Bali, Lombok and the Gili Islands

1. Day 1: Arrive in Bali, on to Ubud

   Denpasar Airport to Ubud

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Ubud
   Day 1 details

   Your trip starts at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS) near Denpasar, where we meet you whatever time your flight lands. The drive north to Ubud is about 35 km and takes an hour to an hour and a half, past stone carvers' yards and family temples with offerings on the doorsteps. Ubud sits in the green foothills of central Bali and has long been the island's home of painting, dance and gamelan music. Your hotel is within walking distance of the royal palace and the market, your base for three nights. In the evening your guide meets everyone for a welcome dinner of Balinese dishes and talks you through the days ahead, including the early start for Mount Batur on day 3.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Denpasar Airport (DPS) at any time
   • Welcome dinner with your guide

   Free time: Free until the welcome dinner

2. Day 2: Ubud: terraces, a water temple and dance

   Tegalalang and Tirta Empul, back to Ubud

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Ubud
   Day 2 details

   We leave the hotel at about 7 am to reach the Tegalalang rice terraces while the light is soft and the paths are quiet. The terraces are watered by subak, the shared irrigation system that Balinese farmers have run through temples and village councils for about a thousand years. We walk the terrace paths and skip the paid swings that now line the valley. Next is Tirta Empul, a water temple near Tampaksiring said to date from 962, where Balinese families bathe under the spouts of its spring-fed pools to purify themselves; you can join them in a sarong if you wish. Back in Ubud the afternoon is free for the market, the Monkey Forest or a massage. After dark we go to a traditional dance performance with a live gamelan orchestra.

   Included

   • Early walk at the Tegalalang rice terraces
   • Tirta Empul temple entry, sarong included
   • Evening Balinese dance performance in Ubud

   Free time: Afternoon free in Ubud

   

3. Day 3: Sunrise on Mount Batur

   Ubud to Mount Batur and back

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Ubud
   Day 3 details

   A very early start: the van collects you at about 3 am for the hour's drive to the foot of Mount Batur, an active volcano of 1,717 metres inside a huge caldera. With head torches and a local Batur mountain guide, whose fee and climbing permit we pay, you walk up for about 2 hours on loose volcanic gravel to be at the top before sunrise. As the sky lightens, Lake Batur appears below, Mount Abang and Mount Agung rise to the east and, on clear mornings, Rinjani on Lombok shows across the sea. Breakfast is cooked in the steam vents near the crater. After the descent we soak in a natural hot spring on the shore of the lake, then drive back to Ubud by early afternoon. The rest of the day is yours to sleep or wander.

   Included

   • Mount Batur sunrise trek with a local mountain guide, permit included
   • Breakfast on the summit
   • Natural hot spring on Lake Batur

   Your choice: Sunrise trek to the summit of Mount Batur, about 2 hours up / Sunrise from the crater rim viewpoint at Kintamani, no climb Included in the price.

   Easier option: Drive to the crater rim at Kintamani instead and watch the sunrise over the lake and the volcano from a viewpoint, with breakfast, then meet the group at the hot spring.

   Free time: Afternoon free in Ubud to rest

   Activity: The climb is steep and loose underfoot, and the top is cold before dawn. Bring a warm layer and shoes with grip.

   

4. Day 4: Jatiluwih and the highlands of Munduk

   Ubud to Munduk via the Jatiluwih rice terraces

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Munduk
   Day 4 details

   After a full night's sleep we drive west for about an hour and a half to Jatiluwih, on the slopes of Mount Batukaru. Its rice terraces are part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing for Bali's subak system and are far larger and quieter than Tegalalang. We walk a loop through the paddies in the morning light, past the small shrines where farmers leave offerings to the rice goddess Dewi Sri, then sit down to lunch with a view over the terraces. In the afternoon the road climbs to Munduk, a cool highland village of clove and coffee gardens and old Dutch-era houses. A short forest walk takes us to a waterfall, and late in the day we stop on the ridge above the twin lakes of Buyan and Tamblingan.

   Included

   • Guided walk at the Jatiluwih rice terraces, entry included
   • Lunch at Jatiluwih
   • Waterfall walk in Munduk
   • Twin lakes viewpoint above Buyan and Tamblingan

   Free time: Evening free in Munduk

   

5. Day 5: Ulun Danu Beratan, then east to Sidemen

   Munduk to Sidemen via Lake Beratan and Semarapura

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Sidemen
   Day 5 details

   We leave Munduk early to be at Pura Ulun Danu Beratan when its gates open, about half an hour's drive away. The temple, founded in the 17th century, honours Dewi Danu, the goddess of the lake, and its tiered shrines seem to float on Lake Beratan at about 1,200 metres; in the still morning the water mirrors them before the tour coaches arrive. From the highlands we drive south and east across Bali for about two and a half to three hours, with a stop in Semarapura at the Kerta Gosa, the old royal hall of justice of Klungkung, whose ceilings are painted in the Kamasan wayang style with scenes of heaven and hell. We reach the Sidemen valley by mid-afternoon, with Mount Agung above the rice fields, and have dinner together tonight.

   Included

   • Pura Ulun Danu Beratan at opening, entry included
   • Kerta Gosa in Semarapura, entry included
   • Dinner in Sidemen

   Free time: Late afternoon free in Sidemen

   

6. Day 6: Sidemen: a valley walk and a cooking class

   Walks and cooking in the Sidemen valley

   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Sidemen
   Day 6 details

   Sidemen is the east Bali most visitors never see: a long green valley of rice terraces, rivers and villages under Mount Agung, at 3,031 metres the island's highest volcano and its most sacred. Early in the morning, when the summit is most often clear of cloud, a local guide walks with us along the field paths and irrigation channels, past farmers at work and family compounds. We call at a weaving house, where women make songket and ikat cloth on hand looms. Then we cook lunch with a local family: you shop for spices, grind a base paste on a stone, wrap fish or chicken in banana leaf and learn what goes into a daily offering. The afternoon is free to read on your terrace, swim or walk again in the golden light.

   Included

   • Morning walk through the Sidemen valley with a local guide
   • Visit to a weaving house
   • Balinese cooking class and lunch with a local family

   Optional experiences

   • Early trip to Pura Lempuyang and the water palace of Tirta Gangga, about an hour's drive each way. The queue for the photo at the Lempuyang gate can be long.

   Free time: Afternoon free

   

7. Day 7: Fast boat to Gili Air

   Sidemen to Padang Bai, then by fast boat to Gili Air

   • Drive about 45 min
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Gili Air
   Day 7 details

   After breakfast our own van takes you the 45 minutes down to the harbour at Padang Bai, so there is no waiting for a shared shuttle. Your guide checks the group and the luggage onto a morning fast boat we book in advance with an operator we have vetted, with seats inside a covered cabin. The crossing of the Lombok Strait takes about an hour and a half to two hours, depending on the sea and the stops at Gili Trawangan and Gili Meno. If the sea is too rough to sail, we fly you from Denpasar to Lombok instead and take a short boat to Gili Air from Bangsal. Gili Air has no cars or motorbikes, only bicycles and sandy lanes. We cycle round the island in the late afternoon and stop on the west coast for sunset, with Bali's volcanoes across the water.

   Included

   • Transfer from Sidemen to Padang Bai harbour
   • Fast boat from Padang Bai to Gili Air, luggage included
   • Porter from the Gili Air jetty to your hotel
   • Bicycle on Gili Air
   • Sunset on the west coast of Gili Air

   Free time: Evening free on Gili Air

   

8. Day 8: Turtles off Gili Meno

   Snorkel boat around the Gili Islands

   • By boat
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Gili Air
   Day 8 details

   This morning we take a boat of our own to snorkel round the three Gili Islands, with masks, fins and life jackets on board. We go mid-morning, when the sun is high enough to light the water. At Turtle Point off Gili Meno green turtles graze on the sea grass and coral in a few metres of clear water, and often swim right past you. Nearby lies Nest, a ring of life-size human figures sculpted by Jason deCaires Taylor and sunk off Gili Meno in 2017, now slowly turning into reef. A third stop is chosen by the captain on the day for the clearest water. We are back on Gili Air by early afternoon, and the rest of the day is yours: a swim off the beach, a yoga class, a nap in the shade or another bicycle ride.

   Included

   • Snorkelling boat trip round the Gili Islands, mask, fins and life jacket included
   • Turtle Point off Gili Meno
   • The Nest underwater sculptures off Gili Meno

   Optional experiences

   • Yoga class on Gili Air
   • Try-dive with a dive school

   Easier option: Stay on the boat and watch through the clear water; the turtles are often visible from the surface.

   Free time: Afternoon free on Gili Air

   

9. Day 9: To Lombok and the rice fields of Tetebatu

   Gili Air to Bangsal by boat, then to Tetebatu

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Tetebatu
   Day 9 details

   A short boat ride of about 15 minutes brings us from Gili Air to Bangsal on the Lombok mainland, where the van and driver wait. We drive about two hours, past Mataram and through the farmland of central Lombok, to Tetebatu, a village of rice fields and tobacco on the southern slopes of Mount Rinjani, at 3,726 metres the second-highest volcano in Indonesia. After lunch at the guesthouse a local guide walks with us through the paddies and into the forest, where black ebony leaf monkeys live in the trees, to a waterfall where you can cool off. Tetebatu is a farming village rather than a resort, and life here follows the rice and the mosque. We have dinner together at the guesthouse, under a sky with very little light at night.

   Included

   • Boat from Gili Air to Bangsal, luggage included
   • Lunch and dinner in Tetebatu
   • Guided rice field and forest walk to a waterfall

   Easier option: Walk the rice field paths near the village only and skip the forest section.

10. Day 10: Weavers of Pringgasela, sunset at Selong Belanak

    Tetebatu to Kuta Lombok via Pringgasela

    • Drive about 3 h
    • Breakfast
    • Stay in Kuta Lombok
    Day 10 details

    Get up early for the view: in the first light the cone of Rinjani often stands clear above the Tetebatu rice fields before the cloud builds. After breakfast we drive a short way to Pringgasela, a Sasak village known for weaving on back-strap looms, where a family shows how cotton is dyed and woven into the patterned cloth worn at ceremonies. Then we head south for about an hour and a half to Kuta Lombok, a small surf town on a coast of bays and green headlands, your base for the last two nights. Late in the afternoon we drive about 40 minutes west to Selong Belanak, a long curve of pale sand where fishermen draw up their outrigger boats. The bay faces west, so we stay until the sun goes down behind the headland.

    Included

    • Sunrise view of Rinjani from the Tetebatu rice fields
    • Visit to a weaving family in Pringgasela
    • Sunset at Selong Belanak beach

    Free time: Early afternoon free in Kuta

    

11. Day 11: South Lombok at your own pace

    Free day in Kuta Lombok

    • Breakfast and dinner
    • Stay in Kuta Lombok
    Day 11 details

    For those who want one more sunrise, your guide leads a short walk before dawn up Bukit Merese, a grassy hill about 10 minutes from Kuta, where the light comes up over the bays of Tanjung Aan and, on clear mornings, Rinjani far to the north. The rest of the day has nothing planned. Learn to surf on the gentle beginner waves at Selong Belanak, swim at Tanjung Aan, ride a bicycle along the coast road, have a massage, or simply read by the pool. Your guide can book any of these and help with lunch ideas, but there is no group programme until the evening. Tonight we meet for a farewell dinner together, with grilled fish and Sasak dishes such as ayam taliwang, the spicy grilled chicken Lombok is known for.

    Included

    • Sunrise walk up Bukit Merese with your guide
    • Farewell dinner

    Optional experiences

    • Surf lesson at Selong Belanak
    • Massage or spa treatment

    Free time: Whole day free

    

12. Day 12: Fly home from Lombok

    Kuta Lombok to Lombok International Airport

    • Drive about 30 min
    • Breakfast
    Day 12 details

    The last morning is free. Have a slow breakfast, swim once more or walk along the beach in Kuta before you pack. Lombok International Airport (LOP) at Praya is only about 30 minutes from Kuta, which makes this an easy last day, and we drive you there whatever time your flight leaves. From Lombok there are frequent flights to Denpasar and Jakarta and onward connections across Asia, so ask us if you would like help choosing a route home or a few more nights on Bali. If you want to stay longer in Kuta or go back to the Gilis on your own, we can book the extra nights and transfers for you. Your guide says goodbye at the airport.

    Included

    • Drop-off at Lombok International Airport (LOP) at any time

    Free time: Morning free

Wildlife and weather: Green turtles feed off Gili Meno most days, but we cannot promise them. Mornings on Batur are cold, often around 10 to 15 °C at the top, and the summit can be in cloud. The Lombok Strait is choppier from about July to September, when the trade winds are strongest.

• Ubud3 nights
• Munduk1 night
• Sidemen2 nights
• Gili Air2 nights
• Tetebatu1 night
• Kuta Lombok2 nights