judia1

I won a five-night trip for two with airfare to a super luxury resort in Bali. In doing a bit of research, I learned the flights from NY--if I'm VERY lucky--will be about 23 hours, or as much as 33 hours!

Is it totally crazy to even consider such a long trip for just five nights?? I'm so torn about this--would just love to go but it seems so grueling in terms of travel. I'm assuming we'd be flying coach and not sure which airline.

Judy

Hanuman

It's a prize and it's free so go! I've flown the other way for a 2 days business meeting(3 nights total in the US) from Thailand to Los Angeles and it didn't bother me much. Which "super luxury" resort do they have you staying at?

Gpanda

I would check qwith the provider to determine whether the trip can be extended. If the air reservations can be lengthened, you could arrange hotel accomodations on your own. This would make the trip much more enjoyable.

JohnFitz

Go.Bali is fabulous. Sit . Do nothing.Enjoy 5 star luxury .

Which Hotel is it ? Extend for at least 3 more nights or 7 if possible. It really is worth the effort to see if you can use the free flight but depart NY earlier so you arrive 3 or more nights ahead of the scheduled luxury 5 nights , pay for accomodation yourself and then spend your last 5 nights at the high end hotel to cap off the holiday ?

You can stay at any number of good cheap hotels eg US$ 40 per room per night incl taxes etc . Lots of info on this board about your options .And as for 25 hours flying - have sleeping pill /s --- will travel !!!!

rhkkmk

go...it is worth it...but try to extend a few days

DonTopaz

I won't offer an outright dissent, but i wouldn't be as enthusiastic as others.

Now, I'll also say that I enjoyed Bali a lot. I stayed at a lovely place near Ubud, and I was enormously impressed by the artisanry that is EVERYWHERE. Really a pleasant and inspirational spot.

However, these free trips aren't actually free: you have to pay income taxes on the value of the trip, usually as determined by the people who provided the trip. (A very few prizes also include the taxes that you would have to pay -- if that's the case here, I'd agree that it's pretty much a no-brainer.)

So, it is likely to cost a few thousand $$. I'd agree with Gpanda: if you could extend the trip to a full week or 10 days (paying for the extra days out of pocket), that would make the trip much more worthwhile.

Dr_Ralph

Hi,

I agree 100% with Rizzuto. Don't go. Please ask them for the good ol Doc if you can give the trip to me. I'll gladly pay a couple of thousand in taxes for a trip that would cost 3 or 4 times that amount. I would extend the trip as long as you can. If you can extend for two or three weeks, stay a week in Sulawesi, 3 days in Flores to see the Komodo dragons, and the rest of the time in Ubud.
Bali is spectacular. Go.

Regards,
Doc

judia1

Well, this seems unanimous (and the taxes are included in the prize). It's Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay and I won it at a publishing industry party. Funniest thing is that the "real" winner had left and you had to be there to win so the next business card they picked was mine.

Think I'll look into extending it or maybe even staying in Singapore for a couple of days before or after.

Thanks, everyone.

Smeagol

I would go all out and stay at Raffles in singapore simply FABULOUS and been as you are not paying for the four seasons.......... Raffles is one of my most favourite hotels i have stayed at (personally think its way better than the pen HK but thats just MHO)

Hanuman

If you can extend spend some time around Ubud. IMO the best town for Bali.

Kathie

That is certainly a lovely property. If you can extend a few days in Bali, do stay somewhere near Ubud. It will give you a totally different experience of Bali.

If you want to stay in Singapore a few days (does this mean your airline is Singapore Air?), there are many wonderful hotels to choose from. Raffles is the gold standard (and priced accordingly) but you don't have to break the bank for very nice place in SIngapore. Do note that SIngapore is more expensive than Bali.

DonTopaz

And if you can switch a few days from the FS Jimbaran Bay to the FS Sayan, do it! The FS Sayan is a gorgeous property, an ideal place to chill out.

marmot

judia, I'll vote with the "go" crowd. You'll be over your jetlag in a day or two (though it may hit you hard on your return)and it will be a great adventure in a beautiful place.

The fastest route from NY to Bali is to take the Singapore airlines non-stop from Newark and connect through Singapore to Denpasar. If you take the same route on the return you have to overnight in Singapore so that could easily be part of your plan.

The key maintaining sanity is to stop one time, instead of two. You can also do this through Hong Kong, Bangkok, Tokyo but you may have to overnight in both directions.

The Four Seasons Jimbaran is a lovely property -- individual villas with private plunge pools and wonderful views. The beach isn't much to write home about, but the spa is excellent and the food is good. (Both are pricy though.)

Agree, agree that adding a few nights in Ubud make the trip overwhelmingly more doable.

Cicerone

I agree with the others that you should go if you can extend time, as otherwise just 5 days is quite a long way to travel for such a short stay, but it may it may be worth it in any event, just for the heck of it.

If you don’t already know it, the Four Seasons has a property outside Ubud, The Four Seasons Sayan; perhaps you can do some finagling and get a deal there or some free night there as well part of the award, or perhaps you can split the award so that you can spend time at both resorts, although splitting like 3 and 2 nights would be a good bit of moving for a relatively short distance (they are about an hour apart, but quite different in geography and feel; so staying at both would give you a nice, albeit brief, taste of both).

I would also say that if you can choose your time of year to go, that you should try to go in the drier months, which in Bali are roughly April through the end of October. Bali does not get heavy monsoon rains like a lot of SE Asia does, but in the rainy months you can have days that are solidly overcast and rainy off and on, which can spoil things like snorkeling, diving and just relaxing, not to mention doing walks or biking. Generally it is not a huge issue, but if you can pick your months I would try do to so. See weatherbase.com for info.

I would of course check the routing being offered, and the class of service. It may be worth your time and trouble to try to upgrade to business class if the seats are economy.

If you have to transit through Tokyo, that is a perfectly nice place for a few days, and in April or May would be quite lovely with cherry blossoms. Hong Kong in those months will be hotter and wetter than the winter, but still lots to see and do. Singapore is virtually always hot and humid, the rainier months are generally late November though mid-March or so, but really for Singapore it does not matter a whole lot, you are not there for beaches.

Guenmai

Just get on the plane and go. I wish my trip to Bali had been free. I've spent longer than 23 hours flying to many places in the world. Just do it! Happy Travels!

Guenmai

Four Seasons Jimbaran? And you question whether or not to go? It's fabulous. I just happen to be a FS fan anywhere! I've had friends who've stayed at FS Jimbaran and loved it. I was in a $50. a night place in Bali which was very nice. I've done FS in other countries though. Have fun. Happy Travels!

JohnFitz

One of my family built the FS at Jimbaran and I have of course stayed there but not for some years.It is lovely as is the one at Sayan . That one used to have a lovely shop just outside its gates that I bought good things from as gifts .I also regret that I did not buy a wonderful large antique carving of the Garuda from the shop at Jimbaran which was exceptional.

One of the reasons I urge going is because it is possible to accomodate oneself , eat and shop at a very high standard at a fraction of the cost elsewhere in the world .So I have always taken advantage of that fact and stayed at the best places I could afford at the time because I can rarely afford the equivalent in Europe .And as Guen says you can stay in modest but perfectly nice hotels for little money .

CaPiNi

Oh my gosh, you have to go. Forget taxes and everything else. When we went, we stayed in Jimbaran bay at the hotel next door, Intercontinental, which we loved!!! In between the intercontnental and the four seasons are tons and tons of restaurants selling lobster. During the day, they are nothing to look at, but at night, about 9 pm, they are packed. the people at the front desk are going to try and make reservations for you at one. refuse them. go to the crowdest one on the beach and enjoy. if they make the reservations for you, they get a cut of your dinner and trust me, they are going to send you to the most expensive place.

the other place you have to go to is the Dirty Duck. It is a true balinese restaurant, right on the rice fields. we ordered the crispy duck and LOVED it!

Also you have to go to Ku de Ta. It is hands down the most amazing restaurant in the world. Great food, but even better atmosphere.

Also, hire a driver for the week. They are not expensive and can take you anywhere you want to go. Sometimes you'll get one that takes you to touristy places and they get a cut of what you buy, but most of them are honest.

Either way, no matter what you do, this is a trip of a lifetime. ENJOY!!!

CaPiNi

Also, skip Singapore. We went and were totally disappointed. the food is great, but no culture and not much to do.

mrwunrfl

Taxes included in the prize? I doubt it. Sales tax, maybe, but not income taxes.