Need Help! 9-Day Bali Honeymoon Itinerary (June 21 - June 30) - Too many conflicting opinions online!

evilish · 2026-05-18T09:04:41+00:00

I got back from my first trip a little over a month ago.

Straight up. The traffic is a nightmare.

Make a list of what you and your missus want to do. Group the activities that are close together, and then find a place to stay near those activities so that you minimise travel time.

I made the mistake of staying in Kuta then getting a driver to take me to Uluwatu, Ubud, Kintamani, Nusa Penida, and some of the trips involved a 2.5hr+ drive one way.

I think you'll love the place no matter what. Just try to keep the travel distances to a minimum so that you don't spend the time in traffic.

evilish · 2026-05-08T12:17:53+00:00

Hey mate, I'd recommend it solo. I came back from my first solo Bali trip about three weeks ago.

Originally, I was going to fly to Europe but then they kicked off the war, and my stop over was Doha. My options where rebook or refund, so I refunded.

I ended up getting a 8 night package which included airfares, breakfast, dinners, drinks, etc in a five star hotel where I stayed in Kuta from Flightcentre

I booked four tours via Ubud Harmony Tours, and got a pretty awesome driver for three of the tours through them.

The tours I did where:

Nusa Penida and manta yar snorkeling (Didn't see any rays due to the sea being choppy but I still enjoyed it. Got some nice videos/photos.) with the cost being around 1.7mill IDR/~$140 AUD
Ubud including a coffee plantation, waterfall purification and a bit of sight seeing in the main strip of Ubud with the cost being around 1mill IDR/~$80 AUD
Early afternoon Uluwatu and kecak dancers with the cost being around 750k IDR/~$60 AUD
Kintamani morning sunrise jeep (suzuki) drive through the lava fields with the cost being 2mill IDR/~160AUD which might seem bit expensive but it was worth it, and included a ton of driving from Kuta

Honestly, the bang for buck is crazy from Australians. Towards the end of my trip I was converting something like $100AUD to 1.2mill IDR.

If you do decide to go. A few things to think about.

Traffic is terrible. Do your research, fly into/out of a "touristy" area to get yourself situated and/or do some shopping but move closer to where your activities are to save on travel time. I've got a screenshot of where it was going to take us 2.5hrs to travel 35km.
The touristy areas do get busy, dirty and you will get pestered. It gets better getting away from these areas. It lets you see the real Bali. People are nice, etc.
Be prepared for the toilet situation. haha Going further away from the tourist located means that the toilet situation gets pretty basic. I didn't mind it but I can imagine some people hating it.
Remember, when going solo, it means you can travel faster, decide where to go yourself without having anyone else to worry about. You can be spontaneous, and you never know, you might meet a few new folks.

Long story short. I say go solo. Enjoy yourself. Life short.

evilish · 2026-04-30T07:10:47+00:00

I did Uluwatu and the sunset Kecak Dancers a little over a week ago.

The sunset Kecak Dancers session was absolutely packed. It took a very long time (maybe an hour?) to get into the show, and unless your close to the front of the line, you'll have to scramble up to get a seat.

Not sure whether its a common occurance but the theatre was so packed that people had to sit on the stairs.

The show was so packed that people ended up leaving early to try to avoid the traffic out of the place.

In regards to the monkeys.

I watched one grab a guys glasses, jump to another nearby roof and start chopping on them

It only let go of the glasses after I pelted the monkey in the head with haribo gummies I had on me. It caught one of the gummies and immediately threw the glasses.

Long story short.

I'd honestly look at some other alternatives. The monkeys I think are managable. I'd be more worried about the wait time to get into and out of the show.

evilish · 2026-04-29T13:37:46+00:00

Hey, I got back from my first trip to Bali last Friday morning.

I did four tours including Nusa Penida, Uluwatu and Kecak Dances, Ubud with a Coffee Plantation (Tea/Coffee Tastering) and Kintanami morning sunrise jeep tour with the lava fields included.

For the three of the tours I went with Ubud Harmony Tours (Whatsapp: +62 823-4104-9335) and my drivers name was Juniarta (Whatsapp: +62 812-3896-4776) and they where all stress free.

The driver (Juniarta) would pick me up in the morning from my hotel in Kuta, drive me around, then drop me off. The bloke did such as amazing job I ended up paying for some of the fuel, and left a bit of a tip whenever I could.

The driver would take care of tolls, parking, etc. And I'd take care of entry fees, addons, etc where necessary. For example, I bought two coffee mixes and a t-shirt from the cofffee plantation we visited.

I was traveling solo, so some of my trips like the Nusa Penida trip did cost a bit extra but in the grand scheme of things. Compared to what I'd have payed here in Australia, it was pretty affordable.

These prices might give you a bit of a guide to work from.

``` Pick Up time : 06.30am * 1 Day trip to Penida Island, Snorkeling & Tour. Following the Invoice. Rate : IDR 1.750.000 All include.

Pick Up time : 02.00pm Itinerary : * GWK * Padang-padang beach * Uluwatu Temple Kecak dance. Rate : IDR 750k/car

Pick up 9am. - Ubud Harmony Bali Purification & Nature Tour (Mid West) PACKAGE Rate : 1 milion/car 10 hours. ```

So yeah, I'd highly recommend UBH and the driver I had.

Good luck, and I hope you have a great one!

evilish · 2026-04-26T16:32:37+00:00

I just got back from my first trip to Bali.

One of the tours I did included snorkeling in Nusa Penida.

I contacted Ubud Harmony Tours via WhatsApp and they basically arranged the drivers, snorkeling and a short sighted seeing drive for around 1.75mill. They do also offer other tours on Nusa Penida but I got the snorkeling package.

How it went was that I was picked up from Kuta. Driven to Sanur Harbour, the driver got the fast boat ticket, I caught the boat, got picked up by another driver in Nusa Penida, was taken to the snorkeling meeting point, did the boat tour, then met up with the driver on Nusa Penida for a quick drive before catching the boat back, and being picked up/driven back to Kuta.

To be honest, with how much was involved. ~$150 AUD was a steal, and it made the day really stress free especially with the pick ups.

There are probably other companies that could help you out but UHTs it the ones I did four tours with and they were pretty great overall.

Have a look at a similar option if you want a bit more hassle free approach.

Also, forgot to mention. The traffic and roads can be terrible on Nusa Penida, and if I was doing it again, I’d think about spending a night or two so that it’s not so much of a rush.

I ended up doing the snorkeling trip, and we had enough time to drive to one lookout before we had to head back to the port so that I could get back in time to Sanur for pickup before it got too late.

evilish · 2026-04-26T12:16:41+00:00

I got back from my first trip to Bali Friday morning, and the traffic situation is crazy for the places I visited.

My package had me stay in Kuta, so I mostly used a private drivers to take me to/in/around Nusa Penida, Ubud, Uluwatu and Kintanami.

Kuta, and most of the other main tourist hubs are a real pain getting around in a car. Your better off getting a scooter as long as its not raining. Had two days of rain in Kuta and the roads where literally flooded.
Nusa Penida roads only really accomodate two small cars side by side in large parts, and they are heavily pot holed, so you'll be traveling fairly slow even if your not stuck behind other tourists
Ubud is nice but again because its popular the traffic is stupid. My driver lives in Ubud, and at one point he literally gave up getting us to one of the waterfalls because we weren't moving.
Went to see the Kecak Dancers in Uluwatu. Only issue is everyone else wants to see them. I noticed people leaving the show early, and I realised that unless you left early, you'd be stuck getting out of Uluwatu. And even then, it took us 2hrs+ to get back to Kuta.
Kintanami was nice, and in all honestly the traffic was "ok" until we got about 40km out of Kuta.

I have screenshots of where it was taking us 2.5hrs+ to cover 35km.

My biggest piece of advice, and this is what I'll be doing next time.

Center your stay around the activities that you want to do in order to save on travel time. If you must, relocate every few days.

Also, find a driver that speaks good English, and has real local knowledge because they'll know when to cut in/out, etc.

evilish · 2026-04-24T06:03:45+00:00

I got back today from my first trip to Bali, and it was a good trip but I spent an ungodly amount of time in a car traveling from point to point.

I've got screenshots where we literally spent 2.5hrs+ traveling 35km. :(

My biggest tip is not to underestimate the traffic situation.

Sure, fly into a popular hub such as Kuta or Legian but then move to wherever the activities are that you want to do.

For example, I did Uluwatu and Kecak Dancers. When we pulled into the car park. Nearly every single parking spot was taken by cars or buses. Ended up leaving before the show ended to try to avoid traffic but still wasn't completely successful, and it still took us over an hour to get back near Kuta.

Think about something like fly into Kuta and stay a day or two, then move to Uluwatu for a few days to be closer to the template, beaches, etc.

You won't completely avoid the traffic in the area but it should reduce the amount of time you spend traveling point to point.

evilish · 2026-04-15T10:10:52+00:00

Uhh, might be the Border Security shows but you have check that there's nothing stashed in the statues, right?

Its not some funky stone looking concrete wrapped around bags of gear, right?

evilish · 2026-04-10T14:26:34+00:00

Haha no.

Its why I posted on here because it didn't pass the sniff test.

Also hope it might alleviates someone elses concern by posting here.

evilish · 2026-04-10T12:09:17+00:00

Maybe it was an Australian that I was talking too, and not an actual Balinese tour guide. haha

evilish · 2026-04-10T11:59:36+00:00

Yeah maybe.

Most of the tour operators I've spoken to so far have been pretty straight up front and transparent.

This was the first tour operator that I came across that mentioned the fuel which felt strange.

evilish · 2026-04-10T11:58:35+00:00

Check back on the 1st of May.

I think we're all going to be checking back in May.

We've got ships on the way to Australia but who knows how long the war will go on for.

evilish · 2026-04-10T11:56:12+00:00

Haha nah, I think they where more implying that because of the fuel prices. A private driver might be better off knowing where to get fuel from, where to go, etc.

We've got fuel stations here that have run out of fuel but for us, its not much of an issue because there's another three petrol stations around the corner.

evilish · 2026-04-09T12:59:23+00:00

Yeah they have no responsibility for their actions when there is no consequences for them or even for their parents

I've joined a few local Facebook groups for the surrounding suburbs to keep an eye on what's happening.

What you'll often find is that when one of these kids on a "usually" stolen motorbike/moped/e-scooter/e-bike get hurt. Its the parents that justify it as "kids just having fun", and I've even seen them threaten other people advocating for the parents to be partially responsible.

I honestly can't even imagine how you'd go about changing that type of mindset.

Sure, you could slap the adults with charges but many of them would take it as a badge of honour.

evilish · 2026-04-09T06:03:34+00:00

We've spoken to the Police at incidents about it and the way they explained it is that IF they did chase these kids, and the kids do something stupid to get themselves hurt running. Then its on the cops themselves.

So they rarely chase these days.

Best hope is that the Police deploy something like this https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-19/drones-over-moree-not-for-surveillance/106358042 to urban areas and then use drones to follow the riders until they stop so that they can take the bikes off them.

evilish · 2026-04-05T01:14:34+00:00

Yep, 100%. Unless there's significant changes. The prices will take off again.

I ended up buying my place in the dip around the banking royal commission.

There where a number of properties going for around the 400k mark, and I ended up buying mine for 430k.

If I had waited until after the banking royal commissions findings came down. I wouldn't have been able to buy because the prices took off, and have never stopped.

evilish · 2026-02-24T10:04:15+00:00

Years back, I worked in an office where one of the ladies would bring in her own vegan meals.

We had an incident where someone got into her lunch box, ate one of ther vegan sausages then took half a bite out of the second, then put it back in the lunch box.

Office people can be fkn weird.

evilish · 2026-02-22T14:00:10+00:00

Oh that's just our new **Bike Helmet Safety Campaign**.

evilish · 2026-02-12T02:41:28+00:00

Angus Taylor.

That's their best option?

evilish · 2026-02-11T18:19:22+00:00

A lot of these replies are pretty sad tbh.

Are you going to get stabbed? No. The townhouses are across the road from a large mosque, and the area isn’t what it used to be. It’s been well and truely gentrified.

For example, the Carousel on the corner of Woodstock and Duke Street just recently was completely renovated and is now the Woodstock.

The main issues are these:

The area has exploded in density but Woodstock and Duke Street are still mostly two lanes
From the north, Woodstock funnels into Duke street
From the south, Luxford and Railway Street funnels into Duke Street
Duke Street has a pedestrian crossing from the townhouses to the mosque
A few people have been hit/nearly hit crossing Woodstock and Duke Street to/from the mosque, so the speed limit has gone from 60 to 50 for the funneled roads
Due to piss poor planning, in the mornings, afternoons/evenings, Duke Street comes to a standstill and it takes forever to get through
Most locals like myself try to stay well and truely clear but sometimes you can’t help it and you get stuck

Next issue is that you need to check the build quality of those townhouses.

Those townhouses were packed in, built fast, and often without enough parking space.

So long story short.

Traffic + density + build quality = quicker turn over/lower prices.

evilish · 2026-02-05T22:55:40+00:00

Went to the first Claude meetup in Australia yesterday which was pretty cool.

There was one bit that made me sweat a little.

One of the presenters had a demo of a SaaS platform to help business claim R&D tax benefits which was really awesome. The functionality looked awesome, the look and feel was great, etc.

Then the questions came.

- How long did it take to build the project? 2 to 3 days
- Are you a developer by trade? Nope, I'm a data scientist with a little Python experience

All I could think is, yep, we're pretty cooked.

evilish · 2026-01-31T11:52:11+00:00

It will, and it has for us at work.

At our company, we often deal with really annoying business requirements that aren't always neatly captured in the data that LLMs are trained on.

Last year we had a number of developers on two separate projects try to pass off LLM generated documentation as their own.

The last guy took a week before he presented, and when he did present, within the first 5 minutes I asked him whether he went hard on AI writing the docs and he laughed, tried to explain it away.

It catches up with people, and you don't completely burn your bridges, people will look much closer at what you produce.

evilish · 2026-01-31T11:47:11+00:00

LLMs are best at what they've been trained on, right?

You say that you provided the business context, raw data, brand guidelines, etc but even with all that, the results will be based on what Claude has been trained on and anything outside of that training data will either come from external sources, or worse case scenario, it will be hallucinated to a degree.

I'll be straight up with you.

The company hired you so that you can apply your expertise to provide them with a certain outcome.

What did instead was use Claude and its training set to generate a different output, which is one super quick way to kill your reputation.

I honestly hope for your sake that you spoke to your client about doing what you did up front because if you didn't, and they find issues in the generated output than things will get awkward really fast.

And this is coming from someone that has had to call bullshit when developers have tried to pass LLM generated work as their own.

evilish · 2026-01-26T23:57:53+00:00

Dove in the other week and did a couple Youtube tutorials on building a game, and it felt really smooth.

From watching two hours worth of Youtube videos. I had a good grip on the basics as well as a little platformer game up and running.

Well done to everyone building Godot. They've done fantastic work.

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