Bali – the land of beautiful Instagram photos! I kid you not, everything here is picturesque and meant to be photographed. It’s simply beautiful. But of course, for you to enjoy your trip fully – you’ll want to make sure you’ve prepared everything well in advance. Well, fear not, this blog post is meant to provide you with a full lowdown of what to do to prepare for Bali, including handy tips and tricks for all first-time DIY tourists! 😉 You’re welcome!

When’s the best time to go to Bali?

NEVER go to Bali during the peak season – which would fall during the Easter Holidays (Holy Week), the months of July and August, and Christmas / New Year time. Why? Bali at its best is pretty crowded (and has ridiculous traffic), so imagine what that would look when the crowd’s multiplied by 5!

Personally, I find that the best months to be in Bali would be June and September – right before and after the peak season. The crowd’s manageable, the tours and accommodations are priced slightly cheaper, and best of all, there are minimal queues at the beach clubs, restaurants, and tourist sites!

Where’s the best place to stay in Bali?

There are a multitude of options to choose from in Bali! For me though, I’ve always chosen to stay in either Kuta or Seminyak. Read below on what to expect from both locations:

Seminyak

Moderately upscale area, with a not-so-crowded beach
Chill laidback vibes, with nice beach clubs to lounge around at (e.g., La Plancha, Potato Head)

TIP: If you’re staying in Seminyak, I suggest you grab a villa AirBnB. The rates are ridiculously cheap (~USD 55 per night – for around 6 people), and typically includes a nice mini-pool already!

Kuta

Surfing mecca – this is where it’s at if you want to go surfing! Most hotels should be walking distance to the beach
Cheaper hotels and hostels abound in this area for budget-conscious travelers

TIP: If you’re staying in Kuta and willing to splurge, my favorite hotel here is Four Points by Sheraton. It’s decently priced, and you can request for a room that connects directly to the pool – meaning you can jump straight from your bed into the pool as a nice wake-me-up in the morning

What’s the best way to get around Bali?

Bali has ZERO public transport. It’s ridiculous. Therefore, to get around Bali you’d have to be completely reliant on taxis, Grab, or book a car in advance. My tip would be:

For daytime tours

Book a car in advance – the running rate for a typical 6-seater van (think Avanza) is IDR 450k (for 8 hrs), then additional IDR 50k for every additional hour. If you want a bigger car (e.g., that can sit 8 pax), then the running rate will start at IDR 800k

If you’re interested in this, I highly recommend Kadek (+62 878 6183 9135). He was our tour guide for Ubud and Seminyak (you can read all about our adventure here) – and he was just lovely and extremely conscientious. Plus, he responds super fast via Whatsapp. The only con is… he’s not the best photographer (haha! I know this is a shallow reason… but my previous tour guides were all AMAZING photographers, so I was quite sad that he wasn’t huhu)

For beach club and restaurant hopping

Assuming you’re staying in the Kuta or Seminyak area, then I’d suggest you just take a Grab to your desired destination. The rates are pretty cheap (IDR 12k for a 10mins ride), as long as it’s within the same-ish vicinity. Once you go farther out though (aka Ubud), then the rates just SKYROCKET (~IDR 120k for a 60mins ride). Even worse, the Grab drivers start bargaining and asking for more money…

Note that in Bali, Grab isn’t widely accepted yet, and in fact, there are certain areas which are no-Grab zones. For example: Uluwatu Temple and the airport are no-Grab zones. In such cases, you may have to get a taxi instead. If you’re forced to do so

Take BLUEBIRD taxis only
Request them to use the meter. If they refuse and you don’t have a choice, haggle and agree on the price upfront

For the airport

As mentioned, the Denpasar airport is a no-Grab zone. You can go about this in three ways:

Using the above advice, book a cab
Book airport-to-hotel transport via Klook. I did this, and was extremely satisfied with the service – I thought it was pretty cheap too!
Include your airport pickup with your car tour (which is what I did with Kadek, as my plane landed at 8AM). Therefore, he picked me up from the airport at 8:30AM and we went straight to Ubud!

What should I book in advance?

So this obviously depends on your Bali plans… But if you’re planning to follow my rough 4-day DIY itinerary (which I’ll detail further in my blogs), then I suggest you book the following in advance:

DAY 1: UBUD DAY TOUR

Book the car and driver in advance – this would include:

Airport pickup
Tirta Empul Temple
Uma Pakel Swing & Coffee
Tegalalang Rice Terraces
Ubud Market
Naughty Nuri’s (lunch)
Batuan Temple
Tanah Lot
Hotel dropoff

Personal recommendation: Kadek (+62 878 6183 9135)

Cost: We paid IDR 600k for the 11-hours car tour

DAY 2: NUSA PENIDA TOUR

You can definitely do this DIY – by…

Getting a Grab to Sanur Beach
Booking the fast boat to Nusa Penida at the pier (IDR 200,000 one-way per person)
Haggling for a car at Nusa Penida (IDR 500,000 for a 6-seater car)

However, after tallying up the cost and reading horror stories where folks didn’t manage to get to go to Nusa Penida because all the boats were fully booked by the time they got to the pier… I decided that I was willing to pay a little extra for the convenience and assurance that everything would be taken care of

Our Nusa Penida Tour included:

Hotel pickup (at 6:20AM) and dropoff (at 6:00-7:00PM)
Fast boat from Sanur Beach to Nusa Penida (7:30AM) and vice versa (4:30PM)
Dedicated car and driver
- Kelingking Beach
- Angel’s Billabong
- Broken Beach
- Crystal Bay
Lunch
1 bottle of water

Personal Recommendation: Sony Nusa Bali Tour (+62 822 3636 3894)

Cost: IDR 650k per person (for a group of 4) – I suspect the per pax price increases/ decreases depending on the number of people in your group

DAY 3: MT BATUR SUNRISE TREK

The Mt Batur Sunrise Trek is a true experience to remember! I highly highly recommend this activity. What an experience trekking up the mountain at 4AM – with only your flashlight and the flashlights of the hundreds of other hikers before and after you guiding your way. It feels kind of spiritual in a sense – as if you’re all journeying together to reach the peak of the mountain, in order to gaze upon the beauty of God’s creation

Waxing poetic aside, this tour includes:

Hotel pickup (1:15 – 2:00AM) and dropoff (11:00AM – 12:00PM)
Mountain tour guide
Breakfast (Banana sandwich and hard boiled egg)

Personal recommendation: Klook

Cost: IDR 550k per person

DAY 4: HOTEL-TO-AIRPORT TRANSPORT

I’m a fastidious planner at heart, and hate leaving anything to chance! As such, I had also booked the airport transport in advance as well

Personal recommendation: Klook

Cost: IDR 100k (5-seater car)

WIFI DEVICE (1.5 GB PER DAY)

WiFi is every person’s best friend – I have no idea how people survived before the era of the internet! Anyway, for our Bali trip, I opted to rent our WiFi device from Klook.The device costs IDR 45k per day, with a 1.5GB cap per day. If you go over the daily cap (and they don’t provide data tracking, which is really annoying…), then you’d have to pay an additional IDR 45k for every 1.5GB of data used that day

Honestly, I’m not sure I’d recommend Klook for this. The WiFi was decent – could be spotty at times, especially when we were deep in the forest or at Nusa Penida. I do wonder if other WiFi rental devices would’ve had better signal, or if we’d have been better off buying a local sim card with data package

How much cash should I bring?

You MUST bring cash. Most areas in Bali (including tour guides and restaurants) only accept cash. Below is a breakdown of my Bali expenses (for 4 days) to give you a rough idea of how much to bring. Note: I’ve included both my credit card and cash expenses, as you may opt to pay for those in cash instead (E.g., if you’re staying in a hostel vs AirBnB, take a local tour vs booking via Klook)

It’s ridiculously difficult to get IDR in the Philippines. As much, my friends and I ended up bringing USD and just having them exchanged in Bali. Because we were a bit worried about not having any cash, we ended up having everything exchanged at the airport (at 1 USD: IDR 14.3k exchange rate). Do NOT be stupid like us. Exchange a small amount at the airport (where exchange rates are always the worst). Afterwards, be on the lookout for money changers as you travel throughout the day. In the Ubud area, we saw one touting a 1 USD: IDR 14.6k exchange rate

What else should I bring to Bali?

CLOTHING

Clothes that will look nice on Instagram (LOL). Despite there being a lot of temples, there’s no dress code per se, as the temple entrance fees all include free usage of their batik to cover your knees
Windbreaker jacket and rubber shoes. If you’re planning to do the Mt. Sanur sunrise hike – beware, it’s cold up top! Brrr
During the Nusa Penida tour, you’ll be wading into the waters to climb on and off the boat. Therefore, bring slippers or aqua shoes
If you’ve booked an AirBnB villa, odds are, you’ll have a private pool too! As such, you may want to bring swimsuits
If you plan to go surfing, bring rashguards as the surf boards can leave rashes!

OTHER ESSENTIALS

Sunglasses (the sun can be glaringly hot)
Sunblock (don’t forget to apply liberally!) My friends and I all went home sunburnt
Mosquito repellant – there are SO MANY mosquitoes in Bali grr
Powerbank to charge your phone AND the WiFi device

Happy Bali trip planning!! In case you’re interested to know more, please do check out my other Bali blogs <3

Guide to Bali for first-time DIY tourists

Day 1: Ubud and Seminyak tour

Day 2: Nusa Penida tour

Day 3: Mt Batur sunrise trek + Uluwatu Temple

Day 4: Surfing the Kuta waves and chilling

Hey, how’s it going?

I want to pass along some very important news that everyone needs to hear!

In December of 2017, Donald Trump made history by recognizing Jerusalem as the captial of Israel. Why is this big news? Because by this the Jewish people of Israel are now able to press forward in bringing about the Third Temple prophesied in the Bible.

Jewish Rabbis have publicly announced that their Messiah will be revealed in the coming years who will be a leader and spiritual guide to all nations, gathering all religions under the worship of one God. They deny Jesus as their Messiah, and the Bible tells us this Jewish Messiah will be the counterfiet that will bring about a false peace, and ultimatley the great tribulation.

They even printed a coin to raise money for the Temple with Donald Trumps face on the front and with king Cyrus'(who built the second Temple) behind him. On the back of the coin is an image of the third Temple.

More importantly, the power that runs the world wants to put a RFID microchip in our body making us total slaves to them. This chip matches perfectly with the Mark of the Beast in the Bible, more specifically in Revelation 13:16-18:

“He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.”

Referring to the last days, this could only be speaking of a cashless society, which we have yet to see, but are heading towards. Otherwise, we could still buy or sell without the mark amongst others if physical money was still currency. This Mark couldn’t be spiritual because the word references two different physical locations. If it was spiritual it would just say in the forehead. RFID microchip implant technology will be the future of a one world cashless society containing digital currency. It will be implanted in the right-hand or the forehead, and we cannot buy or sell without it! We must grow strong in Jesus. AT ALL COSTS, DO NOT TAKE IT!

“Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name” (Revelation 14:9-11).

People have been saying the end is coming for many years, but we needed two key things. One, the Third Temple, and two, the technology for a cashless society to fulfill the prophecy of the Mark of the Beast.

Visit http://WWW.BIBLEFREEDOM.COM to see proof for these things and much more!

If you haven’t already, it is time to seek God with all your heart. Jesus loves you more than you could imagine. He wants to have a relationship with you and redeem you from your sins. Turn to Him and repent while there is still hope! God bless!

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Hey, how’s it going?

I want to pass along some very important news that everyone needs to hear!

In December of 2017, Donald Trump made history by recognizing Jerusalem as the captial of Israel. Why is this big news? Because by this the Jewish people of Israel are now able to press forward in bringing about the Third Temple prophesied in the Bible.

Jewish Rabbis have publicly announced that their Messiah will be revealed in the coming years who will be a leader and spiritual guide to all nations, gathering all religions under the worship of one God. They deny Jesus as their Messiah, and the Bible tells us this Jewish Messiah will be the counterfiet that will bring about a false peace, and ultimatley the great tribulation.

They even printed a coin to raise money for the Temple with Donald Trumps face on the front and with king Cyrus'(who built the second Temple) behind him. On the back of the coin is an image of the third Temple.

More importantly, the power that runs the world wants to put a RFID microchip in our body making us total slaves to them. This chip matches perfectly with the Mark of the Beast in the Bible, more specifically in Revelation 13:16-18:

“He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.”

Referring to the last days, this could only be speaking of a cashless society, which we have yet to see, but are heading towards. Otherwise, we could still buy or sell without the mark amongst others if physical money was still currency. This Mark couldn’t be spiritual because the word references two different physical locations. If it was spiritual it would just say in the forehead. RFID microchip implant technology will be the future of a one world cashless society containing digital currency. It will be implanted in the right-hand or the forehead, and we cannot buy or sell without it! We must grow strong in Jesus. AT ALL COSTS, DO NOT TAKE IT!

“Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name” (Revelation 14:9-11).

People have been saying the end is coming for many years, but we needed two key things. One, the Third Temple, and two, the technology for a cashless society to fulfill the prophecy of the Mark of the Beast.

Visit http://WWW.BIBLEFREEDOM.COM to see proof for these things and much more!

If you haven’t already, it is time to seek God with all your heart. Jesus loves you more than you could imagine. He wants to have a relationship with you and redeem you from your sins. Turn to Him and repent while there is still hope! God bless!

Comments are closed for this post.

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