Best of Bali and Lombok

Have you been to Bali or its neighbor island of Lombok? I want to share with you an exceptional tour I did of both islands in May of 2018. I booked my trip through G Adventures, a well-known touring company that provides guided trips all over the world. We spent two weeks seeing the highlights of this paradise and what I think is the Best of Bali and Lombok!

Before this trip, I had heard many things about Bali but didn’t know exactly where it was located. Bali is an island in Indonesia, 153 km (95 mi) wide and 112 km (70 mi) north to south. Bali is the only Hindu-majority province in Muslim-majority Indonesia, with 86.9% of the population following Balinese Hinduism.

Our G Adventures tour was called ‘Classic Bali and Lombok’. It wasn’t a cheap tour as it cost us approximately 3500 USD for two people. This included lodging, transportation, and some activities and meals. We had to arrange and pay for our flights to Bali. We also had to pay for the optional activities and excursions that we chose.

I shopped around for other tours but decided on G Adventures because of the reviews and the excellent website presentation of their trips. I wanted to see the most of Bali and Lombok in the short time of two weeks and didn’t want the hassles of getting around on our own.

We flew from Geneva to Denpasar Airport in Sanur, Bali. The tour included transportation from the airport to our first hotel in Sanur. We met that evening our group of 14 which surprisingly to me had many young people in their 20s. I think we were the oldest but we didn’t mind at all being with a younger crowd.

After our first night in Sanur, we headed north on our tour bus to see the UNESCO-protected Jatiluwih Rice Terraces. The area was gorgeous and we learned all about how they grow and pick the rice.

After that, we were taken to the Lake Danu Bratan Temple in Bedugul. This Hindu temple built in 1633 is called Pura Ulun Danu Bratan and is known as the Floating Temple. It is said to be the most important and photographed temple in Bali. This picturesque area with many colorful flowers was a delight to see.

We spent our second night in the quaint Puri Lumbung Cottages near Munduk in the north-central part of Bali Island. The peaceful lodge nestled in the mountains was a perfect setting for experiencing this area. Sandi was our guide and CEO (Chief Experience Officer). He was the nicest man and gave us an outdoor sunset yoga meditation class while we stayed here.

After our night in Munduk, we spent the next day doing a short walk from our lodge to the amazing Munduk waterfall. This powerful waterfall is off the beaten track and is not a major tourist spot. You could get up close to the falls for great photo opportunities.

Day 3 agenda was to drive to Kintamani and the Lake Batur area. We had an awesome hotel here called Lakeview Hotel and Restaurant offering breathtaking views of the lake and surrounding mountains.

The big event here was our sunrise hike up to the top of Mount Batur. We were up at 3 am to get to the base of the mountain at 4 am. We arrived at the top at 5:30 am and waited amongst the hundred others to see the sunrise at 6:15 am. What an adventure it was! Unfortunately, there were some clouds that got in the way of a perfect sunrise but it was beautiful nonetheless.

At the top of the mountain there were many wild monkeys. Some people were feeding them bananas. You definitely wanted to keep your distance from them as they seemed quite agressive.

Although quite tired afterwards, I loved this early morning excursion. It was a unique experience worth doing!

We relaxed later that day and had a nice meal together with the group at our hotel. The food in Bali is quite good if you like rice and vegetables.

Day 5 we left the Lake Batur region to head towards the famous town of Ubud.

On the way to Ubud, we stopped for lunch at the G Adventures-supported Bali Community Training Lunch Program. This initiative supports and assists people living with disabilities in Bali to find independence and meaningful employment through training in the hospitality sector. In Hindu-Bali, it is a societal belief that being born with a disability is a product of “bad karma”. Such a shame for this thinking as we met some nice disabled people at this place!

We stayed at a very nice hotel in Ubud called the Champlung Sari Hotel. The hotel was located right on the main street of Ubud and had beautiful grounds and lots of wild monkeys. I was very surprised to see all the monkeys freely walking and jumping around on the trees.

There were signs warning not to engage with the monkeys. I was shocked to see many of them come to our second-floor hotel room balcony and bang on our windows. It was a bit scary but funny too.

I believe everyone that goes to Bali makes it to Ubud. It’s a cute village with many activities to enjoy. Ubud has one main street with many restaurants and stores.

We enjoyed walking around and seeing the unique pool restaurants hidden from the street view. Ubud reminded me of a place from the 1960s with a real hippie vibe going.

The first night in Ubud, we met up with some of our group members to watch a traditional Balinese dance show. It was very interesting. I loved seeing the pointy fingers and puppet-like eyes of the women dancers.

On Day 5 while in Ubud, we had a free day to do our own thing or organize an activity. We chose to do a river raft trip just outside of the village. That was a great choice because we were able to see the outskirts of Ubud during our ride to the river and take in the views from the water.

On Day 6, we left Ubud and headed for the east coast of Bali. We stopped off for a visit of the Kerta Gosa Pavilion built in 1686 and the Klungkung Palace. This historical site was originally used as a court where the kings would announce justice and punishment.

The name of Kerta Gosa is taken from Sanskrit where Kerta means serene and Gosa is derived from Gosita, meaning established or announced.

We also stopped off at Segara Goa Lawah where we wrapped ourselves with colorful cloth and beads to visit the Balinese “Bat Cave Temple”. This Hindu temple was built in the 11th century around a cave opening with bats. I had never seen so many bats before in my life. There must have been thousands of them clinging to the cave roof and flying around.

We then got settled into our new hotel called Ashyana Candidasa Resort right on the water. The setting on this beach was beautiful and quiet with no other tourists. We had a nice outdoor lunch with our tour group and then free time to walk around.

Candidasa was where we would take the four-hour ferry ride to the island of Lombok. One of the reasons I chose this tour was to see not only the popular tourist spot of Bali but a quieter island with a different culture. Unlike Bali, where the main religions are Hinduism and Buddhism, the main religion of Lombok is Muslim.

Day 8 was the journey from Candidasa to the south coast of Lombok. We stopped by a Sasak traditional village on the way to Kuta. In this Sukarara weaving village, we got to pick out traditional outfits that they let us wear for photo ops. Lombok is known for its weaving crafts. It was amazing to watch these local women use the weaving device.

Day 9 was a fun day in Kuta. We had an optional activity to go surfing on this day. I had never surfed before in my life but had to try! We took a bus to the nearby beach called Selong Belanak where we had an instructor and young local men to hold the surfboard and push us into the small waves. It sure made it easier than doing it alone.

The water and surrounding hills at this location were amazing. What we liked most was the lack of tourists. After surfing, we had a nice cold beer on the beach.

On Day 10, we left Kuta for a scenic drive through the middle of Lombok. We stopped at Tetebatu for a tour of the rice fields and to see how the locals live.

After walking through the rice fields, we were driven to the coastal town of Senggigi where we relaxed by the pool and walked along the beach at sunset.

Our next day was to head towards the Gili islands. We started off with a drive to Senaru next to the Rinjani volcano.

We made a short stop to walk down 325 steps to see the Sendang Waterfall.

After seeing this northern part of Lombok, we took a small boat to cross over from the coast of Lombok to the Gili Islands. There are three small islands called Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, and Gili Air. I had seen many Instagram photos of these islands and was looking forward to experiencing them.

We stayed two nights on Gili Trawangan at the Aston Sunset Beach Resort. Our hotel was right on the water and very cute. The nicest thing about these tiny islands was that no cars were allowed. They had horse carriages to transport tourists from the port to their hotel. You could also rent bikes to go around the island which we did one day.

We spent the evenings watching the sensational sunsets and walking along the beach areas. One night we went into the main town to have dinner and dance at an outdoor beach party.

Many of the hotels had a huge wooden swing out in the water. There was always a line of people waiting to get their photo in the swing and yes, I had to do it too. There were horses on the beach that you could rent to ride. I didn’t do this but enjoyed watching the other tourists ride the horses.

On Day 12, we had a snorkeling trip near the island of Gili Air. We were taken on a small boat with our group and enjoyed seeing the other two Gili islands next to Trawangan. You could also see the mainland of Lombok with its mountainous skyline.

The water was turquoise blue and so clear! We got lucky and saw a sea turtle!

We were taken to a few different snorkel spots, including one near the island of Gili Meno with an amazing underwater sculpture called the ‘Nest’. This unusual site was created by the sculptor and underwater photographer Jason DeCaires Taylor. It was created as an artificial reef so that coral would grow on it and attract fish.

After our fun-filled snorkeling excursion, we had a relaxing lunch right by the water. This place was a true paradise!

The end of our organized tour was approaching and the group was breaking up to either return home or continue their travels. After the speed boat back to Bali, we had one more day to spend before our late night flight home.

We decided to hire a driver to take us to see a few highlights on the southern tip of Bali. We went to Pandawa Beach, Balangan Beach, and the famous Kuta Beach. They were all nice but a bit crowded and not as nice as the beaches on Lombok Island.

The highlight of this area had to be our short tour of Uluwatu along the steep cliffs. The views were gorgeous here.

After the daytime visits in this area, we arranged for our driver to take us to a restaurant called ‘Single Fin’. This restaurant sits above Uluwatu and Suluban Beaches and is known for watching all the surfers just below. We enjoyed a refreshing cocktail while watching the sunset and reflected on the last 13 days of our wonderful vacation.

We then ordered food and enjoyed the best view while eating a simple dinner. This was our last highlight of Bali before being driven to the airport for a late night departure.

I loved this tour and really believe it showed us the best of Bali and Lombok. I’m glad we did the organized tour as it was stress-free to be taken everywhere and shown the highlights. In my blog post ‘Tour Packages – Pros and Cons‘, you can read about the different ways to tour and why I like organized tours.

Bali has been swamped with tourists in recent years and could be a turn-off to some travelers. I didn’t mind it so much as we moved around a lot and didn’t spend too much time in the super touristy areas. I highly recommend going to Lombok and visiting the Gili Islands.

If you would like to see a bit more of our Bali/Lombok tour, check out my page on Indonesia where you can see my video on YouTube. You can also check out my Facebook album with lots more photos and videos of the trip.

Are you ready to plan your trip to see the Best of Bali and Lombok?

If you are looking for assistance to plan your next trip, I am here for YOU! I love to plan travel itineraries for myself and others. For more details on how I provide this service, please check out my Itinerary Planning page and drop me a quick email at jan@janadventures.com to get started!

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