part of a surprise trip that I had arranged for Ryan, we rode elephants on a sanctuary that was located a short drive outside of town. After we rode the elephants, we headed over to the IG-famous Bali Swing to take some basic pics of us swinging over the trees of the lush forest. (Note: there are three swings here and a few “bird’s nests” that you can take pics in. Warning: must pay to get in and is definitely FULL of tourists, including us).
Where we stayed:
Uluwatu
We booked our stay at an awesome place right on the sand in Uluwatu for a few days during the Balinese Hindu celebration of Nyepi, which is otherwise known as their “silent day”. During Nyepi, you aren’t allowed to be outside of the house, even as a tourist, and they actually have policemen patrolling all areas of the island to make sure of this (they will fine you if you’re caught outside). However, because it was Nyepi, we were able to see a few awesome parades and performances by the local communities, where they told the stories of their gods and the evil ogoh-ogoh, which they craft out of bamboo, flowers, wood and styrofoam, much like the floats that you see in New York at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. We also did a bit of snorkeling on the beach right outside of our AirBnB and saw some really cute fishies! Overall, Uluwatu is a pretty quiet town with not a lot going on, but if you’re into surfing, you’ll need to check out Padang Padang and Dreamland while you’re there.
Where we stayed:
Gili Islands
Technically not a part of Bali, but I wanted to put these tiny little islands on here because they’re a popular spot about an hour off of the coast that you can travel to. We decided to venture over to the Gili Islands by boat during our first trip to Bali and ended up staying on Gili Trawangan (the largest of the three Gili Islands). I’ll be honest, Gili T was not our favorite place to spend time, but it could be fun if you’re young, single and ready to mingle – and I’ll just leave it at that. The hotel where we stayed was pretty cool with some very gracious workers, and the island did have some pretty over-the-water swings that made for great pictures… but we most likely won’t be returning to the island. I’d definitely be interested in checking out Gili Meno and Gili Air if we ever venture that direction again – I’ve heard some great things!
Where we stayed:
https://www.jaliresortgilitrawangan.com/
And that pretty much wraps it! During our next venture out to Bali, we’d love to explore more of the northern areas where the beautiful mountaintop gates are located, as well as travel over to Nusa Penida for a few days (another small island off the coast of Bali). I’ll follow-up with an update once we’re able to get up there!
Until next time,
xx
