Bali Help Needed

[cruzbound]

Hi All,

We are thinking about a trip to Bali in late June/early July 2018 and need lots of help. There will be four of us travelling - two divers and two non-divers (they do snorkel). The two divers will have at least 110 dives and are advanced and nitrox certified. So we have to do a land trip (not a live aboard) so everyone can enjoy the trip. We do not know anything about the area/region so here are some of our questions. We would like to go for at least a week and a half.

• What area should we go to?
• Suggestions for lodging.
• Suggestions for scuba diving shops.
• Will we need to rent a car or should we rent one? If not, how will we get around?
• Suggestions for "things to do" topside.
• I am a very picky eater, will I be able to find food that is more Americanize?
• Any other information/suggestions you feel would be helpful.

We appreciate the help.

Thanks,
cruzbound

 

[skinnylatte]

• What area should we go to?

• Suggestions for lodging.

• Suggestions for scuba diving shops.

• Will we need to rent a car or should we rent one? If not, how will we get around?

• Suggestions for "things to do" topside.

• I am a very picky eater, will I be able to find food that is more Americanize?

• Any other information/suggestions you feel would be helpful.

Well, you're in luck. Bali is probably the easiest place in Indonesia for folks from abroad.

South Bali is where the tourist stuff is, it might be useful to spend the first couple of days orienting yourself there. It's easy to find all kinds of international cuisine in South Bali, especially in Seminyak, Canggu, Ubud.

A lot of the diving happens in the east around Padang Bai, Tulamben, etc. There are all kinds of hotels of all budgets, with dive operations attached to them. Your non-diver friends will likely have to follow you to those areas (2-3 hours away from the tourist areas, by car) on your diving days, so I would encourage you to split your trip into parts: landing and doing touristy stuff together in the south, diving and climbing Gunung Agung from east Bali, relaxing at some of the world class spas back in the south or in Ubud. All very different places, at a relative distance, so commuting is not possible.

For lodging, the south and Ubud have great hotels at every price range. I like the Alila hotels everywhere, and I also like the small boutique places like the Karma Kandara, Ahimsa, Kayumanis, and such. Very pricey, but a good experience. There are far cheaper and good places to stay if you look on agoda, traveloka or booking dot com. For a nice 'big' hotel, people like the Ayana with its great spa and also the very nice Rock Bar (very touristy, but should be done once). I would avoid Canggu unless you're in your 20s.

One you get to the east towards the diving places your choices become mostly accommodation from your dive shops. Thankfully they tend to be pretty good by western standards. I know a lot of folks like Liberty Dive Resort. I've just recently used Bali Dive Trek in Amed which which was a good dive shop. They also have an onsite hotel. I didn't stay there, preferring to stay in a very Indonesian guesthouse nearby, but they picked me up daily for my dives and it was great. This seems to be standard practice as long as you are in the same area and you've signed up for dives.

Given your level of experience, Marcus Crane at Bali Dive Trek is an experienced tec instructor. Your non-diver friends could also consider open water classes there? There at tons of dive shops in Bali so it really depends on what you're after.

Bali's probably got the most mid to luxury accommodation per square mile in Asia. What you do / what your non-diver friends end up doing will be very much tied to where you end up staying.

Traffic is awful, there's little public transportation, I usually travel by Uber/ Grab/ Gojek (app-based ride-hailing apps) but that pretty much only works in the south.

I moved from place to place within Bali by taxi or private car. If you already know where you are going to stay, ask them for the cost of sending a car to Denpasar or Ubud or Jimbaran or wherever else you're going to be. That works out cheaper than trying to get a taxi yourself if you speak no Indonesian.

Non-diving activities:

• Climb Gunung Agung (near diving spots)
• Visiting Green School in Ubud, an inspiring, progressive school (check out their talk on TED)
• Visiting Uluwatu
• Visiting Tanah Lot
• Trying great restaurants like Cuca, Mozaic, at a fraction of the fine dining prices back home
• Rice paddies trekking
• Cycling (lots of operators happy to take you on cycling tours)
• Walking tours
• Cooking classes

Don't worry about food, use the Foursquare app to see what's around you to get recommendations mostly in English, mostly from international travellers. I'm Asian, so I detest most of the food in Bali and have to hunt out authentic Asian food there... but many of my friends from elsewhere are very happy with the Americanized / Europeanized food + Asian food lite.

Other tips:

Get a Telkomsel 4G prepaid sim card, pop it in your phone, subscribe to a >5GB data package and you'll be gold.

Kuta, Ubud, Canggu are really crowded and not great places to stay.

If you avoid the eat, pray love style of travelling, you'll be fine.

This is a pretty good starting point, so is the rest of the site (I've been using TF to plan my SE Asia for the last.. decade?).

 

[billt4sf]

Hi All,

We are thinking about a trip to Bali in late June/early July 2018 and need lots of help. There will be four of us travelling - two divers and two non-divers (they do snorkel). The two divers will have at least 110 dives and are advanced and nitrox certified. So we have to do a land trip (not a live aboard) so everyone can enjoy the trip. We do not know anything about the area/region so here are some of our questions. We would like to go for at least a week and a half.

• What area should we go to?
• Suggestions for lodging.
• Suggestions for scuba diving shops.
• Will we need to rent a car or should we rent one? If not, how will we get around?
• Suggestions for "things to do" topside.
• I am a very picky eater, will I be able to find food that is more Americanize?
• Any other information/suggestions you feel would be helpful.

We appreciate the help.

Thanks,
cruzbound

Hi Cruzbund,

Skinny gave you some great info and I won't repeat that. I would say that the main thing you might need to decide is whether you need aircon or not. Most places have it, in some places it works better than others.

My wife and I have been living here 6 months, we have fund the best food in Ubud but there is no diving here. We love the relaxing and quiet lifestyle we have, just outside of town. I can send you the link to our villa area if you want.

Probably in other places in the south you will find similar food choices, but when you get to Amed or Padang Bai the choices go down drastically. I hope you love rice, you're going to eat a lot if it.

In Padang Bai we dive with Geko Dive as do many on this list, and we stay at OK Divers which is the best accommodations in PDB - meaning the only one that is even close to 4 star. In the Amed area (Jemeluk) we dive with Adventure Divers Bali, they do a great job and will find accommodations for you but they are not four star.

Look carefully at whatever accommodations you think about, they all look GREAT on the web but our experience has been decidely mixed.

Bali traffic around that time of year sux. But if you have a driver with a good car, all you gave to do is sit and wait while he drives, so relax and be glad it's not you driving. The tourist drivers are the worst

Have a great time. It's a beautiful island.

- Bill & Emily

 

[Centrals]

Geko Dive gets my vote also.

 

[cruzbound]

Hi skinny, Bill & Emily,

Thank you for all the help. I will have to thoroughly read everything you suggestion and start searching the internet. On big oh-oh for me is I don't like rice at all. I probably will need to bring lots of snacks in my luggage to live on . I have another stupid question - what is the eat, pray love style travelling? I don't want to do this since you suggest to avoid it but I don't know what it is to avoid. Talk about so out of my element here but that will make this trip a more fun and new experience for me. I have never been outside the US/Caribbean so this will definitely be different. My hubby has travelled abroad a lot for work.

In regards to diving, we just want some really good dives - I love to see different fish, big fish (sharks, mantas, etc.), macro stuff (haven't experienced this a lot but have seen a few nudis, some cleaner shrimp, seahorse). My hubby also likes wrecks, though we are not certified to dive inside them. Healthy, beautiful reefs are also a huge plus. So will we be able to get this in Bali? I like good visibility and warmer water. What is the water temp and visibility like during the late June/early July timeframe? From some basic searches online, it appears we won't be there during the time of the mola mola (sunfish), right?

I appreciate everyone's help.

Thanks,
cruzbound

 

[Adelaar Cruises]

What is the water temp and visibility like during the late June/early July timeframe? From some basic searches online, it appears we won't be there during the time of the mola mola (sunfish), right?

It's normally dry season during your time frame. Although last year we did get a bit of rain and winds at this time, but it was short lived and uncommon for this time of year.

Visibility in June & July is normally quiet good in the North around Tulamben. Water temps are usually between 25-26c but can get down to the low 20's, but that's usually a bit later in July, August & September. You may be a little early for Mola's but they have been spotted in June and July in previous years, so you should still take a trip out and try and see them. Mantas are present year round in Nusa Penida, and June is right in the peak season for them. Sharks and other large pelagics are best spotted between June and September.

I would highly recommend Gunung Kawi to add the list of must see temples in Bali. It's an amazing complex, get there early and beat the crowd.

There are more and more "western" food options in Bali, but if you don't like "spicy" food and that's what's holding you back try one of these (Gado Gado, Sate Ayam, Bubur Ayam, Mie Goreng, Ikan Bakar w/butter & garlic...etc).

Enjoy your time in Indonesia!

 

[cruzbound]

Hi All,

It has been a while since I posted my original questions and I appreciate all the information. I do have a couple of more questions as I start to sort through the logistics and the possibility of a trip to Bali.

• Are there any companies out there that could assist me in planning the logistics of the trip - i.e. so many days here, so many days there, etc...
• In regards to car services - does anyone have any recommendations for who we can use?
• Someone stated we should not stay in Ubud but if we wanted to do some of the tourist stuff in that area, where should we stay (i.e. Bali Bird Park, Monkey Forest - are these things worth seeing?)? Also, once we decided on which areas we are going to stay at, for the tourist land stuff how will we get around to the places (temples, restaurants, bird park, etc.) since we want to take the advice of not renting and car and trying to drive around there?
• For the divers, should we try to get over to Nusa Penida - is it good diving? From an online map, there appears to be several dive flags in the area.
• Since the other couple does not dive (and they do not want to get certified) - when we go to the dive areas, is there good snorkeling there?

I think that is all the questions I have for now. I am sure I can sit here and think of a ton more but this is a start.

Thanks to all for the help.

cruzbound

 

[Bali1]

Since your group includes non-divers you should decide as a group what you want to do for sightseeing /trekking/water stuff. Depending on the length of time you will be there it may make sense to stay in one place and do excursions from there. Yes getting around takes time but I enjoy the drives since there is always something to see.

I have stayed in Sanur on 3 occasions for stays with some diving and it has worked well for me. It is centrally located for land tours and diving. Where you stay should be able to arrange car/driver to any land site - last Summer we had 10 people in a van with driver and guide and the per day was $70 total excluding tip. Yes it is that inexpensive to get around and to eat with little planning. If you are in an area with good tourist infrastructure you can arrange a car for four people in an hour. Work with your hotel on this. PadangBai/Candidasa is another good location with reasonable proximity to most sites. Ubud also is great. It really does not matter where - - - you will be driving somewhere anyways. Do you want beach or rice fields?

You should definitely dive NP. Terrific diving there. I use AquaMarine and would recommend them. They might be able to assist you on the whole trip - never hurts to ask. Snorkeling is a mixed bag however. Padang Bai/Blue Lagoon has good diving but when we were there the snorkelers in our party were swimming through a garbage field. There is more floating trash in water now and the eastern winds will blow it into shore. I found this a problem on the entire coast. Tulamben may have snorkeling but you will need to check. NP dive sites are not really for snorkelers though there are some places on nearby Lembongen I have heard about.

Dive the Liberty - do a night dive if possible. Tepekong off PadangBai is an awesome dive. Nusa Penida also has awesome diving but make sure your operator knows how to get you there when the tide is right or some sites will be undiveable because of current. If you have the time it is a long trek to Menjangen but water clarity is like Cozumel there. The dives which are impacted by current also can include very cold water upwelling which is why the biodiversity is so good. But you will want to consider 5mm wetsuit and hood. I have had 72 degree water on occasion.

Rafting down the river at Ubud was a lot of fun. Any of the larger temples are incredible but the touts at Besakih can really ruin the visit.

The hard part is deciding what you want to do with the time you have. It is a great place and there is so much to see. There are some adventure tours on Nusa Penida which may be interesting as well. My 60k foot view anyways.

Good luck.

 

[billt4sf]

You might want to consider spending time in Misool Eco Resort if you can afford it.

Very expensive, but very good. GREAT diving and also GREAT snorkeling! And a GREAT place to hang out.

It is not in Bali, it is in Raja Ampat -- which is where the best diving in Indo is.

- Bill


1

Hi All,

It has been a while since I posted my original questions and I appreciate all the information. I do have a couple of more questions as I start to sort through the logistics and the possibility of a trip to Bali.

• Are there any companies out there that could assist me in planning the logistics of the trip - i.e. so many days here, so many days there, etc...
• In regards to car services - does anyone have any recommendations for who we can use?
• Someone stated we should not stay in Ubud but if we wanted to do some of the tourist stuff in that area, where should we stay (i.e. Bali Bird Park, Monkey Forest - are these things worth seeing?)? Also, once we decided on which areas we are going to stay at, for the tourist land stuff how will we get around to the places (temples, restaurants, bird park, etc.) since we want to take the advice of not renting and car and trying to drive around there?
• For the divers, should we try to get over to Nusa Penida - is it good diving? From an online map, there appears to be several dive flags in the area.
• Since the other couple does not dive (and they do not want to get certified) - when we go to the dive areas, is there good snorkeling there?

I think that is all the questions I have for now. I am sure I can sit here and think of a ton more but this is a start.

Thanks to all for the help.

cruzbound

1) Don't know.

2) Sent you a PM

3) Worth seeing in a tourist kind of way. Personally I would just hire a driver with car. We pay ours about $100K / hour which is about $8.

4) Yes Nusa Penida has good diving. I would contact Geko and go where they suggest, making sure it meets with your skill set and interests, and conditions.

5) Not sure. Ask Geko. Consider Misool!

- Bill

 

[Dive Explore Indonesia]

Hi Cruzbound,

Everybody already gave a lot of good insights but I'll try to add some to your last questions :

Bali and the close area (Peninda, Gili, Lembogan..) are great for both divers and non divers group.

• Are there any companies out there that could assist :

We would be very happy to help. Feel free to pm me or check our website.

• In regards to car services - does anyone have any recommendations for who we can use?

You can easily rent a driver with a car in Bali, which I totally recommend as driving in Bali and Indonesia in general is an adventure by itself! Most resorts and hotel have drivers available for their guests so you won't have a problem finding one.

• - Ubud :

In my opinion, Ubud center is not really worth it. There's more traffic than in Jakarta. However, the surrounding area of Ubud can be very nice. There are some amazing restaurants with breathless views over the ricefields or the jungle. And you have plenty of choices other than rice
Regarding the activity, if your are travelling with kids, the Monkey Forest can be fun, and there's a nice walk to do close by, the "Campuhan Ridge Walk".
A good restaurant and hotel close by the Tegalalang Rice fields could be "The Kampung resort"

• For the divers, should we try to get over to Nusa Penida - is it good diving? From an online map, there appears to be several dive flags in the area.

Nusa Penida is indeed great for diving! The Island itself is very, very quiet and totaly uncrowded, but most diving trips depart from Lembogan. However, there's some nice hotels in Penida too if you would like to spend a day or two there.

The Manta are located in the south. From Lembogan it's a boat trip of around 30 mns, and even if it's not possible to guarantee 100% they'll be there, I've been there 3 times so far and always saw them. I always bring my non divers friends to see them, and generaly after that they want to do a discovery

In my opinion, you should go to Penida if you have around 10 days. If you stay only one week, I'm afraid it would be a bit of rush since you'll need a day or two to rest a bit after the plane trip, and might need 24 hours without diving before your flight back.

Beside this, as Bali1 said, I really recommend the USS Liberty by night in Tulamben, an unforgettable experience! Plus, the chicken schnitzel from the "Safety Stop" restaurant will be a great reward after your dives

However, Bali and i'ts surrounding area a wonderfull place and I'm sur eyou'll have a great time there!

Have a nice day!

Fred.