Bali Top 10 Must-Do Activities – Whenever sun-starved travellers think of a beach vacation, someone is bound to throw a vote for Bali like it’s a reflex. What is it about this island, amongst the 17,000 in the Indonesian archipelago that keeps us coming back for more?
Considering Bali is known to be the ‘Island of Gods’, perhaps the mystique does work its magic. But if you were to define Bali by what you can do by the beaches and the kinds of massage treatments you can sink into, you might be missing the real Bali. Here, we introduce ten of the top Bali vaycay activities in which, by the end of it, you’d be telling your friends ‘Life’s more than a beach’.
ATV Ride
The undisturbed landscape to the north of Ubud makes excellent terrains for ATV riding. Before you tour the rural plains and conquer jungle tracks like a motor head on the loose, the guides will familiarise you with the workings of the vehicle. With the ATV – or the Bali Quad as it is called – you’re not exactly bound by conventional traffic rules, so feel free to race your pals to the finish.
Bali Seawalker
Submerge yourself underwater and interact with marine life – all without the hassle of cumbersome diving gear. The marine walk starts by equipping you with a special, cocoon-like helmet that ensures a constant supply of oxygen, and keeps you dry from the neck up. It doesn’t matter if you have zero diving experience or if you wear contact lens, the helmet has you covered. The Bali Seawalker tour takes place at two venues: Sanur and Tanjong Benoa.
The way we see it, this is the sweet spot between being a visitor at a sea aquarium and actual diving.
Bike through rice padi fields
To see that real side of Bali we’ve been advocating, book a bicycle tour to peddle down the grand, rolling fields known as the Tegalalang Rice Terraces, a UNESCO world heritage site. The tour doesn’t only immerse you in the pureness and simplicity of the rural Bali culture, it has a way of providing full-on respite to the urban madness we have been so used to living.
Hotel transfer and traditional lunch are usually included as part of the cycling package.
Hike Mount Batur
This is for sure a must-do activity in Bali, although you would have to sacrifice some sleep for this! Making a trek up an active volcano to witness the spectacular sunrise promises complete bucket-list worthiness. The big ascent to the crater rim takes three hours or more, depending on your fitness level and extent of sleep deprivation. Once you get there, brace yourself to be overwhelmed by the orange dawning above you and the surreal views beneath your feet.
Flyboarding in Nusa Dua
Bali Top 10 Must-Do Activities
Everyone knows surfing is the de facto water sport in Bali, but not everyone knows Flyboarding is the new exciting water sport that is making surfing seem like a breezy stroll in the park. As you could probably tell from its name, Flyboarding incorporates elements of wakeboarding and flying to give you a five-minute taste of a day in the life of Aquaman. You will be strapped to a wakeboard that is connected to a jet ski via a large tube, which catapults you up to 10-meters in the air using high-pressure water jets.
Café hopping
Tired of the pot boiled coffee at your hotel’s breakfast reception? It’s not too latte to step out and explore the streets, where it is impossible to turn a blind eye to the myriad of cafés calling out to you. But wait, there’s more. Over at some cycling tours, you get to go down the traditional route and sample cat poo coffee at a luwak tasting session. There’s so much coffee to go around you might just be kept up all day and all night on caffeine adrenaline. Which is perfectly fine, because you can take the opportunity to indulge in Bali’s amazing nightlife.
Nightlife
The after dark entertainment in Bali is diverse as much as it is intoxicating. Anywhere you go, be it the ubiquitous beach bars or the mega clubs in hotels, you are promised a visual treat of good lookers grooving to DJ beats till the sun comes up. Arguably the main draw of the Balinese nightlife, high profile beach clubs like Potato Head and KU DE TA set the stage for ocean front partying and cocktail swigging. You’ll be left with very sore feet and throats, but you definitely won’t be left sorely disappointed.
Spa Yourself Silly
Well, here we are at SPA. The must-do of must-dos. In Bali there is a mind-boggling array of spa options available at your disposal; chances are your hotel already houses one of those dim, aromatherapeutic spas and you don’t have to venture very far from your room. But from the value-for-money rubdowns to to the exquisite villa treatments with ocean views, it’d be very foolish not to book one massage (or two) a day. Depending on where you go, some outfits come with juice bars and beauty services such as mani-pedi and waxing to go, with the usual Balinese full body massage or foot reflexology.
Waterbom Bali
Bali may be crazy chill, but there is a facet to the island that is simply just crazy. At Waterbom, there are 17 gravity defying slides and games snaking all over the 3.8Ha water theme park; from the meeker ‘Funtastic’ playground and ‘Flow Rider Double’ to the extreme ‘Smashdown 2.0’ and ‘Climax’ drop down, adult and children alike are guaranteed a wild and wet ride over here.
Uluwatu Temple
Bali Top 10 Must-Do Activities
Under the veneer of Bali lies a strong belief in the spiritual, which explains the prevalence of worship grounds across the island. Some of these temples, like the Uluwatu Temple, have the added attraction of majestic sceneries. Perched on a cliff 70 meters above sea level, legend has it that this sea temple is one of the six spiritual pillars of Bali protecting it from evil sea spirits. To the rest of us, it just offers visitors the perfect sunset view. Between 6pm and 7pm daily, a traditional Kecak dance takes place against the backdrop of the setting sun.
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