10 Day Bali/Gili Honeymoon Itinerary Check

Hey all, I am finalizing my itinerary for an upcoming (October/November) 10-day honeymoon in Bali, and would welcome any feedback!

Day 1: Arrive at 00:15, shuttle to resort in Jimbaran, recover from jet lag.
Day 2: Chill at resort, recover from jet lag.
Day 3: Resort until lunch, hire driver/rent car to Ubud.
Day 4: Ubud - Ubud (night market for dinner)
Day 5: Ubud - Day Trip/Cooking Class?
Day 6: Ubud - Day trip/Trekking?
Day 7: 07:00 hotel shuttle to Padang Bai, Fast boat (Blue Water) to Gili Air (Dep. 09:15; Arr. 11:00 ish)
Day 8: Gili Air - Snorkel
Day 9: Gili Air - Snorkel/Day Trip
Day 10: 11:15 Fast Boat (Blue Water) to Padang Bai. Obtain taxi/driver to Denpasar, arrive 15:00. Kill time until late night flight.
Day 11: Depart Bali at 01:30 a.m.

QUESTIONS:
(1) Does this seem doable?
(2) Is it a bad idea to depart Gili Air on essentially same day as flight? Are schedules reliable?
(3) How difficult will it be to hire a driver/taxi to Denpasar upon arrival in Padang Bai?
(4) Thoughts on day trips for this time of year? Is it worth a day trip to Munduk?
(5) If we snorkel 1 day in the Gilis, should we spend the other day as a trip to Lombok?
(6) Would we be better off skipping the Gilis (and all the boat travel) and going to northwest Bali for snorkeling instead?
(7) Any ideas for how to spend a long afternoon (with suitcases) in Depansar?

Thank you!

yes, its doable, almost everything is. but for me it would be way too much in 10 days. its not a problem at all to hire a driver/taxi on bali. i like munduk a lot, but with the limited time you have in ubud, i would stay there and not try to include yet another place into your very rushed itinerary. and i would rather go and spend one day snorkelling in amed instead of travelling to lombok for one day. as for your afternoon & evening before flying back home - i would go to the airport as late as possible and try to check-in for your flight and if not possible yet, leave your baggage at the airport. take a cab to nearby kuta and enjoy the afternoon / evening there, on the beach, having dinner, shopping for souvernirs etc. and go back to the airport in time to fly home.

Greetings Centrist, 1. Yes, it's totally doable. 2. I think you're fine returning same day since your flight leaves after midnight. There are later boats as well just in case. 3. There will be lots of taxi drivers available at the dock in Padang Bai
You could also see if your driver from Ubud is willing to do that.) you'll probably take a daytrip from Ubud on one day- I recommend the Sideman Valley near Bali's
giant volcanoe, Mt Agung Agang and Lake Batur) is willing to do that trip. 4. Munduk is nice if you want to escape the heat for the day- otherwise Sideman Valley (National Geographic has written about Sideman) is better as an overall daytrip from Ubud. 5. I would visit another Gili Island rather than Lombok.
The Gilis are more conducive to s honeymoon. 6. I've snorkeled northwest Bali, which is desert-like and dry( not green and jungly as you might expect)
and so I would still recommend the Gilis.
7. Upon returning to Bali, the airport is actually right next to Kuta- not Denpasar.
I would find a hotel near the beach that will book you a "day room" for your stay
until 11pm or so. Many of the hotels will do that.

Cheers!

And yes- Natalie above points out Amed has a gorgeous beach and great snorkeling. And- it's right near where your Gili boat will be docking at Padang Bai. perhaps you'd even want to overnight here one night.

Nathalie--if you were to modify the itinerary so as to incorporate Amed, how would you change things? Do you mean as a day trip from Ubud? My understanding is that it is a 2.5 hour drive, which could be perfectly lovely--or were you suggesting that we bag the gilis and only go to Amed?

On day 1 you talk about shuttle from airport - is there one or will you need taxi?

At padangbai you will be mobbed off the boat by taxis and the like but most people take combined boat/mini van to Kuta (do not chose one that goes via Ubud as it adds to the journey)

Check in will open about 3 hours before your flight. Kuta has many cheap hotels that are ideal for the airport - have a look at Agoda for instance you will find places that are decent quality and £5-6 if you book now near the airport fine to leave luggage and have a shower before flight

about amed:
i wouldnt go there as a day trip from ubud, but consider going there to snorkel and enjoy some beach time and skip gili air. the advantages of going to amed instead of gili air - less travelling time, and also, if you on day 9 you really want to do something besides beach time and snorkelling, you could go to munduk, or to tirtagganga or the traditional village near candi dasa or some other place.

i love ubud and you can spend much more than 3.5 days there without getting bored, especially if you want to include some trekking and a cooking class. i did a cooking class at casa luna and very much enjoyed it (have a look at www.casalunabali.com/cooking-school/). one of the best cooking classes i ever took was at bumbu bali. as you will be in jimbaran, you could also look at that. you start with a visit to the local market in jimbaran, followed by a visit to the fish market in jimbaran, then are driven to the school, have a delicious breakfast there, and then learn how to cook about 10 dishes (and get to enjoy them afterwards). www.balifoods.com/?page_id=7

if you stay on bali, i would not do a day trip from ubud, but use day 7 for to see more of bali. hire a driver for the day, an on the way from ubud to amed, visit the beautiful rice terraces at jatiluwih, lake bratan and the temple on the lake, and munduk.

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