My Solo Trip to Bali Details — Itinerary and mostly everything else.

11 min readNov 20, 2022

Places, food, boat routes, and things to see

Me on Mt. Agung on Oct 31st. I turned 33 while I was on the top here.

Disclaimer: I am on able to add videos in this article(which shows the places better), so in this article, I will settle you with pictures, but the full catalogue of pictures and videos is on — https://www.instagram.com/manojsurya/ . Also, I wrote this article as a simple Iternary of places I went and avoided storytelling of each place. So if you want to know more, you can ask in the comments here or DM me on Instagram.

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I decided to go on an Internal trip this year, so I started saving up money from the start of the year.

A couple of months back, I checked Vietnam and realized it’s vast and a week won’t help. So the next best was Bali.

My Context:

I had two weeks to travel one week was a vacation and another vacation.

I also wanted to do some adventure on my bday(31st October) and I landed in Bali on the 30th afternoon.

All the trip was pretty much solo including my trek on Mt. Agung, scuba diving in Nusa Penida, Snorkeling in Gili islands and even travelling to north Bali.

Which made things a bit pricy as I wasn’t sharing the cab cost, boat cost(for Snorkeling, and trek cost(as they brought a car only for me and waited all night and even guide money directly went only from me).

Mall this because the first week I wanted to cover nature places and next week I would be in a city with good Internet.

So, I spent lavishly on adventures, and experiences and shortened travel time. And spent less on accommodation and food.

If you travel in a group, your costs will reduce and will be different.

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Basics & Planning:

Travel card:

I took the Niyo card as one of my friends suggested it. It worked perfectly. Also, I got free lounge access at the international terminal in Hyderabad (and did not get on an ICICI card as I was told it only supported domestic lounge)

Also your usual debit card Shapiro works (check if it’s international written on your card).

I haven’t compared the differences in charge so please do for yourself based on which card you use with the Niyo card.

Tickets:

I booked 1.5–2 months before. I paid to and fro 27k(including taxes). I booked it through IXIGO App and booked air Asia Airlines.

In the economy ticket, I brought I was only allowed to carry 7kg of luggage. So I weighed and took exactly that much. If you want to take more than that, the next best package is to pay 6k INR for one side.

I had a transit flight in Kaula Lumpur.

You just need to go with your passport and a digital ticket to the airport(mine is Hyderabad), they guided me to download a few apps which are needed to show on Malaysia and Bali (but none were checked).

Pre-book your accommodation at least at one place:

You also need to show a booking. I didn't know until I went to the airport so I just booked it there for a day( and cancelled as soon as I crossed the security check).

Visa On Arrival Cash:

Carry some cash (500,000 IDR) they accept USD, and a few other currencies (but not Indian), order them online or check them at the airport. I had a fire who recently went to Singapore and Bali. He had extra cash in those currencies. I took them and used them.

Food to carry(needed for vegetarians):

If you are a vegetarian carry some snacks or an energy bar. As it’s super hard to find vegetarian food in Kaula Lumpur and just when you get down in Bali.

Internet(SIM)- Telekesmol:

I took an internet package at Bali Airport. Telekesmol is the phone number and company name.

You get data + incoming SMS and incoming calls. That should do as everyone there has WhatsApp too and most tourists use it to call anyway.

Local Travel:

Muse Grab and Gojek to book rides(bike and car). But the cheapest is to rent a bike.

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Itenary:

Ubud – North Bali – Gili Air – Nusa Penida – Ulluwatu – Semniyak/Changgu – Kuta

I initially thought of scuba diving but figured they are far from the airport. I directly went to Ubud first.

I decided to be at a waterfall as that seemed to be the best option though not as adventurous.

Kuta -> Ubud:

From the airport(Kuta), I directly went to Ubud and stayed in Phostel(Hostel Name). I took a cab directly and went.

Ubud:

There is a guy who told me he can take me to Mt. Agung (or Mt Bromo, either one). It sounded perfect as I was told it was the toughest trek in Bali.

So just for me, he took 15 Lakh IDR (or Rs.7500). It won’t cost you that much if you have more people. In Klook App, I saw it starting at Rs.2500 (but it’s from the base of the hill).

From where I stayed, it was a 2-hour drive, a guide was waiting when I went there. The trek was 7–8 hours up and down if I remember well. I started at 11.30 pm in Ubud and came back the next day around 11.30 am or so.

Apart from Mt. Agung, I went to

Monkey Forest ( there is an entry fee but for the below picture, it costed me roughly 1200–1400rs)

Ridge Walk (Go to the Kastara pool below, they have an infinity pool and I missed it. I wish I didn't miss it)

Kecak Dance (must)

Saraswathi Temple

Ubud Place

Apart from Mt. Agung, all the above 5 can be done in a day as Ubud, Saraswathi temple and Kecak dance are in the same street. Go to Ridge walk in the evening or early morning as it can take a couple of hours to walk(and you don’t want to do it in the sun, won’t be fun).

Thing is, if you have more days, there is a rice terrace, multiple waterfalls and many other things you can go and do(I was short of time).

Just make sure you are always going a little far from Ubud(on bikes if possible or a car if a group). So you can see beautiful places.

Ubud -> North Bali

This is another time I spent a lot of money on a cab. I started to a waterfall in a cab (as I had fatigue still from two sleepless nights of travel and the trek), but it started raining heavily.

I asked him to take me to the topmost of the north of Bali(and checked on the Agoda App for a stay). It cost me a lot.

I did it mostly because I had a mental block to moving far and I really wanted to wash the mental block off from my head. I just felt better to travel far for no reason.

The landscape was way different in north Bali(a lot of travel on hills etc,.). but I didn’t go around.

I heard Amed has great scuba diving shops and there is a shipwreck site that you could go and see while diving underwater. Next time I plan to go there.

North Bali -> Gili Air

There is only one boat from Amed to Gili Air and it was rough Rs.1500 (and there isn’t an alternative). If I remember well, I started from Amed at 10.30–11 am around(please check for yourself when you get there). It took me an hour to reach Gili Air.

Gili Air I was told is calm and a place to chill. I walked the circumference of the island in 1 hour-ish. You could give 2–3 hours to finish all the roads on the island.

I was told Gili T is a party island and Gili Meno is small and does not have much to see.

I stayed in Nelly Holmes for Rs.1200. They were small cottages and were really good. 1 min walk to the beach. The best thing was it was next to Panchamama cafe. I totally loved all the food there. Definitely they their kombucha. That was one of the best kombuchas I had.

There was one more cafe — Flowers & Fire. It was great too.

There were a few statues underwater near Gili Meno, I went there the next day morning and in the afternoon I left from Gili Air.

I was told Blue Marine Scuba dive school is really good there but I didn’t get a chance to dive with them due to lack of time.

Gili Air -> Nusa Penida

I paid Rs.1800 (or Rs.2000) to come from Gili Air to Nusa Penida(also there is only 1 boat and no alternate).

The beaches in Nusa Penida were mesmerizing and the best beaches I have seen so far. If possible keep your stay longer here. 3–4 days if possible.

I have done my Scuba diver certification in Temple Dive and I highly recommend ‘Not diving with them. I didn’t find them professional or helpful. Find some other scuba dive schools.

I went to Crystal beach, white sand beach, broken beach, Kelingking Beach (and one more but not able to recollect the name). The white sand beach is a normal one but the rest all are great.

I stayed in Phostel there. Super helpful staff. The hostel is a little shady in the sense that less natural light in the room but it didn’t matter as I would go in the evening only anyway. I stayed for Rs.350-Rs.400 around / night.

Nusa Penida -> Uluwatu (Via Sanur port)

I went from Nusa Penida to Uluwatu through Sanur port. I stayed in RedDoorz @ Villa Krisna (I think on google it shows as Oyo Villa Krisna). It cost me Rs.1200 / night. It had a small pool and I was given a decent size cottage. It was beautiful.

I went to Padang Padang beach as I kept heard many times. It’s a small beach, hardly 200–250 meters maybe. It’s good but if you miss it, you won’t miss much.

I went to Balangan beach, it was decent.

Uluwatu -> Seminyak

After two nights, I moved to Seminyak and stayed in Gelatik Bed and Breakfast. It cost me Rs.650 or Rs.750 but it included free breakfast(fruits, omelette, coffee/tea, bread toast, jam, chocolate spread, cheese and butter spread), free washing machine usage, a swimming pool and nice staff.

I went to Seminyak beach and double six beaches (which are nearby), you can walk there for a couple of hours or more. They are good beaches.

In Canggu, I went to Canggu beach and Legian beach(If I remember correctly). They were good too.

Honestly, Seminyak has not much to see except for good food and cafes.

In Changgu I went to La Briza, & Finn’s club. I would highly recommend that you visit both. If you have more days, visit more such places. I don’t think we will find such huge parties (or peaceful) places in India.

Also try Açaí Blows wherever you could in Semniyak and Canggu, they make the best ones there.

From the place I stayed in Semniyak to any place in Canggu, it was around 30 mins, so I didn’t choose to move to Canggu as the place I stayed was good enough.

Changgu -> Kuta

I thought there would be something in Kuta to see. I was wrong, it would have been better if I stayed another day in Canggu. I stayed in the Interconnection hostel and paid roughly Rs.900 / night.

It was a decent place. One night I just walked through the streets for a couple of hours. There were a couple of malls that I went into on the way. But that is about it.