Hey,
So I’m back from this amazing trip just over a month now and I’m finally getting around to writing a blog post. In September we headed to Bali and the Gili Islands for a total of 16 days. We flew with Emirates via Dubai and into Bali airport. I had been planning this trip for months so we did do a lot of hotel hopping and travelled to a good few places in Bali, Gili islands and Lombok so I wanted to share where we went, where we stayed, what we got up to and some recommendations with you.
After deciding on a holiday to Bali I booked in a planning session with Steph my life which was amazing I got great tips on where to go, restaurant recommendations and lots of links to Instagram photo hotspots which I loved of course. The call lasted an hour and then Steph sends you an email with all this information I screenshotted this and bookmarked all the places I wanted to visit. This was then the starting point of my months of planning. You can check out Steph my life here we also used Stephs airport transfer service and tour which I will tell you about below.
We arrived in Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport around 10pm be prepared for long queues at immigration I think because it was late it wasn’t too bad for us but it was still a long wait. The bags, on the other hand, took forever unfortunately as we were wrecked and just wanted to go to bed. We booked an airport transfer with Steph my life which was the best thing because we knew he was there waiting and didn’t have the hassle of trying to find transfers. When you come out of the arrivals gate it’s very overwhelming there are so many drivers waiting and easily hundreds of names on sticks it took us another 10 minutes to find my name it’s a bit crazy but all worth it.
Seminyak:
Our first stop was Seminyak we chose to go here first as it was so close to the airport and knew we were getting in late so it was the best place to kick-off our trip. The journey to our hotel from the airport was about 30/40 mins and when we arrived even though it was so late our hotel was great our names were up on a welcome board and we got welcome drinks and brought straight to our room.
The place we stayed in here was Annora Bali Villas it is made up of private pool villas and villas. This place was fab the staff were amazing and the pool too. We stayed here for two nights. The location of the villas was great on a quiet street but still close to everything. There was a shortcut across the road from the villas to the beach which was so handy.
When you use this shortcut you end up at La Plancha beach bar which is a great spot to watch the sunset you cant book this but there are so many bean bags you are sure to get a spot. I recommend getting some Patatas bravas here so yummy! On the way back to our villa we walked along the beach and street and got some chilli corn on the cob this is a must when in Bali the nicest corn on the cob ever!
In Seminyak, we also visited Kynd Community cafe which of course was an Instagram spot that was recommended. We ordered way too much food here but it was nice. We spent most of our time in Seminyak chilling on the beach and by our pool which was perfect.
Gili T
Next, we were heading to the Gili Islands so it was back to the airport for us but this time it was the domestic terminal which was so quiet it was great. I get really bad travel sickness so the 4 hour boat option to the Gili Islands was not an option for me. Instead we flew to Lombok. We flew with Garuda air and had no issues except for my bag been overweight but I didn’t mind paying the extra few pound for this. The flight duration to Lombok was only 25 minutes. When booking they show as an hour but I read somewhere that this is the total time from boarding to actually getting off the plane which I think is true as it was so handy.
We booked airport transfers with our hotel in Gili T this included the transfer from Lombok airport to the bay and then a private speed boat from there to Gili T. At the Gili T bay we were met by our hotel and they showed us the way to our hotel. The Gili islands have no cars so it is a bit tough pulling a big suitcase but totally worth it.
On Gili T we stayed in Kaleydo Villas for two nights and this place was stunning. We had access to free bikes, a go pro and snorkelling equipment which we took full advantage of. It has a great location within a few minutes we were on the beach and on the main street full of restaurants and bars. We did cycle to the other side of the island to watch the sunset both nights its a must when on the Gili islands.
A few restaurant recommendations are Jali Kitchen, Pizzeria Regina, Egoiste, Scallywags and Pearl of Trawangan. Bars we ended up in an Irish bar and reggae bar which was unreal there are loads of bars and clubs here as this is the party island of the Gili islands.
I would definitely recommend getting a bike from your hotel or renting from a shop and just cycling around. Steph did tell me about palm tree grove which we went and found and was stunning who doesn’t love palm trees. Its also such a good way to get to see the island see how the locals live, find little hidden shops, restaurants etc
Gili Air
After two nights on Gili T we headed to Gili Air. We decided to do a private snorkelling tour which brought us to the Gili Meno underwater statues, swimming with the turtles and then was our transport to Gili Air.
Gili Air was a lot quieter than Gili T but we loved it. On Gili Air we stayed in Pink Coco for two nights this was a little distance from the main restaurants and bars we did walk around the first night the second day we hired bikes from the hotel and cycled around finding lots more places. Even though our hotel was a bit quiet they had such a great pool, food, staff and set up for sunset so we didn’t have to venture far. It is also right on the beach with the most amazing clear blue water that is warm I love when the sea is warm paradise!
If you do get the chance to go to Bali you have to go to the Gili islands this was the highlight of our trip we had the most amazing time on the islands and would go back here in a heartbeat!
Lombok
After the Gili islands we headed back to Lombok for a night again we arranged for a private speed boat which was about 10 minutes from Gili Air to Lombok. This was the best way for me as the journey went fast and no travel sickness for me haha. The company also brought us to our hotel which was about 20 minutes from the bay. In Senggigi we splashed out and stayed in the Katamaran Hotel & Resort and this was definitely worth it it was amazing! We were sad we didn’t stay here longer. We stayed at the hotel for one night we ate lunch here, stayed by the pool and then for dinner we got a golf buggy up to the hotels cliff top restaurant where the food was amazing. Highly recommend this hotel couldn’t fault it.
Ubud
We arrived back in Ubud where we had arranged another Steph my life airport transfer that brought us to Ubud. This was so different to what we had just came from but it was so cool to be in the jungle. We stayed in Bucu View Resort for the first night this was a really good location it was about 15 min to the main street but compared to the other hotels we stayed in this was the only one we could actually walk places. From here we walked into the Balineese dance show and walked around a bit. We were recommended the Mexican Taco Casa Ubud so we ate here the first night and oh my god it was amazing!
The next hotel we went to was The Alena Resort we stayed here for three nights this is a good bit outside of Ubud you had to get a shuttle in and out which we didn’t really like we prefer to be able to get up and go when ever we wanted. The hotel itself was lovely it had a gorgeous pool and spa and the rooms were huge. Unfortunately we did get Bali belly while we were here so we couldn’t eat or really do much while staying here it did put a dampener on our stay in Ubud.
From Ubud I had booked the Steph my life Undiscovered tour this is one thing I was really looking forward to it had everything that I wanted to visit and good spots outside of the main tourist attractions so I couldn’t wait! Unfortunately the morning of this tour was when Bali belly hit I took some tablets and went anyway I really dunno how I survived this lets just say a massive thank you to our driver who was amazing pulling over for me to vom haha I did cut the day short not going for lunch or to the rice fields which was so sad for me. What I did get to see and do was just incredible the famous Bali gates which we got to first thing with no one around wow!! We passed this again later on in the tour and the queues were crazy. Two stunning waterfalls, bali swings (I seriously dunno how I survived these haha) and then lastly the Ulun Danu water temple. This really was a great day and would highly recommend.
We didn’t go to the monkey forest in Ubud but we did walk past it and saw loads of monkeys so if you don’t want to go in just hang around outside and you will still get to see lots of monkeys.
The day we were leaving the Alena resort we saw on instagram a bicycle zipline across some rice fields and asked about it at reception before we knew it we were on our way to the place it was only a 5 minute drive from where we were staying. We got there and were told we had to zipline individually first to get to the bike zipline which was scary but so fun in the end. If you are looking for something different to do I would recommend this place there is also quad bike hire and some other cool stuff too.
After this we headed to Black Penny Villas this was one I was really looking forward to as we got a private villa here. This place was amazing we didn’t leave the room all day our pool was fab and the room was stunning too. The views from the room of the infinity pool and jungles were just out of this world.
Canggu
Our last stop on this trip was Canggu as again it was close to the airport it made sense for it to be at the end. We stayed in Villa Berawa this place was really quiet it didn’t really have a vibe as stunning as it was I probably wouldn’t stay here again. The good thing was it was so close to Finns Beach Club. We got VIP tickets here and stayed there for the day we loved it such a fun place defo worth a visit.
We also went to Cabina Bali instagram heaven haha this was a floating brunch restaurant it was brilliant. The food was lovely and the pool too there was a dj playing so you could stay here for a few hours of course every one was posing for photos but its worth a trip who doesn’t want to try a floating brunch.
We got a Taxi into the main street in Canggu and walked around got some food and nails done but we ended up going back to the beach near our hotel as it was so warm. Canggu is filled with surfers and is really chilled out. We did enjoy it here but think we just wanted a bit more to do that was probably down to our hotel location not been great.
Accommodation:
I booked all of our hotels on booking.com some were paid for before and some we paid for when we got there. I have listed all the places that we stayed in below:
| Name | Place | Nights | Price per night (with tax and service charges approx) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annora Bali Villas | Seminyak | 2 | £80 |
| Kaleydo Villas | Gili T | 2 | £100 |
| Pink Coco | Gili Air | 2 | £90 |
| Katamaran Resort | Senggigi | 1 | £130 |
| Bucu View Resort | Ubud | 1 | £45 |
| The Alena Resort | Ubud | 3 | £90 |
| Black Penny Villas | Ubud | 1 | £270 Private pool villa |
| Villa Berawa | Canggu | 3 | £150 |
I know there is a lot of information in this blog post but I hope it has been helpful any questions just message me on social media
Thanks for reading,
Shell x