2 weeks in Bali: need advice

0-Leo-0

11 April 2016 08:25:06

Hi to everybody! I'm planning to stay two weeks in Bali in order to make a visit in a less tourist way. I already visit it about four years ago but it was an already planned tour not made by ourselves so we ended up in Kuta and due to our age and personal tastes we don't like it very much. I could say we are going to live there for two weeks, not going holiday. We are going in some home stay in order to cook by ourselves (ok, my wife will, I'm only going to eat ) because after the third time we are tired to eat at restaurant (and our stomach will thanks).
We think we are going by car, we depart from Surabaya that is where we live since 1st of February. Driving is not a problem, I already have my own car and already did about 3000 km since I'm here. We also went to Yogyakarta to make the same thing I'm planning with Bali and all went ok. If the streets (the secondary ones) are about the same of Jogja there will be no problem. I have Indonesian SIM, we always wear seat belt, usually respect traffic rules and in top of that I have a dash cam recording H24 in case...
The purpose of the visit is evaluate Bali as a place to live because we don't like Surabaya too much, we prefer a more rural surroundings, more small cities and live in the countryside. Ok this will mean that I have to take the car to go shopping and market. No discotheque, no parties, no crowd will be appreciated.
Jogja was fine and for now it's our first choice if Bali will not be better or any other place that maybe we could find in the immediate future....
So we are going to alternate pleasure visits at beach monuments etc with visits to lands and villas dijual.

What do you think are the best places to live in Bali according to our tastes? What are the most beautiful (and not too much touristic) beaches? What to do and visit? Or at list do you know some good link to guide of Bali? I was reading the forum for a while but I don't have time to read it all, I think we go this Wednesday...!

I really appreciate any help! Terima kasih!

Ubudian

11 April 2016 14:28:09

3187

Ubud, Bali

A two week road trip should be just about perfect for you to explore Bali fairly well and find a number of areas appealing to you.

The one thing about Bali is that its geography changes significantly, and seemly one kilometer after another.

Once off the ferry in Gilimanuk, head up the northern coastal road on through the national park and Permuteran, eventually heading due east towards Lovina and Singaraja. From that point you'll have two viable options…one is to continue on the coastal road all along northeast Bali all the way down to Amed and then to Candi Dasa, Padangbai, etc. From those areas head northwest into the central highlands to explore them, eventually making your way down to Ubud. After exploring the Ubud area, head southwest toward Tabanan and continue back towards western Bali (Gilmanuk) by way of the southern coastal road. Have a quick look at a decent map of Bali and you'll see what I mean.

A second option from Singaraja would be to head south from there…doing the central highlands and Ubud, then heading east to the coast and reversing direction back towards Singaraja and eventually, Gilimanuk. This second option would leave out the southwest Bali coast and Tabanan…but, it would enable you to spend more time at each location.

Don't worry about places to stay. Bali is very quiet right now, and the weather is perfect…so your timing is excellent. That said, it wouldn't hurt to pick up a Lonely Planet guide to Bali as this excellent resource lists a variety of places to stay…even in the more remote areas that you'll be finding yourselves.

I've been living 24/7 for the past 17 years on Bali and you might find some interesting suggestions on what to do, or where to go on my Virtual Tourist web site, here:

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

Drive safely, and have a great time!

Cheers!

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