Bali Indonesia trip | 3-day itinerary

It has been a while now since our last travel abroad as a family and it happened in one of the most unexpected countries I would never expect. As usual, I was the one in charge of all of our itineraries, and again (as usual), it was a jam-packed one that made us on-the-go most of the time. Let's go? Let's!

Roemah Pohon

We went to Bali, Indonesia to see all the sights and wonders the place could offer and we unexpectedly enjoyed a lot of stuff. Well, we also experienced some not-so-good ones but it is what makes our memories quite memorable - stories below. We only stayed for 3 whole days so we needed to go efficiently fast and (Thank you, Lord!) we did it all on time. Naks!

 

 

 

DAY 1 (Hotel arrival & DIY trip)

 

 

 

Holiday Inn (Express) Baruna Bali

infinity pool

This hotel is just a 5-min. drive away from Ngurah Rai International Airport. They got all we needed for the trip and was satisfied with all the amenities they have and the services given. One of the not-so-good stories happened somewhere in between here and the airport so if you want to know the story, click the link above - name of the hotel. 

P.S. Their top floor has an infinity swimming pool with a bar and an elevated bean bag area which were really nice.

enjoying the infinity pool

Thanks to Klook, we rented a private driver [Darma] for 10 hours and visited the following places:

Water Blow at Nusa Dua

water blow at Nusa Dua

If you want to see big waves crashing to these beautifully-shaped stones right at our back, go here. It was low tide when we visited so we only saw small water sprouts at times. What we were not expecting though was the long walk going here from the parking area.

Tanah Barak

Tanah Barak

A unique spot near Pandawa beach. The area is like a big crack from a bird's eye view. An Instagram-famous place of being in between two high walls with a beach view at the back.

P.S. Can I have a copy of your shot madam? Hehe.

Uluwatu Temple & Kecak Fire Dance

Uluwatu Temple

One of the famous temples here in Bali with mountain cliff views. Monkeys are present and we were already warned in advance that they get items from tourists such as phones and eyeglasses in exchange for food. It did not hit us as much UNTIL a monkey got my mom's eyeglasses. The timing was perfect as to we were not expecting it at that moment, the monkey got it with one try, and it came from behind. I actually got it taped and if you want to see it in action, watch this Facebook Video Reel.

We later got it back but it was already semi-destroyed by the monkey. It ate and crunched some of the parts and even dismembered the glass from it. Good thing, we still got it back after all that happened and mom was able to still use it after.

got her glasses back from the monkey

P.S. I suggest keeping all valuables inside the bags here at all costs. I suddenly thought of a lot of inconvenient things that may happen such as losing my not-so-cheap eye-graded glasses or phone that will make my coming days a nightmare. Again, this happened on our first day here and it would be very inconvenient to lose something that you would use in the coming days.

By the way, wearing the Sarong here is required as respect to their temple.

wearing sarong at Uluwatu

The Kecak Fire Dance here starts at 6:00 PM and ends at 7:00 PM. The next show starts right after that making its time from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM. So that is specifically 2 shows per day for this location. 

Kecak Fire Dance

Kecak Fire Dance at night

 
 

 

 DAY 2 (EAST Nusa Penida tour)

 

 

 

We availed the East Nusa Penida tour from Klook. I was awed by one of the beaches they have here on the east side and it delivered big time. We departed from the hotel to Sanur harbor [with our driver Putu] early morning because it is around an hour-long boat ride to reach the Nusa Penida island.

boats at Sanur Harbor

fast boat to Nusa Penida

We were welcomed by our island guide [Jerry] and went straight ahead to our first itinerary: (And man, roads here are super narrow and with no fences despite the major cliff edges we were traversing)

 

Diamond beach

Diamond beach

This was the beach that I was talking about that caught my attention. So beautiful, right? This one reminds me of a scene from the movie "Wonder Woman" where Chris Pine's plane crashes into the sea then Gal Gadot starts rescuing him.

Michael at Diamond beach stairs

The path going down is very steep and has parts that you have to use a rope so be ready to those kinds of obstacles if you are planning to go here. The traffic of people also will be a factor as the staircase is very very narrow, it even has parts of being open to edges without safety so be very careful going down and also back up.

shore of Diamond beach

Waves here are so heavy and powerful that swimming is not recommended. But with the high wall and this kind of scenery below, I think it is still pretty much a must-visit because of how unique this area is.

with the brother

Our slippers even got by the tide many times even though it is already placed near the edge. If you want to see how we try to retrieve them. watch the YouTube video below.

nasi gorengs local food

We just had a quick lunch at a local food place near the area then we went straight to the next itinerary. Jam-packed it is!

Roemah Pohon

Roemah Pohon

This hut's location is perfectly placed to get that Instagrammable photo. What a view! There is also a staircase going down to get here but not as hard as the one from Diamond beach. It is also true that there are some fees just to take pictures here and the queue is long. Get ready with your patience here.

To spend time more efficiently, you can visit the Thousand Islands Viewpoint a few meters from here while waiting. It'll require an additional little climb though but it's better than simply waiting for your turn at Roemah Pohon.

Thousand Islands Viewpoint

We are getting a little dirty now, huh?! Haha! 

Teletubbies Hill

Teletubbies Hill

Capping day 2 was visiting this hill that requires no hike at all. Yey! LOL. It was on the way back to the port and a few meters walk from the road.

DAY 3 (DIY trip)

We rented a car and driver again for this day and guess what, our driver on the first day [Darma] was again assigned to us. I guess both parties were happy because of familiarity and he is such a good companion here. He had answers on where to buy good, affordable, and variety of souvenirs; He brought us to an optic shop that fixed my mother's eyeglasses; Plus he also was the one who suggested the next place we went to which was on the spot and even on the way to our first planned destination. I would really recommend Darma if you are planning to visit Bali and need such services.

Darma our Bali driver

Batuan Temple

Batuan Temple

The mother wants a picture of an iconic Bali gate to add to her photo collection of cultural gates of other countries we have been to so we did it here. Nice place, actually, not that crowded and you can take your time getting that much-wanted picture.

Again, you have to wear a Sarong upon entering its premises.

Alas Harum

inside Alas Harum

* What a nice moment to blink dad. Lol.

Aside from its popular infinity swimming pools with rice terrace views, it also has this Iconic Bali swing which our parents tried! Haha! If you want to watch their video screaming their lungs out, watch this Facebook Video Reel.

Alas Harum couple swing

We ate at Uma Ceking after roaming around the place for lunch because it took us 2 hours to get here from our hotel. Besides, more treks are coming.. 

Uma Ceking for lunch

Kanto Lampo waterfall

Kanto Lampo waterfall

A little hike from its parking area but seeing this wide waterfall in action will wipe those tired feelings away. You can actually dip here and wait for your turn to take that shot on the good spots. Well, for me, this picture below will suffice. On to the next waterfall? Let's go!

Michael at Kanto Lampo

Tegenungan waterfall

Tegenungan waterfall

One of the most popular, accessible, and commercialized waterfalls near the cities. A lot is going on here like enjoying the falls up close, following the water stream, munching some good food, dipping in an infinity pool, riding on a big swing, and more.

Michael at Tegenungan waterfall

You can even see our last destination for the day from here.

Blangsingah Glass Bridge

Blangsingah Glass Bridge

If you want something different to do here in Bali, include this in your to-visit list. I initially thought that it would be a walk in the park for me but I was wrong. We have done a glass floor at Lotte tower from our Korea trip before but this one stings almost as the same. We feel dizzy when we look below and become nervous about things that might happen that are not-so-good like slipping phones and more.

traversing the Blangsingah Glass Bridge

Unexpectedly though, this is by far the most expensive attraction we did for the whole trip. But due to the rarity of such an opportunity, we continued. Not bad for the last attraction we get to visit while here in Bali.

crossing the glass bridge with fam

Day 4 (Flight back to Manila)

Our flight back to The Philippines was again in the morning so our sleep here was limited. Good thing their airport got inclined chairs like these facing the runway making our waiting time a bit relaxing. Topped it with a frappe and it was ooh so goodie!

flight going back to Manila

And if it was not enough, I was even blessed to have no seatmates during the flight back. LOL. It was pure joy once they closed the aircraft door. Thank you, Cebu Pacific!

empty seats on the way back

Anyway, feel free to watch the video below for the video version of this trip. Hope you enjoy it. Until the next!

Watch the complete video here

If you cannot see the video above, click HERE for it