Now that I’ve shared the best place to stay in Bali, it’s time to cover more Bali adventures! Fun fact: I actually enjoy planning vacations. Once I decide on a destination, I spend hours researching and ironing out the itinerary. For me, this is fun. Blog posts, Google Maps, Trip Advisor, reviews, Instagram – I really dive in and determine the places I must see and how best to navigate. If you’ve ever considered going to Bali, I’m sharing my full Bali itinerary with you! If the elephant posts from Instagram brought you here, scroll down to Day 6!
Day 1
We didn’t arrive to Camaya Bali Suboya until around 4:00 PM. Since I knew we’d be arriving early evening, I planned a romantic night in. I arranged for the flower pool to be set up when we arrived and a private dinner in our villa. We checked in, turned on the pool heater, and relaxed until dinner. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out this blog post which has all the deets on this experience. I was grateful that I didn’t plan anything outside of the villa for day 1 as we were tired from traveling.
Day 2
Heaven’s Gate of Pura Luhur Lempuyang is a super popular tourist attraction where people take the famous picture between the gates and you see their reflection in what appears to be water below. Google Heaven’s Gate of Pura Luhur Lempuyang and you’ll see what I mean. Our driver (I have a great one who came by recommendation – message me if you need!) suggested we get up super early to go to the gates. I opted to remove this from my itinerary because here’s what no one tells you: (1) You can wait 3+ hours for this photo and (2) There is no water in real life. The image is partially fictitious; The gates are real, but the reflection is not. I’m all about getting great content, but I am not about to wait 3 hours for a photo opt while on vacation.
Moving right along! So on Day 2 we ended up visiting Tirta Gangga, Tukad Cepung, and Goa Raja. Tirta Gangga is a former royal palace that is also a popular Instagram spot. We spent about two hours here taking photos, feeding fish (we purchased bread before entering), and just hanging out. We happened to be there during a celebration, which resulted in our trying Balinese coffee for the first time (amazing and I’m not a coffee drinker!) and a few traditional snacks that I wasn’t fond of, but my husband enjoyed.
Tukad Cepung and Goa Raja are waterfalls. I’ve been obsessed with waterfalls since a Costa Rica trip my sister and I took 10+ years ago. If the destination has waterfalls, a few will always be on my list! After taking the hike down to Tukad Cepung, we had lunch at The Cepung Lounge & Restaurant on site before making the trek to Goa Raja. We ended up ordering dinner from the restaurant at Camaya Bali late that night.
Day 3
We left Camaya Bali to head to Ubud and check into our 3rd Airbnb of the trip. Our first was in Dubai where we stayed for 2 nights prior to heading to Bali. Check out 48 Hours in Dubai here. The only thing on the schedule for day 3 was Cretya Ubud, day party vibes with jungle and rice field views. We checked in around 2:00 PM, then headed to Cretya Ubud for our 3:30 reservation. We reserved a terrace cabana which had a minimum spend that worked out to be about $150 USD. I highly recommend this place. The drinks weren’t exceptional, but the food was good and the views were even better.
Day 4
On day 4 we were picked up at 5:30 AM (the only day we got up this early) to take a ferry to Nusa Penida. By ferry, it takes about 25 minutes to get from Bali to Nusa Penida. While there, we visited Kelingking Beach, Broken Beach, and Diamond Beach. I had this grand plan to walk down to Kelingking Beach (where swimming is not permitted because of the currents) but, when we arrived, my husband was like absolutely not. It is quite a trek and there were a few people on their way back up that looked like they were about to throw up. So we ditched that plan and checked out the views at Broken Beach, then headed to Diamond Beach. Right next to Diamond Beach is Atuh Beach. The former you admire, the latter you can actually walk down and swim. The walk down can be scary, if you’re afraid of heights. The walk up is tiring!
Day 5
I had big waterfall plans for day 5 but, after hiking to two waterfalls on day 2, hiking down to Atuh Beach on day 4, and the hike to Leke Leke waterfall that we began day 5 with, we changed our minds. My legs were sore after day 2 and almost done with me after day 4. After Leke Leke, we looked at each other like do we need to see another waterfall this trip? So we decided against the remaining two that we planned for that day which were Campuhan Antapan and Nung Nung. At the spur of the moment, we decided to go to the Monkey Forest Ubud. This place is super popular, but was not a must for me which is why it didn’t make my original itinerary. I was, however, glad that we went. Scroll to see a pretty awesome photo and video I captured at the Monkey Forest below! Before the Monkey Forest we had lunch at Taroo Ubud, which was a hidden gem.
Day 6
Day 6 was our last day and it was also elephant day ya’ll! I was really looking forward to this and Mason Elephant Park and Lodge did not disappoint! While there are other elephant parks in Bali, Mason Elephant Park is the only dedicated elephant rescue facility. It was started in 1997 to house and protect critically endangered Sumatran elephants. At Mason Elephant Park, the elephants are loved, nurtured, and valued by every staff member we encountered. Beautiful place, beautiful experience! Don’t go to Bali without taking a few hours to visit this magical place. We booked the Bathe & Breakfast Tour and I was so happy we did. It included transportation, so this was the only activity we didn’t use our driver for. When we arrived, we had breakfast, fed two elephants, bathed one, then took a bareback ride on an elephant in the lake. We were there for 3-4 hours and it was perfect. Oh and the staff will happily take your photos and videos at no charge so don’t hesitate to ask!
We ended the day at Savaya Bali, a beach club nearly 2 hours from Ubud. We reserved a day bed by the infinity pool and stayed there from 4:00 PM until around 9:00 PM. The day bed had a minimum spend of about $500 USD, which was more money than the two of us could use. We ended up ordering food to go for our driver and his family, and letting our waiter order food for himself in order to use the funds we prepaid. You can’t use prepaid funds to tip the wait staff. Savaya Bali is much fancier than Cretya Ubud. We visited during the week, but on the weekends it turns into nightclub vibes with occasional celebrity guests.
Bali was amazing! So much culture, beautiful people (inside and out), and all around great vibes. If it didn’t take so long to get there, I’d visit every year. Have you been to Bali? If so, leave your favorite spots in the comments for people who are considering vacationing in Bali!
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