Indonesia is a BEAUTIFUL country filled with gorgeous beaches, lush forests, and out-of-this-world landmarks. I would recommend this destination for anyone who loves to spend their vacations doing active excursions in beautiful places.
This itinerary is jam-packed with activities, not staying in any destination for longer than 3 days. If you would like to slow it down and spend more time at each place, or if you have less than 2 weeks, I would recommend for you to choose your favorite days/locations and skip the rest!
Itinerary
Day 1 – 3: Ubud, Bali
TRANSPORTATION
We will be going to a lot of destinations around Bali, and the cheapest option to get around in a group is to hire a private driver for the day. We booked this option on Klook, who then outsources the job to a local driving company, and they connect you with the driver the day before your reservation. We were able to book a driver for anywhere between 6 and 12 hours, and it was the most convenient way to get around.
If you don’t think you will be hopping around that much to require a driver for the day, you can use Grab (which is just like Uber) to get you from place to place.
Day 1: Arrive in Bali & Monkey Forest Sanctuary
On our first day, we arrived in the afternoon and went straight to our Airbnb to drop off our bags and head to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. There is a small ticket fee to enter the forest, and then you guide yourself through the forest. There are hundreds of monkeys in the forest, so you will be sure to see at least a few dozen.
TAYLOR’S TIP: The monkeys are wild animals, so please do not get too close to them and risk them seeing you as a threat to protect themselves from.
After our walk through the sanctuary, we grabbed dinner within walking distance and treated ourselves to a local massage after our 20+ hour flight!
Day 2: Tegalalang Rice Terrace & ATV Quad Bikes
Itinerary for the Day
9 AM – 12 PM: Tegalalang Rice Terrace & Jungle Swing
12 – 2 PM: Lunch
2 – 3 PM: Drive to ATV Meeting Point
3 – 5 PM: ATV Quad Bike Through Tunnel & Waterfall Excursion
5 – 6 PM: Shower
6 – 8 PM: Massage @ Airbnb Villa
8 – 10 PM: Dinner @ Airbnb Villa
We started our morning by driving to the Tegalalang Rice Terrace & Jungle Swing, where you can find those iconic swings with the long dresses (that you can rent here) that you see all over Instagram. There is a small fee to get into the rice terraces, and then additional costs to go on the swings, bikes, or zip lines.
After eating lunch in the area, we went on an ATV tour straight out of Temple Run. The experience was so fun, and the views were so pretty! One of the coolest parts was being able to drive under a waterfall, and my favorite parts were driving through caves that made the experience feel like I was in an Indiana Jones movie. The tour also came with GoPro videos and photos, making this experience top-notch and extremely worth the money. The last time I went ATV-ing was in upstate New York, and it was $200 and not nearly as cool.
Day 3: Tukad Cepung Waterfall, Temples, & Campuhan Ridge Walk
Itinerary for the Day
9 – 11 AM: Tukad Cepung Waterfall
11:30 AM – 1 PM: Lunch @ Mahagiri Panoramic Resort & Restaurant
1 – 1:30 PM: Drive
1:30 – 3:30 PM: Besakih Great Temple
3:30 – 5 PM: Drive
5 – 7 PM: Campuhan Ridge Walk
7 – 9 PM: Dinner
Now that we have recovered from the jet lag, we will be waking up bright and early to drive to the Tukad Cepung Waterfall. This waterfall was my second favorite of the trip! The trek to the waterfall is easy, but you do have to get your feet wet to reach this beautiful waterfall cascading in a cave. The access fee was only $1, and the view was amazing.
After Tukad Cepung, we got lunch at Mahagiri Panoramic Resort & Restaurant, which serves buffet-style Indonesian food with a stunning view of the rice paddies below. 10/10 would recommend.
Following lunch, we went to the Besakih Great Temple, which is the largest and holiest temple in Balinese Hinduism. We were grateful that we were able to see it but likely would not do it again as it felt more like a tourist trap than anything.
TAYLOR’S TIP: After taking the shuttle to the top of the temple, you might be bombarded with people handing you bags and tying ribbons on your wrists, saying you need to pay for what they are giving you to pray. This is not true and a scam that we fell for under the pressure of so many people.
Other temples that you could see instead are Pura Lempuyang Luhur Temple, Tirta Gangga Temple, Elephant Cave, or Ubud Water Palace.
Finally, we ended the day with a walk on Campuhan Ridge, a scenic and easy 2.3-mile trail with lush greenery and iconic drop-off cliffs.
Day 4 – 6: Seminyak, Bali
Transportation
Similar to Ubud, the cheapest option to get around Seminyak in a group is to hire a private driver for the day. We booked this option on Klook, who then outsources the job to a local driving company, and they connect you with the driver the day before your reservation. We were able to book a driver for anywhere between 6 and 12 hours, and it was the most convenient way to get around.
If you don’t think you will be hopping around that much to require a driver for the day, you can use Grab (which is just like Uber) to get you from place to place.
Day 4: Cooking or Silver Jewelry Making Class
Itinerary for the Day
8 AM – 1 PM: Cooking Class or Jewelry Making Class
1 – 2:30 PM: Drive to Seminyak Airbnb
3 PM: Check-In at Airbnb
4 – 7 PM: Seminyak Beach & Watch the Sunset
7 – 9 PM: Dinner
10 PM – End of Night: Atlas Nightclub
On Day 4, we will leave our Ubud Airbnb in the morning and drive straight to our excursion for the day. When I went with my family, we had a big group of 14 people, so we decided to split up for the day to do the excursion we wanted to do most!
I went to Ketut’s Cooking Class because I love to cook! We each made 5 dishes and 3 sauces, so it was an absolute feast! My favorite part was using the giant mortar and pestle to make the curry sauce or being able to cook and not have to clean anything for once. Our teacher was so funny, the kitchen set up was outdoors, and it was one of the best meals we ate all trip!
The other half of the group went to a Silver Jewelry Making Class, where they were able to form their rings by hand. According to my sisters, the teachers were amazing in helping them achieve the designs they wanted to do. It took a lot of work and a lot of time, but it is their most treasured souvenir! They said they would love to do it again, as there is no other place where you could have an experience like this for such a cheap price.
After our respective classes, we drove to our next Airbnb and settled in, got dinner, and headed out to Atlas for some nightlife!
TAYLOR’S TIP: Grab Bikes are SO FUN, and I would Grab Bike everywhere if I could. Each ride was exciting and is a super affordable way to travel if you are alone.
Day 5: Beach Club Day & Kecak Fire Dance
Itinerary for the Day
10 AM – 4 PM: Sunday’s Beach Club
4 – 4:30 PM: Drive
4:30 – 6 PM: Uluwatu Temple for Sunset
6 – 7 PM: Kecak Fire Dance
7 – 9 PM: Dinner
Today is our day to relax on one of the many beautiful beaches in Bali! We decided to go to Sunday’s Beach Club to have access to a more private beach with fewer people. Sunday’s beach club was around $40 when we went, and in return, we got $25 worth of food credit and had access to use their clear-bottom kayaks, paddleboards, or snorkels.
TAYLOR’S TIP: Arrive early to Sunday’s Beach Club to minimize the wait for a bean bag on the beach.
Later in the day, we headed out to Uluwatu Temple to watch the Kecak Fire Dance at sunset. The show was a Balinese cultural performance that was so cool to watch, and the sunset just made it more beautiful.
TAYLOR’S TIP: The QR code you get from buying your tickets online in advance still has to be redeemed for a physical ticket. Try to do this early, before the crowd rushes in near showtime.
Day 6: Nusa Penida Private Boat Tour
As such a large group, we booked two small boats to go to Nusa Penida! The experience felt luxurious and was at such an affordable price. This tour company has multiple tour options to choose from, we chose the tour that included snorkeling at Crystal Bay, Gamat Bay, Kelingking Cliff, and Broken Beach. You are able to jump off the roof of the boat or just relax on the faux grass rooftop!
TAYLOR’S TIP: Choose to go to lunch at Amarta Penida, where they have very similar gates to the iconic ones that are found at Pura Lempuyang Luhur Temple.
The gates at Amarta Penida are obviously smaller, and the mountain in the background isn’t as large, but for not having to climb 2,000 steps and wait 2 hours for a photo, I think this is a valid dupe for a photo. They also have double-layered pools with gorgeous views of the ocean.
Day 7: Swimming With Dolphins in Lovina & Aling Aling Waterfall Slide
Itinerary for the Day
6:30 – 9:30 AM: Lovina Dolphin Tour
10 – 11 AM: Brunch
11 – 3 PM: Aling Aling Waterfall Slide
3 – 5 PM: Drive back to Airbnb/Hotel
5 – 6 PM: Shopping in Canggu
6 – 8 PM: Dinner
Last day best day for Bali, this was my absolute favorite day where all throughout the day, I kept saying to my family, “Wow, today was such an amazing day.”
We started bright and early at 4:30 AM to get to Lovina in time for our 6:30 AM tour to swim with dolphins! For some reason, dolphins absolutely love the beach here, and they travel in huge pods, swimming with the boats. We take turns jumping into the water, holding onto rods on the side of the boat, and then the captain of the boat drives us at full speed to keep up with the dolphins swimming below us. It was an amazing experience seeing more than a dozen dolphins all at once. This is as close as you can get to swimming with dolphins in the wild!
After our tour, we worked up an appetite and got lunch nearby before heading to the Aling Aling Waterfall Slide. There is around a $15 fee to enter and have a guide safely bring you to the waterfalls and down the slides. We had opportunities to jump off 3, 5, and 10-meter high cliffs and slide straight down 2 slides also 10 meters tall. This experience felt more like a hidden gem because there weren’t many people there, and I would 100% recommend.
Day 8 – 9: East Java
Hotel Accommodation: Grand Mercure Malang Mirama
We stayed at the 5 star hotel Grand Mercure Malang Mirama for only $75 per room per night! This hotel had 5-star service, and my favorite part was the wide water slide into the pool. There weren’t many hotel options in Malang, so choosing this high-quality hotel at this affordable price was an easy pick for us. 10/10 would recommend!
Day 8: Flying to East Java & Tumpak Sewu Waterfall
Today, we are flying to East Java, specifically to Surabaya! However, our stay will be in Malaga, so you have to book a driver to drive you the 2 hours from Surabaya to Malaga. If you booked an early enough flight, you should 100% check out Tumpak Sewu Waterfall, often referred to as the most beautiful waterfall in Indonesia. Our flight got in the afternoon so we were unable to see it but I wish we could’ve! Instead, we again got an amazing massage at Havana Spa, it was our favorite spa that we went to and the only one we remember by name.
Day 9: Mount Bromo & Jodipan Village
Itinerary for the Day
1 AM – 1 PM: Mount Bromo at Sunrise Tour
1 – 2:30 PM: Lunch
2:30 PM – 5 PM: Jodipan Village & Blue Village
6 – 8 PM: Dinner
Make sure to sleep early the night before because today we are waking up bright and early at 1 AM to go to see the sunrise at Mount Bromo.
TAYLOR’S TIP: IF you think you can sleep on the 3-hour drive on the way to Mount Bromo, you can’t. LOL. Sleep early!
The first hour is a drive in a normal car on regular roads, but then you switch over to open-window jeeps with skinny benches going uphill on gravel. It is nearly impossible to sleep on this section of the ride. Our tour guides took us up to the over 7,000′ elevation point to be above the clouds and Mount Bromo before sunrise. The tour we went on was so much cheaper than other tours found on Viator and GetYourGuide, so I was concerned about the quality when we booked it, however, the tour was amazing and ultimately a great deal! It was not for the faint of heart, but it was such a unique experience and one of my favorite excursions we booked.
In addition to seeing Mount Bromo at sunrise, we were also taken out on 4WD jeep rides in the sands of Mount Penanjakan, where we got to take some epic photos in the beautiful valleys. There was an optional hike as well to go up to the opening of Mount Bromo Crater if you still have energy left!
After our sunrise tour, we ate lunch nearby, and you can either take a nap or head straight to Jodipan Village & Blue Village! These are colorful homes that were at risk of being demolished, so to raise money, they painted all of their homes in bright colors to attract tourists to visit. There is a small fee to walk through these colorful villages with creative upcycled art throughout. Jodipan village had more to see, but I would also recommend visiting Blue Village if you have the time since you are in the area already.
Day 10 – 11: Lombok
Transportation
Similar to Bali, the cheapest option to get around in a group is to hire a private driver for the day. We booked this option on Klook, who then outsources the job to a local driving company, and they connect you with the driver the day before your reservation.
If you don’t think you will be hopping around that much to require a driver for the day, you can use Grab (which is just like Uber) to get you from place to place, but since Lombok is more of a rural island, I would say that booking a driver for the day is a more convenient route.
Day 10: Fly into Lombok & Beach
Today is a travel day, so we will be flying from East Java to Lombok, settling into our Airbnb/hotel, and hitting the beach! I would recommend going to one nearby your Airbnb/hotel, Mawun Beach or Selong Belanak Beach.
Day 11: Benang Stokel and Benang Kelambu Waterfall & Bukit Merese
Itinerary for the Day
9 AM – 12 PM: Benang Stokel & Benang Kelambu Waterfall
12 – 1:30: Drive back South
1:30 – 3 PM: Lunch
3 – 5 PM: Beach
5 – 6 PM: Bukit Merese for Sunset
6 – 8 PM: Dinner
On day 11 we will be going to one of the most gorgeous waterfalls, Benang Kelambu. This waterfall is at the same location as Benang Stokel, so you can see both!
TAYLOR’S TIP: As a woman, to go into the water, you either have to wear clothes that modestly cover your body, or you can rent a sarong that they will put on for you.
We went for this option since we only had our regular summer clothes and swimsuits underneath. The water felt nice and cool, and climbing the rocks to stand under the cascading waterfalls felt like a movie!
After spending most of the day at the waterfalls, we ate lunch and headed to Tanjung Aan Beach. Our experience was that the beach was unfortunately really polluted and we would not recommend to visit. A silver lining is that this beach is only a walk away from Bukit Merese, an easy-to-walk uphill that has drop-off cliff views of the water, making it a perfect spot to see the sunset. This was a very popular spot, with groups and couples all sitting to watch the sunset.
Day 12 – 14: Gili Islands
Hotel Accommodation: Hotel Lumi
In Gili Trawagan, there are dozens of hotels to choose from on this small island, and we chose Hotel Lumi for its affordable price and beautiful amenities. The hotel is further from the main strip of restaurants and hotels, but because of this, they had a large pool area secluded from the busy street! They have a long infinity pool with super cute floating bean bags, only 100 feet from the beach, making a picturesque setting for relaxing. The best part was that the hotel had free breakfast, and the breakfast was AMAZING. In addition to a buffet of fresh pastries, you were able to order from a menu of set breakfast items with both Indonesian and Western dishes that were super delicious every time.
Transportation
There are 3 ways to get around the small island:
- Walk – Free
- Bike – Hotel has free ones to use or you can rent
- Horse Carriage – Around $15 one way from Hotel Lumi to the main street for 3 people. We tried to use this option minimally, only for when we originally got there and had so much luggage, and for when we were out late and didn’t want to walk back in the dark.
How to Get to Gili T from Lombok
To get to Gili Trawangan from Lombok, there is a cheap, 30-minute-long public ferry from Bangsal. Ferries depart at irregular intervals based on when the boat is full, from 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM.
TAYLOR’S TIP: Only buy tickets from the public ticket counter at the port! Any other option will be significantly more expensive when you can just buy directly and on the spot at the ferry port.
Day 12: Travel to Gili Trawangan & Relax at the Hotel
We chose to stay at Gili Trawangan out of the three Gili Islands since it was the largest and had the most options for things to do! When you get to Gili T, there are no motorized vehicles, meaning you can only get around by walking, biking, or horse carriage if needed. We stayed at a hotel on the other side of the island from the main strip of restaurants and stores, so we used the free bikes from our hotel during the day and the horse carriages at night.
We stayed at the hotel’s beach until sunset, then cleaned up and headed to the Gili Trawagan Night Market for dinner!
Day 13: Gili Islands Snorkeling Tour & Horseback Riding on the Beach
Itinerary for the Day
8:30 AM -12:30 PM: Gili Islands Snorkeling Tour
12:30 – 2:30 PM: Lunch
2:30 – 5 PM: Relax at the Beach
5 – 6 PM: Stud Horseback Riding at Sunset
6 – 8 PM: Dinner
10 PM – End of Night: Gili T Bar Hopping
Day 13 is an excursion day! We start with a snorkeling tour in the waters around Gili Meno, Gili Air, and Gili Trawangan. This snorkeling tour was amazing, the water was super clear and we saw tons of turtles, fish, and beautiful coral! We also saw the iconic statue of people underwater near Gili Meno.
TAYLOR’S TIP: This is a very popular tour that is offered so we chose the earliest tour possible to have a bit less of a crowd at the Gili Meno statues.
After our tour we had lunch and freshened up at the hotel to get ready for our horseback riding tour on the beach with Stud Horseback Riding. We had to make our reservation through WhatsApp and paid in cash when we got there. This company had a max weight limit for horseback riding, and offered walking ponies on the beach as an alternative way to hang out with the animals.
Finally, at night, we headed out for some nightlife. Gili T is known for attracting backpackers, so there were tons of bars for us to hop around to!
Day 14: Head Back Home 🙁
On the last day, we will return to Bali to fly home. There are multiple ways to do this; we chose to take a speedboat to Bali from Padangbai, and although it was cheap (~$50), it was ROUGH. I never get seasick, and even I had to close my eyes to try and make the time pass by. The boat was also extremely hot since there was no AC and the windows had to stay closed to not let water splash the passengers inside.
An alternate option is taking the public ferry back to Lombok and then either take the ferry or fly out of Lombok to Bali. Depending on your time and money constraints, you can plan whichever route makes the most sense to you.
General Tips
Restaurants
Bali:
Bebek Joni: Known for their duck, almost all of us got the fried duck and we liked it! The restaurant is definitely meant more for tourists, but it was still pretty and yummy nonetheless, 8/10.
Bebek Teba Sari: Duck is my favorite protein so I got duck again LOL and it was a great meal as well, 8/10.
Warung Bernadette: This cute restaurant had authentic and delicious Indonesian food and yummy drinks. This was a popular restaurant with a wait and we totally understood why, 10/10!
East Java:
OURA – Cafe & Restaurant: The perfect spot for lunch, they had such a cute atmosphere and a yummy case of desserts! They had both Indonesian and Western food options, satisfying some of the cravings of the few in our group who missed food from home. 8/10!
Lombok:
Pronto Pizza: We started to get the cravings for food that was not Indonesian so this wood fired pizza that delivered really hit the spot, 9/10!
Packing Check List