go.bo.travel

Bali, Indonesia is a beautiful island just north of Western Australia. It’s a massively popular holiday destination for Australians, where your dollar can go a very long way. You can stay in luxury villas and indulge in quality cuisine at a very affordable price and you can find pretty much any leisure activity for more than half the cost back home. This place is the ultimate spot to get the most bang for your buck out of your holiday.

We stayed in Bali for a total of 8 nights for my first trip, which I can honestly say flew by! The amounts of cultural and leisure activities are endless and you can easily spend over a week here.

Getting Here

We flew in from Perth on Boxing Day and took a total of 4 hours. The best airline by far is Garuda Indonesia which provides individual TV screens for all your entertainment needs, food, and unlimited drinks for the duration of the flight.

• Garuda Indonesia: $560AUD round trip

Once you arrive the most popular means of getting around is shuttle or cabs, although be very weary of those that will rip you off! Once you arrive at the airport there will be hundreds of cabbies trying to get your attention. The airport is not far off from Kuta, the main city center, so you should not pay any more than $5 each unless of course you are staying further away. If you want to completely avoid the chaos then I recommend organizing pick-up service through your accommodation.

Location: Kuta Beach

There are plenty of different locations to spend your holiday in Bali but if you want to be where the action is then Kuta is your spot! Lots of tourists and young people here due to the location near so many bars and restaurants, and the best if you’re looking for good nightlife.

Accomodation

Dewi Sri

Great location if you want to be near the best nightclubs, central to most of the bars and restaurants, with only a 15 minute walk to the beach. Relatively on the cheaper end compared to most hotels in the area but they have an excellent swim up pool bar with happy hour every day, continental breakfast every morning, and the staff is AMAZING!

• Cost per night: $45USD (during Christmas and New Year Holidays)

Rumah Kayu Hostel

If you are a budget traveler looking for a cheap place in the center of it all then this hostel is the right place with a great location in the center of Kuta. The beds are comfortable with air conditioning, however only from 6pm-10am. There is not much of a common area compared to other hostels so it’s difficult to meet people and the wifi only works in the downstairs lobby. (Note: if you do plan to stay here I would not advise the 6 bedroom as there is limited privacy compared to the other rooms that have individual curtains.)

• Cost per night: $10USD

Hotel Ida

We found this room last minute via our friends at Dewi Sri as they are the same owners. We literally walked in and asked if we could see a standard room and booked it on the spot. Great room and facilities for the price, with a beautiful pool area and continental buffet breakfast every morning. Also love the free welcome drink upon arrival!

• Cost per night: $38USD

Food & Dining

The classic Balinese dish when visiting Indonesia would be the Nasi Goreng. You honestly can’t go wrong with this dish. Yummy fried rice with chicken, beef, or pork grilled skewers full of spices and flavor.

Blue Fin

• A bit more on the expensive side than other Balinese food you can get in the area, however cheap for quality Japanese. They have regular sit down menu OR you can choose the Tepanyaki option where a chef entertains and cooks your food in front of you. Tons of fun!
  • Cost for Tepanyaki: $38USD which includes full set of food and 3 alcoholic drinks

Jamie Oliver’s Italian

• For those who may want some variety Jamie Oliver’s is a nice change of pace from eating Balinese food, however a bit overpriced for Bali in my opinion for a standard pasta meal with soft drink.
  • Average cost: $34USD

Activities

Whitewater rafting

• We got an amazing deal through one of the hotel employees at Dewi Sri. The staff there were incredibly hospitable and actually became close friends with one of them who gave us great deal.
  • Total cost: $23USD which includes transport to and from hotel, 2 hours of whitewater rafting with a stop at a waterfall,  and an all you can eat buffet of local Balinese food after rafting.

Bali Zoo

A bit far from Kuta but a very nice and clean zoo compared to the other zoos in Southeast Asia. There was not a lot of animals to see for the price in my opinion although it did include a very fresh buffet lunch and hotel transfers. Highlight was feeding the elephants and animals in the petting area, although you have to pay additional for the food.

• Entry cost: $53USD which includes entry, hotel transfers, and buffet lunch

Waterbom Park

This is definitely one of the highlights in Kuta. It’s one of the best water parks in Asia and completely worth the money. A bit odd as it’s located right in the middle of the city but offers exhilarating slides that give you a great view of Bali and nice way to cool off from the heat.

• Entry cost: $38USD

Massages

Everything you hear about Bali is true, you can’t beat their amazingly cheap and good massages. I experienced both an upscale spa and a whole in the wall parlor, but really just depends on what service you are looking for. They have massage parlors and spas all over the city so you won’t run short of finding a place. My favorite was a family owned massage parlor. The facility was a bit run down and not very quaint and clean but the massage in itself was amazing, so relaxing and completely worth the couple of dollars. If you can’t get past the facility and prefer a more modern spa then its not for you, but if you want cheap and an amazing feeling afterwards then I highly recommend it.

• Cost Range: $4USD – $38USD

Turtle Island and Snorkeling Tour

Turtle Island was a very cool place to see such big and diverse turtles up close but still a bit sad to see animals enclosed in such a small space. They had other animals as well which was a nice addition, some that you could pet and get very close to. The cages looked clean and well kept compared to some other places throughout Southeast Asia. There is a small fee upon entry for donation which I believe they put towards taking care of the animals.

The snorkeling portion of the tour was not as good as other places we have snorkeled because the current was so strong it took us so far away from the boat and area with other snorkelers. I found myself getting pretty tired to keep up with the current and they take you to an area so close to all the other activities I was worried I’d get run over by jet skis or speed boats. They did give us food to feed the fish which was cool to have them eat out of your hands!

Cooking Class

I absolutely love cooking classes because it gives you a hands on experience while learning about the local cuisine, plus you get to eat the yummy food afterwards! This particular class we went on was at a families home in their outdoor kitchen and gazebo area. It was a beautiful setting and was interesting to see how the local people live. There was only the two of us so we invited our guide to join us for the lunch feast and was nice to sit and drink their local beer chatting about our cultural differences.

After the cooking class our guide took us to a coffee and tea tasting room where we got to sample all sorts of local coffee and tea’s which were out of this world yummy! Here you can also try to Lewak coffee which is a delicacy, with the coffee beans coming from lewak poo. I personally didn’t enjoy it but you gotta try it right?!

Nightlife

• Allycats
  • A great spot if you want cheap drinks and for pregaming before the night out. Hardly any locals and primarily young tourists, tons of Aussies (but that’s pretty much all of Bali).
• Sky Garden
  • One of the biggest clubs on the Kuta strip. There are 3 floors with 5 different clubs inside. Great for clubbing and dancing with something for everyone with multiple levels of dance floors and music.
    • Entry Cost: $13USD which includes 2 drinks. They also do an all you can eat and drink from 5pm-10pm for $8USD but I have heard of people getting sick there.
• Engine Room
  • Located right on the main Kuta strip across from Bounty. It’s absolutely massive once you go towards the back. They have great drink deals with 3 levels of dance floors and good variety of music.

• Paddy’s Pub
  • A bit smaller than some of the other clubs in the area but located in the heart of the Kuta strip. We went there for NYE and it had a great vibe and atmosphere.
• Bounty Club
  • Located in the heart of the Kuta strip, this place is huge! Don’t be deceived by the front, there’s a massive pirate ship in the back, inside is another club and bar with a stage and dance poles