BALI MARCH 2019

BALI MARCH 2019

The most magical trip I’ve ever had! In March I visited Bali, turned 30 and got engaged on the trip of a lifetime. I wanted to create a post for those of you considering visiting Bali on the places we stayed and visited to hopefully streamline your researching (I spent way to many hours figuring out the island before booking our spots, so hopefully this saves you a little time).

TRAVEL

Bali isn’t the easiest of spots to reach from the UK, however totally worth it!! From January this year, Garunda Indonesia Airlines have started flying direct to Bali from London, however most airlines fly to a Bali with a connection. If you are heading away for a couple of weeks I highly recommend flying into either Singapore or Bangkok direct, spending a couple of days exploring, and then head to Bali from there. It’s a beautiful part of the world and somewhere you probably aren’t going to travel to often in a lifetime, so why not make the most of it! We flew with British Airways to Singapore, spent a few days with my cousin (who moved there with her husband a few years back) and then booked a flight from there to Bali for 10 days.

Once there, download an app called Grab, it works the same as Uber here in the UK and super convenient when out and about.

VISIT

We spent time in 3 areas of Bali – Canguu, Ubud and Uluwatu.

Canguu

is where we started our trip for 3 nights, the perfect place for when you first arrive to relax whilst sipping on a cocktail or two. Canguu is an extremely popular surfing spot near the beach with great beach bars, shops and restaurants. It was super laid-back and quirky with a Shoreditch feel. We were either starting our trip here or Seminyak. We chose Canguu as its slightly quieter and less hustle and bustle to Seminyak which we liked. Seminyak however is around 30 minutes away in a taxi if you did want to visit, we spent one evening there for a dreamy dinner at Mama San restaurant, highly recommend!

Whilst in Canguu we stayed in a Jungalow in Kalapa resort which was beautiful, about 10 minutes from the centre with a great in house taxi service dropping us off for dinner and picking us up again each night. Their staff were wonderful, daily complimentary breakfast, and a super tranquil pool area with daily yoga. We lapped up the resort during the day and then went out of an evening, however if you were wanting to be out and about a lot during day and night I would recommend staying close to Echo Beach.

Kalapa Resort

The rooms in our Jungalow were on the cosier side with a treehouse feel. Completely made of wood with balcony doors at the bottom of your bed into your own private plunge pool and the outdoor shower/bath tub area. It was a surreal 3 nights as it literally felt like you were sleeping outside hearing every insect under the sun (which is surprisingly more relaxing than it sounds).

Our Bedroom

Must Visit

The Lawns Beach Club for sunset.

Fishbone Local For Food and Cocktails

Ubud

Our next, and favourite spot, was Ubud… the most magical place! It is around an hour from Canguu. Ubud is your exploring spot and were you can fully immerse yourself into the beautiful Balinese culture! You actually pass a few sights on the way from Canguu so if you ask your taxi driver he will stop off for you en route. The one place we stopped was Lumbung Sari House of Luwak Coffee, not on our list, but highly recommended by our lovely taxi driver who dropped us off and kindly waited whilst we did the tour. Complimentary tour, coffee and tea tasting, and then you can purchase any that you liked at the end. We brought home the Luwak Coffee and Mangosteen Tea.

Lumbung Sari House of Coffee

We stayed at the Goya Boutique Resort, and loved every minute! With an incredible infinity pool, walkable distance to explore the streets of Ubud, and gorgeous food and drinks, we didn’t want to leave!

A completely different feel to Canguu’s cosy outdoorsy rooms, the rooms here are super luxe and spacious with a Super king marshmallow bed, balcony overlooking the jungle and finished with Blvgari toiletries…

The team at Goya made a special effort to ensure you experienced a home from home and they definitely exceeded. 

At Goya we made the most of the in house spa! The treatments are super reasonably priced (a fraction of the price of the UK). 

Infinity Pool Goya Boutique Resort
Goya Boutique Resort Rooms

During our time in Ubud we got engaged at the Hanging Gardens Of Bali… a must visit if you get the chance. We went for the evening for the Private Jungle Dining Experience but after seeing the resort would LOVE to stay here… maybe a honeymoon spot 😉

Hanging Gardens Of Bali

Must Do:

A Balinese Temple

Tibumana Waterfall

A Bali Swing

A Coffee Plantation

The Monkey Forest

We could have spent so much longer in Ubud. When we get the chance to visit again we could definitely do at least 5 days in Ubud.

Tibumana Waterfall – The morning of my 30th
Bali Swing

Uluwatu

Final stop was Uluwatu… which was around a 4 hour drive, although Google Maps said an hour. One thing to bare in mind when travelling around (that we really didn’t expect) is bad traffic! Who knew Bali was so busy?! Uluwatu is down past the airport and far south on the island, its a costal spot, and were you will find most of the high end super luxe resorts.

Villa Singa
Rock Bar

We met my family here to celebrate my 30th and the 10 of us stayed in a 6 double bedroom AirBnB called Villa Singa. Air BnB’s in Bali are next level, a lot of them come fully staffed with cleaners, chefs and an on site manager should you need anything during your stay, it felt a lot more like a hotel. Our Villa was sat on the edge of a cliff with a private infinity pool and a derelict private cove a few minutes walk away.

The Private Cove
Villa Singa Entrance
Villa Singa

Villa Singa contacted us a few weeks before the stay to discuss catering options. They will cook ANYTHING requested and get you a food/drink shop in pre your arrival. Food is really reasonable and they just add 20% to the receipt amount for organising/cooking. Alcohol on the other hand from the supermarket is extortionate so grab at the airport if you can. We had a BBQ on our first night and then breakfast each morning – a great spot to stay I would highly recommend. It was also right next door to a little hidden gem of a hotel with a quiet restaurant bar and massage area which was great if we wanted a change of scenery but didn’t want to travel.

Breakfast with a view – Villa Singa
La Joya Biu Biu Resort

 

Must Visit:

Sundays Beach Club! Loved it here. Amazing food, sun loungers and water sports for the day. Cosy bean bags, fire pits, sunset and happy hour for the night.

Watching Sunset at the La Joya Biu Biu Resort – super quiet but had great drinks with the best view of the sunset. The Rock Bar the iconic bar in Bali is 10 minutes down the road which had a much busier atmosphere but I preferred the little hidden gem we found.

Sundays Beach Club
Sundays Beach Club
Sunset at La Joya Biu Biu Resort

Anyone looking to book their own Bali Adventure I hope you’ve found this useful. Feel free to ask any questions below.

A special thank you to my loved ones for making this trip so special… Bali will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Ashley x

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3 Comments

  1. Collette Griffiths
    4th May 2019 / 4:09 pm

    Fab write up 🍹so want to go again 💖💖💖

  2. ashley
    Author
    5th May 2019 / 10:06 am

    Me too xx

  3. Ruby
    5th May 2019 / 11:23 am

    Me and my boyfriend are looking to go to Bali the end of this year probs over Christmas
    Your post was super easy to read and really helpful !
    Just wondering is there only 1 air port in Bali and was your first stop far from the airport ?
    My boyfriend is more of a get scooter and find my own way around where would you recommend would be best for adventuring ?

    Thanks again Ashley
    Xxx

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