Looking for a party destination AND a calm, relaxing break from your monotonous life? Bali has the best of both worlds. It is a paradise for people who want to party hard and also a haven for those who need a peaceful getaway from the noise of everyday life. Here is how my husband Balneet Singh Bagga and I, Neha Sawarn, went on a Bali honeymoon instead of a bachelor party and you can do it too! Read on to find out how.
Also Read: Everything You Need To Know Before You Head To Bali!
The Inception
My fiancé and I were eagerly waiting for our marriage date to get finalized and as soon as it did, the discussion on our honeymoon destination began. There was a big issue here as my husband is an adventure junkie, he wanted to enjoy his vacation by being a party animal! I, on the other hand, was the lazy one who just wanted to relax and enjoy a very laid back kind of a holiday. He wanted to visit destinations like Singapore or Pattaya and I was quite rigid about the Maldives. But when the time actually came to go, we both finalized on a Bali honeymoon .
Why Bali?
There were various reasons to choose Bali. The first and the most important one was that Bali is a hub of fun adventures and a paradise for beautiful landscapes. In short, it catered to both our requirements. You can both party and have a laid back holiday! We stayed for 6 nights and they were the best of our lives. Surely, a Bali honeymoon tops the list.
Also Read: A 12-Year Old Boy Flew To Bali On A Solo Vacay Trip
Itinerary
Day 1
We checked into our hotel at 12:00 PM, freshened up, had our lunch and decided to explore the Ubud market. So we took the shuttle provided by the hotel and reached the Ubud market. There we came to know that the Monkey forest was at a walking distance so we walked towards the Monkey forest. It was a huge forest full of Monkeys. They were quite well behaved but I would still suggest not to mess with them.
In the forest, we saw an intriguing Balinese skit. We paid 80,000 IDR (392 INR) for the entry ticket to the Monkey forest. In the evening we booked a cab and went to watch the traditional Kecak dance. This dance is basically a representation of the Ramayana story and here we paid around 1,00,000 IDR (490 INR). Thereafter, we went to the pristine Kuta beach for some time to relax.
Day 2
We woke up early in the morning and left our hotel after breakfast to explore the rest of Bali. First, we went to the Nungnung waterfall. We absolutely loved the view! We had to climb down to reach the waterfall. It was a treat to our eyes. Next, we went to the Rice fields. Do not forget to try out the swing in the rice field. The view is insanely beautiful.
After leaving the rice fields, we visited the coffee plantation. It is famous for Luwak coffee which is the most expensive coffee in the world. What’s the catch? This coffee is made from the passings of a little animal called Luwak. Yes, it’s made from poop in short! We watched the complete process of making the coffee with the poop! Would you dare to try it?
Day 3
This day was all about the famous spots in Bali. So first we went to Uluwatu temple. It shows a beautiful glimpse of Balinese culture. It had Balinese dance in the evening which was quite an experience. Next, we left for Tanah lot temple. It is a temple built in the sea but sadly, it remains closed for foreigners. So we are not allowed inside the temple. But still, it’s worth a visit.
Day 4
Day 4 was dedicated to trekking to Mount Batur which is an active volcano. We started our trek at 2:00 AM to see the sunrise early in the morning. Undoubtedly, it was a very tiring journey but the sunrise view from Mount Batur was to die for. We paid 8,00,000 IDR (4000 INR) per person for the trek.
Day 5
So this was our last day in Bali. We did not make any major plans for this day. Just went to Dreamland beach to relax. It was a very nice and clean beach. Later on we moved to Tanjung Benoa Beach for some water sports. We tried Parasailing which cost us around 3,50,000 IDR (1715 INR) per person. In the evening we explored the Kuta Market and went to Sky Garden. It was a fabulous party place. It was offering a free buffet with just an entry fee of 3,00,000 IDR ( 1470 INR).
So, if you too want to spend a romantic honeymoon and also not break your bank, Bali is the perfect getaway. Follow my suggestions and you too can have a great time in Bali.
Tips
If you want to travel to Bali in the near future the following points would be very helpful:
1. You do not need any visa if you are travelling to Bali for less than 30 days.
2. Once you reach Bali do not exchange currency at the airport as the exchange rates at the airport are too high. There are a lot of government-approved currency exchange centres in Bali.
3. We did not find the need to buy a sim card in Bali. We used WhatsApp for messaging and calling as Wifi was available in almost all hotels and cafes.
Now, In Bali, you could plan your stay in Kuta/Seminyak or Ubud. If you are a party animal and do not want to miss out on all the fun, I would recommend you to stay at Kuta or Seminyak (Hotel Fontana in Kuta would be
my suggestion).
Kuta is cheaper than Seminyak and is very close to Seminyak too. If you want to stay in a very calm place with beautiful views and greenery, then I would suggest you stay in Ubud. In Ubud, I would suggest you Anahata hotel. I can vouch for how relaxing and calm it is!
Travel
This is how we did our bookings for Bali. One can take packages that you get online and plan accordingly but we wanted to explore Bali in our own way and plan our tour according to our comfort and wishes. So, we booked our flights through ixigo.com and the hotel booking was made through Makemytrip. The round trip for both of us came down to under 45k.
Stay
While selecting the hotels it was clear that we both wanted to be in a luxury hotel and when it comes to Bali you have a lot of options available. We came across Anahata hotel that had all the luxury which a very expensive hotel would have and was also under our budget. This worked out to be 30k for 6 nights for both of us.
The hotel is located in a hilly area surrounded by mountains. The splendid view would be visible from every villa that Anahata provides. We had our own private infinity pool and a very beautiful private lawn in our villa at Anahata. Check out the tour in detail here:
The food options in the hotel was a bit limited but you could easily find something for yourself. The hotel is situated a little away from the market so for us it was a bonus point as we wanted to stay away from all the hustle and bustle of the city. The hotel provided us with a shuttle as per their scheduled time. So we could easily commute from our hotel to the Market.
Here I would like to provide a tip. If you want to visit Monkey forest, then I would recommend that you take a shuttle from the hotel to the Ubud Market and from there, you can easily walk to the Monkey forest.
So, if you too want to spend a romantic honeymoon, a Bali honeymoon is the perfect getaway. Follow my suggestions and you too can have your own Bali honeymoon!
This article was contributed to Curly Tales by Neha Sawarn. If you have a story to tell us, drop us an email to hey@curlytales.com
Also Read: How Cheap Is Bali?