Bali Travel Guide - How to travel Bali for First-timers

Bali, one of the most sought-out travel destinations in the world. The island is ideal for people looking to experience a tropical paradise with a little bit of everything. My name is Alan Su. In the summer 2017, I had the opportunity to spend roughly around two weeks in this tropical paradise. Bali has everything you'd want in a tropical destination. White sandy beaches, densely filled jungles, rich local culture, excellent food, and perhaps the friendliest and most genuinely warm people I've ever met. I decided to make this video guide for people interested in traveling to Bali for the first time and to serve as an inspiration for activities on the island. As such, many of the tips and advice in this video are geared towards first-timers. First, some facts about Bali. Indonesia is estimated to consist of more than 17,000 islands where many of them are yet to be fully named or even counted. Bali is an island and province of Indonesia. The islands sit between the larger island of Java to the west and the island of Lombok to the east. Bali has a population of around 4.3 million people where most of them are of Indonesia's Hindu minority. About 85% of Bali's population follows Hinduism. When you travel around Bali, you'll very often see many Kanang Seri. Kanang Seri are daily offerings made by the Balinese Hindus. These offerings act as a form of self-sacrifice in taking the time and effort in thanking for the peace bestowed upon the world. As such, many small shops lay their offerings near the sidewalk. Therefore, as a heads up, try to pay attention to them and avoid accidentally stepping on the offerings. Price wise, Bali is very inexpensive and should be affordable for any travel budget. Transportation is fairly cheap as well. Depending on your destination, grabbing a taxi can cost around a hundred thousand rupiahs to go from the airport to either Kuta or Nusa Dua which is around eight dollars or six euros. Food can cost anywhere between 10,000 to 150,000 rupiahs which is around 11 US dollars or nine euros. It really depends on your taste and willingness to spend on food as Bali has a bit of everything from high-class restaurants to a small street kitchen just around the corner. So you don't need to spend a lot of money on food unless you want to. As for shopping, the pricing is as you would expect in any country if you aim to shop for any known fashion brands. As for activities, kayaking, scuba diving, private tours, the price varies. Try to do your own research online prior to booking as this will help you avoid being taken advantage of. Prior research is always key especially when traveling to foreign destinations. Also, remember to bring lots of sunscreen and I mean a lot. Let's begin. When you travel to Bali, you will most likely land in Denpasar International Airport. From Denpasar, we booked a private transport all the way up to Ubud. Ubud is a town far removed from the nightlife party scene of South Kuta. The town is known for its lush greens, exquisite rice patties, high foothills, and is regarded as the cultural center of Bali. We suggest spending around 2-3 days in Ubud as that will provide you with ample amount of time to explore what Ubud has to offer. First, I recommend going down to the town center for some sightseeing. Here you'll be able to visit some of the many temples in the region. In addition, I recommend going down to the local market of Ubud. Here you can find many different arts and crafts, sarongs, which will make a perfect little souvenir. Next, no Ubud trip is really complete until you visit the famous sacred monkey forest. As the forest consists of monkeys running around, it's important to note that the monkeys are still wild animals and therefore can act unpredictably. As such, it's important to pay attention to the guidance from the different signs and employees working at the facility. Want a change of scenery? If you have the time, you should definitely take a walk through the Kambuhan Ridge Walk. On the trail, you get to enjoy lush green scenery such as rice paddies, dense jungle, and small tea houses all across the trail. The trail is up to 6 miles in length or 9 kilometers, which makes for a perfect little route if you're looking for a nice little morning run. For food, there are a few places that I can recommend. White Orchid for its delicious caramelized pork, a must order in my opinion. Swept Away for its gorgeous scenery and lovely dishes. Lokavore for local gourmet experience or Melting Walk Warung for that authentic Indonesian cuisine. When in Ubud or anywhere in Bali really, I highly recommend renting a scooter. A scooter allows you to travel freely around the region and it's super affordable. The price of renting a which is around four US dollars or three euros. If you plan to rent for a week or even longer, you can usually negotiate for a much cheaper price. With our scooter, we decided to visit some of the nearby waterfalls. First on the list was Cekudangan Waterfall. This is perhaps the most well-known in the region and also the most crowded. Get here early to avoid the crowd. I recommend climbing the fleet of stairs right next to the waterfall to get to the top where you'll be greeted with a scene of man-made rock monuments and a nice little stream for you to dip your toes in. Next, we went to perhaps the most beautiful and by far my personal favorite, Thibumana Waterfall. Thibumana Waterfall is a bit on the offbeat track. It's therefore a little tricky to find a place as we found out. Try to ask the young locals for directions and try to look carefully for signs pointing towards the waterfall. If successful, you will be rewarded with one of the most scenic waterfalls on the island. It's important to point out that it costs a small fee to gain access to any of the waterfalls in the region. The fee will be around ten to twenty thousand rupiahs. It's just important to be aware of these fees if you plan to visit anything in Bali, whether it's waterfalls or any natural attraction. So remember to bring cash. After a we booked a transfer to Padang Bay on the eastern side of the island. Here, we booked a fast boat to the Gili Islands and decided to stay at the largest of the three islands, Gili T. Gili T is the most developed of the three islands and is also known for its party scene. If you're looking for a more secluded or more peaceful experience, Gili Air may just be the island for you. We stayed in Gili T for three days which in my opinion is sufficient time to experience what the island has to offer. As for activities, rent a bike as it will make it far easier for you to explore the island as it will only take approximately an hour and a half to bike all around the island. From there, you can book some snorkeling equipment to use on your nearby beach or book a snorkeling boat trip for those more secluded spots. There are also plenty of scuba diving options available. Just walk down the main road and you can't miss them. If there's one thing you definitely need to check out, it would have to be the night market. Every night around 7 pm, the locals set up their food carts filled with freshly caught seafood and local cuisines. If you're up for experiencing some local food with a nice cold bintang, the night market is made for you. After Gili T, we went back to the island of Bali where we booked a transport from Padang Bay to Seminyak. Seminyak is regarded as a suburb of Kuta and very popular amongst expats. Plenty of luxury hotels, high-class restaurants, and high-end shopping opportunities. If you want to experience a more luxurious environment in Bali, then Seminyak is the perfect location. However, if you're on a budget and you're mostly interested in the party scene, then Legian or Kuta may be more in your alleyway. Regardless, whether you stay in Kuta, Legian, or Seminyak, it'll only take around 10 to 20 minutes in a taxi to get to any of the other areas, so don't limit yourself during your trip to only one specific area. While in Seminyak, we got to experience a host of delicious food. I'm personally a big food lover and this felt like heaven to me. Although the food prices are a bit more expensive than in Ubud, it's still relatively more affordable compared to back home in Copenhagen or in the States when compared to equal level establishments. If you're interested in trying some spots out, here are my recommendations. Saigon Street for your Vietnamese food cravings, Sister Fields Cafe for your lunch hour hangout spot, Mamasan for a trip down Asia's finest offerings, Kuta for casual but top-notch gourmet experience. If you're thirsty, then grab a seat at Potato Head Beach Club for some tasty cocktails and snacks by the beach. As for activities, if you aren't into the nightlife scene, I highly recommend booking some private island tours. We used a company called Bali Special Tour. They offer competitively priced packages and allows you to customize the trip any way you see fit. We booked a private tour to go dolphin watching at Lovina Beach. It was an awesome experience and one of my favorite moments of the trip. In addition, we also had the opportunity to visit Pura Ulundana Water Temple and the Tanah Lot Temple. If you haven't got time or if you really aren't into temples, I suggest skipping those as they are usually really crowded and known for being tourist traps. No Bali trip is without beaches. We decided to go visit some beaches south of Kuta. My favorite beach of them all was Green Bowl Beach. Located down a cliffside down to a set of stairs occupied by gang-like monkeys, you will witness the bluest of oceans, soft sand, and enthralling beach caves. So get your cameras ready, you won't regret it. Muzudua provides well-kept beaches located in a secluded resort area. Blue Point Beach is known to be a surfer's hangout. This beach is mostly covered by rocks and cliffs with small patches of sand. It's not the ideal sunbathing spot but you wouldn't really be interested in sunbathing if you come here anyways. The waves are incredibly strong making it a surfer's dream. Lastly but not least, Bingen Beach. What can I say about Bingen? Beautiful cliffside views, beachside restaurants, front row seat for the sunset of your life. Everything you need in a beach. When you come down to Bingen Beach, walk through the rocky patch of the beach towards the abandoned buildings located on the north side of the beach. Here the beach is a lot more secluded. You'll be able to find some nice and soft sand to lay on while waiting for the sunset to arrive. This marks the end of our trip in Bali and of all the places I've been to, this was by far my favorite. The island of Bali has so much to offer for any traveler that you could stay here for weeks or even months. When I look back on all the footage, I simply cannot stop falling in love with the island all over again. I highly recommend taking a trip to Bali if you have the opportunity to do so. You'll be met by lustrous locations, mesmerizing nature, tons of activities, great food, and some of the most warmest and welcoming people I've ever met. It's hard not to fall in love with this place and I definitely aim to come back soon. Until then, I plan to travel around Europe and Southeast Asia where I'll be sharing my adventures through daily vlogs and videos such as these. So if you enjoyed the video, don't forget to hit that like button and subscribe for more content and I'll see you guys in the next video.