Bali

[kristina97]

hi sweet & all,
came back from Bali last week, stayed at beverly hills. My comments for Beverly hills villa is very good. Large area of garden in our one bedroom villa, swim a lot at our private pool. The bedroom is spacious, the bath room is as big as the bedroom. Clean. We had a large plasma tv in our room and dvd player was available, went to kuta picked up some dvd (only Rp10,000) watch some lastest movie at night. The kitchen beside our living has got everything we needed to cook some simple meal. The view from the villa is great too, cos'it's located up on a hill. Service wise, Good. They serve breakfast in our villa, when we ask for some cooking oil, soya sauce and salt for our cooking, they sent to our villa in just minutes, without charge. Our name was displayed just on the side of our entrance. Most of their customers are Korea, guess that's why not much write up on the net or maybe we can't understand korean. Overall, I'll give 9 out 10. Wth the offer we got, super value for money.

 

[sweetsweet97]

Thanks for the info, kristina. But I already booked Danoya Villa with Joseph. Coz August everywhere having high season charge and Joseph managed to got us a very special rate at the villa. Like posh, but also not ready to spend too much, you know what I mean?

 

[freelance_driver]

hai all,
wuihhhh cloudy today no sun in bali, i hope not tomorrow
so have nice holliday for all
im happy bali still safe till this time
thanks for all

 

[idono]

I'll like to do a self-drive in bali for 8D7N in dec. is this advisable?

 

[lyne_19]

hi idono....

good idea....., i want try drive my self
in bali too.but to many motorbike,to dangerous .
you can contact my driver billy. maybe he can help you to get cheaper price for rent bike or car.
www.driverbali.co.cc
pls shearing on forum if you done. have a great fun.

 

[deannen]

Dear all

i just got back from my Bali trip & it was so relaxing and fun that i will definitely go back there again =)

The guy dat eoj recommended - Joseph is really very nice & kind. As he couldnt get us a English speaking driver, he got us a guide who can speaks chinese/ english on top of the driver (no extra charge). Despite his busy schedule, he dropped by Jimbaran Bay while we are having our seafood dinner to say Hi.

Good service & well worth the $ spent!

Other than that, bali is really a beautiful place to chill. We stayed @ Kuta Seaview, svc ok but location is fantastic.

 

[ger_mummy]

Hi all...
is been long since i posted here ever since my May trip..
Bali is a fantastic place..i can't wait to go there again..lovely beaches.beautiful sunset..
but pple there(most of them i met)are very dishonest pple.
i know everywhere there r dishonest pple.maybe i really very sway during my trip..

-i got cheated even before i touch down to Bali.this is the worst,as u thought everything was planned..n yet was screw up..

-Bought expensive items(marked up prices)by street vendors(they r really good actors,that act like they r very pity)
My advise-go to shopping centre 1st,roughly know the price guideline..as the street vendors can mark the prices up like nobody business.
eg:i bought a sarong wrap-around n was quoted like $30(sing)end up only paid $5(sing)

Overall,Bali is a nice place minus all the dishonest pple..

A pc of my advise-don trust contacts online..unless is someone who u really know.
u can read more over at trip advisor as well.

 

[eoj]

Sorry to hear tat you went on a cheated trip. who did you arrange your trip with? was told some of these ppl work in a chain like syndicate who brings you to their friends' vendor and would be paid with commission that cost more than what the vendors made. im sure if you would have gotten the right agent to make your arrangement, you sure to be given advice or guideline on how much you should pay for things that you buy. coz it's the responsbility of a licenced agent to protects their customers' interest.

 

[kristina97]

Hi Patricia,
I also encounter porter at the DPS airport asking for money for carrying our luggages when we didn't ask them. They just come pushing a trolley and ask us to put our luggage on it, then they start pushing it. Luckily, when we met our driver, he called our agent and they had some exchange of words over the phone and after that the porters said sorry and left. During our shopping and dining, we did call our agent with the local phone card that they arranged for us, just to ask for their opinion of what should the price of a certain items we should pay or if the restaurant we decided to dine in serve reasonable food. We felt guided thru out the trip and would recommend other ppl to do make sure a few points is being handle when visiting Bali. 1. Arrange an itinerary that you like before taking your trip. 2. Get your agent to arrange a local phone card, so that you can easily reach for advice or help. 3. Walk out from a shop or restaurant if you feel that the rate is over charging. Above all, get a trusted agent to assist you in your arrangement. (thanks God, we did)

 

[nissan2001]

Back from Bali yesterday morning. I must say Billy, my driver provides good service for the guided tour at Kuta. We did not follow his initinery but he is ok with that. He deserved an extra tip. IMO the places that I picked from this forum is not really fantasic, prices are ex but the entire trip is very relax. The beach, sand and the sea is BIG WOW. Sunbathing with Bintang beer is juz awksome.

 

[meitong]

hightech,

So which places did you go to in Bali? I'm planning for a trip to Bali end Sep.

 

[nissan2001]

Me went to the followings:

-hand weaving processing
-Wood craft
-Siver making
-art painting cooperative
-Lunch at dirty duck
-coffee plantation
-holy spring water temple
-rice terrace
-ubud market


Trip starts at 9am and ends at 7pm.
Sept can be quite wet.

 

[kristina97]

sounded more like a handicraft shopping trip. Did you buy anything worth, I mean good and reasonable? I went that way on my trip to Kintamani where we had lunch, overlooking the volcano. I would say that the view was worth the trip. But didn't find the hand weaving, woodcraft, silver etc worth spending time on, coz we are not the artistic group of people. Beside I think the stuff they sell there are tourists price, was told by our agent that drivers and guide make lot of commission at those place. For sourvenir shopping I would recommend those small stalls at tempaksiring, the holy spring water temple and tanah lot, can get very good bargain if you know how.

 

[nissan2001]

These are places that I picked up form this forum. You are right, most of the places are not worth to go. The items they sell are pretty ex. I can get same item from Kuta shops at a much cheaper price. Coffee and rice plantation are ok to go.

 

[kristina97]

hehe, we did not buy anything at the coffee & rice plantation either, coz was told in advance that the quality there not as good as the "Domba" coffee factory we went to and true enough after visitng both places and tasted both coffee, my man love coffee, he said the Domba sells top quality coffee beans at a very reasonable price.

For sourvenir, well, we still find the small stalls at holy water temple is still the best place to bargain.

 

[eoj]

Hi All,
There is a new restaurant selling Balinese food in Nusa Dua area. Tried their famous BBQ RIBS, very good, large portion, value for money. Better than the one I tried last year at Ubud area. They also sell babi Guling & dirty duck (did not try that yet) so no need travel 2 hours to Ubud for those, if you are staying in Nusa Dua or Kuta area. One more thing, their juices are solid and fresh. The only setback is that they only open for lunch. The restaurant has many old picture of Bali & "interesting" Balinese people of the oldies. If you happen to be around that area, I recommend you to lunch there, go for the ribs.....

 

[nesame]

anybody can recommend where can I book villas? Looking at Ubud area.

 

[jennifer_teoh]

hi eoj,

i m plannin for a 4d3n trip to bali on 1 oct.. can u gimme the ctt of ur recommended agent in bali? my email is [email protected]

thanks!

 

[jennifer_teoh]

eoj,

btw u rem the restaurant name that u recommended for selling balinese food in nusa dua area??

 

[shanmum]

Hi

Can anyone recommends a good and reliable driver to me. Am going to bali next month?

Any reviews on the following resorts:
Uma Sapna (Seminyak), Saren Indah (ubud) or Hard Rock (kuta)

Going on 5D4N, is it advisable to split the days at 2 different hotels?

 

[jol_eeyha]

Hi,

I am also planning a Bali trip in Nov and has shortlised Kupu Kupu Barong or Komaneka at Monkey Forest in Ubud. Anyone been to any of these resorts before?
Anyone took AirAsia to Bali? so far have checked that AirAsia has best timing unless I travel with SQ?
Is it easy to book land tour when I reach there? or should I book before my travel?

 

[liem_yuon]

hi shanmum...

i just want recommend good driver as long i know.
my driver is billy. honestly, smile,friendly,humor
people. you will enjoy your trip with him, reasonable price and you can send him for itinerary. he will serve of you with friendly.
you can click his web : www.billytransport.blogspot.com

he will look after you. i recommend him because
i use his service before. have a great holidays..

 

[eoj]

Hi Jen T
The name of the restaurant is warung Ho, located in Tanjong benoe-nusadua. Their porkrib is good

 

[noknok]

Hi all,

Finally back from my honeymoon after planning for it from May.

We booked the whole trip from EOJ's contact (eoj, joseph did mention ur name to us

)

Before we decide to use the travel agent, I emailed Villa Air directly to ask for the quotation for the honeymoon package. Joseph managed to negotiate for a lower price then the one I emailed directly. The driver he found for us is very friendly too. We totally enjoyed our trip. Although it's a pity that it rained on the first day when we went to the volcano.

Must try the hot stone spa from Jojo.. very very good.. but spa in Baliwis can skip.. that one is bad... Spa in the Villa is great too.

For honeymooners who are looking for private pool villa, I strongly recommend Villa Air. They gave us the spa villa which has a jacuzzi and a steam bath. They have a computer with internet connection in the room. Their service was great too. They have 6 different kinds of breakfast to choose from (American, healthy, chinese, indonesian, japanese/Korean). The portion are BIG.. They serve daily afternoon tea too.. We were a bit reluctant to leave the villa on tours that were arranged.. haha just wanna stay in villa and do nothing.

All in all, we totally enjoyed our trip.

 

[eoj]

(H)welcome back Nok

 

[krispy]

I just came back from Bali today. Was cloudy for the last 2 days, and the day we're supposed to fly back, the sun finally came out. Talk about bad luck. But, even tho cloudy, we still enjoyed sitting by the beach at Nusa Dua, enjoying the cold sea breeze.

Bali is a beautiful beautiful place. The ppl are really friendly, and the culture is amazing. We went diving for the first 3 days there... caught sight of manta's at Manta Point, but sadly, we were not lucky enough to catch any sight of the Mola mola's.

We went for some daily tours with Bili after that. I had initially emailed a bunch of drive operators in Bali requesting for daily itineraries and such as well as the price. Bili was the only one who came back with a customised daily itinerary for us and was very decent in how he charged. On the first day, he picked us up from our hotel in Sanur and brought us to Made Warung for lunch. After that, we checked into our hotel in Kuta and proceeded to Garuda Wisna Kencana which I don't really recommend. Nothing much there cept huge statues. He brought us to watch the Kecak and Fire sunset dance at Uluwatu temple which was amazing. This is a must watch for everyone who is in Bali. We were supposed to have dinner at Jimbaran Bay in the evening, but he was ok with us moving it to the next day cos we were so tired after all the diving.

The next day, we visited the water temple (which was very serene), Tanah Lot, Kintamani for lunch), rice terrace, Ubud market and Jimbaran bay for dinner. We initially planned to stay at Tanah Lot for sunset, but there were so many tourists that Bili suggested we try to get to Jimbaran in time to watch the sunset while eating our dinner. He drove like a madman trying to get us there in time, but we were about 5 minutes too late. Had to commend him for his effort tho. He also had some connections in the area and we got our dinner which had half a lobster, a whole fish, bqqed squid and clams for each of us for a total of only Rp400k. The original price was a whopping Rp700k++. Crazy original prices, but thank goodness we got it cheap cos the seafood was fresh and so good.

All I can say is, if you're thinking of going to Bali... just go. It's a beautiful place when the sun is out and the ppl are so friendly and nice. I'd highly recommend Bili if you guys want a very experienced driver who is accommodating and speaks good english.

 

[kristina97]

Sound like a super holiday. We was also thinking of going to the Garuda Wisna thing on our last July trip, but was told by the person who arranged our tour that it's not worth in going there, so we skip.

About the Jimbaran sunset dinner, how come only half a lobster each? I remember our pre-arranged set each have a whole lobster, a whole snapper fish, a crab, some prawns, clams, squid (crispy type), vegetable, steamed rice, fruits and a freshly squeezed mango juices and each set we paid USD18 only, about Rp170K.

We was lucky to be able to catch both sunset, once in Tanah lot and once in jimbaran, I guess if your trip are properly pre-plan by experience people would save you the trouble in rushing & risking the traffic.

 

[krispy]

Gosh, your Jimbaran dinner sounds heavenly. And for that price, really worth the money. I also dunno why it's only half a lobster for each of us. We didn't have crabs as well... but the rest is the same. Btw, when were you in Bali when you had that dinner? Perhaps the prices have gone up? The place is awfully touristy tho.

 

[kristina97]

We went july this year. I recommended my cousin to the same people who arranged for us and the rate are still the same. My cousin is going end this month. Their service are friendly and warm. We also felt that the sunset in Jimbaran is much prettier than the view at Tanah lot which was like more exciting than beautiful.

 

[jaspy]

Hi Kristina,

Can u share the contact? I'll b going end Nov. Thanks in advance.

 

[kristina97]

Glad to share. I contacted them thru www.jmbali.com

 

[neuross]

Hi everybody!

I'm planning to go Bali next year for my honeymoon. Please advise if 4 days 3 nites is enough? Can anyone suggest where are the must go places in Bali? Me & my HTB prefer sightseeing & adventure/water sports. Not really into watching making of handicraft & stuff.

Do you all think that it's advisable to go on day tour during honeymoon or juz rest & relax in da villa since u paid so much for it?

 

[kristina97]

it would be very boring just to stay in the villa. Bali is a nice place to go around. Can do without the handicraft if you are not the artistic kind. There are many interesting place to visit in Bali, don't miss the water rafting at melangit, very good. you can find out more from some of Bali website

 

[pinkglove]

I just came back from a 6D5N trip and i think it's just nice.. cos some days I just wanna relax in e resort, and some days do water sports like white water rafting.. so can have a balance between both I guess, Bali's a beautiful place to go around.

Instead of day tour, I would suggest that maybe u can engage a private driver who can bring u around Bali and it'll be nice with just the both of u and u guys can stay as long as a place u wish.. and it doesn't cost much more den joining day tours...

 

[eoj]

long time no come in here already. I just came back from Bali and met some Chinese tourists that my agent friend intro to me. The couple of Chinese from China who stayed in Kuta and did not engaged any tour service, but was having some problem in communicating at the hotel, my friend was called in by the hotel to help this 2 old folks, and he bring them for lunch together with me after solving their problem.

During the lunch, we realised that the couple make some money exchange nearby the hotel vendor and even got better rate than what my friend can get on the same day. After listening to the couple about their Good Rate money exchange story, my friend asked the couple, "have you spend any of those money?", answer was "no". My friend con't "I supposed if you count them now, you probably find a few notes missing. The couple took their money out and started counting and true enough....there was 5 pieces of Rp20.000 gone short. luckily for these couple, my friend did managed to get back some Rp from the cowboy shop.

My friend had always warned about exchanging local currency in those street vendor as they always use the same trick to cheat money. He said there was even cases that a S'porean exchange usd300 and later after they left the cowboy stall and back to their hotel, they then realised that the value of local currency given to them was short with almost half of the value of usd300....usd120 gone....

better exchange your money at the exchange bank "PT. Kuta Center" or "Kodak shop" money exchange. don't get greedy when you see high offers from the display board by those cowboy shop.

this may sound like I'm trying to sell and promote for my friend, again........haha!

but for 1st timer to Bali especially, better engage a trusted agent to do all your land arrangement, you will get to visit places that you shld not miss , recommending to places with good food and reasonable price, and most of all, you know you are in good hands most freelance would not be able to give assurance if something unpleasant turns up, but certified agent do have that assurance.

 

[prodigor]

hey eoj, do you have any experience to share on trekking up volcano Batur for the sunrise?
Is the journey up and down tough?

 

[eoj]

hi prodigor, hv ever tot of doing the climb, but am lazy to wake up middle of the night for the trip. Anyway, I was told that you must either stay around kintamani and start your climb at 3am. If you stay in kuta or nusa dua, you have to start your journey as early as 1.30am. The climb will take about 2-3 hours, (I wouldn't even walk from Angmokio to orchard road). After the sunrise, you hv to make way down and take another 2-3 hrs climbing. My legs won't be able to handle that. But was told the experience up there to see the sunrise is rewarding. Also told that the trip cost quite ex.

 

[youtopia]

Hi eoj,

Please kindly send me the contact (email) of J&M Travel. Am interested in travelling to Bali with them. My email is [email protected]

Many thanks!

 

[w0nd3r]

I heard that the water sports are kinda expensive in Bali... and some areas seems more touri-sy

so choose the right hotel for that added peace!

 

[dxone]

anyone interested to go on Mt. Batur sunrise climbing trip? Heading there from kuta on 13th May 2am...can share a car there as currently only 2 of us gog.

 

[melvin73]

Hi all we are going to Bali in November 2010, 6 adults and 1 baby 1 years old. Please advise me a good agent contact there for hotel $100 per night and also transport for 3 days, my email is [email protected].

Thanks to everyone

 

[smurfy]

hi,
which beach is nice with crystal clear water in Bali?

 

[rynryn]

hi, anybody wana share driver on 8th & 9th August 2010 ?

 

[divineparadise]

Hi may I ask if eoj's agent contact is J&M Travel? Do they help in booking and sourcing for private villas?

 

[smile_lynn]

Hi,

planning to Bali for honeymoon in Nov or Dec 2010. Any good recommendation for stay & driver?

 

[liem_yuon]

hi kris

i went to bali last year , for hotel is better looking close by kuta if you like shopping,but the place to busy,easy to get restaurant. i like to stay in nusa dua.for tour i arrange billy service
.his honestly driver and good english. he always smile and enjoyed for his job. so you will have a good trip with him.his web ,www.billytransport.blogspot.com. have a good trip to bali.

 

[rocher_ho]

Hi everyone, any recommendation for reasonable villa with private pools?

Anyone brought kids along? And recommendation for kids activities?

Many thanks!

 

[kholynn82]

Hi everyone,
I went to Bali twice and have engaged the same guide both times. He speaks good english, fun-loving and i found his suggestions of places to visit useful. Prices of packages are affordable and flexible.

You can check out his website: www.cheapbalitrip.com
His name is Sopi, contact no:+6281999251516
Emial: [email protected]

The rates could be negotiated, as long as you let him know what you wish to do. He has brought us to Spa (with 40% discount) and Seafood dinner without charging me as i am 2nd time asking him to be my guide.


The 2nd time that i've been back to Bali, i tried staying in places further away from all that partying. I stayed in Nusa Dua, 3 bedroom suite. This is the website. It's fantastic and rates are reasonable. http://www.baliviewapartment.com/
The owners are friendly and made sure everything is arranged for us. There was a 8 hours free driver at our disposal, free internet and food & fruits in the kitchen.

Then i stayed at Ubud, at Alam Jiwa. http://www.alamindahbali.com/
It is around 15 mins drive from Ubud Center, shuttle services provided b/w hotel & ubud center.Complimentary breakfast and tea. It is just next to the Padi fields and 5 mins walk from the Monkey Forest.We stayed in the cendrawasih suite. 3 storeys, 2 bedrooms, 2 toilets and a fantastic dining/gathering area that faces the padi field. Staffs are very nice and attends to our needs like we are princesses!

Hope these help!!

 

[confusenism]

anyone stayed at astana before?

 

[lyne_19]

i would like to said thank,s to billi for look after my family when in bali, very kindness and always help to get cheaper price.
for guys....if you need arrange car with driver for your holidays in bali just click
www.billytransport.blogspot.com. or email ; [email protected]. he will pick you up at airport with friendly,smile and good price...