Hello everyone

My husband and I are travelling to Bali from the UK in 2 weeks time. We've visited Thailand and Cambodia before, but this is our first visit to Bali.

We are staying at the Bumas hotel in Sanur for most of our holiday, and we have booked 2 nights at the Alam Jiwa in Ubud. We have organised a driver/guide for 3 days and were hoping for some suggestions for things to see.

We would love to hear from anybody that has stayed at either of the hotels that we are visiting. And we would love to hear any recommendations for restaurants etc.. in either Sanur or Ubud.

This forum has always been so useful to us in the past. Hopefully somebody will be able to help us out this time. Thanks.

in sanur our favorite restaurant, on the main street, was the Village Restaurant....fantastic italian fare..

you will love sanur....nice town feel to it...taxis are cheap to get around town too if you want..

your driver will have lots of suggestions for you....i would go with his suggestions...

we were able to cover most of the island in five days with a driver...its the only way to go...

the dance show on the cliff overlooking the temple in the south of the island is very worthwhile---Uluwatu temple (sp)???

dinner on the beach at Jimbaran is fantastic as well...the best wood cooked fish you will ever have...

near to the bali hyatt is a shop called Khapek's Botique....great batik fabrics...they will make you anything you want at a very reasonable price...next door her cousin has a shop which features all black and white batiks....great stuff and very very reasonable...

in ubud, make sure you visit the shop where kites are made and sold...visit the production area...

you are in for a very unique vacation...you will love it..bali is one of the unique adventures of travel!!

Thank you so much for your reply Bob. I was really hoping that you would reply - I really value your opinion. You have given me some excellent advice in the past.

Thanks again
Deb

If you are at all interested in textiles, you will want to visit the Threads of Life in Ubud. You can browse around, or they offer very informative courses if you are interested in some in depth learning. They sell absolutely beautiful things, and the money goes to the individual who made it rather than to a middleman. Great place. http://www.threadsoflife.com/ The distance between Ubud and Sanur is not so far...under an hour...so you could visit Ubud from Sanur if you liked as well.

If you like countryside scenery and off the beaten path kind of things, then you might want to try a bicycle trip from Kintamani to Ubud. There are several companies that operate them. Bali Budaya Tours is one of the original, and is very reputable. An offshoot from Bali Budaya is Bali Baik, which may be a bit more personal feeling as it is new and you would likley be the only ones. They don't have websites, but Alam Jiwa staff or Ubud Tourist information should be able to help you make contact.

deb...nice to hear from you...its a great place and you are going to love it...i do not know the hotel but i will look it up now...

our driver's name was putu and he has often been spoken of on the forum...he is fantastic...young and knowledgeable...he took us to his family compound which we found very interesting...about $40 per day for his services....worth every cent...if you don't find his details on here, let me know and i will dig them out...

bob

it looks quite nice...the hotel...and it is in the perfect location...you will not miss the beach quite honestly, but if you need it it is not far away....perfect location and price is fantastic...

Thanks everyone. Counting down the days now - can't wait!!!

Has anybody been over to Nusa Lembongan? Is it worth staying visiting and staying overnight?

Deb

You will love Alam Jiwa. I stayed there a couple of years ago and loved it! Wonderful small hotel!

For pure atmosphere, (touristy though it may be), you can't beat the Lotus Cafe for lunch. Same for dinner, except go to the Dirty Duck. Stop in during the day, and look over the private little "bales" and select and reserve one for dinner. THE MOST ROMANTIC place for dinner in the world, to me. Needless to say, they serve a great duck, but also have lots of other very affordable options. The story behind the name you'll get when you get there. Also, La Mak is probabaly one of the best upscale places.