Bali
 

Some one is recommending Bali Barong Tours to work with us to do a private several week tour of Bali. Can anyone comment about your experience with them. What I liked about their web site is choices of levels of pricing of hotels, so you can from low to high.

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you really do not need a tour company for bali... i much prefer a driver/guide to take me on day trips excursions. i always use putu, who many fodorites have used.

as for hotels its easy to do on your own as well. bali is small enough that you can base yourself in one or two locations and easily cover the whole island on day trips.

ubud and sanur are my favorites.

btw, i am from boston area too

Well, use them for hotel if you'd like (but also compare prices with www.agoda.com and www.balidiscovery.com) but there is absolutely no need for a tour. When you compare prices, make sure you area comparing prices including breakfast, tax and service. Hire a car and driver when you want to be out and about.

My preference would be for Bali Discovery Tours which is operated by an American called John Daniels since about 20 years. He is a mine of information, knows everyone and runs an extremely professional agency, with English-speaking guides and drivers. He would do everything from airport-transfers to booking hotels and arranging excursions....and all at very competitive rates. Check out their website!

Putu charged 550,000Rp. through 2012, we are using him again in Dec. (~$65USD) for a 10 hour day. His English is excellent and he has been a tour guide for 19 years. Just tell him you want some hidden gems not just the major tourist attractions and take a pass on the Monkey Preserve. It is very disturbinh, in my opinion. Two or three days of touring is sufficient and you do not have to pay the tour firms overhead.
His English is very good as well. Ask him if he can find a wedding in progress they are charming.

I should correct myself. I believe he told me 550,000Rp. for 10 hours not 650,000 till Jan.

I know nothing negative about Bali Barong Tours (and by their website they seem to know Bali well)but I agree, Bali is easy to do on your own. Let us know your price range, your dates, and your interests and you'll get a lot of suggestions.

If by "several weeks" you mean more than two, then you could see more of Indonesia as well, such as Java, Lombok or one of the other islands. Or you could stay put and sink deep into Bali. On Bali, my preference would be a combination of Seminyak beach and Ubud, possibly with Yogyakarta/Borobudur and Lombok as add ons.

ozyalma; is not suppose to advertise his services for hite. Inly travelers who have exoerienced guides or travekl services first hand are to comment in this forum. Those are the rules!!You do not know who you are getting when a service is advertising itself.
I would spend more time on Bali, Ububm Sininal, West Baki (the Papuan rice fields are magnificant) rather that go to Lolmbock that we found a bit boring and the surfing is judst o.k. and the snorkelin is not good. On the West side of Bali there is 3 star snorkeling and diving if that is your interest and they have Class 3 white water rafting. Java is an option for 3 days. It is a totally different culture with mgnificant temples. The guide we used there twice is excellent and you may want to contact him: [email protected]
His English is impeccable and he has a comfortable van with effective airf conditioning.The flight from Bali is 75 minutes and cost ~$150 RT.He has been in the business 20+ years and is the UNESCO Advisor to Boboburur so he really can make the temples come to life.