TRAVEL TIPS:

The main airport to fly into is Denpasar. We flew the airline Emirates. It took us around 30hrs from Jacksonville Beach, FL. It was pretty brutal and the food wasn’t very good on the planes. But its totally worth it when you arrive. I listened to podcasts, music and watched a couple movies. Bring snacks and anything else that will keep you sane during the flights.

In Bali you can hire drivers that will pick you up from anywhere and even be your guide during your entire trip, for cheap! Usually around $30-$50 for the entire day depending on where you go. They all communicate through whatsapp so definitely be sure to download it on your phone. I have an awesome driver recommendation, so if you’re interested just message me for his whatsapp number. Also, everyone drives scooters as there is A LOT of traffic in Bali and you can get where you want to go a lot faster with a scooter vs a car. BUT be warned it is kinda dangerous driving a scooter, especially if you have never driven one before. Just be careful!
I exchanged money (Rupiahs) through my bank here in the states. I have Wells fargo and it arrived in one business day! I took out $1k for a three week stay and I had money leftover. You can exchange in Bali, but some of the money exchangers can be a little sketchy and I have heard some will rip you off. So for me exchanging through my bank was safer. A lot of places do take credit cards as well. If you choose to bring a CC, make sure you have one that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. I used Chase Sapphire. Also don't forget to let your bank know you are traveling!
Cell phones— Bali is very big on having free Wifi literally everywhere. I didn’t get a travel plan but you can easily get one through your carrier or buy a sim card.
I suggest downloading Globe Convert Currency on your phone too. That way you can convert prices to see how much things are while you are there. I used this app so much! For the most part everyone can speak some english so i didn’t use a translator on my phone.
Bali was very safe. I was a little concerned in the beginning since it was my first time, but the Balinese are SOOO nice, very friendly, welcoming and they appreciate tourists. I have been to a lot of other islands and typically locals are kinda rude, but everyone was extremely nice in Bali. My only complaint is the traffic and it’s over populated.

My fiancé and I are huge foodies. We love trying all kinds of different foods. So I made sure to research all the restaurants before we went to them. The food was some of the best we have ever had! Everything is fresh and they use tons of spice and herbs. And I love a pretty presentation! As you will see in this blog, we had some pretty amazing meals. We never had any issues with “Bali Belly” aka food poisoning. There were a couple times where my stomach was a little upset so I would take activated charcoal. The symptoms went right away. Just make sure to brush your teeth with bottled or filtered water. Most of our Airbnb’s came with filtered water and all the restaurants give you the option of mineral or bottled water.

Since our trip was for three weeks, we didn’t stay in one spot. We moved around to different resorts and Airbnb’s. It honestly wasn’t that bad moving because each place we stayed in was really cool. You can get villas for so cheap. Most people say to pack light, but I didn’t really follow that. I had one big rolling bag and a backpack. Make sure you bring bug spray and sunscreen. The weather was better than I expected. It wasn’t that hot, especially in North Bali.

Canang Sari also known as a Balinese daily offering. These are EVERYWHERE on the streets in Bali. They are a sacred form of gratitude for what is & a wish for peace and abundance in the world. The majority of Balinese people are Hindu.

MY FAVORITE SPOTS

SEMINYAK---one of the largest and busiest beach towns of Bali. Known for its nightlife, fancy hotels, beach clubs and great restaurants. This was the airbnb we stayed at. It’s a HUGE 2bed/2bath. Close walking distance to a lot of places. BOOK HERE

Restaurants recommended:

Revolver Espresso - A MUST! It’s the coolest coffee shop with amazing food. Make sure you go to the main revolver and not the baby.
Sisterfields- one of the best breakfast of our trip.
KYND Community (vegan)
Strawberry Fields
Coffee cartel
Wacko burger
Boy’N’Cow Meat Boutique (wagyu steaks)
Ku De Ta- beach club, great for sunset

SISTERFIELDS- The BEST breakfast of our entire trip.

Boy’N’Cow Meat Boutique—— Dry aged Ribeye

COFFEE CARTEL- they use a ripple machine to create any image or text on top of coffee

NORTH BALI- my absolute favorite. It’s about a 2hr drive from the airport. The weather is cooler (60’s during the night!), you can see mountains, clouds that roll in like fog. Plus its not quite as chaotic as the rest of Bali. Munduk Moding Plantation Nature Resort is where we stayed. BOOK HERE. Typically we stay away from touristy resorts, but I found this place on instagram and it looked amazing. It was PERFECT! It’s a little expensive for Bali but it was so worth it. It’s a small resort on an organic coffee plantation with two infinity pools that overlook Bali’s central mountains and the Java Sea. The infinity pools were what caught my eye on instagram. You can get the prettiest photos at sunrise and sunset. The service was 5 star. The food was excellent. We had a suite with a rainforest view. It was so cute and I loved the tub and shower in the bathroom. We only booked 2 nights but I would recommend booking 3-4.

The resort offers different activities and we wanted to see some waterfalls so we ended up doing ‘Full Day Nature Immersion and Waterfalls Bonanza’ (its listed on their website under trekking in North bali) . It came with two guides and was $120 for both of us and it was exactly what we were looking for. It was a full, strenuous day with a lot of hiking up and down stairs, cliffs, mountains and steep paths.. This was not an easy trip so I definitely recommend being in good shape and wearing good running shoes, packing some food, water and sunscreen. We got to see around 9 waterfalls and they all were so MAGICAL! Breathtaking, lush scenery and the most beautiful waterfalls you can swim in. This hike MADE OUR TRIP! ! My calves were sore for 4 days after. They have easier activities if you don’t want to do the full day or you can just go to a couple waterfalls, but we wanted the full experience and it was EPIC! I highly recommend it!

We made several trips back to North bali since we had only booked the 2 nights, so that is why i suggest you stay a little bit longer.

Things to do:

Stop at Wanagari Hill to overlook the Bali Twin Lakes and take pictures on swings and nests
Feed fruit bats. You can find them along the road, just ask your driver. They were so cool and friendly and I have never seen any big bats in real life!
Stop and feed monkeys along the road
Jatiluwih Rice Terraces- this is a MUST see. Beautiful contoured rice terraces irrigated using a communal water system developed by Balinese farmers. You can eat lunch at Billy’s Terrace cafe.
Best waterfalls to check out: Banyumala, Pucak Manik, Leke Leke, Melanting, Munduk, Sekumpul

VIEWS FROM MUNDUK…You can walk around the hotels coffee plantation

Overlooking Pucak Manik waterfall. This was my favorite! No one else was around and the trek down is not easy. But you feel like you are in jurassic park.

DEWI SRI- Goddess of rice at Jatiluwih rice terrace

CANGGU-- Canggu is a younger crowd with bohemian beach vibes. Tons of cafes, shops, nightlife, beach clubs and its a good surf spot. We found an airbnb here called Secret in Pererenan. It was a big 2b//2b with a private pool. It was decorated so cute with Bali flair. There are SO many bad ass airbnbs in canggu, but they book up fast. This is the one we stayed at. BOOK HERE

Restaurants recommended:

Cafe Vida (their menu is so awesome..everything from smoothies, to immunity elixirs, kombucha, tea, coffee, gluten free desserts, burgers, steak, pastas! )

Crate cafe (get here early, they get busy)
Human Bean cafe
Musubi (modern japanese)
Nude
La Brisa (day club and great for watching sunsets)

Summers Dream at Cafe Vida (Coconut milk, cashew butter, dates, vanilla bean, chia seeds, mac and bee pollen

Avocado smash with a poached egg and side of bacon from Human Bean

UBUD--known for yoga, spas, rice fields, monkey forest, temples.

I found the coolest Airbnb called Bennu House BOOK HERE . Its located in the middle of rice fields in Ubud. The house is built from reclaimed wood and its so unique. They actually have three right next to each other. We stayed in the one called Bennu House- Most romantic design. They have the option of hiring a private chef to come cook a balinese dinner at the house for around $15. I definitely recommend this! The food was great and you can also ask them to bring wine.

There are also a lot of cool resorts in Ubud that I have seen others stay at, but we wanted something away from everyone. You will need a scooter to get into town.

Restaurants:

Ibu Susu- Asian fusion

Casa Luna- Balinese cuisine and a delicious bakery
Spice-Modern Indonesian food
Oops- Indonesian/American -nothing fancy but food was really good!

Things to do:

Paon cooking class. This is a balinese cooking class offered in a locals home. This was so cool! They will pick you up from your hotel and bring you back. They teach you so much and its a very hands on experience. If you love cooking like I do, I suggest you take this class! BOOK HERE
Tegallalang Rice Terrace - beautiful rice terraces and jungle swings but be wary this is a huge tourist attraction ( I prefer Jatiluwih rice terrace)
Yoga at the Yoga barn
Tegenungan waterfall ( go early to beat the crowds!)
Krisik waterfall ( about an hour from Ubud, but less popular and not crowded. We did our elopement photos here with a local photographer I found on instagram and it’s so cool with caves, vines and two waterfalls!)

We got to cook with all of these fresh ingredients in the cooking class

Bennu house on Airbnb- such a beautiful place and perfect for photos

Bennu House will set up this flower arrangement for you

You can hire a private chef at Bennu House to make you a Balinese dinner

Professional photoshoot at Krisik waterfall

NUSA PENIDA--an island southeast of Bali with the most beautiful views! We found a company that included pick up from our hotel, ferry, lunch and a guide that drove us all around Nusa. BOOK HERE. Our drivers name was Putu and he was great! Try and ask for him. We did the East and West tour, but I would suggest only doing the East side. Trying to do both in one day, doesn’t leave you any time to really see each spot. You are driving a lot of time and the roads aren’t the best and very rough. The East side has a treehouse, the infamous swing over the Indian Ocean and the most beautiful beach called Diamond Beach. Warning: there are a lot of tourists on this island. They all want the same photos. Our guide actually cut lines of people and knew the best spots for photos. ( as you see in my photos there are no tourist in the pics but they were all around). Also the climb down to get to the treehouse and the swing is NOT easy. There are a lot of steep, narrow steps that you climb down and back up. My suggestion is to skip the treehouse and just go straight to the swing and spend the rest of your time at Diamond Beach. The locals charge you for the swing, the nests and the treehouse. If you choose to do the west side, know that its an hour away, but you will get to see KelingKing which is a cliff shaped like T-Rex. The views are amazing and you can even hike down the back of the cliff to the beach. We didn’t make it down since we had just climbed the east side and it was very hot outside. Lots of tourists here too.

One of the nest you can climb in and take a photo at Diamond Beach

The climb down to the swing and Diamond Beach

The views in Nusa Penida are breathtaking!

KelingKing ( the cliff that looks like T-Rex)

ULUWATU—Surfers paradise…We stayed at Uluwatu Surf Villas which is a clifftop resort that gives you access to the best waves in Uluwatu. My fiancé is a surfer, so this place was perfect for him. The views are insane and you can take a staircase down to the beach and watch the sunset, surfers and waves. They have a great restaurant called Mana (get the pork belly tacos, street corn and ribeye). They also provide free breakfast in your room every morning. They fully stock your mini bar with homemade cookies, ice cream, Chok Chok dark chocolate bars ( so good, I ate them all), wine, beer, kombucha, literally everything you need! They have a yoga studio on site and the most beautiful pool. My fiancé surfed and I played by the pool and ate all the food. BOOK HERE

Delicious complimentary breakfast delivered to our hotel room every morning

This trip was a once in a lifetime experience! I think everyone should go there and see it for themselves. It is worth the miserable flights!

Until next time…STAY WILD.

MY GUIDE TO BALI

tara cooper