Classic Bali

You will me met at the airport and transported to the hotel.
The island of Bali lies in the east of Java and covers an area of 5,633 sq km (2,253 sq miles). Although small, rich millennia of history has fostered an artistically diverse population, with virtually every Balinese skilled as artisan, dancer, or artist and living a spiritual life. The island also has beaches, volcanoes, rice paddies, mountain treks, arts and crafts, ceremonies, and blessings, mountaintop sunrises, and beach side sunsets. Whichever Bali you’re looking for, it’s waiting to be found.
Accommodations: Alila Manggis

After breakfast, we depart our hotel with our guide and coach for a full day exploration of Eastern Bali. Our first stop is at Puri Agung or Karangasem Palace, a 19th century royal building with a series of compounds that house the royal palace of the last king and other associated compounds and courtyard. Next we proceed to Tirta Gangga Water Palace, the second water palace magically located between towering hills and rice terraces. After exploring the extensive tropical gardens and two large, shallow ponds, the painted statues of Balinese Barong and Rangda as well as the series of decorated water channels, we continue the visit to Sibetan Village, which is famous for its “salak” or snake skin fruit. Lunch is included today at a local restaurant.
Accommodations: Alila Manggis

We depart the hotel with our guide and coach for another full day tour devoted to the history, culture and the village life of the people in Eastern Bali. We begin our tour at Pura Kehen, a magnificent 12th-century Hindu Temple dedicated to Shiva and built with traditional Balinese architectures and outstanding stone carvings. Next we visit the 14th century Besakih Temple, the largest Hindu temple and most iconic Balinese temple with its profile appeared on everything from money to stamps. We enjoy lunch at a local restaurant in Rendang Village with a view of the rice terraces. If weather permits, we may enjoy a panoramic view of Mount Agung, the highest volcano in Bali. Next, we travel to Tihingan Village. The villagers here are well known as the producer of Gamelan, a traditional music instrument made from bronze or copper, used in escorting Balinese dances and some ritual ceremonies. We then proceed to Tenganan (Bali Aga), an ancient fortress village surrounded by high mountains and preserves local beliefs and rulings which are very different from the rest of Bali. People in these villages are skilled in arts and crafts, including the double Ikat weaving, and Gringsing, which is practiced in only two other places in the world. On the way back to the hotel, we make a short stop at the shore to see the traditional salt Processing.
Accommodations: Alila Manggis

After a leisurely breakfast, we transfer to our hotel in Ubud with a visit to Bat Cave “Goa Lawah Temple”. After lunch at a local restaurant, we enjoy the rest of the day at leisure.
Ubud is one of those places where days can become weeks and weeks become months. With a population of about 30,000 people, it is a town on the Indonesian island of Bali in Ubud District, located amongst rice paddies and steep ravines in the central foothills of the Gianyar regency. It’s also home to good restaurants, cafes and streets of shops, many selling goods from the region’s artisans.
Accommodations: Plataran Ubud

No visit to Bali would be complete without a visit to an insightful healer. Today we depart our hotel at 9:30 and visit one of the most noted healers in Bali, Pak Cok. We will meet with him in a private session for a consultation, where we have the opportunity to discuss anything we would like to know (the healer is subject to availability and cannot be pre-booked). Afterwards, we enjoy a suckling pig lunch at Ibu Oka in Ubud. Following lunch, we spend time strolling through the many shops and galleries before returning to our hotel.
Accommodations: Plataran Ubud

This morning we have a one-hour Yoga lesson with a Yoga instructor at Ashram Ubud. We then travel back to our hotel for breakfast and enjoy some free time.
In the afternoon, we will be picked up from the hotel for a cooking class. Our chef will introduce us some local specialties and answer questions we may have about Balinese cuisine. After some informative and entertaining hours of practice, we enjoy the mouth-watering dishes, which we have prepared. We travel back to our hotel after dinner.
Accommodations: Plataran Ubud

We depart the hotel after breakfast for a full day of tour featuring some of the highlights of Bali. The tour begins at the village of Batubulan, where we attend a cultural performance of Barong and Keris Dance, which depicts the story of the eternal battle between the good and the evil. We then proceed to Tohpati Village, where the famous Batik fabrics of Bali are painstakingly created by hand. Next we stop at Batubulan Village, which is well-known for its stone carving and ornate temples. We continue on through the woodcarving village of Mas and watch artisans chipping intricate designs from wood blocks. Our last stop before traveling back to our hotel is Celuk, the artistic heart and the gold and silver making center of Bali. Before traveling back to our hotel, we enjoy a cool break at the mountain village of Kintamani with its cool breeze and breathtaking vista of the still-active Mount Batur and its crater-lake while enjoying our lunch at local restaurant.
Accommodations: Plataran Ubud

After breakfast, you will be picked up for a relaxed cycling trip around Ubud villages to see the local Balinese rural life and a village temple. Cycling along small roads, the tour will take about 2 hours and you will see many friendly locals along the way. Arrive back at your hotel in the afternoon and the balance of your day is free.
Accommodations: Plataran Ubud

Breakfast at hotel before departing to Arma Museum for your Batik Class. This is a workshop where participants will learn about many features of Balinese batik, especially its form, motifs, techniques used, and its history. An interesting hint is to compare and find the difference between the motifs unique to Balinese batik and those motifs representative of the Javanese batik for instructive reference. In this workshop, each participant will receive a set of utensils and will make a piece of Balinese batik. Return to hotel and refresh.
Check out of the Ubud hotel and travel to Seminyak. First visit is to Mengwi “Taman Ayun”, known as the “Garden Temple in the Water”. Being a UNESCO Heritage site and one of the seven royal temples in Bali, the imposing complex stands on an island in a river and consists of two courts and a walled inner temple closed to non-Hindus.
Leaving the temple, we visit the sacred Monkey Forest, a cluster of towering trees, home to hundreds of monkeys. From here, we travel to Tanah Lot, the Temple of Earth and Sea, and watch the sunset beyond the black towers of this 16th century temple built on a black lava rock 200 meters off shore. The dramatic setting draws crowds to these shores every evening, and at low tide we can walk up on the rocky outcrop where the temple sits over the ocean.
Accommodations: Hotel Indigo Seminyak

Free day to enjoy our beautiful resort.
Accommodations: Hotel Indigo Seminyak

We enjoy the morning at leisure. At 1:30 PM, we depart the hotel with our guide for a pleasant short ride along the hills of Bali’s southern peninsula. This area, known as Bukit, offers a landscape and topography unequaled by any other region of the island. Unlike the majority, lush tropical countrysids which owed their fertile soils to the volcanoes that dotted the central highlands, this arid terrain-formed by millennia of coral sedimentations is a world of its own. Their beautiful-yet-wild beaches are heaven for surfers. In the corner of this peninsula, perched on a sheer cliff, a highly venerated Uluwatu Temple is situated.
On arrival, we enjoy a performance of the Ramayana epic-based Kecak Dance with the majestic temple and sunset as its background. The Kecak Dance is an especially unique and one of the most dramatic of all Balinese dances. A combination of dance and drama, the Kecak dance depicts the Hindu epic, “Ramayana,” and tells the story of Prince Rama, who with the help of the monkey-king Hanoman defeats the evil King Rahvana to rescue his Princess Sita. We then enjoy our Farewell BBQ Beach Dinner at Jimbaran.
Accommodations: Hotel Indigo Seminyak

It is time to say good-bye to this beautiful destination and fabulous new friends. Transfer to the airport in time for your onward flights home.