Bali for Christmas… Seminyak based
Discussion
Realise it will probably be an Aussie back packer convention but have a couple of weeks accommodation in Seminyak from the middle of this month (there over Christmas, back just before New Year)… suggestions for activities and excursions please from those that have been. Happy to get a little off the strip and beaten track…
I went this time last year, Seminyak isnt really a backpackers destination, its pretty upmarket and family orientated. Waterbom park is a must (huge variety of slides, bars, chill out spaces restaurants pools and very well servced by attentive staff) , as is the zoo, and also get yourself over the other side of the island to the blue lagoon for snorkelling. In seminyak, go to the beach , the bars, the restaurants, the fake goods market (opposite shrimpies) is a good place to go for novelty stuff.
You would do well to get into the countryside and see the real Bali. I know a good driver who will take you everywhere you need to go in aircon comfort for reasonable rates, you can hire him all day and he will wait for you at the destination and bring you back.
Be Aware - Bali is not cheap anymore and you will get almost constant hassle from blue bird cabs and scooter taxis - dont bother with these as they are fraught with danger. also dont feel tempted to ride a scooter, the traffic has no logic and theres a lot of drunk tourists on them too I am a seasoned bike rider and even I steered well clear of that!
You would do well to get into the countryside and see the real Bali. I know a good driver who will take you everywhere you need to go in aircon comfort for reasonable rates, you can hire him all day and he will wait for you at the destination and bring you back.
Be Aware - Bali is not cheap anymore and you will get almost constant hassle from blue bird cabs and scooter taxis - dont bother with these as they are fraught with danger. also dont feel tempted to ride a scooter, the traffic has no logic and theres a lot of drunk tourists on them too I am a seasoned bike rider and even I steered well clear of that!
Horses for courses but waterparks, zoos and being driven around sounds horrific to me.
It’s been a few years since I was in Bali and many of the areas have quickly changed but the things I always liked were just jumping on a scooter and getting breakfast away from wherever you are staying; just finding a small cafe that does amazing banana bread etc. and never go to the same place more than twice.
Hire a car (or jeep) and explore the island, hike to waterfalls even if they aren’t flowing. Visit the volcano early in the morning. Bali is fine to drive/ride in, never had a problem. Malamadre does some cool bikes for hire if you’d prefer something other than a scooter. I also did a guided day long forest and beach ride on dirt bikes.
Head to the one of the many surfing spots like Uluwatu, Medewi, Nusa Dua(do a lesson?), sit and watch those guys, small laid back bars with nice music etc.
Temples. Take your pick.
Art. There was a road in near Batu Balong that had a load of galleries on, some almost warehouse sized places selling all kinds. Find something there and get it shipped home.
I didn’t step foot in a single ‘beach day club’. But well aware it’s a big attraction for some.
It’s been a few years since I was in Bali and many of the areas have quickly changed but the things I always liked were just jumping on a scooter and getting breakfast away from wherever you are staying; just finding a small cafe that does amazing banana bread etc. and never go to the same place more than twice.
Hire a car (or jeep) and explore the island, hike to waterfalls even if they aren’t flowing. Visit the volcano early in the morning. Bali is fine to drive/ride in, never had a problem. Malamadre does some cool bikes for hire if you’d prefer something other than a scooter. I also did a guided day long forest and beach ride on dirt bikes.
Head to the one of the many surfing spots like Uluwatu, Medewi, Nusa Dua(do a lesson?), sit and watch those guys, small laid back bars with nice music etc.
Temples. Take your pick.
Art. There was a road in near Batu Balong that had a load of galleries on, some almost warehouse sized places selling all kinds. Find something there and get it shipped home.
I didn’t step foot in a single ‘beach day club’. But well aware it’s a big attraction for some.
Paft Dunk said:
Horses for courses but waterparks, zoos and being driven around sounds horrific to me.
It’s been a few years since I was in Bali and many of the areas have quickly changed but the things I always liked were just jumping on a scooter and getting breakfast away from wherever you are staying; just finding a small cafe that does amazing banana bread etc. and never go to the same place more than twice.
Hire a car (or jeep) and explore the island, hike to waterfalls even if they aren’t flowing. Visit the volcano early in the morning. Bali is fine to drive/ride in, never had a problem. Malamadre does some cool bikes for hire if you’d prefer something other than a scooter. I also did a guided day long forest and beach ride on dirt bikes.
Head to the one of the many surfing spots like Uluwatu, Medewi, Nusa Dua(do a lesson?), sit and watch those guys, small laid back bars with nice music etc.
Temples. Take your pick.
Art. There was a road in near Batu Balong that had a load of galleries on, some almost warehouse sized places selling all kinds. Find something there and get it shipped home.
I didn’t step foot in a single ‘beach day club’. But well aware it’s a big attraction for some.
Man after my own heart. We did a luxury holiday with secret escapes. 4 very upmarket hotels with rip of prices once there. Hired a scooter near each one (one was even delivered!) and got away every day and discovered the island and its great food and bars, waterfalls, etc. Even rode over the top of the mountain (not for the feeble!.- and only noticed after the rental company said dont, its too dangerous).It’s been a few years since I was in Bali and many of the areas have quickly changed but the things I always liked were just jumping on a scooter and getting breakfast away from wherever you are staying; just finding a small cafe that does amazing banana bread etc. and never go to the same place more than twice.
Hire a car (or jeep) and explore the island, hike to waterfalls even if they aren’t flowing. Visit the volcano early in the morning. Bali is fine to drive/ride in, never had a problem. Malamadre does some cool bikes for hire if you’d prefer something other than a scooter. I also did a guided day long forest and beach ride on dirt bikes.
Head to the one of the many surfing spots like Uluwatu, Medewi, Nusa Dua(do a lesson?), sit and watch those guys, small laid back bars with nice music etc.
Temples. Take your pick.
Art. There was a road in near Batu Balong that had a load of galleries on, some almost warehouse sized places selling all kinds. Find something there and get it shipped home.
I didn’t step foot in a single ‘beach day club’. But well aware it’s a big attraction for some.
Riding was lovely. Only real point of caution is the main roads and traffic lights ( and I mean main, as in 6 lane jobbies). People run the lights at NSL+ speeds. Check, amd check again before advancing, or just avoid, but one hotel was on one of these so we had no choice.
Pupp said:
Thanks for taking the time to post; good insight and appreciated. I’m also a fairly seasoned biker/cyclist but think 2 wheels will be out.
Any more for anymore?
No worries - the traffic on the main roads in and around Seminyak is ridiculous nowadays. any notion of jumping on a scooter and zinging off into the countryside for breakfast (LOL) in a manner akin to the back roads of Wales on a midweek morning is a long forgotten dream.Any more for anymore?
Bali needs to sort out its roads and infrastructure, traffic on the roads is mental and then they start using the pavement as a road extension which is mental.
Enjoy your trip, get out to the countryside by whatever means and I mean what I say you will enjoy the waterpark if you go - seems theres a few "old" people on here that are too chicken to go on the slides and have a bit of fun before they die.
Well, leave this morning after a couple of interesting weeks… the advice up-thread was spot on; I’ll add:
Traffic congestion - unless very early morning, getting anywhere around the Seminyak and Denpasar area is gruelling. I used the Indonesian/Asian ‘Grab’ app to find rides and it worked well/was cost-effective but traffic volumes are painful. Walked an awful lot!
Got to Ulawatu temple, Tanah Lot, Ubud, Sanur, Nusadua, and did the sunrise on Mt Batur Jeep trip… all different, all enjoyed.
Was disappointed with the sheer quantity of rubbish on the west side beaches… scary scary volumes of plastic and driftwood (big sawn logs as well as brash and obvious windfalls)… think most of this is rainy season related or ship-tossed waste washing up but Legian and Kuta especially were being cleared every day with earth moving machines, with tonnes and tonnes of waste being scraped up. Heartbreaking as the coastline is fundamentally gorgeous and the sunsets incredible. I gather the issue is somewhat seasonal but clearly a huge problem and I dread to think where the waste ends up.
Nusadua and Sanur were immeasurably cleaner in comparison, but far more ‘sterile’ as very resort focused.
The surf ‘culture’ as Seminyak heads toward Kuta is just obnoxious; a complete blight. Think the tackier aspects of Newquay with mosquitos.
Talking of which; forget any UK sourced repellant… I brought Jungle Formula with me. It was useless and I got bitten to hell on my first day… the locals use a brand called Sofell as much as anything (cheap in every supermarket); that seemed to work well but is a pain to anoint yourself with every few hours and does weird things to some plastics apparently so handle carefully.
Taxi/Gojek bike hassle… man, this is a pain. Really tedious… sent one scooter packing and the one immediately behind, who must have seen me wave away his chum, then tried it on. I asked, ‘why, when you’ve seen I’m not interested?’ His answer was ‘but I have girls too…’ Vermin
Then the dodgy massage crew… everywhere.
Food generally was good… I used Kilo Kitchen in Seminyak a few times; really world class menu.
I did have one bout of Bali Belly but it passed within 2 days thankfully; that I attribute to a particular beach side place at Legian.
Glad I came? Yes (would have loved to have seen 150 years ago)
Keen to return? Not really
Got me thinking? For sure
Traffic congestion - unless very early morning, getting anywhere around the Seminyak and Denpasar area is gruelling. I used the Indonesian/Asian ‘Grab’ app to find rides and it worked well/was cost-effective but traffic volumes are painful. Walked an awful lot!
Got to Ulawatu temple, Tanah Lot, Ubud, Sanur, Nusadua, and did the sunrise on Mt Batur Jeep trip… all different, all enjoyed.
Was disappointed with the sheer quantity of rubbish on the west side beaches… scary scary volumes of plastic and driftwood (big sawn logs as well as brash and obvious windfalls)… think most of this is rainy season related or ship-tossed waste washing up but Legian and Kuta especially were being cleared every day with earth moving machines, with tonnes and tonnes of waste being scraped up. Heartbreaking as the coastline is fundamentally gorgeous and the sunsets incredible. I gather the issue is somewhat seasonal but clearly a huge problem and I dread to think where the waste ends up.
Nusadua and Sanur were immeasurably cleaner in comparison, but far more ‘sterile’ as very resort focused.
The surf ‘culture’ as Seminyak heads toward Kuta is just obnoxious; a complete blight. Think the tackier aspects of Newquay with mosquitos.
Talking of which; forget any UK sourced repellant… I brought Jungle Formula with me. It was useless and I got bitten to hell on my first day… the locals use a brand called Sofell as much as anything (cheap in every supermarket); that seemed to work well but is a pain to anoint yourself with every few hours and does weird things to some plastics apparently so handle carefully.
Taxi/Gojek bike hassle… man, this is a pain. Really tedious… sent one scooter packing and the one immediately behind, who must have seen me wave away his chum, then tried it on. I asked, ‘why, when you’ve seen I’m not interested?’ His answer was ‘but I have girls too…’ Vermin
Then the dodgy massage crew… everywhere.
Food generally was good… I used Kilo Kitchen in Seminyak a few times; really world class menu.
I did have one bout of Bali Belly but it passed within 2 days thankfully; that I attribute to a particular beach side place at Legian.
Glad I came? Yes (would have loved to have seen 150 years ago)
Keen to return? Not really
Got me thinking? For sure
thole status on it as a place, unfortunately.Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff