We went to Bali for a week in 2017. It is still one of my favourite trips ever. Bali is a beautiful country and the locals are very warm. The best part about Bali is that there’s something for everyone – treks & surfing for adventure lovers, temples for peace seekers, vegan food as well as seafood for food lovers, local handicrafts for shopaholics and insanely beautiful beaches and islands. We did a little bit of it all in our week there. We split our stay between Ubud and Nusa Dua. Our Ubud stay was jam-packed with a lot of activities but we took time off in our Nusa Dua stay to just chill at beaches. Here are my top 10 to-do activites when in Bali –

1. Sambangan Hidden Waterfalls – This is my favourite place that I visited in Bali. It is a beautiful and secluded waterfall that kind of forms a lagoon. There weren’t too many tourists either so we had the entire hidden waterfall to ourselves to explore and enjoy!

2. Sliding/diving off Aling Aling Waterfalls – I totally didn’t think this could be something fun to do – sliding off a waterfall! It isn’t a very high waterfall but it is so much fun! I totally recommend doing this whenever you are in Bali. Don’t worry about safety – they provide you with a safety jacket and there are divers nearby to help. I totally freaked out while doing it and people were quick to help me.

3. Staying in Ayodya Resorts, Nusa Dua – This has to be one of the prettiest resorts I’ve stayed in. This place is huge! It’s beautifully done up in a Balinese style and has its own private beach. The breakfast buffet was amazing! Definitely recommend staying here whenever you visit Bali.

4. Mt. Batur sunrise trek – This one is for the adrenaline junkies – trek up an active volcano in the night to catch sunrise in the morning. You need to be a little fit to be able to do the trek – I won’t recommend this to the faint hearted. But it’s totally worth it for the view in the morning. If you’re up for even more adventure check out the Mt. Agung trek.

5. Interacting with locals – The locals were very nice and warm throughout our trip. Definitely take out time to interact with them and find out more about Balinese culture.

6. Shopping in Ubud – Ubud market is a shopper’s paradise. There are so many pretty/aesthetic things to buy and it’s not expensive. From beautiful and colourful sarongs to jute bags to beautiful hand-made jewellery to paintings to handmade dreamcatchers, you can find them all in this amazing market! Definitely save all your shopping for Ubud.

7. Ulluwatu Beach – Suluban Beach: This beach is absolutely gorgeous! After high tide, once the sea water recedes, there are natural pools formed in the rocky beach. So you can grab a beer from Finn’s bar and chill in a natural pool! Add catching sunset at Finn’s in your to-do list. Also, the waves at this beach are perfect to go surfing!

8. Pandawa Beach: This beach was so beautiful and secluded. It is one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve been to. Bonus for all adrenaline junkies – you can paraglide off a cliff at this beach. Definitely add this to your Bali to-do list.

9. Eating vegan food in Ubud – I am a vegetarian and I dread the food part of travelling because I can very rarely find good vegetarian food outside India. But Ubud has so many vegan restaurants as well as vegan options on regular restaurants that it was a real treat for me! Definitely try out Earth Cafe.

10. Water sports & beautiful beaches – We took part in water sports in Nusa Dua beach. We did parasailing, sea-walking and other activities. This is a great way to spend your morning! The water sports are very decently priced and are loads of fun. Bali also has snorkeling, scuba diving and deep sea diving. Something I look forward to partaking in the next time I visit.

I wish I had time to visit the smaller islands of Bali as well – can’t wait to go back. I wish I could do a month or so in Bali – ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ style! 🙂

Have you visited Bali? Did you love this beautiful island as much as I did? Share your recommendations in the comments below!

Stay safe!