Bali Road Trip —
see the island
differently

Leave Ubud at sunrise to reach the Tegalalang rice terraces before the crowds arrive. The road then climbs toward the volcanic ridges of Kintamani through craft villages, sacred temples and dense jungle.

• Jalan Monkey Forest, Ubud — morning markets, low early light
• Tegalalang Rice Terraces — Balinese subak irrigation system, before 8am for peace and quiet
• Pura Tirta Empul — 10th-century sacred water temple
• Kintamani — sweeping view over the caldera lake and the active Mount Batur

🏨 Stays · 3 budgets

Departure · Ubud

Arrival · Kintamani

🎟 Activities

🍽 Restaurants

The Bukit peninsula, the Bali that rushed travellers forget. White limestone cliffs above the Indian Ocean, hidden beaches reached by steps carved into the rock, a temple perched 70m up, and Kecak dance at sunset.

• Seminyak — Pantai Batu Belig, starting from the north beach
• Bingin Beach — 200 steps down, suspended bungalows, turquoise water
• Padang Padang Beach — cove between cliffs, made famous by Eat Pray Love
• Pura Luhur Uluwatu — 11th-century temple at 70m, Kecak dance

🏨 Stays · 3 budgets

Departure · Seminyak

Arrival · Uluwatu

🎟 Activities

🍽 Restaurants

The most demanding and most rewarding route. Munduk at 800m in the mist, dense jungle, hidden waterfalls, and a dramatic descent to the north coast and its black volcanic-sand beaches.

• Munduk — misty village at 800m, coffee and clove plantations
• Gitgit Waterfall — about 35m high, the best-known waterfall in north Bali
• Pura Ulun Danu Bratan — floating temple on the volcanic lake
• Lovina Beach — black sand, dolphin watching at sunrise

🏨 Stays · 3 budgets

Departure · Munduk

Arrival · Lovina

🎟 Activities

🍽 Restaurants

East Bali, the most authentic side of the island. Timeless pre-Hindu Bali Aga villages, the Tirtagangga water palace, the black shores of Amed, and the USS Liberty wreck reachable by snorkelling straight from Tulamben beach.

• Candidasa — quiet seaside village in east Bali
• Tenganan Village — preserved Bali Aga village, double-ikat weavers
• Tirtagangga Water Palace — terraced royal sacred pools
• Tulamben — USS Liberty wreck reachable by snorkelling from the beach (US military cargo ship, 1942)

🏨 Stays · 3 budgets

Departure · Candidasa

Arrival · Amed

🎟 Activities

🍽 Restaurants

The road of surfers and temples on Bali's west coast. Canggu, the creative new district between rice fields and waves, leads to the Tanah Lot temple perched on its rock in the Indian Ocean — one of Bali's most sacred and most photographed sites.

• Canggu Batu Bolong — starting from the iconic surf beach
• Echo Beach — powerful waves, terraces facing the ocean
• Pererenan Beach — rice fields running down to the sea
• Pura Tanah Lot — 15th-century temple on a rock, spectacular sunset

🏨 Stays · 3 budgets

Departure · Canggu

Arrival · Tanah Lot

🎟 Activities

🍽 Restaurants

The sacred road to the mother of all Balinese temples. From Ubud's artistic valley to the secret valley of Sidemen, then the climb to Pura Besakih — Bali's mother temple, perched at 1000m on the slopes of the sacred Mount Agung.

• Ubud — Bali's artistic hub, morning markets
• Klungkung — former royal capital, 17th-century Kertha Gosa (1686)
• Sidemen — secret valley, hand-carved rice terraces, weaving villages
• Pura Besakih — Bali's mother temple, 22 shrines at 1000m on Mount Agung

🏨 Stays · 3 budgets

Departure · Ubud

Arrival · Sidemen

🎟 Activities

🍽 Restaurants

Bali's gentlest coastal route. Sanur and its calm blue-green waters, ideal for children, the Serangan peninsula and its sea turtles, the water-sports spots of Tanjung Benoa, all the way to the pristine beaches of Nusa Dua — a route accessible to all levels.

• Sanur Beach — calm waters ideal for families
• Pulau Serangan — turtle island, protected mangroves
• Tanjung Benoa — water sports, snorkelling reefs
• Nusa Dua — luxury hotel complex, pristine beaches

🏨 Stays · 3 budgets

Departure · Sanur

Arrival · Nusa Dua

🎟 Activities

🍽 Restaurants