I moved to Bali from Bangkok with an aim to get a better balance between work and life and learn to surf. Bali has been a popular tourist destination for decades, being only a 3 to 6 hour flight from Australia and then more recently the destination of Eat, Pray, Love.

I had been to Bali twice before moving there and enjoyed it both times. I would say a few things though, Bali is much bigger than I expected and it takes a lot longer to get places than you might think (Could just be me…). During my first trip I wanted to see everything and so spent much of the time in a car travelling from place to place, I would highly recommend choosing one or two places and exploring from there - this will depend of course on how much time you have.

I also recommend getting a driver rather than renting a car, at least to move between hotels or villas. If you feel comfortable enough then Motorbikes are available to hire everywhere, just be careful and don’t drink! (I’m partial to a Bintang so a driver works better for me). 

If you need a driver please drop me a note and I’ll share some contact details with you.

Places

Bali definitely offers a little bit of everything for everyone. I’ll do my best to summarise some of the places I have visited;

Seminyak - Good for restaurants ($$$), beach clubs, surfing, nightlife, shopping and villas.

Canggu - Slightly younger crowd, good for restaurants ($$), beach clubs, surfing, shopping, villas and spa’s

Uluwatu - Good for surfing, beach clubs, swimming, getting away from it all

Nusa Dua - Good for resort life, families, beaches

Ubud - Good for Villas, yoga, restaurants, countryside, shopping, culture

Sanur - Good for resort life, beaches, snorkelling, swimming, day trips to Nusa Pennida

Arriving

The international airport isn’t huge, when you come out of baggage there are ATM’s - if you don’t have cash stop here as these are all legit bank ATM’s. There are also transport providers here.  As always I recommend having your accommodation arrange a transfer for you just to make your arrival experience hassle free, the price is usually fairly competitive. If you didn’t then I would suggest stopping here, the rates are fixed and you don’t need to negotiate, you will also be escorted by your airport rep through the hundreds of official and unofficial drivers at the airport, I’m not exaggerating, they can be quite pushy, bordering on aggressive and they will always try charge you three or four times the actual amount.

Another note to add is that you can bring 1 litre of alcohol in to the country, they will do random checks and if you have more you’ll get charged.  Wine and spirits in Bali are very expensive because of import taxes so it’s worth bringing a bottle, especially if you’re celebrating.

Other

Bali is prone to the odd earthquake or volcanic eruption.  If you’ve never experienced an earthquake they can be a little unnerving.  When you arrive at your accommodation ask what the protocol is incase of an earthquake and or tsunami warning, they should be able to tell you.  

I don’t travel without a first aid kit, between waterfall hikes, snorkelling, motorbike rides and general clumsiness I have used it a few times, there are however plenty of pharmacies in towns and villages so you can stock up when you are there.