Trip highlights
- 1Tegallalang rice terraces at sunrise
- 2Tanah Lot at sunset
- 3Traditional Balinese massage
- 4Cooking class in Ubud
- 5Jimbaran seafood dinner on the beach
Daily spend
Where you're going
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In pictures
Photos: Unsplash
Day-by-day plan
Arrival & Seminyak
Saturday, May 1
Est. spend
$110
per person
🌅 Morning
Arrive at Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS)
Ngurah Rai International Airport, Badung
Bali's airport is 10 minutes south of Kuta. Fixed-rate taxis from the official desk at arrivals — never accept touts. To Seminyak: ~150,000 IDR ($9). To Ubud: ~350,000 IDR ($22).
Get a local SIM at the airport (Telkomsel or XL) — IDR 80,000 ($5) for 20GB. Essential for Grab app which is far cheaper than fixed taxis.
☀️ Afternoon
Seminyak beach walk
Seminyak Beach, Bali
The wide black-sand beach at Seminyak is one of Bali's best for swimming — calmer than Kuta, less crowded than Canggu. The beach clubs start here.
The beach is public — you don't need to pay a beach club to access it. Lay your towel and use the free surf.
Ku De Ta or Potato Head sunset drinks
Jl. Kayu Aya / Jl. Petitenget, Seminyak
Two of Bali's most famous sunset beach clubs — Ku De Ta for style, Potato Head for the Instagram architecture. Cocktails $12–18.
Arrive by 5pm for a sun lounger. The sunset hits around 6:15–6:45pm depending on season. Bring a sarong for the slight breeze.
🌙 Evening
Dinner on Eat Street (Jl. Laksmana)
Jl. Laksmana, Seminyak
Seminyak's dining corridor — Sarong, Mama San, and Sisterfields are the most consistent. Sarong for Balinese-Asian fine dining, Mama San for cocktails and small plates.
Mama San bar is excellent. Book Sarong 2 days ahead — fills quickly.
🍽️ Meals
Airport arrival snack
Indonesian · $5
Sisterfields Café
Australian/Café · $20 · Seminyak's best brunch café. The avo toast is excellent and unironically worth it.
Sarong restaurant
Asian fusion · $50 · Best restaurant in Seminyak. The babi guling spring rolls are extraordinary.
Ubud — Rice Terraces & Temples
Sunday, May 2
Est. spend
$135
per person
🌅 Morning
Tegallalang Rice Terraces at sunrise
Jl. Raya Tegallalang, Gianyar
The most photographed rice terraces in Bali — tiered paddies carved into a valley. Genuinely stunning at 7am before tour groups arrive. Entry: IDR 50,000.
The swing over the terraces costs IDR 150,000 ($9) — worth it for photos if that's your thing. Walk DOWN into the terraces rather than just shooting from the top cafe.
Ubud Monkey Forest
Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud
Sacred forest home to 700 Balinese long-tailed macaques. Dense jungle, ancient temples, and monkeys who will steal your sunglasses, water bottles, and phones if given any opportunity.
Keep all bags zipped, no food visible, sunglasses on your face not your head. They're fast.
☀️ Afternoon
Ubud Palace and market
Jl. Raya Ubud, Ubud
The royal palace (Puri Saren) in the heart of Ubud hosts traditional dance performances evenings. The adjacent Ubud Art Market sells batik, woodcarvings, and silver at negotiable prices.
The market price is always 3x the real price. Walk away and the price will follow you.
Traditional Balinese massage
Ubud, Gianyar
Ubud has hundreds of legitimate spa options — Alaya, Taksu, and Bodyworks are consistently excellent. 90-minute full-body Balinese massage.
Alaya Resort Spa on Jl. Hanoman — not the cheapest but excellent. Book ahead for peak hours.
🌙 Evening
Kecak dance at Uluwatu
Pura Luhur Uluwatu, Jl. Raya Uluwatu, Pecatu
The sunset Kecak fire dance at Uluwatu Temple — 90 performers, no instruments, just chanting. Performed on a clifftop stage overlooking the Indian Ocean.
Starts at 6pm sharp. Arrive by 5:30pm for a good seat. Monkeys here also steal glasses — warned again.
🍽️ Meals
Warung Babi Guling Ibu Oka
Balinese · $6 · The best suckling pig in Ubud. Open from 11am — go early before they sell out. Obama ate here.
Warung lunch on rice terrace
Indonesian · $8 · Any of the terrace-view warungs at Tegallalang — basic but the view is paid for.
Jimbaran seafood dinner
Indonesian seafood · $45 · Grilled fresh seafood on the beach at Jimbaran Bay — tables in the sand, torches lit, waves audible. Menega Café is the most reliable.
Temple Day & Cooking Class
Monday, May 3
Est. spend
$140
per person
🌅 Morning
Tanah Lot at low tide
Beraban, Kediri, Tabanan
The sea temple on a rock formation — at low tide you can walk across to the base. At high tide it's surrounded by ocean and equally dramatic. Sunrise or sunset are the best light.
Check tide times before going — low tide is between 6am–10am for most of the year. Worth timing your visit around it.
☀️ Afternoon
Balinese cooking class, Ubud
Paon Bali Cooking Class, Jl. Sukma, Ubud
Half-day cooking class starting with a market walk to buy ingredients, then cooking 5–6 traditional dishes (nasi goreng, satay lilit, gado gado, black rice pudding). Eat what you cook.
Paon Bali (Heinz von Holzen) and Balinese Eco Cooking Class are the two best operators. Book 2 days ahead.
🌙 Evening
Sunset at Petitenget Beach
Jl. Petitenget, Kerobokan Kelod
Less touristy than the main Seminyak stretch — the La Lucciola restaurant has the best view and genuinely good food.
🍽️ Meals
Breakfast at hotel
Balinese/Western · $15 · Most Bali hotels include a good breakfast — nasi goreng and fresh fruit.
Cooking class meal
Balinese · $0 · Included in cooking class — you cook and eat 5-6 dishes.
La Lucciola, Petitenget
Italian/Mediterranean · $50 · Sunset view, excellent pasta and grilled fish. Reserve the balcony table.
Canggu & Surf Culture
Tuesday, May 4
Est. spend
$150
per person
🌅 Morning
Surf lesson at Batu Bolong Beach
Batu Bolong Beach, Canggu
Canggu's most popular surf break — Batu Bolong has gentle beach break waves ideal for beginners. Two-hour lesson with board and instructor.
Go first thing in the morning before the wind picks up and the beach gets crowded. Any of the surf schools on the beach will do — prices are fixed.
Canggu neighbourhood walk
Canggu, Badung
Canggu has replaced Seminyak as Bali's hippest neighbourhood — Instagram cafés, vintage shops, smoothie bowls, and the old rice fields that remain between the villas.
Berawa and Batu Bolong are the two Canggu neighbourhoods worth exploring on foot.
☀️ Afternoon
Spa afternoon — Desa Seni or COMO Shambhala
Desa Seni, Jl. Subak Sari, Canggu
Bali's luxury spas are some of the best value in Asia. COMO Shambhala (Ubud) and Desa Seni (Canggu) are the top two for a full-afternoon spa experience.
Book the Herbal Body Scrub and Balinese massage combination at Desa Seni — 3 hours for ~$80. Best spa value in Bali.
🌙 Evening
Old Man's Bar, sunset drinks
Jl. Pantai Batu Bolong, Canggu
Canggu's legendary beach bar — sand floor, casual, cold Bintang, live music, and a genuinely mixed crowd of surfers, digital nomads, and tourists. Exactly what Bali beach life should be.
Gets packed by 7pm on weekends. Go for the sunset (6:30pm) and stake out a spot.
🍽️ Meals
Betelnut Café, Canggu
Café/Healthy · $14 · Best smoothie bowls and avo toast in Canggu. The Bali bowl is the move.
Nalu Bowls
Hawaiian/Healthy · $10 · Post-surf acai bowl — light and perfect.
Old Man's + dinner nearby
Various · $30 · Old Man's for drinks, then Warung Dandelion next door for actual food.
Final Morning & Departure
Wednesday, May 5
Est. spend
$75
per person
🌅 Morning
Seminyak market shopping
Seminyak Square, Jl. Kayu Jati
Final morning for gifts — Seminyak Square and Kerobokan road have the best quality batik, silver jewellery, and wooden homewares. Better price and quality than the tourist market.
Fixed-price shops are worth using for jewellery — eliminates bargaining stress. Kody & Ko and Silver Box are reliable.
Final babi guling lunch
Jl. Kayu Aya, Seminyak
One last Balinese pork rice before the airport. Warung Babi Guling Pak Dobiel is the Seminyak version — as good as Ibu Oka in Ubud.
Bali airport food is poor — eat properly before you go.
☀️ Afternoon
Depart to Ngurah Rai Airport
Ngurah Rai International Airport
Allow 2 hours before departure — security at DPS can be slow. Grab to the airport is IDR 100,000 ($6).
🍽️ Meals
Bali bowls
Café · $12
Warung Babi Guling farewell
Balinese · $8 · The IDR 50,000 mixed plate covers everything — suckling pig, blood sausage, crackling, and rice.
Before you go
📅 Best time to visit
April–June and September–October are the sweet spots — dry weather, lower crowds than July/August peak. December–March is monsoon season (afternoon rains, still bikeable if flexible).
🛂 Visas
Most nationalities (US, UK, EU, Australian, etc.) get a free 30-day Visa on Arrival (VoA) at the airport. Extendable once to 60 days at the immigration office in Denpasar. Some nationalities pay USD $35 for VoA — check ahead at imigrasi.go.id.
💱 Currency
Indonesian Rupiah (IDR). Notes have lots of zeros — 1 USD ≈ 16,000 IDR. Large ATMs (BCA, Mandiri, BNI) are reliable with foreign cards. Cash is king at markets and warungs. Never exchange money at airport — terrible rates. Rates on Jl. Legian in Kuta are good.
🆘 Emergency numbers
police: 110
ambulance: 118
💬 Things you won't find in a guidebook
- Always dress modestly at temples — a sarong is provided at the entrance and is mandatory. Shorts are fine in beach areas.
- Bargaining is expected at markets but not at restaurants, cafés, or fixed-price shops.
- Tap water is not safe to drink — use refill stations (cheaper and eco) rather than buying new plastic bottles.
- Ubud is meaningfully different from Seminyak — like two different trips. If in doubt, base in Ubud for culture and peace, Seminyak/Canggu for beach and nightlife.
- The Bali belly (stomach upset) is common — eat at busy warungs with fast turnover, avoid salads with tap water rinse, stay hydrated.
- Grab (the Southeast Asian Uber) works in Bali and is much cheaper than taxis. Download before you arrive.
One thing worth not skipping
A 5-day trip to Bali, Indonesia without insurance is a gamble. Medical emergencies, cancelled flights, lost luggage — cover yourself before you leave.
Comprehensive cover for 150+ adventure activities, medical evacuation, trip cancellation, and baggage. Recommended for most travellers.
Subscription-based travel medical insurance. Best for longer trips, digital nomads, or frequent travellers. Renews weekly or monthly.
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