THE BEST ROAD TRIP IN BALI.
If there is one thing I suggest you do while in Bali, it is to grab a scooter and go on a road trip.
There are extensive multi-day road trips you can do. But our road trip was a simple day trip, jam packed with adventure. This particular route takes you all the way up to the north end, past Ubud.
Driving through Bali is amazing. I sometimes think back to my favorite areas, and they weren’t even the famous spots. They were the quaint huts surrounded by endless terraces. No tourists, just scarecrows and the open road.
First stop on the road trip: Jatiluwih Rice Terraces
You can stop here, do a hike or even ride bikes through certain areas of the terraces. IT’S HUGE. But remember, we have a lot to see, and only one day to make it happen. So, after a quick stop, it was onto our next location.
Second stop: ulun danu beratan temple
I was most excited for this location. It seemed the most picturesque in my mind. And it was. There is an entrance and parking fee for this temple, so make sure to have cash on you if you go.
There is a temple on the lake. That’s what this attraction is most famous for. But it has much more to offer than the “lake temple” alone. A flower garden and park leads you from the parking area to the actual temple. After you walk past the temple, you come to more statues, and rock sculptures. All worth seeing in my opinion.
We were somewhat crunched for time and there was much to see at the ulun danu beratan temple. It was time to hop on our scooters and hit the road again.
This would be a good time to point out that we were dancing with thunderstorms all day. We never got rained on, but could see the storm moving. There were several times where it had just rolled through or was chasing us from behind. Moral is – you don’t want to get caught in a torrential downpour on a scooter.
Third stop: Lake Tamblingan
After a VERY quick stop at the lake view point, we hauled to our next location in fear of those clouds you see in the background of these photos.
We’re halfway through our road trip at this point.
Fourth stop: Air Panas Banjar Hot Springs
Praise the Jesus the sun came back out for this part of our road trip.
The water was warm, I wouldn’t call it hot. But I also like my bath water HOT. It was pleasant nonetheless. There are a few pools and the bottom is VERY slippery so be careful.
There was an entrance fee and parking fee when we went. You’ll arrive at what looks like a small market. That is where you have to park and then walk into the hot spring area. We were able to pay for lockers, and they have changing rooms available. Don’t expect anything fancy there.
We spent maybe 20 minutes at the springs and then it was off to our second to last location of the day.
Fifth stop: Vihara Dharma Giri
We could not enter the temple grounds without a skirt/wrap, so they let us borrow them for free. I believe it is normally a rental situation but there was no one else there, so perhaps they were just being nice to us. And yes, Nate and Kyle had to wear them as well. Just something to note. If we would have worn our own sarongs that would have been fine.
In our quest to our last location we got lost, and wandered down a road that lead us to these rice patty fields. They were beautiful. But not where we were trying to go. So we snapped a few pics and got back on the main road.
Last stop: Soka Inda Restaurant
At this point, we didn’t plan on stopping again, but we had over an hour until home, and we were starving. We searched for food on google and stopped at a well rated establishment, Soka Indah Restaurant.
We had a traditional Balinese dinner and enjoyed the view before making our last leg back to the villa.
The entire road trip was just over six hours. That includes stopping at each location to meander and take photos. It was truly a great time and I highly suggest doing it. The road trip gets you away from all the tourists, and you get to see SO MUCH MORE of Bali this way.
If you’re itchin’ for a Bali Road Trip from Canggu, pin this post for later!
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