Bali

[ToBMarried24]

Would you recommend? and if so which parts? Possibly looking at booking my honeymoon there for 2024.

we will be taking our kids so we are not looking to party it up.

I Didn’t love it. For Australians it’s their package holiday destination so it’s defo not some far flung paradise. We stayed in seminyak and ubud.

Most of it is not great. It's the Ibiza of Australia.

The only way I would go to Bali is if I lived in Asia and it was a short hp. It is not the island paradise a lot of people think it is. A lot of the resorts are quite rowdy and seedy. There are some nice, high end (expensive resorts) but in my view nothing nicer than you would get in a high end European resort (but a much longer journey). If you want to go to Asia - there are other parts of Indonesia (such as Sulawesi) which are much more unspoilt and nicer.

We went for our honeymoon, it's nice, but we didn't love it, and it's a long way to go for somewhere you don't love.

Agree it's a bit rowdy/seedy in places.

Another beautiful place to consider is Lankawi in Malaysia - beautiful beaches, tranquil vibe, child friendly - lots of wildlife, cycling trails etc. That to me really was an island paradise.

As part of a wider Indonesian trip I’d go. If it was my one destination, I’d throw money at the hotel, and activities.

I assume you’re worrying due to the other thread?

What are you looking for from the trip?

We are looking for nice beaches, maybe a boat trip or 2 around, temples, some activities for kids, some relaxing, nice food.

I don’t want to be sat at the hotel everyday on a sun lounger and I don’t want seedy. 😂

I tend to find inspiration and build from there. E.G
https://www.stubbornmuletravel.com/relaxing-bali/

Is still quite action packed, or

https://www.stubbornmuletravel.com/relaxing-bali/

Worth speaking to a company or two that do tours. You may not want to use them, but you might get good information. They will
have been so can properly answer your questions.

My son (25) went there last year with his girlfriend and they were so disappointed in it.They were appalled at the dirt of the beaches and the locals total disregard for the environment with rubbish and plastic everywhere .They preferred Lombok.

If you go make sure you also include the gili islands.

I've traveled lots around SE Asia and Bali was the only place that disappointed me.

As pps have said, like Aussi Ibiza!

Much nicer - Vietnam, Malaysia or even Thailand.

Hated it.

We went last summer, combined with Lombok, and loved it. We avoided Southern resorts (apart from a few nights in Uluwatu at the end), but for us it had everything - great food, accommodation, beaches were beautiful (in Lombok), snorkelling amazing - vibrant coral and turtles, really friendly, perfect weather (August) and value for money.

We might have got lucky as we got amazing value accommodation and places weren’t up to full capacity as the world wasn’t fully open.

I went last summer, stayed in the north of the island and just went down to Ubud for one day/night (for a beach club as actually I quite like the idea of an Aussie Ibiza ). Also, beach club was family friendly so we had a lot of fun.
Food is great, people are lovely. We stayed in a BEAUTIFUL villa. Had a great time

What was the name of the beach club?

The one I found is no kids allowed

Tbh I would look for another destination, everyone I know who has been to Bali has been really disappointed.

Avoid Kuta or anywhere near it, its horrible. I liked Sanur a lot better.

We went ten tears ago combined with Hong Kong and loved it. We avoided all the Aussie places like Kuta and stayed at Sanur. Got day taxi tours to visit Ubud, the terraces etc. Saw Hindu temple ceremonies - the people are lovely.

We’ve also done Langkawi with Singapore - nice but not as much to see IMO.

But honestly it’s a really long way - it’s nearly Australia! Why go so far? You could do the Caribbean in half the time.

I agree with this poster.

Look at Vietnam or Malaysia instead. Bali is surprisingly not as nice as it sounds. There are far more interesting, friendly and beautiful places, with better food and nicer attitudes to children, in SE Asia.

We did it for our honeymoon, but stayed in villas with private pools at all destinations which is pretty cheap there. We did, Nusa Dua, Lombok and Ubud.

@ToBMarried24 Finns beach club 🌞

Ubud isn't on the beach.

We stayed at Sanur and liked it. Kuta is an Indonesian Magaluf.

Bali is my favourite place in the world. Some of it is REALLY shit, but saying it’s all disappointing is like dismissing Seville because of Magaluf.
Head away from the crowds.
Instead of Ubud, try Sidemen. (If you want to stay in Ubud then don’t stay in the centre, look at Nyuh Kuning, or Penenstenan.)
Instead of Seminyak look at Sanur.
Go trekking in Munduk, surf at Bingin, try scuba in Amed.
Take a ferry over to Nusa Lembongan and chill for a week, then hit Nusa Penida and explore.
Basically, get out of the South and explore. The Balinese people are unfailingly lovely, the food is amazing and the culture is there to be seen at every turn.

And book it yourself. The travel agents in the UK book Bali like a package to Magaluf, which is probably why everyone here seems to think it’s shit.

Can I ask how you got from Ubud to Lombok? I’m researching the places people have said on this thread and noticed lombok is on a separate island