Bali late november - where to stay - nature over crowds

I would suggest you to stay in Sanur. You can rent a bike or a car to travel around.
Look up Jalan Danau Tamblingan, Sanur. You can stay at a homestay or 5star hotels , they have good options for both. Food is amazing, if you decided to stay in Sanur, check out Apa Kabar restaurant and order yourself a portion of Nasi Campur. The best I had!

I dont know much abt Ubud, but if you are into art, it might be the best place to be.
I went to the botanical garden , it was pretty nice.

Buying souvenirs in Kuta might not be a good idea, atleast from my experiences. They mark their price up so high and are pretty rude to customers. In Sanur things are cheaper, Hardy Dept Store is pretty well known for Balinese souvenirs and groceries. Its big!

Hope it helps a bit :-)

Annie

Ubud…fake hippies???

There is a good reason why Ubud is called the cultural heart of Bali…it's because it is, but yes, alas, and thanks to Liz Gilbert ala “Eat, Pray, Love” there is that element to Ubud.  Best way to combat that is to wear one of Naughty Nuri's tee shirts, “Eat, Pay, Leave!”

Keep in mind that Ubud is far more than just the main center of Ubud Village.  Ubud actually consists of Ubud Village plus 9 other small villages that surround Ubud in all directions.  You won't find crowds of tourists in those villages, rather you'll find it hard to find more traditional Balinese villages where the locals live pretty much the same way as they have for a long time…motorbikes, cell phones, computers, electricity, paved roads, and TV not withstanding. 

You might also like the central highlands which are only a 30 to 50 minute drive north from Ubud.  Places like Munduk and Sidemen are particularly wonderful “deep within nature” kinds of places. 

As for diving you'll want to head to Amed on the far east coast of Bali.  Just north of Amed is Tulamben where you can do an easy dive on the wreck of the USS Liberty.  Seasoned divers and those familiar with all the various dive locations on Bali will tell you that the diving in Amed and Tulamben is at the top of the list for Bali diving and better yet, you don't need to be an expert diver with a thousand dives under your belt to really enjoy the tremendous coral reefs and huge variety of sea life to be found there.

Let your heart not be troubled and worry not about the hippies of Ubud…and take solace that there aren't any Kuta bogans to be found where I live.

I've heard a lot about Sanur and will check it out - definitely! thanks for the ideas  :  )

Mr. Ubudian - sounds like the small villages are what I'd be most interested.  I just have had my fill of "fake hippies" - ha!  Just want to be with locals and nice folks and nature most of all!
Love your "eat pray leave!" t shirt idea - ha!!
Can you safely ride a bike in these areas around Ubud?
I am googling Munduk and Sideman as we speak!  and I'm thrilled to hear about the diving - I dove at Sipeden and in the Sulu Sea and South China about 5 years ago and almost choked/drowned it was so gorgeous!
I hear Lombok is the Old Bali...any thoughts?  Do you think Eastern Bali and Lombok are too off beaten track for a non Balinese speaking single woman from Idaho?  My love is for quiet, natural, animals, true culture and peace.  Not a big drinker but love telling stories with fake gina and tonic!  ha!

“Can you safely ride a bike in these areas around Ubud?”

Yes, but be extremely careful on back roads especially at night and during the rain.  Village roads are very hazardous and often in bad repair not to mention hair pin turns, poor lighting and hosts of “orang gila” (crazy drivers).

If you go to Amed for diving go and see my “brother” John Huxley of Eco Dive:

http://www.ecodivebali.com/

He's an American/Canadian and has been running his dive shop for many years…one of the very first on Bali.

My three sons, aged 9 to 13 dive with him and our oldest, Bima got his open water certification with “Om John”  (uncle John).

You will not find a more wonderful guy and expert dive master on Bali.  I wouldn't trust my son's lives with anyone else.

“I hear Lombok is the Old Bali.”

The only folks you might hear that from are folks who haven't bothered to get out of Kuta or other areas in the south of Bali to see that the “old Bali” is very much alive and well.  My sister in law is Balinese from Lombok and yes, in the western areas of Lombok there are a number of Balinese villages…but there is no need to go to Lombok to experience Balinese culture.

You might enjoy reading my entries on Virtual Tourist:

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/deec0/

You'll get a lot of information that might be useful to you there.

Cheers and have a great time!

Hi there,

If you are over crowds have you tried Lembongan? plenty of nature, great diving and plenty of peace and quiet. It's a 30 minute fast boat ride from Sanur. We have a homestay with a couple of rooms if you are interested, pop me an email.