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-   -   Tour guide in Bali (https://www.fodors.com/community/asia/tour-guide-in-bali-990964/)

murphy17 Sep 5th, 2013 06:19 PM

Tour guide in Bali
 
Hi everyone,
I do not want to rent a car so can anyone recommend a guide or tour company
for day trips around Bali.
What are a few things I shouldn't miss seeing while visiting Bali????
Thanks
Carol

Kathie Sep 5th, 2013 07:01 PM

You can easily hire a driver from your hotel or in advance. There have been a number of drivers recommended here, most often, Putu, who you can find by googling balifriend or searching here.

rhkkmk Sep 5th, 2013 07:22 PM

google: MyBaliFriend

he is fabulous

he will make many suggestions to you... buy a guidebook too.

murphy17 Sep 6th, 2013 11:58 PM

Thank you very much, I will google his name right now.

susiesan Sep 28th, 2013 11:22 AM

I can second using Putu. We just came back from spending 9 days with Putu on Bali. We used his driving and touring services 6 out of the 9 days we were there. We had a fabulous time. He will do whatever you want to do, just ask him.

Be sure to talk to him about BeBaliDay, which is his family business. It was our favorite day/thing we did while visiting Bali.

rhkkmk Sep 28th, 2013 11:26 AM

tell us about bebaliday Susie pls

susiesan Oct 5th, 2013 10:14 AM

BeBaliDay was shared by myself, husband, sister and SO, and my 2 nieces age 12 and 14. The 6 of us were the only people that day. Putu picked us up together from the villa we were staying at in Sanur and drove us all to his family compound outside of Ubud.

We walked around his family home, looked at the temple there, and he explained how a typical local Balinese house is set up.

Then we walked down a path into the back of the property. A cooking and dining pavilion has been set up. There is a small garden, fish pond, and toilet. Putu's mother was the main cook and an aunt helped. She gave us baskets and we went off on a walk to gather some herbs and vegetables. Putu was explaining about the plants and farming techniques. We walked up to the family rice paddy and met an uncle working there. Putu talked about rice cultivation, irrigation, etc. We took lots of family photos together in the scenic rice field.

We went back to the pavilion and started preparing lunch. My nieces were catching some small fish. My husband manned the hibachi grill with the sate. All of us helped peel and chop vegetables, make sauces, stuff banana leaves. We could do as much or as little as we liked. As meal courses were prepared we all started nibbling.

The lunch consisted of 10 different dishes. It was the best meal we had on 9 days on Bali.

Around 3:00pm Putu drove us all back to Sanur, with a stop at the Hardy's grocery store where he waited for us while we shopped.

I would highly recommend spending a day with Putu and his family. My 2 nieces said it was their favorite day out of 6 weeks in Indonesia.
http://www.balifriend.com/be-bali-day/

rhkkmk Oct 5th, 2013 12:31 PM

thanks for telling us and others. I have been twice to the family compound but have never experienced this wonderful time.. 2014 for sure.

mscleo Oct 10th, 2013 01:50 PM

I've also been to Putu's family compound. Wonderful people, and Putu is an excellent guide. I've been to Bali twice now, and am returning next year for a third visit. Can't wait to get back there...

bombayteddy Oct 22nd, 2013 07:27 AM

Bali Discovery Tours, run by a jolly American called Jack Daniels (!). Utterly professional, mine of information (20 years in Bali), with reliable English-speaking drivers and guides. Will literally do EVERYTHING, including airport pick-up (with or without fast-track through formalities), hotel-booking....the works.
If you prefer to book your hotel directly, nothing better than The Oberoi Bali....not cheap but SO worth it!
What to see: definitely the Kecak dance-theatre performance at sunset at Uluwatu Temple.....unforgettable!
What to buy: wood-carvings and batik, the latter at "Batik Popiler 2"...an amazing shop!

chris813 Nov 12th, 2013 01:39 PM

I also attended BeBaliDay last month and it was fabulous. I highly recommend it -- so interesting to see the compound and the farm, the rice terraces are beautiful, and the lunch was outstanding. I met Putu on a past trip but he was unavailable this time; his brother Kadek drove us and was our guide for a couple days and he was fantastic (also speaks English very well - worked on a cruise ship for 6 yrs). You can't go wrong with either of these brothers!

tripplanner001 Nov 12th, 2013 01:43 PM

I too am using Putu, for the first time, when I'm in Bali in about two weeks time. I found Lonely Planet's Bali and Lombok guide useful when I did my research.

Orlando_Vic Nov 14th, 2013 04:05 AM

From another post of mine:

Dewa Marco [email protected] or [email protected]
His web site is: http://discoverbalitour.com/
I can't say enough about him. He was completely flexible and accommodated our wishes & preferences, was punctual, friendly, reasonable and completely dedicated to our sightseeing pleasure.
Here are some reviews: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/asia/...dations-3.html

_____________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

FedFun Nov 14th, 2013 08:14 PM

What are the price ranges of these kinds of tours?
Thanks for your recommendations.

Larisa_Mandy May 23rd, 2014 08:59 PM

i was looking Putu on internet there are so many Putu on it, it's confusing me :(. i search Bali tour to make plan for our holiday in Bali.

svargaresort May 24th, 2014 09:59 PM

Putu is first child name for Balinesse. So it is little bit difficult to search on google. Maybe find with other keyword of Bali Driver.

progol May 25th, 2014 04:57 AM

This sounds like a lovely thing to do! I'm already into 2016 for planning, but Bali is at the top of the list. I'll make sure to include this, too.


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