Best of Bali in 3 days.

Hi. heading to Bali in Nov/Dec and have 3 full days to see the best of. I'd like to see temples (not too many!) rice terraces, one session of rafting and the must see sights. not interested in any beach or water activities like diving or surfing. will be stayin in Ubud so would like to know what's in the area I can do without a guide so I will have 2 days with a guide and one day on my own around Ubud. Suggestions are welcome.
Michelle

First you don't need a "guide." A private driver is all that you need and normally they are not licensed guides.

Rafting picks you up at your accomodation and takes you back so that is covered. The two classic trips are up to Bedugul to see the temple in the lake, Botanical Garden, spice garden, Rice fields along the mountainside and just general being out and about. You might happen upon a temple ceremony or procession or other so play it by ear. Second day up to Batur Volcano, Ceking rice terraces in Tegallalang, Gunung Kawi, Goa Gajah, Mask Museum, stuff like that. Two full days. The day on your own around Ubud check out Neka Museum, shopping, spa.

Of course there is a lot more to do but without knowing what you want it's difficult to recommend!

How does this sound? Is it too much? Anything we can miss out especially if it's going to take a long time to get to?

Day 1.
Tirta Empul Temple, penglipuran village, lempuyang, Tirta Ganga

Day 2.
Royal Temple, Jatiluwih Rice Terraces, Bedugul, git git waterfall, Tanalot

Day 3
Rafting, Uluwatu Temple and back to Ubud.

None of the places in your first day are must sees IMHO. Many people want to bathe in the holy water so if you are a Hindu it might be meaningful to you. Lempuyang is a very tall order literally, hiking that will be enough for the full day plus your travel time. Tirta Ganga is pretty but small and nothing special from a HIndu religious standpoint.

Day 2. Which royal temple? There are thousands of temples in Bali and many of them are "royal" meaning one of the temples "owned" by one of the several former kingdoms of Bali (at least 6 and many lesser royal branches). Tanah Lot is well south of Bedugul and not really efficient to go there and then back to Ubud. Many of the Bus Tour routes go to Tanah Lot after Bedugul because all the Busses leave from one of the beach cities not Ubud.

Day 3: Rafting is either in Ubud along the Ayung River or in East Bali nearer to Lempuyangan. It makes no sense for either plan to see Uluwatu in this plan. Better to see Uluwatu either when you arrive or leave as it's close to the airport.

Also forgot to say that November December is in the rainy season. You might want to play it by ear each day as to which activiites you do..eg rafting is not good during heavy rain, and Lempuyang would be difficult, as would Batur, etc.

Oh Cuscus...now you made me sad! Have to start planning from scratch!
Can you suggest places that I shouldn't miss then? Would love to hear your choices. Thanks for your help!

Look above to post # 1 which I wrote to you earlier. Also there is no real "must do" esp since you only have 3 days..there is so much to see you can't try to see all the highlights in such a short time.

Oh boy!!!!!! In post #2 you mention what you want to cover. That's a hell of a lot!!!!!! Don't forget to take into account how long it will take to get to your desired sights. Traffic in Bali can be horrendous and even "country" roads can be clogged with traffic.

Cuscus, if I can pick your brains for the same time frame (3 days). Instead of basing myself in Ubud, I was planning a round-about (loop) itinerary on a rental bike. Here it is below...

Day 1 - Checkout of Kuta hotel and head north (Jatiluwih terraces, Ulun Danu temple, night in Singaraja-North Bali).
Day 2 - Singaraja to Lempuyang temple (early afternoon), stay near Amed beach
Day 3 - Amed to Ubud (Tukad Cepung, Dusun Kuning waterfalls) and reach Kuta beach by evening.

Also, I have 4 additional days for the region and I was planning to spend 1 day in Gili Air, 2 days in Gili T, and final day in Kuta. I am debating on cutting Gili T to one day, and an extra day in Kuta. What would be your recommendation?

PS: I am not a diver/snorkeler; but visiting the region for mostly sightseeing & beach.

Hashashyin: Do you normally go on a motorbike and do you have the correct license and experience driving in Bali? The roads you are wanting to drive through are tough going and more fatal accidents happen in the country roads where people can go fast. Also, around Ulun Danu Beratan and on to Singaraja are very tough curvy roads. A tourist died about 2 months ago trying to go from Ubud to Lovina (very early morning) and her passenger badly injured..that is only tourists..in Bali more than 1 person dies every day on the roads.

In any case, even if you are a great driver and defensive driver with great luck, your pace is too fast...there is a lot to see and if you are driving yourself and going so far every day you have no time to talk to anyone, admire the views, see the ceremonies or culture, etc.

As far as the Gilis, I don't think they are anything special unless you want to snorkel with turtles. If just beach then stay in Bali and check out places closer...maybe even Nusa Lembongan which is a part of Bali, and perhaps Amed or even the sandy parts of Kuta Bali (not the hellhole parts, just the nice parts)

@Cuscus, thanks a bunch for the quick response and taking time for all the info. As for the first part, I am from a big city in India and have decent bike riding experience (6+ years in Indian traffic, and recently in Philippines). Not saying that something cannot go wrong, but unless Bali roads are an absolute death trap, I'd think I'll be fine. About license, I was going to ask you in the followup question - I have a motorcycle (with gear, no engine size limit) & car license in English (from India). However, I will not be able to get an International Driver's Permit due to logistics reasons (I currently reside outside India). I researched around and found that this could be an issue with the police, but can get away with a small 'fine' in cash. Is it safe to assume that, or do you not recommend?

As for the distance, the first two days itinerary shows 3 hours for ~90 Km each day, per Google Maps. Is that incorrect? And with almost full day on road, do you still believe it is too fast?

Regarding Gili, part reason for picking them is of course the reputation (turquoise waters, sunset, etc). The other reason is the Full Moon Party, which I heard is on Gili Air. Is not the worth the trip?

Well, first of all, the license is a must. If you have an accident your insurance will not cover you without proper full coverage and license. Second, I am sure you can't ask us here if it's ok to do something illegal. You can't expect to pay bribes..sure some people do it and then turn around and complain about corruption but you will be feeding and reinforcing a bad practice. I had a feeling you were from India, but every country has a different type of pattern and roads..I have only been to India once but the roads were much better than the ones in Bali.. Last year a young man died because he was riding on a main road in north Kuta and didn't notice the big metal rods going through the middle of the road with no signs or lights around them....(just another example). If you were only going to be in Kuta and in the middle of traffic I wouldn't say this..but on winding mountain roads it can be another thing..

Too fast...I am not referring to the speed of the motorbike..I am referring to getting anything out of your trip other than just speeding from place to place..google maps btw is always quite optimistic about travel times. Waze is popular here and perhaps a better indication.

About Gilis..again..travel time..you lose better part of a day each way, and yet sunsets and parties happen in parts of Bali as well.. November December is the peak of the rainy season and you would be better flying than taking the boat..too risky in bad ocean conditions over open ocean.

@cuscus: Certainly I didn't mean to say that, regarding bribery - just more of an enquiry. Anyways, thanks a bunch for all the points & suggestions; definitely very useful. Considering about renting a car/driver now, to get around Bali.

About Gili, I forgot to mention that I am actually traveling in a couple of weeks (early Sept). I used this post because I'm planning a similar itinerary :)

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