Travel tips for Bali + Cleanest airlines

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In this week's email 📩:

Tips for traveling to Bali, one of the most popular destinations for our community and one we know well since I have traveled more than 12 times and we organize tours there (see tour details here)
New report lists the cleanest airlines out there

Travel tips for Bali

Bali is a destination that I know well and that I have seen evolve and change dramatically in the last 20 years.

The relaxed and laid back island that it once was has been replaced by an often-times hectic place filled with insane traffic, car pollution, and far too many fake places for the gram that overshadow the very rich and beautiful Balinese culture.

If there ever was a poster child for mismanaged tourism, Bali would be a contender, in my opinion.

Tourism can be a force for good, and we know this SO WELL.

We see the positive change that conscious tourism can bring to people, but I also see the negative effects when growth outpaces the ability of a destination to keep up.

When I compare the Bali I first met close to 20 years ago, I don't recognise some parts of it, but there I am here to assure you that you can still visit and 1) not contribute further to the problem and 2) have a meaningful experience that gives you the opportunity of learning about a culture that is alive and welcoming.

When to visit Bali

Bali has some of the longest dry seasons in Southeast Asia and experiences monsoon season only from November to March.

Historically, if you visited from April to October, you would enjoy a largely dry holiday with lower humidity and temperatures. June has always been the most popular for weddings because it is the driest. However, this year has so far been pretty unusual and nothing is guaranteed anymore.

That said, I strongly advise you to avoid the months of July and August when the island is packed full of Europeans and Australians. One making the most of their summer holidays, the other escaping winter. Prices are highest and traffic jams are out of control.

The best months to visit, in my opinion, are May, June, September and October. This is also when we schedule our tours. The roads are a bit better, the weather is milder and drier and there are less crowds than in the peak summer months.

How to get around

Bali is a BIG island and most people underestimate how long it takes to get from A to B because of how narrow, windy and often in bad state some roads are, and how terrible traffic jams can be.

It can easily take 1 hour to drive 50 kms / 35 miles and if you add traffic in, you could need an hour to cover 5 kms / 3.5 miles. And this is not an exaggeration.

Other things to consider:

Google often severely underestimates some of the driving times because the roads outside of the main Ubud / Seminyak / Kuta / Canggu areas can be in very poor state, potholed and filled with construction work which cut one of the lanes.
Traffic is worse after lunch than in the morning, and it is particularly terrible on the road that connects Canggu to Kuta, from there to Ubud, around Ubud and from the West to Seminyak. If you plan to go anywhere after 4pm, you should add in a much longer time because of traffic jams.
Balinese people celebrate religious Hindu festivities all year round and any local temple, of which there are over 20,000, has its own ceremonies that consist of processions on foot that close locals streets / roads. These can take place anytime and it is not possible to anticipate or avoid them because there are no lists of celebrations, so it is common to be stuck in traffic because of it. The larger festivals are marked, but the myriad smaller ones are impromptu and only known to the local community of each neighbourhood.

Bottom line, you should carefully plan your route and consult with a local driver on the best road to take (Google will sometimes take you down the potholed road and not the newer longer one) and the best time to avoid traffic.

The best strategy would be to go on tours that require driving in the early morning, with an 8am start, and be back at your accommodation by 4pm. Relax, enjoy a massage and walk around the area in the evening.

If you feel confident enough and are qualified, hire a scooter and drive around yourself. Otherwise, hire a driver to take you around. Our Bali tour host Henni, is an excellent and prudent driver and has a small team of professional drivers too. I can highly recommend her. Reach out anytime if you want her contact details.

What to see / do

In my humble opinion, Bali is so much more than all the Insta-famous spots many of which have nothing to do with the local culture.

It makes me sad to hear that the most sold tour of the island is one that takes you around to take Instagram photos in places that are exclusively created for the gram. This is such a rich and fascinating destination and the people are so kind and welcoming, its depressing to see that so many visitors only care about photos of themselves in pretty backgrounds.

Now that my little rant is over, I want to focus on the various parts of Bali because this will determine what you do and see.

Bali is a big island, as mentioned, and most tourism congregates around Ubud and the south (Seminyak, Kuta, Canggu, Nusa Dua, Uluwatu). This is a fraction of the island and there is so much more to discover.

If you head north, east or west, you will be able to see and feel so much more of Bali than if you focus exclusively on the above.

By all means, spend some time in Ubud and the south, but then escape crowds and see a completely different side to the island without crowds, jams and development.

Entire stretches of empty beaches without a single resort in sight but with plenty of local children playing; lush greenery and swaying palm trees that don't grow like manicured gardens; black sand beaches with volcano peaks and wild waterfalls without queues for photos; and plenty of Balinese culture and the peace and quiet from books like Eat, Pray, Love.

Here's what I recommend doing / seeing:

Temples: There are thousands of temples, from small neighbourhood shrines to multi-tier temples. Balinese temples follow many Hindu architectural styles depending on the century they were built so can be completely different from one another.

I recommend visiting some or all of the following: Tirta Empul, famous for its water purification and an important one for the Balinese people; Gunung Kawi is rarely visited and requires a lot of steps but it is completely different from all the rest and carved from the mountain side; Besakih as mentioned, the mother temple, the place Balinese people come to for the most important celebrations, it also has incredible views all the way down to the sea; Goa Gajah, in Ubud center, is located in beautiful grounds and is an important cave with an elephant head entrance; Tanah Lot, the famous temple in the sea, hard to access at high tide; Lastly, Ulun Danu is a beautiful temple on the shores of a lake and often covered in mist that is extremely pretty.

Waterfalls: There are dozens if not hundreds of waterfalls. Some have become Instagram celebrities, others have escaped stardom. If you just want to take a dip and freshen up, open Google maps and see which one is closest to you, look at the photos and read the reviews to see if there is an entry ticket (almost all of them have it), what access is like (some require a jungle trek) and how they look, and pick one.

Alternatively, if you want to make a trip out of it, I would recommend Git Git in the north, mostly empty if you go in the morning, it is pretty powerful and has a second waterfall further away; Banyumala twin waterfall is easy to reach and has a natural pool for swimming; Suwat is nice to reach with some suspended wooden bridges and a natural pool; Tibumanan is a favorite, much quieter and less popular hence easier to enjoy.

Note: The ones I recommend are not waterfalls for the gram, perfectly set up with queues, photo spots and cafes, but regular waterfalls to enjoy.

Beaches: Many visitors come to Bali expecting white sand beaches and are disappointed to discover there are much better places elsewhere in Southeast Asia for this. Bali is not the place for your powdery beach shots, although the beaches in the far south Nusa Dua peninsula, Uluwatu and Jimbaran are indeed stunning.

The south coast beaches are golden with black strikes and the east and north beaches are volcanic and thus, black. These are the most stunning to me.

Most of the beach clubs in the south (Seminyak, Canggu, Kuta, Jimbaran) are full of street sellers offering you anything and flanked by a continuous line of hotels and resorts, while anywhere else you are bound to find yourself alone.

If you are looking for a white sand beach to just relax in, go to Nusa Dua. If you prefer a wild black sand beach where local children play and fishermen keep their boats, go to the north. If you want something in between, with little development, no loud music but a somewhat still wild feeling, go to the east. The West of Bali is entirely underdeveloped with limited accommodation options.

Water purification or Melukat: A water purification ritual is a Hindu religious practice that is led by a priest and carried out in a temple.

It consists of cleansing the body, mind and soul with water coming out of holy streams and waterfalls. It can also be carried out at sea. Typically, the ritual is done in a pool and you wash yourself under several fountains of purifying water one of after the other.

Prior to the start of the ritual, the priest will lead you through a cleansing meditation and prepare you for the ceremony. An offering always needs to be made and temples will often have them ready for you to purchase. The priest will finish with a blessing. Through the process, you should rid yourself of anything that does not serve you and wash it away with the holy water.

If you choose to participate, I recommend you ask your guide / hotel to take you to a local temple. It may not be as "pretty" but it will be a much more meaningful experience than queueing with lots of other tourists, factory-line style, just to take a photo, with no regard for the local culture or thoughtful consideration for the holiness of the ritual or its meaning.

Note: This is a religious ceremony and while Balinese people are happy to share it with you even if you are not Hindu, this is not an excuse to strike an Instagram pose. Imagine being in church or at a mosque and posing pretending to pray for the gram...

Monkey forest: I am not too much of a fan of this but if you want to get up and close with monkeys, I would strongly recommend you do not visit Ubud Monkey Forest and instead go to Sangeh Monkey Forest.

The monkeys in Ubud are trained to pose and steal food and other things from you for money, they are also much more aggressive and known to scratch tourists and the entire experience is overwhelming (monkeys all around jumping on you unannounced) and unnatural.

In Sangeh, there are far fewer visitors and the surroundings are beautiful. Monkeys are more relaxed and the local guides can make sure they do not jump on you if you don't want them to, so you can observe from the distance.

Avoid the monkeys in Uluwatu Temple, they stole and broke a pair of glasses from one of our guests last time and they are famous for stealing phones for money. You can Google many videos of it.

Rice fields: there are rice paddies literally everywhere in Bali so the best way to enjoy them is to drive around and stop when you see a landscape you love. However, the famous UNESCO-listed world heritage rice paddies are in Jatiluwih, and there are marked paths and a couple of cafes around where you can stop for refreshments or lunch.

The Tegallalang rice terraces are also stunning, and full of swings, nests and other Instagram spots. The landscapes are still worth it a stop on your way elsewhere.

Surfing: Bali is an eminent destination for surfers and the reason why Aussies love the island. Especially in Canggu, Kuta and Jimbaran, waves are consistent and breaks accessible to all levels, so it is a great place to learn. There are plenty of surf schools too, at all price levels.

Volcanoes: Bali is home to three active volcanoes that are accessible and can be enjoyed from the distance or from close by, if you decide to climb them.

Mount Batur is the most commonly tackled one and excursions are available to climb it at sunrise. You can also view th sunrise from one of the cafes on the rim (we go to Montana de Cafe, pictured above) and then get on a lava field jeep tour that is a lot of fun.

Our Balinese guide Henni and I at Potato Head

Beach clubs: When I first started to visit Bali, it was a pretty wild destination with minimal development, but the Seminyak area was slowly becoming Southeast Asia's go-to place for beach parties at the many cool clubs.

Fixtures such as the original Ku de ta or Potato Head and now also Mrs Sippy or Finns Beach, are a must-see if you are visiting. We stay at Potato Head for the last 2 night of our tour. This is an incredible hotel part of the World's 50 Best Hotels list and an example of responsible tourism with behind the scenes waste management tours, a zero-waste restaurant and a magnificent spa.

Other things I love to do in Bali: We go on a wonderful foraging and cooking class morning with Made during our tours and I can highly recommend this time spent in a local home in the rural community to learn more about balinese way of life and food, away from the vegan cafes and hipster vibes.

Most accommodations you stay at will offer canang sari making workshops where you get to make the local offerings you see everywhere. It's a lovely way to immerse yourself in the culture.

Needless to say, Bali is famous for wellness and you can join many yoga classes and book spa treatments practically anywhere. Ask your hotel or check out the famous Yoga Barn in Ubud.

While Indonesian cuisine is not my most favorite, I do love the Balinese take on it and I enjoy trying lots of different foods and dishes. Bali is also home to a small food revolution reclaiming back its old recipes and traditions in food. Restaurants like Locavore were the pioneers (and have a built a small empire), but a quick Google search will bring up many options. I love Locavore, vegan Zest, established institution Mozaic and Netflix-famous dessert bar room4Dessert in Ubud. The restaurants at Potato head, long-standing Italian La Lucciola, Mama san for Asian in Seminyak. The Cave in Uluwatu, for something special.

Where to stay

There are literally hundreds of stunning luxury hotels, villas and Airbnbs on the island and prices are affordable so this is a good opportunity to splurge.

Since I have been so many times and we run tours, I have visited and stayed at many of the best. But before deciding where to stay you need to come up with an itinerary.

In my opinion, it is important to spend time in more than one location as distances are long and traffic terrible, and you don't want to spend your days in the car.

Ideally, I would spend 3-4 nights in Ubud to be near the culture, 2-3 nights in Seminyak / Jimbaran / Nusa Dua depending on the type of beach vacation you want, and 2-3 nights in the north / east for the quiet, the waterfalls and the temples.

Our tour itinerary is, in my opinion, the ideal way to spend a week in Bali. If you have longer time, you could add in:

Nusa Penida / Nusa Lembongan, two separate islands accessible by ferry. Avoid the day tours where you get dragged around like sheep for photo ops
West Bali: National park, completely untouched and wilder than anywhere else
Gili Islands: A ferry ride away to white sand beaches

Some of the best hotels I stayed at:

Fiveelements a raw vegan restaurant, stunning villas and amazing spa, this is a wellness retreat destination like no other in Ubud
Bill Bensley's designed Capella Ubud is an amazing jungle escape with villas at various levels literally hidden in the jungle
Munduk Moding Plantation Resort, in the north, has one of the most famous infinity pools in the world and an unbeatable location up on the hills of Bali in a coffee plantation. We stay here on our tours.
Potato Head as mentioned, one of the 50 World's Best Hotels and a total gem with excellent service and wonderful food. We stay here on our tours.
Bvlgari Bali has insane views over the cliffs and water, as does the Ayana Resort one of the original hotels in Jimbaran, its infinity bar was all the rage 15 years ago
The Legian is the first hotel I ever stayed at in Bali and it is still wonderful in a quieter location but still walking distance to many of the bars and restaurants in Seminyak. The Oberoi is also nearby
In Nusa Dua, the St Regis and Sofitel are both lovely, though we're talking large resort feel here, like with the rest of the hotels in Nusa Dua. One comes here to relax.
There are literally hundreds of amazing hotels in Ubud and I can recommend the Komaneka group for their friendly and homey service especially for a 4*/5* hotel. All their hotels are lovely and we stay at Komaneka Bisma on our tours.
My family recently stayed at Villa Aria, self contained villas with pools, and they loved it
In the East, I can recommend Alila Manggis (part of the Hyatt Group), which has been there for 20 years when the area was completely undeveloped, and has a strong wellness focus, as well as Nirwana Beach Resort and The Royal Purnama which is local and female owned.
In the North, there are very few hotels but we stay at the 12-room Kirana Hotel that is local and female owned and has a privileged beachfront location. It's a home away from home and it's where we stay in the north.

Don't want to plan your Bali trip? Would you rather join a group and make new friends? Travel to Bali with us!

SEE BALI TOUR DETAILS

The cleanest airlines

A new report by Skytrack awards the cleanest airlines around.

The top ones are all Asian: EVA Air, ANA All Nippon Airways, and Cathay Pacific are the top-3 followed by Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and Hainan Airlines.

The awards are based on the standard of cleanliness of the cabins, including seats, tables, carpets, etc.

I can't say I disagree. I have flown Singapore Airlines hundreds of times, as well as Qatar often and ANA recently. They are all very clean indeed, especially when compared to the ones which are not, and which I also fly often like any of the low-cost airlines with quick turn arounds and minimal in between flight cleaning, or some of the airlines flying within the African continent with their oldest and most worn out planes...

Last availability for 2025

Here are the last few spots left on this year's tours:

🔔 3 SPOTS left on our Georgia tour 20 to 28 September => BOOK GEORGIA
🔔 1 SPOT opened up on our Morocco tour 6 to 16 November => BOOK MOROCCO
🔔 1 SPOT left on our Australia tour 12 to 23 October => BOOK AUSTRALIA
🔔 3 SPOTS left on our Iceland tour 28 September to 5 October => BOOK ICELAND
🔔 3 SPOTS left on our Oaxaca 12 to 18 October tour => BOOK OAXACA
🔔 1 SPOTS left on our Xmas markets tour 22 to 29 November => BOOK XMAS MARKETS

=> You can also see the FULL CALENDAR of tours with all the destinations.

Travel tips for Bali + Cleanest airlines

Travel tips for Bali

The cleanest airlines

Last availability for 2025

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