Top 15 things to do in Bali

1. Visit Tanah Lot Temple

Opening hours: 7:00 -19:00

Entrance fee: 60.000 IDR/ person

Activities: sightseeing, shopping, sunset watching, beach activities, eating, photos shooting.

How to get to Tanah Lot: Get a taxi or Uber/Grab is one of the best way to get to the temple.

This is a popular tourist destination located on a huge rock offshore.The approach path to Tanah Lot temple is a maze of souvenir shops and large number of restaurants.

The pathways and grass to the temple are pretty well maintained and very enormous. Watching the temple from the clifftops was a great experience.

You will walk over the temple to get blessed before get in the temple. There is a natural water spring which is called Beji. You can make a monetary donation after washing your face with beji and being blessed with rice and jepun flower. However, I was a little bit disappointed because the temple was temporarily closed.

Sunset will be a great time for visiting the temple. However, if you want to avoid the crowded, morning to noon would be better.

2. Watch Kecak dance in Uluwatu temple

Ticket fee: 100.000 IDR/ person

Starting time: 6p.m daily

Watch Kecak dance in Uluwatu temple should be in the must - see list in Bali. The dance is performed by many dancers. The story is about Rama who wants to rescue his beloved wife Sita from Rahvana. There are around fifty men wearing loin- cloth surround the fire in the center. There is no musical instruments used in kecak performance, instead dancers shout out “kecak” chants rhythmically and repetitively. For this reason, they are called the Kecak or Car dance. The dance performed is related to holy ritual and the dancers are protected by holy spirit from the temple.

3. Shop at Ubud Art Market

Opening hours: 9.am - 10 p.m, and some shops open until late at night.

You can easily find any sort of souvenirs and local gifts in Ubud Art Market. To me, compared to the others tourist markets such as Kuta Bali, Thailand, Penang, so on, the Ubud Art Market can be considered to feature higher quality shops.

The top tip for you as going shopping there is always bargain hard for the cheapest price. The seller will give you a price and immediately ask “ How much do you want?”. The actual purchase can be a lot cheaper. I remember that time we asked for a small dream catcher, at first she said “200.000 IDR”, and the final price she gave us was “70.000 IDR”, but we did not take it.

Next to the Ubud Art market street, there is a local market where you can easily find a lot fresh fruits and local food or items.

4. Walk on the sea

It is a fantastic experience that you should try at least once. You can easily find a tour only( including pickup and lunch). You may want to direct contact them and ask for cheaper price. Before the seawalking, there was a short briefing about some underwater signs.

After equipped very heavy helmets, we reached the bottom of the sea easily. The guide provided us fish food so we were always surrounded by a lot of fish. But as I see, the fish there is quite limited comparing my snorkeling tour in Perhentian, Malaysia.

The facts about sea walking:

You are no need to be a good swimmer to go sea walking
You can wear your glasses.
You just breath normally, no advanced skills needed.
It is the most easiest underwater sport comparing to snorkeling and scuba diving.

Notices and Instructions:

Bringing Go-pro to film and take photos to save the best moments.
Skin protection is a must.
Most of the sea walking center have lockers, toilets and changing room. However, you need to bring your own towel, shampoo, comb, extra clothes.
Stay calm, the guide will always accompany you during the activity.

5. Take photos at Waterblow

Location: Southern Peninsula, Nusa Dua

Free entrance

Waterblow is one of the recommended attraction to visit in Bali. Visiting Waterblow, you have a chance to watching waves coming towards the narrow coral, hitting the reef, rising and exploding, the water towers over the cliff and make amazing splash. That why this place is named “waterblow”.

In front of waterblow, you will find a enormous grass field with a big statue. Follow the path going deep inside to the Waterblow. There is a long walkway where you can walk around and wait for high waves smashing up the cliff and an open-roofed building built at the end of the barrier reef. Water blow is also a very nice place to enjoy beautiful sunset.

As recommendation of local people, if you want to enjoy the big wave, you should visit waterblow at around 1p.m or 2p.m. And this is the favorite place for photographers who gonna sit there waiting for amazing waves coming surprisingly and shoot it to save the best moments of Bali.

6. Explore the cave in Suluban beach

It is a very unique beach located in the south of Uluwatu temple. It takes around 5 minutes driving from Uluwatu to Suluban beach. After passing a long walkway, accessing via stairs through narrow cliffs, it is a hidden cave with a beautiful beach called “ Bali Blue Point”. There are big waves crash on the rocks, the sounds of breaking waves become audible.

There is a coffee shop where you can have a coffee and enjoy the panoramic view of the blue ocean. It is not recommended to swim there because of many enormous waves( but hot season can be great for swimming), but it is a great place for surfing, enjoying the big blue waves and exploring a very unique beach cave.

If you are a beach lover, do not miss it!! Suluban beach are beautiful, the waves are dazzling, the views are incredible. Let’s go!!

7. Watch Sunset in Uluwatu temple

Opening Hours : 09:00 – 18:30 for visitors.

The entrance fee: 30,000 Rp.

From Nusa dua to Uluwatu is 45 minutes drive

From Kuta – A taxi from Kuta to Uluwatu will take 30-40 minutes and cost about 150,000Rp one way.

You can consider hiring a car or book grab car to Uluwatu temple.

Uluwatu temple is located on the edge of cliff bank approximately 100 meters high, the best place to view of the sunset. Ulu in Balinese means “head”, Watu means “rock”, so Uluwatu means the temple is in the head of the rock. If you want to enjoy the sunset, you should arrive there around 5 P.M. Visiting on weekdays to avoid the crowded.

There are 2 entrances to the temple, from the south and the north. Visitors will buy ticket and get the Sarong and the sash. There is a small forest in front with many curious and aggressive monkeys. Be aware of your belongings especially glasses, sunglasses, cameras and food. In the late afternoon, Kecak dance is daily held at the open-air theatre with the wonderful sunset background.

8. Go White water rafting adventure

Facilities: toilet and changing room, restaurant for free lunch, lockers, towel.

We booked Ayung river rafting in Ubud, it took just 25 minutes from Ubud to the rafting spot. The package includes lunch, water, pick-up and drop-off.

It is a highlight of my trip to Bali. The activity was so much fun with fantastic scenery and cool guide. Before the rafting, we trekked around 15 minutes in the jungle to get to the river. We passed several waterfalls along the way as well as a Hindu sculpture. At the shallow river, we could also jump in and swim.

9. Try parasailing

Tanjung Benoa Bali is one of the famous tourist attraction for water sport activities in Bali island. Bali’s water sports activities are all available with various packages. The difference between these packages depends on the number of activities per package. Try parasailing to enjoy the beautiful sea view, and to be honest, the sea in Bali is not really clean.

Before start the activity you will be briefed shortly by experienced instructors. One round parasailing is approximately 4-5 minutes and there are 2 kinds of parasailing:

- Single person parasailing

- Two people parasailing

10. Visit Taman Ayun temple

Entrance fee: 15.000 Rupiah/ person

Taman Ayun is a very beautiful Hindu temple and is also known as the Royal Family Temple which is recognised by UNESCO. Taman Ayun is where people pray the God in their manifestation. The temple complex is surrounded by gardens and beautiful paddy farms. This temple is not as commercial as some of the other sites in Bali, it is peaceful and relaxing.

11. Bath in hot spring water in Tirta Empul temple

Opening hours: 9am - 17pm

Where: The village of Manukaya in the central of Ubud.

Entrance fee: 30,000 Rp/adult

How to get there: the best way to go is by car/ grab.

Tirta Empul temple means "holy water spring" is the largest and busiest temple in Bali. As all other temples in Bali, when visiting, tourists should dress properly and respectfully, you will need to put a sarong on before entering the temple. The sarong is available in front of the temple with a small rental fee as the donation. It is nice to try out the purification bathing ritual yourself; however, it depends on formal routine, then you might want to ask the temple authority for further detail.