Bali
 

Hi,
I am going to Bali for two and half weeks at the end of September. I am NOT interested in relaxing on the beach but would like to see as much of the scenery and culture as possible in this time. I would appreciate any help in planning my itinerary. Thank you in advance. Brian

If you click on my name, you'll get all of my posts in the bar at the left. Then look for the ones about Bali. Also, do a search on Marmot...this poster is a wealth of Bali information.

There is much to experience and see. You will probably want to hire a driver/guide. A couple are recommended over and over and can be prebooked if you like. We've had excellent luck meeting drivers there...now we have 2 friends who drive us around and arrange cultural experiences for us...we met these people in Bali through one the places we stayed, which is really the way things work there. The hotel clerk has a cousin who has a friend whose wife does pottery so she'll teach you sort of thing.

Where do you intend to stay...what part of the island, price range? Already decided or need help on that, too?

Bali is a great place. We did not spend any time on the beach in our two weeks there. Here is a link to my 6-part trip report:
http://www.balitravelforum.com/archive200307/11747.html
Please feel free to post back with any questions.

I spent two weeks in Bali and spent a total of 10 minutes at a beach so you won't have a problem. Do hire a driver and unless you've done a lot of homework a guide would also give you more insights. Spend time in Ubud. The scenery is incredible and the culture extraordinary. Only thing wrong is that it is incredibly hot and humid so be prepared for not being able to do as much each day as you may think. dryore

Arrived back from a trip to Indonesia on Sunday. Spent time in Ubud at the Alila Hotel where they tried to upgrade us to a deluxe room. DO NOT TAKE IT. They are on the ground floor and have no view the superior rooms are far better (and cheaper) because they have wonderful high ceilings and great views as you are the same height as the tree tops. No outside shower or Ipod in the room but rooms same size. Used a wonderful driver for a day called Putu and wished we had had him for longer. Really brought Bali to life for us. Contact him at [email protected] because he gets very booked up. His command of English is superb and has a very comfortable car. Will definitely use him if we go back for the whole trip. One of the highlights was the Kaccok dance show. We met an Australian who had seen most of the dance shows and said this was the best she had seen. This was in Ubud as well. The best meal we had was at Mosaic but you have to book in advance and it is pricey but excellent. Do not eat at the Dirty Duck which the hotel recommended to us the service was not good or the food. Casa Luna was also good and more reasonably priced. Hope this is of some help.

putu is fantastic...you will be able to see almost the whole island in a relaxed fashion in that amount of time...i based myself solely in the south but i am sure you might want to stay around...in the south, in ubud and on the north shore...

My fiance' (soon to be hubby) will be using Putu as our tour guide for our honeymoon this November. We are looking forward to meeting him and visiting the island.