Indonesia: Bali Travel Guide | Itineraries and Highlights

Bali is an island in the Indonesian archipelago that boasts every kind of natural beauty in addition to its magical temples and magnificent beaches. Its beauty is well known, however, Bali isn’t a country; it’s part of Indonesia!

Most visitors to Indonesia only visit Bali, so there is sometimes confusion about the island’s status.

Ubud is located in the heart of Bali and will serve as a base to visit the surrounding areas.

Lempuyang Temple is best known for its “Gateway to Heaven” which is perfectly aligned with the Agung volcano in the background. The light of the rising sun on this temple makes for particularly beautiful pictures; for this I suggest you to go there very early.

Interestingly, there is no body of water in front of the temple doors creating the reflection that can sometimes be seen on social networks; the illusion is created with a mirror!

Then, Tirta Gangga a former royal palace with magnificent pools where you can see giant water lilies and huge goldfish. A little further on is Pura Tirta Empul, a water temple where you can watch the locals perform their purification rituals.

If you fancy visiting another of Bali’s impressive temples, I’d go to Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, just north of Ubud. It is picturesque and located on a lake.

On your 2nd day in Ubud, take a short hike to Mount Batur to catch the sunrise. The views from the top of this volcano are majestic when the first rays of light pierce the sky while eating some breakfast.

The climb takes about 2 hours depending on your level of physical fitness and is done in the dark of course; you should expect to leave Ubud around 2:30 am. If hiking isn’t your cup of tea, the alternative is to ride in a jeep.

In the afternoon, after a massage or a nap to recover from that early wake up call to climb Mount Batur, you don’t want to miss the rice terraces in Tegallalang to the east or Jatiluwih in the northwest. You’re free to walk around and when you gaze upon it, you’ll think “this is Bali“.

Finally, in Ubud itself, you won’t miss the opportunity to see monkeys everywhere. In fact, there’s a sacred monkey sanctuary well worth the detour (the Ubud Monkey Forest), but monkeys also roam freely in town. The sanctuary is more than just a tourist attraction: it’s also a place for wildlife research and conservation.

For a local market experience in Bali, take a trip to the Ubud Traditional Art Market and its many small alleys; you will find more authentic pieces than in Kuta.

Before leaving Ubud, take time to enjoy a traditional Balinese dance performance or a flower bath at a spa.

The Uluwatu region is located on the Bukit Badung peninsula in the south of Bali; you can find splendid cliffs overlooking the Indian Ocean and beautiful beaches.

At the western end of the peninsula lies the Pura Luhur Ulwatu temple, a superb place to watch the sunset and see the waves crashing against the walls; the building is not as impressive as its counterparts in Bali, but its location is magnificent.

Every evening, a traditional Balinese dance show takes place at the Uluwatu temple.

To relax, take a trip to Jimbaran Bay or Padang Padang beach which became very famous after the success of the movie Eat, Pray, Love.

The seafood restaurants in Jimbaran are succulent and I really enjoyed walking along the waterfront at the end of the day.

If you want to enjoy the beach or yoga, you’ll find what you’re looking for on Gili Air. It’s a place that offers a little bit of everything.

Gili Trawangan or simply “Gili T” is the liveliest place to party. Gili T is also the place to see giant sea turtles while snorkeling or on the beach.

Finally, Gili Meno is the island for couples who prefer to relax in a beautiful setting and have a romantic getaway, far from all the party people. For a romantic getaway or for a wedding near Bali, my preference is Gili Meno.

What to do in Gili? Spend time in the water! The underwater life is very colorful! Near Gili Meno, there is an area with several underwater statues and lots of fish at Turtle Point.

The Nusa Islands near Bali are a good alternative to disconnect when you lack time to go to the Gili Islands. A (very long) day trip can be done independently or on an organized tour. The largest and most visited island is Nusa Penida, followed by Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan.

The scenery is breathtaking; these small islands off Bali are simply stunning, with their lush greenery and turquoise seas. Underwater, the coral reefs are teeming with life. If you’re lucky, you may even swim with manta rays and sea turtles. However, the currents can be strong in this area.

To round off your Bali vacation, spend a day or two in Seminyak, Legian, Canggu or Kuta; these places are very touristy, but they’re well located for a return trip home. Traffic in Bali can be quite heavy, so it’s best to not have to rush to Nusa or Gili!

There are lots of restaurants in this area, and the atmosphere is very Americanized; we only stayed for a day/evening before catching our outbound flight, and spent most of our time at the spa being pampered and massaged!

Although Bali is a budget travel destination, this is not necessarily the case for airfare.

In my experience, Bali is a place where it’s imperative to understand how the system works if you want to get by inexpensively; Bali‘s airport is relatively close to all the Asian hubs: Hong Kong, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bangkok.

With Aeroplan’s fare structure, we have to use a tool like GCMap to design our route.

In fact, the best Aeroplan price for a trip to Bali is 60,000 points for a one-way ticket, or 120,000 points for a round trip in economy class.

If you do the YUL-EWR/JFK-SIN-DPS route, you’ll have covered 10,925 miles, just under the 11,000-mile limit.

However, we have one more layover as well as the inconvenience of having to change airports between EWR and JFK. This could be an opportunity to visit New York for a few hours!

A more direct route with only 3 flight segments is possible via Europe or Los Angeles and San Francisco. However, these routes are just over 11,000 miles (75 miles too many!). Consequently, these flights to Bali will be 15,000 points more expensive per direction.

Since you’ll have to pay to change airports in New York, it may be prefferable to pay a little more in points to reach Bali more comfortably. It’s up to you to decide what’s best for your situation.

In both cases, you can take advantage of the Aeroplan stop for an additional 5,000 points, provided it is not in North America. So head to Paris, Munich or Singapore on your way to Bali!

Another way to use Aeroplan points to get to Bali is to look for availability to a hub like Singapore. Then you can take a low-cost airline for the last leg of the jouirney to Bali. Mathematically and logistically, in my opinion, this is the better strategy.

In the previous section, we established that a round trip flight (economy class) to Bali is between 120,000 and 150,000 points per person depending on the itinerary chosen.

However, you can reach Singapore for less than 100,000 Aeroplan points without much hassle.

Then, round-trip tickets on low-cost carriers between Singapore and Bali vary around $200.

So by going to a hub and shelling out $200 for a low-cost flight, you can easily save 30,000 to 50,000 Aeroplan points. Depending on our valuation, these points represent $600 to $1,000.

Finally, another advantage of doing this is that you can make an Aeroplan stopover between Montreal and your hub. Then, spend as many days as you want in the latter before reaching Bali. In a way, you’ll have two destinations!

This may seem very adventurous, but the best way to get around Bali is to do as the locals do… by motorcycle! Obviously, this is not an option with young children, but for a couple or a group of friends, it’s freedom at a low price!

You can even book online on this site and pay with your credit card without any conversion fees. I recommend this site for its reliability, good reviews and good rates.

The two main transport apps are Gojek and Grab. Uber isn’t exactly a favorite in Bali.

With Grab, you can even reserve the services of a driver for a few hours and visit the entire island of Bali!

Both are equivalent, but some will prefer the interface of one more than the other. So I suggest you download both applications and try them out. Then, if you can’t find a car on one, look on the other!

Personally, I never looked into car rental in Bali, because motorcycles are so cheap and so is renting a car with a driver for the day. It’s practical for families as you can go at your children’s pace while being guided by a local.

You will have to negotiate, but it is common to hire a driver to visit Bali at a cost of $20 – $40 for a period of 8 to 10 hours. However, most of the payment will be taken in cash.

Street cabs are also an option, but be prepared to haggle; even if you are not talented in this aspect, it’s generally not that expensive.

For people looking for luxury at low prices (or free with Rewards Points), Bali is the destination of choice, as it is a budget travel destination. There is surely something suiting of anyone’s budget, but staying in a 5-star hotel for the same price as a regular establishment in New York is definetly possible.

Bali is a sweetspot with Marriott Bonvoy and their properties are in prime locations in Kuta and Ubud; there are plenty of low-cost hotels in the chain.

Depending on current promotions, you can easily earn enough Marriott Bonvoy points to stay up to 18 free nights in Bali with the Marriott Bonvoy^®American Express^® Card and the Marriott Bonvoy^® Business American Express^® Card.

With two people, you could consider spending more than a month in this paradise for a total contribution of $540, thanks to generous welcome bonuses (2 cards with fees of $120 each and 2 cards for $150)!

Accommodation in Bali isn’t expensive, but nights in independent hotels or Marriott-caliber Airbnbs for less than $20 a night are rare. In addition, members with status can enjoy many benefits such as free (mega) breakfasts to save even more and upgrades for extra comfort.

Here are our reviews from Marriott Bonvoy hotels in Bali:

Similarly, Best Western hotels are very inexpensive in Bali. So this program is a good alternative (or complement) to Marriott Bonvoy with 5,000 point Best Western Rewards nights.

Undeniably, the region of Bali is the most developed for tourism, but if you can spare the time, the rest of Indonesia is also worth a visit.

Bali has retained its cultural charm despite the hordes of visitors and I loved it. That said, I also enjoyed the island of Java for a trip to Indonesia off the beaten track.