May-June, 2023

The thing about planning a trip to Bali is that there are about a billion activities to do on the island. There are traditional temples and dances, hundreds of resorts and restaurants, water and land adventure activities and things you’ve never even heard, or thought of doing before! We were in Bali for seven nights, and this was my third time on the island. I really wanted to have a nice mix of land and water activities, try a few things that I hadn’t done before, and take some time to witness the extraordinary Balinese and Hindu culture through dance, food, and responsible tourism. People complain about FOMO, or “fear of missing out” when planning a trip to Bali, and while it’s completely impossible to do everything you will ever want to do in one, two, or even three weeks here, you can craft a very well rounded trip and try a little sample of everything, even in just one week! This was easily my most diverse, busy, and most well-crafted trip to this island ever, and I would recommend a similar itinerary if you really want to avoid as much FOMO as possible! This is going to be more of an overview, but I will link to all of my other published articles throughout if you would like more detail.

Where to stay

This is often where you start planning your trip, and it is SO INCREDIBLY HARD to pick any one single place to book, especially just for a seven-day trip. My recommendation is to mix it up between two different places so that you get a real feel for the different types of ecosystems on the island. I would definitely recommend booking a central beach location, such as in Jimbaran Bay, Kuta, Seminyak or Canggu, as well as somewhere in the jungle, preferably near Ubud. I would avoid areas near Uluwatu and even Nusa Penida on a shorter trip, as they are farther away from a lot of the activities you will be wanting to do in your seven days, and you want to try to spend as little time traveling as possible.

I booked the “Bali Twice the Magic” package through the Four Seasons. At the time, they were offering the third night free, 25% off all food, beverage and spa, as well as free transfer between the resorts. The Four Seasons is known for having the top resorts in Bali, and the deal they were offering was a no-brainer. There are several other companies and hotel chains that offer packages, but even if you don’t book a package, still consider spending half your time on the beach and half in the jungle.

You can find more detail about the Four Seasons resort at Jimbaran Bay (for epic sunsets) here, and the Four Seasons resort at Sayan here. I also provide overviews of our villas on the site, and you can check out our Family Villa at Jimbaran Bay here, and the Garden View Villa at Sayan here.

I highly recommend Four Seasons in Bali. You won’t get better service anywhere, and their curated and bespoke excursions are some of the best I’ve experienced in my life.

Where to eat

There is no shortage of restaurants all over Bali, and it can be totally overwhelming to decide where to eat. While we were on the beach in Jimbaran Bay, we really mainly stuck with the restaurants located within the Four Seasons resort itself. You can read about the Sundara Beach Club restaurant at the resort here.

When we were in Ubud, however, we checked out two places that boasted traditional Indonesian fare, which were both excellent. You can read about Nusantara here, and Hujan Locale here. We also experienced the Chef’s Table at Sokasi dinner at Four Seasons Sayan, which also consisted of traditional Balinese food, and you don’t want to miss this one. Check out the details here. If this is your first time to Bali, you shouldn’t skip a dinner on the beach at Jimbaran Bay in one of the many restaurants that dot this gorgeous crescent. The sunset here is unmatched in the world, and the seafood doesn’t get much fresher.

What to do

So here, I’m going to go over our exact, 7-day itinerary of what to do in order to maximize your time, and spread out your activities between land, sea, and culture.

The first four nights will be on the beach.

Day 1: Arrival and chill. You will be exhausted upon your arrival to Bali, and if you’re lucky, your room will be ready when you get there. I would recommend taking the day to really just soak up some sun to help with the jetlag, explore your resort, and rest up, because the rest of your trip is going to be super busy!

Day 2: Sleep in, start acclimating to the time change. Have a big breakfast and chill at the pool. Then, in the afternoon, get yourself over to the Uluwatu Temple in order to explore the gorgeous surroundings and get ready for the traditional Kecak fire dance while the sun sets in the background. This is an experience you absolutely should not miss on the island, and when you can combine a cool temple, a sunset, and a traditional Balinese dance, you have definitely maximized your efficiency, which you need for such a short trip. Check out all my tips about this excursion here.

Day 3: Water activities plus a cooking class. On this day, we booked the “Ocean to Table” tour through the Four Seasons, Jimbaran Bay. You can read about this superlative tour here. We started the morning super early, and went fishing on a traditional Balinese fishing boat. Afterwards, we were able to tour the Jimbaran Fish Market, and then we headed back to the resort to take a cooking class, where we learned how to make some traditional dishes including Sambal – a traditional Balinese sauce or condiment that you can put on just about anything. She is the Queen of all ingredients! Even if you’re not staying at the Four Seasons, I would definitely focus your day on some water activities and possibly a cooking class.

After this, I spent the rest of the afternoon at the Spa, which you can read about here. Even though you’re going to have a packed itinerary, don’t forget some time to pamper yourself! Bali has some really great spas all over the place! I highly recommend the Healing Village Spa at the Four Seasons, Jimbaran Bay.

Day 4: Day trip to another island. Really? You want me to leave Bali? Yes, because, very nearby, you can take a half or full day trip and find some of the most beautiful fish and corals in the world. This time, we booked a trip through Forever Vacations and headed over to Nusa Penida for snorkeling and a land tour. Check out all of the details of our day here! This island was not even on the tourist radar 20 years ago, but now it’s starting to bustle. We were able to swim with a Manta Ray, which was the coolest part of this day. We hit up a few other snorkeling spots, had a traditional lunch, and then checked out some cliff views and beaches. It was a long, but rewarding day.

You can also check out Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan, which are a bit closer, if you want to make this more of a half-day trip. There are great tours through multiple companies to these islands as well and I would recommend checking out Bali Hai Cruises for this.

Day 5: Transfer to your second hotel in Ubud for some jungle times. For us, this included another excursion which was “Check-In by Rafting” which you can read about here. We were driven to a rafting spot on the Ayung river, had about an hour of floating and navigating some rapids before we reached our resort near Ubud. Even if you don’t check in by raft at your resort, I would highly recommend this super fun excursion. It’s quite safe and not scary at all, and it’s absolutely gorgeous floating down the longest river in Bali. This is a great transition from beach to jungle. That evening, head into Ubud to eat at one of it’s many restaurants. This is the evening that we checked out Nusantara, which I highly recommend, and you can read more about that restaurant here!

Day 6: Chill, explore Ubud. This was kind of a relaxing day for us. We had already done so much that we were getting pretty exhausted, so we spent the morning lounging by the pool. If you’ve never been to Bali, though, you’ll definitely want to take this day to really explore Ubud. You can grab some tasty lunch in town (there are about a zillion healthy and vegan options to try!) and you’ll want to check out the Monkey Forest for sure. It’s quite touristy, but still a silly and fun activity to do. There are too many shops to count, and you’ll definitely want to spend some time exploring the town if you’re not already too exhausted. You may want to check out a street food tour in town, or a cultural walking tour. This evening we stayed on property and experienced the Chef’s Table at Sokasi dinner, which was a totally unforgettable experience. Check out all the details here!

Day 7: Traditional Bali. On this day, we booked the “Can you keep a secret” tour through Four Seasons, Sayan. This incredibly special and private tour took us to a small village where we were able to tour a Hindu Temple, a traditional Balinese home, and undergo a water purification ceremony and blessing. Read my full overview of this excursion here! I would definitely recommend capping off your trip with a more traditional or cultural experience. There are a ton of temples around the country, and you can easily find a company who will take you off the beaten path, or ask your resort for their tour offerings. This afternoon, I also spent some time at the Spa at Sayan, which you can read about here. We also spent the evening shopping around Ubud, and eating at the amazing Hujan Locale restaurant, and you can check out my review of that restaurant, one of our favorites, here.

There is definitely other stuff to do in Bali, and you really do need to be flexible, since crazy unplanned events like 2-hour traffic jams can derail plans. However, I really think that if you use this itinerary as an guide for your trip, you are going to maximize your time on this stunning and busy island. You get beach time, ocean time, river time, spa time, culture time, and lots and lots of food time. This was my third trip to Bali, and I was still able to find new things to do. There are places that I still wanted to show Noah and Brian, that we either just didn’t have time, and sometimes didn’t have the energy to do. There are still places all over the island that I haven’t seen or explored, and that are not overwhelmed by tourists. But if this is your first time, and you stick with my plan, you’ll get to see a ton, and you’ll really not feel that FOMO that so many feel when planning a trip to Bali!