joboe

Does anyone have any lodging recommendations in Padang Bai? My husband and I are travelling to Bali next week (last minute trip) to meet some friends. We have 6 days in Bali before meeting our friends, who we'll be staying with in a private villa between Denpasar and Ubud. We were thinking we'd like to spend our first 2-3 nights on a beach, but something less touristy that Kuta or Nusa Dua. Someone recommended Padang Bai, but I can't seem to find much info here on it.Does anyone have any recommendations for Padang Bai or another part of Bali? Thanks!

joboe

I should add that we'd love to swim in the ocean and do some snorkeling (no surfing).

Kathie

Sorry, I don't know Padang Bai. My favorite beach area in Bali is Sanur.

joboe

We're also considering Sanur. We'd like to spend less than around $75USD per night.

marmot

joboe, Pandang Bai is actually the ferry port. It's quite industrialized; you wouldn't want to stay anywhere near it.

If you go a bit north along the same (east) coast you get to Manggis, Amed, Candi Dasa. There are several quiet communities with lots of moderately priced accommodation.

The beaches are for the most part rather eroded. Snorkling is just okay.

I'd recommend the Alila Manggis, but it may be out of your budget range. It's usually quite empty, though, and I'd guess negotiable.

You might also take a look at Lombok for beaches.

marmot

Or North Bali for good snorkling around Menjanan Island.

Kathie

Lombok does have nicer beaches than Bali in my experience. And the prices are lower as well.

joboe

I definitely need some help with my itinerary and would appreciate any feedback! We arrive on the 24th (June) and have 6 nights until meeting up with our friends for 5 nights (at a villa in between Densapar and Ubud), then we have 2 nights by ourselves again until we leave. I was originally looking at spending the first 6 nights in Ubud, until I realized we'd be close to Ubud with our friends. So now I'm thinking we should do another area the first 6 nights and Ubud the last 2 nights. My husband suggested a beach location would be a nice, relaxing way to get over jet lag, but we're not huge beach people. We love to swim and snorkel, but we won't spend any time lying out at the beach. I also had hopes to get to Java (my husband's grandfather was born in Java) and/or Lombok. Is Lombok only beaches? Would we be better spending 2-3 nights at a Bali beach (Sanur, Pemuteran, etc) and then head to central Java for 3 nights before spending the rest of the time in the Ubud area? Anyone have any advice? I'm early 30's, my husband's early 40's and we love art, culture (we're both classical musicans), walking/hiking, swimming and snorkelling. And we like to relax on vacation (just not by lying out at the beach).

marmot

It sounds like you'd like Central Java. If you are arriving through Jakarta you might want to continue on to Yogyakarta (or Solo/Surakarta) so you don't have to backtrack. You can either stay in the town of Yogya or in the country side near Borobudur monument. I'd recommend the Losari Coffee Plantation. If you do a search for Borobodur/Yogyakarta/Central Java you'll find many other threads on the area.

I'm not a big Lombok fan -- except for the beach. Every island has it's own culture, but Lombok is fairly depressed. Java and Bali have a lot more to offer in the arts, culture and natural beauty.

I like the Southern beaches in Bali, but, for sure, they're more lively than pristine. The Seminyak area is good for shops, spas, restaurants, spectacular sunsets and long, long walks on the beach. Big dramatic waves, better for contemplation than swimming.

Kathie

We loved our relaxing time on Lombok, but central Java is really special. If you can only do one, I'd go to Java. Marmot's advice about going there before Bali is good.

There are interesting cultural and artistic traditions on Lombok, but they are not as accessible as on Bali. The beaches on Lombok are uncrowded and nicer than the Bali beaches, in my experience. We aren't lay on the beach types, but enjoyed relaxing on Lombok.

joboe

Great, thanks! We're not arriving through Jakarta, we're arriving in Densapar from Taipai. I think we'll spend 3 nights on a Bali beach (currently considering Sanur, Pemuteran and Amed), then fly to central Java for 3 nights, stay for 5 nights with our friends in the villa between Densapar and Ubud, and spend our last two nights in Ubud. Does that sound reasonable? From what I can tell, we'll need to fly to Jakarta - can we then get a driver to take us to wherever we'll base ourselves (Yogya or Borobudur) or do we need to get a connecting flight? It's hard for me to tell the differences on the maps I've seen. Thanks so much for your input, it's helped so much!

marmot

joboe, For Central Java you should fly from Denpasar to Yogyakarta, not Jakarta! Garuda is the best bet.

You can either stay in the town of Yogyakarta (Yogya, sometimes called Jogja) or in the country side. Borobudur monument is about 1.5 hours from the airport.

There are a few places to stay that are very close to Borobudur. The Amanjiwo is wonderful, but very, very pricy. The Manohara is acceptable, but very basic. There's a new place called Saraswati that looks good on the internet, but I haven't been there.

The Losari Coffee Plantation is about 45 minutes to an hour from Borobudur and from Yogya.

joboe

For some reason on Garuda's website, it blanks out when I try to book a flight from Densapar to Yogyakarta. I'm going to try calling one of their US offices today. Alternatively, I can book the flight though Travelocity for $236/person. My husband is balking a little at that price for a 3-day excursion (is that a typical price?). I'm also considering buying it in Bali once we get there, but I'm concerned that it's not a good idea to purchase only 3 days in advance. We're booked for our first 3 days at the Puri Santrian in Sanur. We can get the last 2 days in Ubud at Adi cottages, if anyone knows of those (Alam Sari is fully booked in all of their properties). The Amanjiwo is definitely WAY out of our price range. I'll check out the other ones you recommended after I figure out the flights. Thanks!

drbarton

Just for completeness in this thread, Padang Bai is a ferry port, but also veryr much a place for travelers. Lots of small hotels, cafes and internet, and decent snorkling nearby.

Cool little town, actually.