The Indonesian island of Bali is a tourist’s dream offering a wide variety of culture, religion, excellent scenery, beaches and fine temperatures – being just 8 degrees south of the equator, Bali has a fairly even climate year round. Indeed, tourism accounts for 80% of Bali’s economy. In this first review of the island I intend to show just what can be achieved in a day at a very economical rate.

This itinerary is suitable for both cruise ship passengers arriving at the Balinese port of Benoa and  those who are having a pre or post-cruise stay in a local hotel.

Having done considerable research prior to our arrival in Bali we chose a highly rated local tour company to provide our transport and combined guide for the day. That company was…

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…and we signed up for their Full Day (FD2) tour. Here’s how it panned out.

Our driver, Renda, was waiting in advance of our arrival and we started the tour well ahead of the agreed time.

Our first stop was the Taman Ayum Temple of Mengwi which is famous for its exquisite wooden merus, or pagoda-like shrines…

Taman Ayun literally translates as ‘beautiful garden’ and is generally regarded as one of the most attractive temples of Bali.

Access to the temple is via a bridge over  the lake that fronts the temple…

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…while the remainder of the temple is surrounded on all sides by broad canals…

Once over the bridge a path leads to the “candi bentar gate”…

…and the outer courtyard where another candi bentar leads to  the jaba tengah (Main gate) …

and the more elevated second courtyard… 

There are a number of other features within the boundaries of the Taman Ayum Temple including this mock-up of the old cock-fight pit…

…and the fountain  symbolizing the Dewa Nawa Sanga, the nine main gods,  of Balinese Hinduism. As luck would have it the fountain wasn’t working on the day of our visit…

The entrance fee for this temple was 20,000 Indonesian Rupiah per person, (that’s  equivalent of  £2.10 for the two of us!)

We left Taman Ayum Temple and our next stop was at our request, a coffee plantation called the Bali Kopi  Mekar Mengwi…

…where we sampled some 13 coffees and teas between us…

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…before moving on to Bedugul and Beratan Lakes and the Ulun Danu Temple…

Pura Ulun Danu Beratan is easily Bali’s  most iconic temple sanctuary, sharing the scenic qualities with the seaside temples of Uluwatu and Tanah Lot…

…and viewed from another angle…

The temple was built in the 17th century in worship of the main Hindu trinity, Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva, as well as the lake goddess, Dewi Danu. The sight and cool atmosphere of the Bali uplands have made the lake and this temple a favourite tourist and local resident venue.

The temple complex is comprised of four groups of shrines, including the prominent and most photographed Lingga Petak shrine seen above.

Once inside the complex there are four gates facing each of the four points of the compass.

By far the more spectacular entrance is that to the Penataran Agung Temple…

…with its richly ornate wooden gates…

Others include the entrance to the Dalem Purwa Temple…

A peep over the wall reveals the interior…

Just along the shoreline from the Lingga Petak shrine is the separate Taman Beji Temple…

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Surrounding the complex is a park and garden area. Close to the walled complex is the much admired Buddhist Stupa…

…and once again we were favourites to be asked to pose for photographs with  Asian visitors…

The park area has shops and a restaurant…

…where we enjoyed a typical Indonesian buffet lunch…

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The entrance fee for this temple was 50,000 Indonesian Rupiah per person, (that’s  equivalent of  £5.24 for the two of us)

The lunch bill, including beers, came to 336,000 Indonesian Rupiah (the equivalent of  £18.79 )

Now well fed and watered we headed back across the mountain for a  scenic drive through the quaint villages and the verdant slopes of  central Bali towards our next point of interest, the Jatiluwih Rice Terraces…

 

A UNESCO World Heritage site, Jatiluwih offers beautiful panoramic views of contoured rice terraces irrigated using an impressive communal water system developed by Balinese farmers…

…and a chance to walk  through some of the most beautiful rice terraces Bali has to offer…

and we were given an hour of free time to roam along the paths and terraces…

It’s rural Bali at its best. Tourist buses cannot negotiate the narrow roads and there isn’t  a regular public bus. To get here you do exactly as we did, hire a driver and enjoy the almost isolated environment.

It was a reasonably long drive to our final destination of the day, diagonally across the island to the South-West corner to the village of Beraban, home of the iconic Tanah Lot…

One of Bali’s most important landmarks and famed for its unique offshore setting and sunset backdrops, this  ancient Hindu shrine, perched on top of a coastal  outcrop amidst constantly crashing waves, is the most visited and photographed temple in Bali and thousands of tourists flock here daily: needless to say it also supports a commercial infrastructure to match its fame. But the visit is well worth it and it is a photographers paradise…

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Tanah Lot’s position, on the southwest corner of Bali,  is conducive in making the Tanah Lot area one of the best places to see the beautiful sunsets that Bali is renowned for and to this end we reserved a table on the cliff top overlooking the sea…

…memories are made of moments like this…

To be able to enter the area of Tanah Lot temple, every visitor is charged an admission fee of IRP 60,000  and your transport will attract a parking fee of IRP 5,000, so the basic visit  will cost a couple about £6.50. Hey ho, that won’t break the bank.

 

 

Summary

Altogether a most wonderful day exploring the very best that Bali has to offer. We were more than impressed with the service we received from …      http://www.amazingbalitours.com      in particular their helpful pre-tour communications and especially our driver/guide Renda. Thank you Renda...

The package for the day including the car, petrol and driver was a basic cost of US$ 50.00 and we paid our entrance fees as indicated in the review.

I would honestly suggest to any cruise ship passengers wishing to take this full day tour that in the interests of seeing everything covered here in a timely manner that probably skipping the lunch break would be a good idea as well as maybe taking one of the shorter walking routes through the Jatiluwih Rice Terraces.

 

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Disclosure to potential conflict of interest:

It is common throughout the travel industry for travel journalists and many cruise bloggers to be provided with complimentary cruises for the purpose of their reviews.

Solent Richard has no ‘conflict of interest’ as he is not an accredited journalist, he pays for his cruises, and is happy to confirm that all his reviews are his own given without fear or favour.