Eat, Pray, Love: 6 Days Itinerary in Bali

Bali is one of my absolute favorite destinations in Southeast Asia. I went here with my boyfriend Hali and after our trip, I understood how it helped Elizabeth Gilbert find herself in her memoir Eat, Pray, Love, and why it’s one of the most visited places in Indonesia.

Here’s our 6 days itinerary in Bali which you can use as a guide when you visit here.

For the essential info such as How to Get Around, Places to Explore, Things to Do, you can read our Essential Guide to Bali.

An overview of Bali

Bali is also called the “Island of the Gods”. As said above, it’s one of the most visited places in Indonesia. Some say that Bali is too touristy, but most would agree that it’s worth visiting.

The majority of the population in Bali follow Balinese Hinduism. In Bali, you can find culture everywhere: in temples, markets, even residential areas. It has amazing sights including rice paddies, jungles, and beaches. The food is delicious and you can find amazing massages especially in Ubud.

The main regions of Bali are Ubud, Kuta, Seminyak, Legian, Nusa Dua and Sanur. Aside from these, there are other islands you can visit such as Nusa Lembongan and Ceningan and Nusa Penida islands.

How to get here

Currently, Bali only has one international airport: Ngurah Rai International Airport, which is located in Denpasar.

Visa

• Most tourists don’t need a visa when traveling to Bali if the stay is 30 days or less. This is also true for Philippine passport holders.
• If you’re staying longer than 30 days, you can pay for an extendable visa on arrival ($35) or get a 60-day visa.

Upon arrival

• Buy a local sim card to avoid roaming charges. Telkomsel is a good brand with reliable signal throughout the island.
• From the airport, it’s easy to get to your destination in Bali. If you have arranged accommodation or guide, you can ask them for pickup. One of the cheapest pickup services you can book is via Klook.

6 Days Itinerary in Bali

So without further ado, here’s our 6 days itinerary in Bali, Indonesia. Consider this a rough guide only.

Day 0	– Arrival in Ngurah Rai Airport (Denpasar) – Check in at accommodation in Ubud
Day 1	– Lempuyang Tour / Bedugul Tour
Day 2	– Ubud Tour
Day 3	– Free time / Walking tour of Ubud
Day 4	– Check out at accommodation in Ubud, commute to Sanur Port – Ferry ride from Sanur Port to Nusa Penida – Nusa Penida Tour (day 1) – Check in at accommodation in Nusa Penida
Day 5	– Check out of accommodation in Nusa Penida – Nusa Penida Tour (day 2) – Ferry ride back to Nusa Penida – Check in at accommodation in Seminyak
Day 6	– Walking tour in Seminyak – Back at Ngurah Rai Airport

Here are some things I’d like to note:

• We booked for 6 days, which I initially thought was long. As you know, us Filipinos are known for taking short trips abroad. It turned out that 6 days is just enough to visit the basic must-see spots in Bali. If I’ll go back here again, I will probably schedule for 1-2 weeks.
• You can explore Bali by renting a scooter or booking a tour service. We booked tours, since we find the rate reasonable: 550,000 – 700,000 IDR / P2000-2500 / $40-50 for a day trip to a specific location, good up to 4 people. Booking a tour is easy and comfortable, especially since some destinations are 2-3 hours apart.
• Ubud is one of the top places to visit in Bali. As such, we stayed here for 3-4 nights and then toured for 2 days. Believe me, it still isn’t enough.

Day Tours in Bali

These are the day tours available in Bali. There are no standard rates for tours, so you can look around for the best price.

These tours include private car transport (good up to 4 people). Your tour guide/driver usually has a list of places to see in one area, so if you want to include other attractions just let them know in advance.

Ubud Tour

As the heart of Bali, exploring Ubud is a must-do. Here you can explore Tegallalang Rice Terraces, one of the most beautiful nature attractions in the island. Just walking distance from the rice terraces is the Uma Pakel Swing, where you can ride a huge swing facing the mountain and enjoy local coffee/tea tasting, including luwak coffee (the “cat poop coffee”).

You can also drop by the Batik Making area, to witness the actual process of making batik (both handmade and pressed) and shop for batik products.

Places to see:

• Batik Making tour/workshop (optional)
• Legong and Barong Waksirsa cultural dance (optional)
• Uma Pakel Swing
• Tegallalang rice terraces
• Kintamani Volcano
• Tegenungan Waterfall
• Batuan Temple

Lempuyang Tour

This is a laid-back tour exploring some of the temples in Bali. Here you can visit Lempuyang Temple, which is one of the most photographed spots in Bali. It’s one of the oldest temples and believed to predate other Hindu temples in the island. By that way, if you’re wondering how to get the famous shots in Lempuyang Temple, you’ll be amazed to know that it involves a simple trick: you need to place a small mirror at the bottom of your camera to create a reflection! We didn’t know about that before we visited.

Places to see:

• Lempuyang Temple (Heaven’s Gate)
• Abang Rice Terraces
• Tirta Gangga
• Tenganan Village
• Goa Lawah Temple

Bedugul Tour

Bedugul Tour takes you to some of the iconic spots in Bali, such as Tanah Lot. Tanah Lot is a rock formation home to an ancient pilgrimage temple called Pura Tanah Lot.

Places to see:

• Ulun Danu Temple
• Taman Ayun Temple
• Bali Handara Gulf
• Wanagiri Hidden Hill
• Tanah Lot Temple

Uluwatu Tour

Uluwatu Tour takes you to some of the best beaches in Bali.

Places to see:

• Nusa Dua beach watersport (optional)
• Pandawa Beach
• Dreamland Beach
• Padang Padang Beach
• Uluwatu Temple and Kecak and Fire Dance

Ubud Tour (self-tour / walking tour)

If you’re staying in Ubud, you can explore the town attractions which are mostly walking distance from each other.

In particular, I recommend visiting the Ubud Art Market, which is open from early morning up to 6PM only. Shopping for local goods and souvenirs is one of the highlights in our trip. We loved looking at flowy dresses, pants, wooden crafts and paintings, statues, Boho print bags and more.

TIP: Haggle down when shopping because vendors expect it and will quote high prices at first.

Places to see:

• Sacred Monkey Forest
• Ubud Royal Palace
• Suraswati Temple
• Ubud Art Market

Seminyak Tour (self-tour / walking tour)

Seminyak can be explored by foot. Here you can find lots of great cafes and restaurants, shop for souvenirs or luxury items at boutique shops or bum at the beach.

Here are some of the must-see attractions in Seminyak:

Places to see:

• Kynd Community / Nalu Bowls
• Motel Mexicola
• La Plancha Beach

Nusa Penida Tour

Nusa Penida is a breath-taking side trip if you’re visiting Bali. Here you can find the often-photographed Kelingking Beach and other beaches where you can swim and snorkel.

A lot of people I know come to Nusa Penida for a day only, but I highly recommend spending at least 2 days so you can also see Atuh Beach and Thounsand Beach. There are very few tourists here. In fact, we were alone in our visit to Atuh Beach. If you’re into out-of-this-world cliff views, make sure to include Nusa Penida in your itinerary.

Here’s our Travel Guide to Nusa Penida.

Take note that a day trip to Nusa Penida does not include a snorkeling tour.

Places to see:

Day 1

• Snorkeling (Manta Bay, Gamat Point, Buddha’s Underwater Temple, GT Point)
• Kelingking Beach
• Angel Billabong
• Broken Beach
• Crystal Beach

Day 2

• Atuh Beach and Cliff
• Thousand Beach/Tree House
• Teletubbies Hill
• Goa Giri Putri Temple

Reminders on tours

Here are some reminders for exploring Bali:

• Make sure to bring pocket money for lunch and entrance fees. Entrance fees are usually around 10,000 IDR (P40 / $1). Temples will usually require you to wear sarong, which you can rent at around 5000 IDR (P20 / $0.5). If you don’t want to pay extra every time, you can bring your own sarong as long as it reaches past the knee. I bought my own and most of the time this was accepted in temples.
• The cheapest way to explore Bali is by renting a scooter. Just take note that the main areas in Bali are usually 2-3 hours apart, not counting the traffic. Consider the duration of travel if you decide to get a scooter. Also, we don’t recommend renting a scooter in Nusa Penida as there’s a lot of rough roads and some of them are very steep.

Our recommended tour guides

Here are our tour guides during our stay in Bali. Please say Hello from us (Katherine & Hali)!

• For tours in Bali, our tour guide is Ngakan. Contact: Facebook.
• For Nusa Penida, our tour guide is Lindra Nyoman. He offers very reasonable rates. We customized the package so we can include a snorkeling tour (to see the manta rays and the Underwater Buddha Temple), as this isn’t always included in the tours. Contact: email lindranyoman42643@gmail.com.

Where to stay in Bali

There are tons of accommodations in Bali, for all budgets.

• There are cheap homestays starting at 160,000 IDR (P600 / $10) or luxury villas starting at 800,000 IDR (P3000 / $50-60). You can get a room in the middle of rice paddies, jungle or beachside (if you’re anywhere in Seminyak or Kuta).
• You can find private villas with pool for as low as $150 per night. This is a great option for couples or groups who want to enjoy relaxing indoors.
• You can stay anywhere in Bali even if you’re exploring various locations such as Lempuyang.

As for us, we opted to stay in Ubud for 3-4 nights before we spent the rest of our trip in Nusa Penida. Our accommodation in Ubud is Liyer House, which is the house of Ketut in Eat, Pray, Love. (Excuse me, while I scream in my fan girl persona.) Ketut has already passed away, but his son has taken over fortune telling. Unfortunately, I have read that his practice isn’t as legit, so we skipped it.

For discounted rates of accommodation in Bali, you can book using our referral link in Agoda.

Where to eat

We love the food in Bali! I’m not going to list every restaurant one by one because there’s a lot and it’s not enough to put in one article. However, we compiled this Guide on the Best Restaurants in Bali, as suggested by bloggers who’d been here as well.

• If you’re on a budget or you want to taste what the locals eat, you can easily find warungs (local eateries) offering Indonesian dishes.
• Aside from local restaurants, there are restaurants offering different cuisines from all over the world. For instance, you can find pizzerias in Seminyak that are said to rival those in Naples.
• Bali is also a haven for vegetarians and vegans. Even at local eateries, cooks will be happy to whip you something meat free. One of our favorite restaurants in Ubud called Bali Buda has an extensive vegetarian menu.

Our personal tips for your trip to Bali

Here are some of our personal tips.

• The best tip I can give you is don’t scrimp yourself. I know that for some people, budgeting is a lifestyle but I can tell you that every penny spent in Bali is worth it. Book a nice resort in a beach or mountainside, indulge in local dishes, and shop in art markets and boutique stores.
• Spend at least 6-7 days in Bali or longer if you can. Again, Bali is absolutely gorgeous and there are lots of activities to fill your time. You can also spend your days on a personal retreat.
• Enjoy a heavenly massage. Ubud has several spas offering full-body massage and flower bath. Again, this is one of our splurges in Bali. Not only is it relaxing, it’s also perfect for your feed. A 1-hour massage and flower bath typically costs about 250,000-300,000 IDR (P900-1100 / $20) per person. Some popular ones include Karsa Spa and Ubud Botanical Spa. Resorts oftentimes also offer their own spa services, which can be cheaper than the ones outside. TIP: If booking in a popular spa, make sure to reserve weeks or days in advance. We were lucky to get a spot on the same day in 2 different spa locations, but we looked everywhere else and the ones with flower baths were all fully booked.

We have also written a separate article on Useful Tips When Visiting Bali.

Budget and expenses

Your budget depends largely on your accommodation, tours, and other expenses such as food.

Here are the current rates (Updated as of 2020):

Ubud tour	550,000 IDR (P2000 / $40)
Lempuyang tour	700,000 IDR (2500 / $50)
Bedugul tour	600,000 IDR (P2200 / $45)
Uluwatu tour	550,000 IDR (P2000 / $40)
Nusa Penida tour	1-day trip: 850,000 IDR (P3100) per person, including RT ferry tickets Sanur Port-Nusa Penida and lunch (min 2 people) 2-day trip: 1.2M IDR for 2-day tour via private car (car good for 4 people). We also asked to include RT ferry tickets Sanur Port-Nusa Penida and lunches (500,000 + 200,000 IDR for 2 people) and snorkeling trip (200,000 IDR per person). Total is 2.3M IDR (P4400) for 2 people.

Hali and I took this trip in 2018 and we spent about 4.7M IDR (P18,000 / $350) per person, excluding flight fares. We weren’t doing a budget trip: we booked mid-range accommodation, splurged on food (about 200,000 IDR / P700 / $13-15 per meal for 2 people), went to spa at least twice and shopped for personal items. So our budget went a long way.

In general, for 6 days trip for 2 people, a safe budget would be P20,000 ($400) per person, excluding airfare.

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What to read next:

Going to Bali soon? Here are other articles you might be interested in!

• Travel Guide to Bali: What You Need to Know
• 6 Days Itinerary in Bali
• Useful Travel Tips to Bali
• Bali Food Guide: Best Restaurants in Bali

Other destinations near Bali:

• Travel Guide to Nusa Penida

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