35 Things to Do in Bali, Ranked by What’s Actually Worth It

It is 5:40 a.m. on the rim of Mount Batur. The sky is the colour of a bruise above Lake Batur. A guide’s torch swings up the trail behind me. To the east the sun is a pixel above the rim of Mount Agung, and Lombok is stencilled in pink behind that. This is the only moment of the trip that is worth getting out of bed at 2 a.m. for. Most of the rest is too. Here are the 35 best things to do in Bali, ranked by what is actually worth it, and a few that are not.

What I am not going to do here is give you a flat alphabetical list of every temple, beach club and rice terrace on the island. The internet has plenty of those. What you actually need is a sense of which things are worth your morning, your driver fee, your two-hour transfer in traffic, and which look great in photos but disappoint when you stand there for real. So I have grouped them by what they are, sorted them inside each group by what is worth it, and at the end I have given you the editor’s actual top-7 lists for first-timers, returnees, surfers, families, wellness travellers, culture travellers, and people on a luxury budget.

Quick context. Prices in this article are in Indonesian rupiah (Rp 1,000 / about $0.06 in late 2025) with USD in brackets the first time. Most of the entrance fees changed in 2024 and 2025 after the new Bali tourism levy of Rp 150,000 per person took effect, so do not be shocked if a number you saw on a 2023 blog has doubled. I have used the prices I paid or saw posted on the gates in early 2026. Indonesian and Balinese terms are italicised on first use with a translation, then used freely. And if a thing is overrated I will say so.

Beaches and water

Bali is an island, and most travellers underrate the water side of it because Kuta-Legian-Seminyak gives them a flat impression of brown sand and big swells. Once you get to the Bukit, Amed, Lovina and the Nusa islands, the picture is different. These are the water experiences worth the drive.

1. Watch the sunrise from the rim of Mount Batur

Yes I am opening with a mountain in the beach section. The reason is the lake at the bottom and the sea horizon to the east, the same one you stare at from any south Bali beach, and the experience starts and ends with water you can see from the summit. The hike is easy in difficulty terms, brutal in timing terms. Pickup from your hotel around 2 a.m., trailhead at Toya Bungkah by 4, summit ridge before 6. Local-guide enforcement is real now: you cannot legally hike Batur without a registered Mount Batur Trekking Guide Association (HPPGB) guide, and the price is around Rp 600,000 per person ($38) for a small group, more for a private guide. Bring a head torch, a fleece, and water. Skip the breakfast cooked over volcanic steam, it is symbolic, not delicious.

2. Padang Padang and Bingin at low tide on the Bukit

Padang Padang is the famous one because it featured in Eat, Pray, Love. Bingin is the everyday one. Both are tucked into limestone cliff faces on the Bukit, both want you arriving at low tide, and both charge a tiny entry fee at the top of the steps (Rp 15,000 / about $0.95 at Padang Padang, free at Bingin if you walk in via the warung path from Jalan Pantai Bingin). The walk down to Bingin is the harder one, fifteen minutes of steep concrete with no railing in places. Once on the sand, both have warungs serving Bintang and grilled fish. If you only have time for one, do Bingin in the morning and stay through lunch. It is the better beach to actually swim. The south Bali beach roundup covers the rest of the Bukit if you want them all in one drive.

3. Surf at Uluwatu, Padang Padang or Canggu, by ability

Bali built its tourism on this. The Bukit reefs are advanced level, six-foot left-hand barrels off Uluwatu being the marquee wave, Padang Padang being the second-most marquee wave, both reef breaks that punish a missed take-off. Canggu and Echo are the intermediate spots, mellow shoulder-high reef and beach breaks. Kuta and Legian are the actual beginner zones, sandy bottom, plenty of soft-top boards rented for Rp 50,000 ($3.20) an hour with an hour-long lesson on top for Rp 350,000-450,000 ($22-28). I learned at Kuta and have gone back to Bingin twice. The Poppies Lane Kuta primer has the surf-school list.

4. Suluban Beach and Single Fin at sunset

Same Bukit limestone, different angle. Suluban is reached by walking through a sea cave at low tide. You come out into a tiny bay with reef on three sides and Single Fin bar on the cliff above. Sunset Sundays at Single Fin used to be the night of the week. Wednesdays now arguably better. Single Fin charges around Rp 100,000 ($6.30) for a Bintang at sunset, a 200% mark-up on the warung up the road. You are paying for the seat. Worth it once.

5. Jimbaran fish grill at sunset

Three rows of plastic tables on the sand, dozens of grills working seabass, snapper and squid in front of you, candles after dark. The view is over Jimbaran Bay back at the airport landing lights. Pick the table line first (the southern end, near Menega Cafe, has the best ocean view), then the grill. A whole snapper plus rice plus sambal matah plus beer comes to Rp 350,000-450,000 ($22-28) per person, depending on the restaurant. Tourist trap with prices to match, but the setting is genuinely the trip. Worth doing once on the first or last night.

6. Snorkel Jemeluk Bay, Amed

Three-hour drive from Seminyak (Rp 800,000-900,000 / $50-57 by private driver one way). Once you are there, the snorkel off Jemeluk Bay starts five metres from the sand. Hard coral on the slope, tropical fish, the occasional turtle, and the famous underwater temple statues a 200m swim out. Mask and fins from any of the dive shops on the road, Rp 50,000 ($3.20) for the day. Best between 7 and 9 a.m. before the wind picks up. Stay two nights, snorkel once, dive once. The Amed area guide has the dive shop shortlist.

7. Tulamben USAT Liberty wreck dive

Twenty kilometres up the coast from Amed, the easiest and most photographed wreck dive in Indonesia. The USAT Liberty was torpedoed in 1942, towed onto the beach, then pushed back into the sea by Mount Agung’s 1963 eruption. The wreck now sits 5 to 30 metres deep, accessible from the beach, no boat needed. Two-tank guided dive runs around Rp 950,000 ($60) including gear, about a third of what a Caribbean wreck dive costs. Open Water cert required for the deep parts; advanced or guided for the inside. Go at first light to beat the day-trippers from Sanur.

8. Lovina dolphin spotting at dawn (caveats)

Real talk: the dolphin trip is overrated when twelve fast boats chase the same pod. Some mornings you see twenty dorsal fins; some mornings you spend two hours bouncing on a swell looking at nothing. Boat hire is around Rp 350,000 ($22) for two people for a 6 to 8 a.m. trip. The black-sand north coast vibe is the actual reason to be in Lovina, alongside Singsing Waterfall and the Brahma Vihara monastery. Do dolphins as a bonus, not the trip.

9. Mangrove kayak and snorkel at Nusa Lembongan

Lembongan is the calm Nusa, smaller and more developed than Penida next door. The mangrove forest at the north end is the rare offshore Bali experience that does not need a guide. Hire a clear-bottom kayak from any of the warungs at Mangrove Beach for Rp 100,000 ($6.30) and paddle in for an hour. For snorkel, the boats from Yellow Bridge run a three-stop tour (Manta Point, Crystal Bay, Mangrove Point) for around Rp 350,000 ($22) per person including gear, half-day. Nusa Lembongan is a 35-minute fast boat from Sanur (Rp 250,000 / $16 one way). Stay two nights, not one.

10. Sanur sunrise paddle

Quietest beach experience on the south side of Bali. Sanur faces east, so it is the sunrise coast not the sunset coast. The reef takes the swell at the horizon, so the lagoon inside is flat enough for stand-up paddleboarding. SUP rental is Rp 100,000 ($6.30) for an hour from any of the operators along the boardwalk. Arrive at the beach by 6 a.m. and you have it nearly to yourself for an hour. The boardwalk runs five kilometres from Mertasari in the south to the harbour in the north, and is the best flat morning walk on the island. Sanur stays calmer than Seminyak by a country mile.

Culture and temples

The reason Bali feels different to anywhere else in Indonesia is that 83% of the population practises Agama Hindu Dharma, a Bali-specific Hindu tradition that touches every doorstep, dashboard and rice paddy. The morning canang sari (the small woven palm offerings) on every front step is the most visible bit. The temple visits below are how you see the rest. Read our guide to Balinese Hinduism first if you want to know what you are looking at; everything below makes more sense afterwards.

11. Tanah Lot at sunset (and the lesson on crowds)

The most-photographed temple in Bali. A small pura (Balinese temple) on a tidal rock, framed by a sun setting into the Indian Ocean. Entrance fee Rp 75,000 ($4.75) for foreign adults. The lesson is that everyone arrives at 5 p.m., hits the same viewpoint, and you spend forty minutes elbow to elbow with selfie sticks. The fix: arrive at 4 p.m., walk past the main viewpoint to the rocky platform on the north side (you can stand right on the wave-cut shelf at low tide), shoot from there, and leave by 6.15 before the parking jam. A walk-around to Pura Batu Bolong, the sea-arch temple, takes ten minutes and most of the crowd skips it.

12. Kecak fire dance at Pura Uluwatu

This is the cultural experience I push hardest on first-timers. Sixty to one hundred bare-chested men sit in a circle and chant cak-cak-cak in a hypnotic rhythm for an hour, with the Ramayana acted out around a central fire as the sun sets behind them off the Bukit cliff. Tickets Rp 150,000 ($9.50), starts at 6 p.m. (5.30 in shorter days, check on the day). Buy at the gate from 5. The temple itself charges a separate Rp 50,000 ($3.20) and is worth a wander before the dance. Tie up your sarong (provided), keep snacks zipped, and do not wear sunglasses on top of your head, the macaques will steal them. They have done it to me twice.

13. Pura Besakih, the mother temple

The largest and holiest temple complex in Bali, sitting at 1,000m on the slope of Mount Agung. A 22-temple complex, the high meru tiered pagodas climbing the hill, mountain in cloud above them. Recent reform: from 2023 there is a single combined entrance ticket of Rp 150,000 ($9.50) per foreign adult, which now includes the mandatory shuttle from the lower car park to the temple gate (no more touts demanding extra fees). Sarong rental is included. Allow ninety minutes; you can only enter the courtyards if you are praying, but the architecture is the point. Pair with Tirta Empul (next entry) and Goa Gajah for a temple day.

14. Tirta Empul, the purification temple

The water from a sacred spring runs through twelve stone spouts into a bathing pool, and pilgrims (and respectful visitors) work down the line one spout at a time as a melukat, the Balinese water-purification ritual. Entrance Rp 75,000 ($4.75), sarong included. To bathe, hire the orange ceremony sarong from the side stall (Rp 25,000 / $1.60), bring a change of clothes, and follow the local in front of you, do not skip a spout. Wait at the spouts that have offerings on top, those are reserved for funerals or specific cleansings. Best between 8 and 10 a.m., before the tour buses arrive from Ubud. Read more on the ritual side of the visit.

15. Pura Ulun Danu Bratan on Lake Beratan

The view that ended up on the back of the Rp 50,000 banknote. A Hindu-Buddhist temple complex on a small island in Lake Beratan at 1,200m altitude, perpetually misty in the early morning, mountains behind. Entrance Rp 75,000 ($4.75). The temple complex itself is worth twenty minutes; the meru pagodas standing in the lake are the picture. Worth combining with the Munduk waterfall walk further north (it is a thirty-minute drive). Bring a fleece, the highlands are noticeably colder than the south coast. The Munduk area guide has the rest of the highland circuit.

16. Goa Gajah, the Elephant Cave

Half an hour east of Ubud, near Bedulu. A 9th-century cave with a demon-mouth entrance carved into the rock face, ritual bathing pools (rediscovered in the 1950s), and a small forest walk down to a Buddhist meditation grotto on the river. Entrance Rp 50,000 ($3.20), sarong included. A 30-to-45 minute visit, easy to pair with Tirta Empul on the same morning. Not the most spectacular temple on the island but the one with the most layered history; the cave itself dates older than the surrounding Hindu shrines, with Buddhist remains alongside.

17. Saraswati Temple lily pond, Ubud

Free, in the middle of central Ubud. A small water temple with a long lily-pond approach, dedicated to Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and arts. Catch a Legong dance performance in the courtyard at 7.30 p.m. (Rp 100,000 / $6.30), one of the most accessible Balinese dance experiences if Kecak feels like too far a drive. The visit takes ten minutes if you skip the dance, ninety if you stay.

18. Pura Lempuyang, the Gates of Heaven (and the mirror trick)

The temple itself is a 1,775-step climb to the summit shrine on a holy mountain in east Bali, but 99% of visitors stop at the lower gate, the iconic candi bentar (split gate) that frames Mount Agung in the distance. The viral Instagram shot, the one with the perfect mirror reflection of the gate in shallow water, is not real. There is no pool. A man at the foot of the gate holds a small mirror under your phone lens to fake the reflection, then asks for a tip. The gates themselves are still beautiful and the Agung view on a clear morning is genuine, just go in knowing the trick. Entrance Rp 75,000 ($4.75), three-hour wait at the gate in peak season because everyone is queueing for the photo. Go at 7 a.m. or skip the photo and walk past it to the upper temple.

Nature and adventure

The middle of the island is mountains, lakes, rice terraces and waterfalls, and most travellers underdose on this part because they stay south. A driver day to the highlands is the single best money you spend in Bali after the Kecak ticket. Here is what you do with it.

19. Mount Agung pre-dawn climb (the harder one)

The taller, harder cousin of Mount Batur, and the holiest mountain in Bali. 3,031m to the summit. Two routes: the Pura Pasar Agung route from the south (six to seven hours up, four down), and the Besakih route (ten hours up). Both start at 11 p.m. or midnight to summit at sunrise. Mandatory licensed guide, Rp 1,500,000-2,000,000 ($95-127) per person. Conditional, the volcano was closed during the 2017-2019 alerts and partial closures still happen, so check with the guide a week out. For most travellers, Batur (entry 1) is the right pick. Agung is for the people who actively want a hard hike.

20. Tegalalang rice terraces (with the influencer-crowd warning)

Twenty minutes north of Ubud, the most-visited rice terraces in Bali. Entrance to the main viewpoint is Rp 25,000 ($1.60), but the field walk through the terraces themselves involves a couple of small “donations” of Rp 10,000-20,000 at unmarked checkpoints from local landowners, which is fair, the terraces are working farmland that they maintain. The real issue is the swing-rope industry: dozens of operators charge Rp 250,000-500,000 ($16-32) for an Instagram swing over the valley. Touristic and frankly not the photo you think it is. Arrive by 8 a.m. before the swing crowd lands, walk down through the paddies, climb back up the far side. Ninety minutes does it. Then drive on.

21. Jatiluwih, the larger and quieter terraces

Two hours west of Ubud in Tabanan regency, this is the UNESCO-listed working subak system of irrigated terraces, and it is exponentially bigger and quieter than Tegalalang. Entrance Rp 50,000 ($3.20). The terraces here run up the slope of Mount Batukaru rather than into a single valley, so you can walk a 4km loop through the paddies in about ninety minutes. There are warungs at the entrance for a Rp 35,000 ($2.20) lunch with the same view. If you can only do one, do this one.

22. Sekumpul, Tegenungan, Tibumana, Munduk and Tukad Cepung waterfalls

Bali has more waterfalls than you can fit into one trip. The shortlist that earns the drive: Sekumpul in north Bali, a multi-tier 80m cascade that requires a 90-minute steep walk in (mandatory local guide, around Rp 200,000 / $13), the most spectacular one. Tegenungan, the easiest waterfall to reach, twenty minutes south of Ubud, but always crowded; visit on the way to or from the airport not as a destination. Tibumana, my pick, near Bangli, a single elegant veil into a swimmable plunge pool, ten-minute walk in, around Rp 20,000 ($1.30) entrance, never busy. Munduk, three cascades in the highlands, the area-walk version of waterfall hunting (covered in detail in the Munduk guide). Tukad Cepung, the cave waterfall, where light shafts come through the cave roof at midday, photographically spectacular but only that one hour. And Singsing in Lovina for the north-coast pairing.

23. Sidemen rice-terrace drives

The east-Bali rice valley, an hour from Ubud, two from the south coast, looks like Tegalalang did before Instagram. Quiet, working, no tour buses. The main road from Sidemen up to Iseh is the drive: terraces both sides, Mount Agung framing the head of the valley, half a dozen warungs and one or two eco-villas to stop at. No entrance fee anywhere. Stay one night at a riverside jukung-style bungalow (Rp 400,000-700,000 / $25-44) and you have the entire valley to yourself before 8 a.m.

24. Nusa Penida day trip (Kelingking, Angel Billabong, Diamond Beach)

The most photographed cliff in Bali sits not on Bali but on the next island over. Nusa Penida is a 35-minute fast boat from Sanur (Rp 250,000 / $16 one way), and on a day trip you cover the west coast (Kelingking, Crystal Bay, Angel Billabong, Broken Beach) or the east coast (Diamond Beach, Atuh, Thousand Islands viewpoint), but not both. The west loop is the more famous one. A Penida driver charges around Rp 700,000-900,000 ($44-57) for the day, including the harbour pickup. Walking down to Kelingking Beach itself is brutal in both directions and dangerous in wet conditions; the view from the rim is the trip. Skip Angel Billabong as a swim if the tide is up, the rip is fatal in season. Stay two nights if you can; a day trip is six hours of driving for four hours of sightseeing.

25. Manta Point dive at Nusa Penida

Five-metre wingspan giant oceanic mantas hold station at a cleaning station off the south-west tip of Penida, year round but most reliable from May to October. Two-tank dive trip from Sanur or Lembongan around Rp 1,500,000-1,800,000 ($95-114) including gear, drift dive, advanced cert preferred but not always required. Cold (down to 18°C in July when the upwelling is strongest), bring a 5mm wetsuit. Pair with Crystal Bay for mola mola in the same trip, July to October only. This is in the top three diving experiences I have done in Asia.

26. Sacred Monkey Forest, Ubud

Free monkeys-in-temple experience in the centre of Ubud, ten hectares of rainforest with three temples and around 1,260 long-tailed macaques. Entrance Rp 80,000 ($5.05) for foreign adults. The macaques are habituated to humans and will steal sunglasses, water bottles, hats, and any food in a transparent bag. Take the sunglasses off before you go in, leave snacks at the hotel. The temple complexes themselves (Pura Dalem Agung at the south end is the photogenic one) are worth as much time as the monkeys. Allow ninety minutes.

Food and markets

Eat at warungs more than restaurants. A warung is a small family-run eatery, three tables, one steam table of pre-cooked dishes, the ibu (mother) running the show. Rp 25,000-45,000 ($1.60-2.85) for a plate; the same plate at a beach club is six times the price for a fraction of the soul. Read our guide to nasi goreng and where to eat it in Bali for the long version on the dish, and the Bali courses guide for cooking classes.

27. Babi guling at Ibu Oka or Pak Malen

Babi guling is Balinese suckling pig, slow-spit-roasted with a stuffing of turmeric, lemongrass, kaffir lime and chilli. Ibu Oka 3 in Ubud is the famous one (Rp 75,000-90,000 / $4.75-5.70 per plate, lunch only, packed by 12); Pak Malen on Sunset Road in Seminyak is the local pick (open from 9 a.m. until they sell out, around 1 p.m., Rp 80,000 / $5.05). The plate comes with rice, crispy skin, lawar (a herbed long-bean salad), blood sausage and pork stew. Specifically Bali, Hindu Bali, you cannot get this elsewhere in Indonesia.

28. Sate lilit in a Hindu compound

Sate lilit is the Balinese sate variant: minced fish (or pork, or chicken) mixed with grated coconut and the same Balinese spice paste as babi guling, then wrapped around a flattened lemongrass stick or piece of bamboo and grilled. Tastes nothing like the soy-and-peanut sate from Java. Best at a banjar feast if you ever get invited; otherwise Warung Mak Beng in Sanur and Bumbu Bali in Tanjung Benoa do versions that hold up. Around Rp 65,000 ($4.10) for a plate of ten skewers with rice.

29. Ubud Sunday market and Sanur night market

The traditional markets in central Ubud (Pasar Ubud, daily but Sunday is biggest) and Sanur (Sindhu night market on Jalan Danau Tamblingan, every evening from 5) are where the locals shop. Pasar Ubud opens at 4 a.m. for the produce trade, then becomes the tourist craft market by 8. The food stalls upstairs at Pasar Ubud are real warungs, not for tourists, and lunch is Rp 25,000 ($1.60). Sindhu in Sanur is the better dinner market, dozens of food carts, grilled fish straight off the bamboo skewer, the local jukung juice ladies pressing fresh sugarcane in the corner. Stay 90 minutes; you can eat three rounds and not break Rp 100,000 ($6.30).

Wellness and yoga

Bali is the wellness capital of South-East Asia, and the wellness scene runs from genuinely good to genuinely silly. The shortlist of what is actually worth doing.

30. Drop-in yoga class at Yoga Barn or The Practice

Yoga Barn in Ubud is the obvious one, the original. Six shalas, drop-in classes from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., around Rp 165,000 ($10.50) for a single class, multi-class passes available. Style range from gentle hatha to ashtanga to sound healing. Crowded at the headline 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. classes; book a day ahead. The Practice in Canggu is the quieter, more focused option, vinyasa-led with a smaller community feel, similar pricing. Skip the Insta-friendly cliffside-yoga classes that charge Rp 700,000+ for a 60-minute flow with the same teachers in a worse studio.

31. Traditional Balinese massage (the real thing, not the spa)

Balinese massage is firm, oil-based, with stretches and acupressure built in, 60-90 minutes long. At a roadside spa in Ubud you pay Rp 150,000-200,000 ($9.50-12.70) for a 60-minute treatment that would be Rp 1,000,000+ at a beach-club spa. Jaens Spa near the football pitch in Ubud and Karsa Spa on the Campuhan ridge are the two I keep going back to. For something less generic, ask your homestay for the local balian (traditional healer) referral, but be respectful, this is not a spa experience, it is medicine.

32. Cooking class at Paon Bali, Ubud

The class everyone recommends, and it earns it. Half-day Balinese cooking class with the Wayan family in Laplapan village, twenty minutes from central Ubud. Starts with the early-morning Pasar Ubud market tour (you pick the ingredients), then drives back to the family compound, then six dishes (sate lilit, base gede spice paste, gado-gado, soto ayam, banana fritter, plus one rotating dish) over a charcoal stove in the open-air kitchen. Around Rp 500,000 ($32) per person including pickup. Read more in the Bali courses guide; cooking classes pair well with a temple morning the same day.

Day trips and nearby islands

The best Bali trips include a day or two off the island. Here are the two I would actually do.

33. Gili Trawangan via fast boat

Two hours by fast boat from Padangbai (around Rp 600,000-800,000 / $38-50 return). Trawangan is the nightlife Gili, Air the snorkel-with-turtles Gili, Meno the honeymoon Gili. No cars on any of them, so it is bicycle, horse cart or your feet. Two nights is the minimum for it to be worth the boat. Snorkel turtles are easier and closer here than in Penida; Gili Air at the southern reef is reliable. Read the Padangbai gateway guide for the boat-day logistics.

34. Lovina + Brahma Vihara + Singsing combo (north Bali in a day)

If you only get one day in north Bali, this is the route. Drive up over Bedugul (stop at Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, entry 15), continue over the pass to Lovina by lunch, eat at one of the warungs along Pantai Binaria, drive ten minutes inland to Brahma Vihara Arama (Bali’s only Buddhist monastery, free entry, sarong required), then ten more minutes to Singsing Waterfall for a swim. Driver costs around Rp 800,000-1,000,000 ($50-63) for the full Seminyak-and-back day. Skip the dolphin trip unless you have a second morning.

35. Free day in Munduk for the highland walks

If you have a full free day with no agenda and you are tired of the heat, drive (or get driven) to Munduk in the central highlands. 1,200m altitude, 8°C cooler than Seminyak, three waterfalls walkable from the village (Munduk, Melanting, Golden Valley), coffee plantations, twin lakes (Tamblingan and Buyan) framed by the caldera ridge, and the best kopi luwak-free arabica coffee on the island. Stay one night, walk the next morning, drive back for lunch.

Specifically skip these

Real opinion bit. These are the things I would actively avoid, even though they appear in every other Bali listicle.

The Sky Garden / Bounty Kuta nightclub strip

The Kuta nightclub strip down Jalan Legian is what gave Bali its bad reputation in the 2000s. It is loud, sticky, full of free-shot promoters, and has nothing to do with Bali. If you want a night out, the Single Fin sunset (entry 4) and the Old Man’s in Canggu are both better. Save Kuta for the surf beach in the morning.

The “calèche” horse carriage rides at sunset

You will see these in Sanur and along Kuta’s beach road. The horses are typically underweight, overworked, and spend twelve hours on hot tarmac. There is no version of this that is good for the animal. Walk the boardwalk instead. Cycling tours of the same routes (Rp 150,000 / $9.50 for a half-day ride from one of the Sanur outfits) are the better swap.

The “parrot on shoulder” beach photo at Lovina

A guy with a captive cockatoo (occasionally a small monkey) approaches you on Lovina beach, plonks the bird on your shoulder, takes the photo, then asks for Rp 100,000-200,000. The bird is not in good shape. Politely say “tidak, terima kasih” (no, thank you) and walk on.

Tirta Gangga “jump the pond” stepping-stone photo

The east-Bali water palace itself is a lovely 30-minute visit (Rp 50,000 / $3.20 entry). The viral photo of someone leaping between stepping-stones in the koi pond involves an hour-long queue, a fee for the “photo zone” position, and an awkward jump in front of fifty other waiting tourists. Skip the queue, walk the rest of the gardens, take a normal photo. The garden is beautiful without the gimmick.

The editor’s top 7, by traveller type

If you only have time for seven things, here is what I would actually do, sorted for who you are.

First-timer (one week, south + Ubud base)

1. Kecak fire dance at Pura Uluwatu (entry 12)
2. Mount Batur sunrise hike (entry 1)
3. Tegalalang or Jatiluwih rice terraces (entry 21 if you can)
4. Sacred Monkey Forest, Ubud (entry 26)
5. Tirta Empul purification (entry 14)
6. Jimbaran beach grill at sunset (entry 5)
7. Padang Padang or Bingin morning (entry 2)

Returnee (you have done the standard list)

1. Nusa Penida overnight, not day trip (entry 24)
2. Sidemen rice-terrace drive (entry 23)
3. Tulamben USAT Liberty wreck dive (entry 7)
4. Munduk highland night (entry 35)
5. Sekumpul or Tukad Cepung waterfalls (entry 22)
6. Cooking class at Paon Bali (entry 32)
7. Brahma Vihara monastery + north Bali day (entry 34)

Surfers (any level)

1. Uluwatu reef (advanced) or Canggu beach break (intermediate) (entry 3)
2. Padang Padang at low tide (entry 2)
3. Single Fin Sunday sunset (entry 4)
4. Bingin morning session, lunch at the warungs (entry 2)
5. A surf-photo session with one of the Bukit photographers
6. Echo Beach or Pererenan when Canggu is too crowded
7. A board-shaping shop visit on the Bukit (it is a real culture)

Families with kids

1. Sanur sunrise paddleboard or boardwalk bike (entry 10)
2. Sacred Monkey Forest, Ubud (entry 26)
3. Waterbom park in Kuta, the only theme park worth the gate
4. Tegenungan waterfall (entry 22), the easiest one to walk to
5. Nusa Lembongan two-night stay (entry 9), beach toys + mangrove kayak
6. Ubud cooking class with kids over 10 (entry 32)
7. Jimbaran fish grill (entry 5), the kid-friendly version of dinner-on-the-sand

Wellness travellers

1. Yoga Barn morning class, Ubud (entry 30)
2. Tirta Empul melukat (entry 14)
3. Traditional Balinese massage at Karsa Spa or Jaens (entry 31)
4. Sound-healing session at Pyramids of Chi or similar (Ubud)
5. A two-day silent retreat at one of the eco-villas in Sidemen
6. The Campuhan Ridge walk at dawn (free, central Ubud)
7. Cooking class with the herb-garden walk first (entry 32)

Culture-first travellers

1. Pura Besakih, the mother temple (entry 13)
2. Tirta Empul purification (entry 14)
3. Kecak fire dance, Pura Uluwatu (entry 12)
4. Goa Gajah elephant cave (entry 16)
5. Pura Lempuyang, the actual upper temple (entry 18)
6. A village ceremony if your homestay invites you, this beats every paid show
7. Pura Ulun Danu Bratan + Munduk highland day (entry 15 + 35)

Luxury budget ($300+/night)

1. Bukit clifftop villa with a pool over Bingin or Uluwatu (entry 2 + 4)
2. Helicopter sunset tour of Tanah Lot
3. Private dive boat to Manta Point + lunch at Crystal Bay (entry 25)
4. Six Senses or Mandapa-style ridge stay in Ubud, the ridge being the point
5. Private chef cooking class in your villa (entry 32 turned up)
6. A multi-day east-Bali ride or driver itinerary, Sidemen + Amed + Lovina (entry 23 + 6 + 8)
7. Private after-hours photo access at Pura Lempuyang (entry 18) or Tirta Empul (entry 14), some properties arrange it

If you do six of these on a one-week trip you will have seen more of Bali than 80% of visitors. If you do two of them slowly you will probably enjoy yourself more than the people who tried for ten. The list is not a checklist; it is a permission slip to skip the things you do not actually want to do. Pair it with the where-to-stay area guide, the 7-day itinerary, and the best-time-to-visit calendar so you land in the right window. The full Things to Do archive has the deeper guides for each one above. Send me the photos. The good ones. The ones from the rim.