Bali Tour Packages

Bali is a small volcanic island in the Indonesian archipelago, sitting between Java to the west and Lombok to the east, just eight degrees south of the equator. It covers only around 5,780 square kilometres — you can drive across it in a few hours — yet it packs in an extraordinary range of landscapes.

A island built by volcanoes

A chain of volcanoes runs along Bali's spine, and they define everything. Mount Agung (3,031 m) is the highest and the most sacred — the Balinese orient their temples and even their homes in relation to it. Mount Batur (1,717 m) sits within a vast caldera beside a crater lake, and is the classic sunrise trek.

The volcanic soil is why Bali is so astonishingly green, and why its rice terraces — irrigated by the thousand-year-old subak system, a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape — are so productive and so beautiful.

Coast and islands

• The south — white-sand beaches, surf breaks and the limestone cliffs of the Bukit Peninsula (Uluwatu).
• The north and east — quieter black volcanic sand, and superb diving at Amed and Tulamben.
• The centre — jungle, rivers, waterfalls and the cool highlands around Ubud, Munduk and Kintamani.
• The Nusa Islands — Penida, Lembongan and Ceningan, a short boat ride southeast, with dramatic cliffs and world-class snorkelling.

Bali is a Hindu island in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, and that single fact shapes everything you will see. Balinese Hinduism is its own thing entirely — a rich weave of Hindu belief, Buddhist influence, ancestor worship and animism, in which spirits inhabit the mountains, the sea and the rice fields.

Religion here is not something that happens on a holy day; it happens constantly. Bali has an estimated 20,000 temples, and every home has its own shrine.

What you will notice

• Canang sari — the little woven palm-leaf trays of flowers, rice and incense placed on doorsteps, pavements and dashboards several times a day. Step around them, never on them.
• Ceremony as daily life — processions of women carrying towers of fruit on their heads, gamelan orchestras, temple anniversaries. Expect roads to close. Enjoy it; do not resent it.
• Dance and music — the hypnotic Kecak fire dance, the intricate Legong, the mask drama of Barong, all underpinned by the shimmering percussion of the gamelan.
• Art and craft — Ubud is a centre of painting and woodcarving; Celuk for silver; Mas for masks.
• Community — the banjar (neighbourhood association) organises everything from ceremonies to cremations. Balinese life is deeply collective.

The best Bali itinerary mixes the spectacular with the still. Do not try to cram it all in — the island rewards slowness.

• Trek Mount Batur for sunrise and watch the light break over the caldera and the sea of cloud.
• Walk the rice terraces — Tegallalang for the classic view, Jatiluwih for the vast, uncrowded UNESCO landscape.
• Watch the Kecak fire dance at Uluwatu Temple as the sun drops into the Indian Ocean.
• Take part in a purification ritual at the holy springs of Tirta Empul.
• Snorkel or dive Nusa Penida — manta rays at Manta Point, and the surreal cliffs of Kelingking Beach.
• Dive the USAT Liberty wreck at Tulamben — one of the world's most accessible wreck dives, straight off the beach.
• Chase waterfalls — Sekumpul, Tegenungan, Tibumana, Nungnung.
• Learn to surf at Canggu or Kuta, or take on the reef breaks at Uluwatu.
• Take a Balinese cooking class, starting with a dawn trip to the local market.
• Book a proper Balinese massage or a spa day — world-class, and remarkable value.
• Raft the Ayung River through the jungle gorge.
• Visit the sea temples — Tanah Lot at sunset, and the Mother Temple of Besakih on Agung's slopes.

Bali's regions feel like different islands. Most of our itineraries combine two or three.

• Ubud — the cultural heart: the Sacred Monkey Forest, Campuhan Ridge Walk, art museums, yoga studios, and rice terraces in every direction.
• Uluwatu & the Bukit Peninsula — clifftop temples, the Kecak dance at sunset, legendary surf, and the beaches of Padang Padang and Bingin.
• Seminyak & Canggu — beach clubs, design shops, brilliant cafes and sunset cocktails.
• Sanur — calm, shallow water and a gentle pace. Excellent for families, and the departure point for the Nusa Islands.
• Nusa Dua — manicured resort beaches and safe swimming.
• Nusa Penida & Nusa Lembongan — Kelingking Beach, Angel's Billabong, Broken Beach, and manta rays offshore.
• Mount Batur & Kintamani — sunrise treks, the caldera lake and volcano views over coffee.
• Sidemen & the east — the Bali of thirty years ago: rice valleys, weaving villages and Mount Agung looming above.
• Amed & Tulamben — black-sand coves, freediving and the Liberty wreck.
• Munduk & Bedugul — cool highlands, waterfalls, and the iconic lake temple of Ulun Danu Beratan.
• Tanah Lot — the sea temple on its rock, at its best in the last light of the day.

Bali's calendar follows the 210-day Balinese Pawukon cycle as well as the lunar calendar, so most dates shift each year. Ceremonies are constant — you will almost certainly stumble into one.

• Nyepi (Day of Silence) — usually March. The Balinese New Year: 24 hours of complete stillness across the island, preceded by the spectacular Ogoh-ogoh parades of giant demon effigies. The airport closes and everyone, including visitors, stays indoors. Unforgettable.
• Galungan & Kuningan — every 210 days. The victory of good over evil: ancestral spirits return, and the streets are lined with tall, elegant bamboo penjor poles.
• Melasti — days before Nyepi: temple objects are carried in long, beautiful processions to the sea to be purified.
• Saraswati — honouring the goddess of knowledge; books and manuscripts are blessed.
• Odalan — every temple celebrates its own anniversary. With 20,000 temples, there is always one happening.
• Bali Arts Festival — June to July in Denpasar: a month of dance, gamelan and craft.
• Ubud Writers & Readers Festival — October, one of Asia's leading literary events.
• Bali Kite Festival — July to August, when enormous traditional kites fill the skies of Sanur.

Tell us when you plan to travel and we will let you know what will be happening — and make sure Nyepi doesn't catch you out.

The Balinese are exceptionally gracious hosts, and they ask very little in return — only that their island and their religion are treated with respect. In recent years Bali has introduced clearer guidelines for visitors, and they are worth taking seriously.

Do

• Wear a sarong and sash at temples, and cover your shoulders. They are usually available to rent or borrow at the entrance.
• Step around the canang sari offerings on the pavement — never over or on them.
• Dress modestly away from the beach. Swimwear is for the sand and the pool, not for shops, temples or restaurants.
• Use your right hand to give, receive and eat.
• Ask before photographing people or ceremonies, and stay back and stay quiet during a ritual.
• Be patient with processions — roads close, and that is simply how it is here.
• Respect Nyepi absolutely: stay inside, keep lights low and noise down.

Don't

• Don't climb sacred trees, shrines or temple structures for photographs. Tourists have been deported for this. It is deeply offensive.
• Don't touch anyone's head, and don't point with your foot or your index finger.
• Don't enter a temple's inner courtyard uninvited, and observe posted rules (including the traditional request that menstruating women do not enter).
• Don't ride a scooter without a valid licence and a helmet. Accidents are the single biggest cause of injury to visitors, and riding illegally will void your insurance.
• Don't feed or tease the monkeys at the Monkey Forest — and take off sunglasses, hats and dangling jewellery before you go in.
• Don't drink the tap water.
• Don't underestimate the sea. Rip currents are strong on the west and south coasts — swim between the flags.
• Don't go anywhere near drugs. Indonesia has extremely severe penalties, including for small quantities.