Travel to Bali

A large majority of tourists visiting Bali stay in Kuta which is your typical 'tourist trap' beach town. It's full of small shops, street vendors, European restaurants, bars (a pub crawl is recommended), hotels and beautiful sandy beaches. The package tour I selected included a room in Kuta and a half day tour then I was on my own. I rented a jeep ($17/day - international driver's license recommended) for three days and set out exploring the countryside. Driving in Bali can be treacherous (as in most 3rd world countries) but just consider it part of the adventure!

I would highly recommend the guide book "Insight Pocket Guides - Bali" as it gives a number of suggested half-day and day trips from Kuta. If you haven't seen any of these guide books before you're really missing something. They are the best for short stays when you want to maximize what you see in just a few days. My drives took me to mountain top temples, extinct volcanic craters, hillsides with terraced rice paddies, beautiful beaches, bamboo forests, sheer cliffs to the sea, a lotus palace and the list goes on and on. As you're driving around the island keep your eyes open for the seemingly endless festivals which shouldn't be missed. Shops and vendors are everywhere. The most popular things to buy are batik fabrics and wood carvings.

Once you get to Bali it can be a cheap vacation. The beach front hotels are about $50/night but ones a block or two away can be half that. Food is also cheap. The only obstacle is the air ticket. Unfortunately my travel was limited to the destinations I could reach and still return to Kuta in the evening. Bali is definitely on my list of places to visit again. When I return I will stay in Kuta the first and last night and explore the entire island in between. There are lots of small inns around the island to take advantage of. I would suggest going in the spring which is just after the rainy season so everything is green. It is also before the hoards of tourists arrive from the land down-under to escape their winter.