Our Ultimate Bali Travel Guide: Tips On How To Have The Best First-Time Experience (2-Week Itinerary)
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Our Ultimate Bali Travel Guide: How To Have The Best Experience
We had just over a 2 week Bali itinerary for our first trip and, needless to say, it was AWESOME! It exceeded our expectations by far and blew us away with its beauty, spirituality, food, culture, people and more. We have to admit that we were actually worried it was going to be over-hyped, but thankfully we’re here to tell you that it certainly deserves its reputation! It’s now not only one of our favourite countries in Asia (along with the Philippines), but it’s also one of our favourite places we’ve ever been to!
In our ultimate Bali travel guide we’ll tell you the best places to visit in 2 weeks, including the best beaches, cafes, restaurants, nature, experiences and things to do.
In total we went spent:
Our highlights were:
NOTE: The island of Bali is pretty big and things are sprawled out a bit so in order to have a relaxed enough time and not be rushing everywhere, you need to choose a handful of things that are your must-sees, because there’s a lot to choose from! We didn’t do the north and all the infamous gates etc. this time around because we wanted to see Uluwatu, Ubud and Canggu in the south but we definitely want to go back and see more next time.
For example, we didn’t have time to go North for a Mount Batur sunrise climb like we originally wanted to, or get to visit any of the islands such as Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan or Gili Islands, but we definitely will next time! Unfortunately, if you’re on a time budget like we were, you’ll have to decide. However, we are extremely happy with what we did see and think this Bali trip had the PERFECT combination of all the must-sees for a first-time holiday.
a guide to Uluwatu, south east Bali
We stayed in Uluwatu because it’s said to have the most beautiful beaches with white sand and blue waters, along with the Nusa Islands (because most of Bali actually has black sand), and it did not disappoint! It’s like a smaller, more chilled version of Canggu on cliffs. Come here if you’d like to experience a 360 view of Bali’s landscapes (and escape from the crowds a bit if you’re going in high season). Uluwatu is fairly small so it is possible to pick one or two beaches and just do a day trip from Seminyak say if you prefer, however, we really loved the vibes here so do recommend staying a few days if possible (the beaches are the best and the food is amazing after all)!
The best Uluwatu beaches:
Our favourite for ease was actually new Padang Padang beach (Labuan Sait). Found in the centre of Uluwatu, it’s just a quick walk down a flight of stairs and then you can stay on the beach right there for some slightly deeper water, or walk on down towards the infamous Dreamsea Surf for a quieter spot. Note: Unlike other spots in Bali, this whole area is very tidal, so when we were there the water was only swimmable in the morning-early afternoon, after that it became too shallow. The original Padang Padang (Thomas) beach is also really nice and bit more secluded.
We also visited Jimbaran (which is good for beginner’s surf. It’s long, wide and sandy but the water wasn’t as nice); Dreamland (which is also good for beginner’s surf); Bingin; Balangan; and Nyang Nyang- this beach is the most isolated of the ones we went to and has stunning views but it is a long walk down from the cliff top and once you get to the bottom there’s NOTHING down there so make sure you bring a packed lunch! If you fail to, like we did haha, there is a cafe at the top which is not too bad and has amazing views as well.
Best places to stay in Uluwatu:
Dreamsea surf. You’ve most likely seen pictures of this place on your Instagram feed, and with good reason! It truly is a beautiful place with amazing views- it’s carved right into the cliffside and you get to wake up every day to the ocean, what more could you want? We will say however, to be careful which room you book because some are right where the (delicious) restaurant area is. We can’t think of any better way to quick off your Bali holiday than by staying here!
OUR TOP PICK: Rumah Wayan. We stayed here and honestly cannot recommend it enough! It’s such a beautiful, chilled place, you’ll feel right at home. Gallo, the owner, is incredibly hospitable and will help you out with anything you need (even giving you lifts!). Breakfast is included and you can get a massage there and hire a scooter from him with helmets for about £4 a day (which we highly recommend because Uluwatu is less walkable than Canggu/Ubud are). We seriously loved this place and would like our home to look something like it one day! It’s also really reasonably priced per night for what you get.
Images via Rumah Wayan
Best places to eat in Uluwatu:
We loved the food in Uluwatu, all the places are so beautiful and the food is really yummy. Here is our absolute favourite places we ate at:
Bukit Cafe - THE best food! We loved the simplicity of this place and the food was so so yummy, we ate here several times and still think about some of those meals!
Drifter - Truly delicious, healthy food with a great menu to choose from. Order the chocolate peanut butter smoothie and thank us later ;) this place is also cool because it has an awesome little shop attached.
Images via Bukit Cafe
The Place With No Name - Great for vegetarian food and the BEST fish tacos we’ve ever had! It’s also really cute and right on the main road so has super easy access.
Suka Espresso - This is a cute little place that’s in a slightly less busy spot and also has some great local food options! We also loved the coffee and poke bowls.
Mango Tree - This place is just opposite The Place With No Name and is a great option for some delicious buddha bowls.
The Loft - Note: This place is also in Canggu but we would DEFINITELY recommend going to this one because it’s more beautiful.
Images via The Place With No Name
What to visit in Uluwatu:
Uluwatu Temple for the kecak fire dance - this was seriously so awesome, we highly recommend experiencing this performance. It’s super cool to do it here too because it’s outside, on the top of a cliff overlooking the sea and it’s timed perfectly with the sunset- it doesn’t get much better than that! It’s such a beautiful setting, we’d recommend arriving at least an hour before to have a look around and take any pictures you might want (it will get pretty crowded after). Also, beware of the monkeys! They’re cheekier here than in Ubud monkey forest haha.
Ubud itinerary, central bali
We absolutely loved Ubud. Even though it’s super touristy and busy (we went in low season so I can only imagine what it’s like in high season), it’s still really beautiful and the magic is definitely tangible! It’s also SUPER easy to get away and into nature (like a road away from wherever you are). As it’s so famous, if you’re traveling to Bali for the first time this is a definite must-visit. And even if you’ve been before, there’s SO much to see in the surrounding area it’s always worth coming back to. Especially as it’s not only the epicentre of Bali’s healing culture, but the whole of Asia!
What to do in Ubud:
Campuhan Ridge walk. You may recognise the lonely palm tree from Instagram, and this place is well-worth the hike, but we personally preferred the secret rice fields walk because we felt more immersed in the Bali landscape and there were MUCH less people around. There’s also a couple of restaurants along the way if you’d like to get away from the Ubud crowds a bit. You can find this place by keeping the Starbucks in town on your right and walking away from the centre, soon you’ll see a small sign for the walk on your right. You can find the exact coordinates here. We recommend doing these walks at either sunrise or sunset as the colours are beautiful!
See a palm reader. This was our first experience visiting a healer and having our palms read and it did not disappoint. It’s something we still frequently think about and so we’d say if there’s one thing you do with your time in Ubud- do this, it’s such a quintessential Bali experience. However, you MUST do your research properly. There are only a handful of actual, traditional healers in Ubud, and you won’t find advertisements for them on the streets. We went with Agus Sihman, which we talk more about in another post here.
Try a sound bath. Again, this was our first experience doing this and we loved it! It’s super relaxing and a really unique way to engage with your body. The one we went to was set in a pyramid; you lie on soft mats for an hour whilst a “sound master” plays a variety of sounds/music using crystal bowls, gongs, voice and various other instruments. You essentially go into a super relaxed, meditative state. We really enjoyed it, however, the next time we try it we’d like to do it in a smaller, more personal setting (the room had a 60 person capacity) because we think that the sound vibrations (and so the experience) will be more intense.
Go to the famous Ubud market. No trip to Bali would be complete without stopping at this market to top up on all your basket bag desires! Don’t forget to haggle (we usually got things at 1/3 to 1/2 price off original asking price). BALI TOP TIP: The ATM machines only distribute small amounts (the equivalent of about £20-50 max at a time), so plan for this in advance. You can either exchange some currency before you leave or take out multiple transactions as you go. We also have a debit card (Monzo) that offers free cash withdrawals up to £200 and no transactions fees!
Make friends with the macaques at the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. We weren’t sure on whether to go here or not because we’ve seen loads of monkeys all over Bali, and Asia, but the park is beautiful in itself. It’s set around a small stream and is full of lush nature. It’s not too big so you can easily spend a nice hour or two around here and enjoy getting a bit more up close and personal with the monkeys- they’re obviously very used to tourists so you can get a bit closer than you normally would. Plus, there’s loads of baby monkeys around which is always awesome!
Visit the water purification temple, Tirta Empul - we cannot recommend this enough, and most definitely get a guide if you do as well! You will learn SO much about Bali culture and Hinduism and it will become a much more spiritual and insightful experience for you. You only need to tip them what you feel (if anything). If you can, go with Kadek. Meeting him was actually life changing for us and we continuously think about him to this day! When we met him he was sitting outside the entrance to the fountains and you’ll recognise him by his giant smile!
Go to Gunung Kawi - one of Bali’s oldest temples! This place is really cool to wander around, not only for its rich and unique history but also because it’s practically unknown! When we were there we only bumped into one other couple. The surrounding area is so beautifully magical too, it’s well worth a visit. It’s also not too far from Tegallalang so you can fit them both in one day.
Tegallalang Rice Terraces - Now, if you’re anything like us you may be thinking “do I really need to visit this still?” and our answer to you is yes! We were hesitant at first because we were worried that it would be over-hyped and also unnecessary- Bali is full of rice fields, surely there’s others we can go to? The key here that they’re terraces, and actually there’s not tooo many of those to choose from. Again, because it was our first time here, we decided to take the plunge and were so happy we did! Our TOP TIP is to arrive early (before the 10am buses arrive), especially if you want to get those infamous sun-ray shots (which we missed), and then head straight to the back. By the time you’ve finished wandering around and started making your way to the front, it’ll only just have started filling up around midday. Also, go in at the first entrance you reach when coming from Ubud for a really magical entrance!
And finally, out of all the amazing waterfalls in Bali, we decided to go to Kanto Lampo because it’s the most unique of its kind that we’ve seen. We liked the fact that it’s lots of little streams of water flowing over protruding rocks, as opposed to one big jet of water that we’re more used to seeing. When you get here, you have to walk down a bit to get to the waterfall and the stairs are very slippery so be careful! Also, climbing over the rocks to stand under the waterfall can be treacherous but it’s not as bad as it looks (it’s once you’re in the middle that you realise how much power the water actually has and it can be tricky to stand up/turn around at first!). Because it’s so rocky, we didn’t take our camera down with us as we didn’t want to slip and drop it, so unfortunately we only had our GoPro shots which didn’t turn out that great haha but either way we recommend it!
Where to stay in Ubud:
OUR TOP PICK: Adiwana Arya - You will literally feel like a Bali princess here! Because it was my 30th birthday and we were in a group, we splashed out a bit and went for the private villa, complete with private pool. Adiwana is so beautiful and super chilled. It faces open rice fields and you’ll have a delicious breakfast overlooking a koi pond featuring a pagoda where you can do free morning yoga classes! Plus you get a free 30-minute massage included in the price of the villa (we’re not sure if this is an ongoing service they offer). You can also take a complimentary cooking class and walking tours.
Where to eat in Ubud:
Like with lots of other bits of Ubud, we found the restaurants a bit old-school touristy at times, but there are a few really good places we went, these were our favourite:
Bridges - If you feel like treating yourself a bit, then this is the place! It’s a beautiful restaurant with an awesome view of the bridge and nature below!
Sayan House - this place is absolutely STUNNING, it has such cool architecture and interior design, great vibes and an amazing view. The menu itself is delicious and interesting, albeit a little on the pricey side. This is a really great place if you want to splash out on yourself, say on your last night or something (we had my birthday dinner there).
Soma Cafe - This place is really good for some deliciously healthy Ayurvedic food situated in a lush courtyard just off the main road, it’s the perfect spot for a little downtime!
Canggu itinerary, south Bali
Canggu was actually the clincher for us in sealing the deal to make Bali one of our favourite places! We just LOVED the overall vibe here with all the great cafes, restaurants and shops. Plus, having a flat landscape with easy access to the sea made it that bit more chilled beach-wise for us than Uluwatu, and it also had a lot more life in it. Note: we stayed in the Old Man’s side and MUCH preferred it to the other side (where Finn’s Rec Club are etc.) because we thought the shops, cafes and restaurants were nicer and preferred the more walkable roads. Plus there was a bit more nature around. We particularly liked the area past Deus Ex Machina (which is also a great place for a coffee).
Best places to eat in Canggu:
We loved all of the food in Bali but Canggu is really where it’s at! Honestly, we think you can’t really go to wrong here with wherever you end up, but below is the list of our favourite places.
Nude - A Canggu classic with all the winning combos in a dreamy setting.
Shady Shack - This is THE place to go to for breakfast! Their smoothie bowls are delicious and they have really great diverse options, plus it’s in a beautiful setting! We also like this spot because it’s on the back-roads a bit (not far from Deus).
Crate - This place is SO cheap and delicious! It’s definitely the most affordable place we came across of its kind and we loved the cool, laid-back atmosphere. It gets pretty busy here so you might have to queue to order a little bit but it goes down pretty quickly.
Vida - This is a great place if, like me, you’re interested in Ayurvedic health foods. They use a lot of adaptogens (more so than other places in Bali, which do have them too), and I liked that they cook in non-aluminium pots with natural spring water too!
Essential - I really loved this place because it’s based around essential oils! You get a set of 3 blends to add to your rosemary infused water (Detox, Digest and Energise) as well as beautifying face mist to use! The portions were on the smaller side but it’s such a beautiful place we still highly recommend it.
What to do in Canggu:
For us, the allure of Canggu was just walking around and eating at all the awesome cafes and visiting the beautiful shops! Definitely don’t leave here without stopping at Love Anchor for all your shopping steals (especially jewellery!). Apart from that, head on down to the beach for some sun and surf! As we mentioned, we preferred the Old Man’s side but you could spend your days trying out both sides of Canggu for an all round experience and to make up your own mind! This comes as the perfect end to an adventure-filled Bali itinerary so really soak up all the awesome vibes and enjoy! It’s also where you can get your beach club fix (even though we do recommend Sundays beach club in Uluwatu too).
Where to stay in Canggu:
We stayed at a very, very basic homestay because we ran out of money haha so wouldn’t personally recommend it because there’s loads of those to pick from, but this is where we plan on staying next time:
Villa Fig - It’s a super cute, private house with pool and in our favourite side of Canggu!
So that’s our ultimate Bali travel guide and tips on how to have the best first-time experience! We truly hope this is helpful for your planning so you can have the perfect 2 week itinerary like we did. If you’ve been to Bali before- what else would you add? Let us know in the comments section below, we can’t wait to go back and add to our list!
