Planning a trip to Bali, Indonesia and wondering what cities you should visit? I am here to do the research and give you my personal recommendations to make your planning process easier.

I recently went to Bali, Indonesia for two weeks in June of 2023. When planning my trip, I considered numerous cities in the Bali region. I considered places like Ubud, Seminyak, Canggu, Uluwatu, Kuta, Jimbaran, and several smaller islands along the coast. I knew that I wanted my trip to be a mix of adventure and relaxation. After hearing others’ opinions of the cities, doing research on what to do in each city, and taking the distance between each destination into account, I was able to choose which cities I would travel to.

Destinations

My trip was memorable and incredible! I ended up choosing to spend time and travel in: Canggu, Ubud, Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Penida, and Nusa Ceningan.

My Bali Itinerary

If you are curious how much time you should spend in each spot, I will provide my itinerary for your reference. I was content with the amount of time I spent in each location. The itinerary below does not include my long travel days from the United States.

• Kuta – 1 night
• Canggu – 4 days/3 nights
• Ubud – 6 days/6 nights
• Nusa Lembongan – 3 nights
• Nusa Ceningan – 1 day trip
• Nusa Penida – 1 day trip

Information

Kuta was not a city on my list to sightsee, but I did spend one night here when I first arrived, so I included it in my itinerary for you to see. I will say that Kuta is a great place to spend the night after a late arrival in the airport because of its close proximity. I arrived into the DPS airport around midnight and was able to be picked up by a Marriott shuttle bus and spend the night in a hotel in Kuta.

Besides this one night, you can see that I spent the most time in Ubud. Ubud is the popular center or Bali with numerous activities and excursions to keep you busy. I spent half of my time in Ubud in an airbnb that was walking distance to most of the attractions. Then, for the other half of my time in Ubud, I stayed in a more luxurious airbnb where I spent the majority of those days relaxing.

Also, while visiting the islands (Nusa Lembongan, Ceningan, and Penida), I stayed in one airbnb in Nusa Lembongan. From there, I took day trips to Nusa Ceningan and Nusa Penida. Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan are connected by a yellow bridge, so you can drive between the islands to explore. To get to Nusa Penida though, you will need to take a boat or ferry. If you are staying on Nusa Lembongan, you can find a small hut that takes care of the boat tickets right before the yellow bridge that leads to Nusa Ceningan.

Personal Opinions on Bali

Personally, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan were my favorite part of the trip. I love the island life, and it was so fun exploring the islands along the coast by motor bike.

Ubud is right up there as well though. I made numerous incredible memories in Ubud and have some fantastic pictures to prove it. I have so many recommendations on what to do in Ubud, so keep an eye out for that blog post which is coming soon!

Nusa Penida is also stunning. My favorite spot was Kelingking Beach. I am glad I only did a day trip here though. If you do a day trip here as well, I recommend you book a private driver for the day. It is pretty common in Bali to book a private driver for the whole day, and just for about $40 (USD) you can have the driver take you wherever you want to go. The roads are not in great condition in Nusa Penida and the roads are windy, so I am glad we did not rent a motor scooter for this day. I booked our private taxi through a company called Klook. I will attach the link to their website here if you decide to go this route as well.

Canggu is a fairly popular beach spot, but I would have to say Canggu was my least favorite place. I still enjoyed my time here and found some great cafes, but I don’t think the beaches or restaurants were super special.

Conclusion

Bali was amazing and so affordable! Indonesia was my first country in Asia, and I am so thankful for this experience! If you are planning your trip to Bali, get ready to make some incredible memories and take lots of jaw dropping photos. Also, stay tuned for my blog posts that will highlight what to do in each location!

And, in the mean time, check out my destinations tab for all my other blog posts. Thanks for stopping by. Cheers to planning new trips and making connections around the world!