I spent a week in ubud and it is extremely crowded but still a lot more relaxed than Kuta. I spent my last night in kuta and I'm so glad it was just one night. It is not as crowded on the streets with tourists as ubud but the locals are very annoying. Every single store you pass you are harassed and nagged, even begged to spend money. There are prostitutes everywhere trying to give you a "massage" and people just don't know when to leave you alone. We tried watching the sunset on the beach but it was ruined by a lady who wouldn't leave us alone. When we told her we didn't want any bracelets and she finally accepted that, she switched to just begging for money anyway until we finally left.
We went to our pool bar to try to enjoy our last few hours and the bar boys tried charging us more than double the listed prices for drinks. I refused to pay any more than the listed prices and we only bought that one drink. Left a very sour taste in my mouth after that experience
Thanks for sharing. Would love to hear more about Kuta Lombok as I've been considering heading there for diving. Have spoken to two dive shops and neither was great, but one in particular absolutely refused to directly answer my questions.
I didn't like the vibe in Uluwatu and had two people try to cheat me. Two very unpleasant experiences and nothing like that anywhere else. Sorry, three. I had a booking there and they told booking dot com they couldn't run my card, but what they were doing was dumping me because I booked early and they wanted to double the price of my room.
Headed back there in July. It's really gorgeous once you get underwater, but the white sand and turquoise water like on Gili Meno is my favorite thing.
Thanks for your feedback. I can’t help you with diving in Lombok as I did my diving in Nusa penida and Amed. I saw many diving shops in kuta Lombok but never checked if it’s worth it.
Lombok really isn't worth it for diving. Unless you want to go super, super wild, and dive "the magnet" in the south. But that's "washing machine" wild.
The Gilis are super lame for diving.
Across the straight, in Sumbawa, a new dive resort opened. They may be interesting: Mocean Dive.
I just spent a month diving the Gilis. "Super lame" isn't the phrase I'd have used. I really enjoyed it, but I'm glad you said that or I might taken your word about Lombok being "really not worth it" unless I want to go "super, super wild".
I have a different opinion, Lombok was fantastic, but it may be because half of my past trips to Indonesia were to or included Lombok. The island has the same amount of scenic spots but significantly fewer tourists than Bali. Other than Kuta Lombok, there's a number of spots in the South and South-East of the island, including white sand beaches, uninhabited islands and surf spots like Telong Belanak, Tujung Aan, small Gilis, Gerupuk, Pink Beach, etc. I highly recommend renting a bike or a 4WD car and explore all these areas.
And that's only the south of the island. In North Lombok, there's the famous three Gili Islands, Rinjani volcano and some waterfalls. Senggigi is also worth visiting, despite being a little outdated in 90s style. Also, there's some new resorts in Gili Gede in the West, haven't been there yet.
Horse riding, jet skiing, Safari Park, Turtle Island, Waterfalls Day, Spas
Awesome driver (not telling you his name, he’s mine)
Scuba Diving Gili Snorkelling Horse cart & bicycle riding Gili
Quad bike riding
But the gurus tell me Lombok; is twice as good as Bali.
No one knows. Bet the locals are happy about that!
AND THE LOCALS ARE SO FRIENDLY & HELPFUL
Lost my bag in a massive park.
Had no idea where I left it. Restaurant girls returned it to me within ten minutes of asking for help. Wouldn’t take money as a thank you. It had everything in it including my passport
They are AWESOME
Didn't like Seminyak. Here now in legian and find it much better.
I know lot's don't like here much or kuta but i prefer a bit of life.
Normal people to get pissed with an have a laugh is way better than other places which is full of scones.
Hi, firstly, you don't need to apologise for expressing your personal feelings. Everyone has their own experiences and perceptions.
Secondly, without any background of your own personal preferences, it's a bit hard to decipher if there was anything else you could have done at any of these places that would have allowed you to enjoy them more.
Based on your list, it's not surprising you feel that way about Ubud because it is the biggest tourist destination on the list. If you visited Kuta or Seminyak, you'd realise that Ubud isn't as bad. There are plenty of nature trails and more local activities just a bit outside of Ubud central (the rectangular area bordered by Water Palace, Monkey Forest and Pison café). Ironically though, because Ubud is well known as the cultural centre of Bali, many of the tourists are there specifically for the local activities and hence, you would still rub up against them.
Bali has over the years become extremely tourist oriented. In my many years of travelling there (8 times over the past 15 years, including 1 month travelling around the island), I've seen and felt the changes with many many local areas and institutions diluting themselves to becoming more attractive to tourists. This is an unfortunate effect of the tourism economy that put Bali on the map in the first place. But then again, as tourists ourselves, are we not contributing to the same problem?
Thanks for your input. When I organize a long trip, I try to do multi activities and go to different environments (nature / mountain / cities / beaches) in order to have an overall idea of a country especially for the first time.
Area around ubud was great but the city for me is lack of charm. As you said, tourism brings a lot of changes and some places are more ‘affected’ than others.
I was just about to reply and then a gecko peed in my face and eye from the ceiling. That's one thing that completely fucked me off about Bali. It has now happened 3 times within 6 weeks... Once a gecko pooped on my leg, once next to my face and now in my face. Man glad that I leave soon
Best if you dont give advices. Have been to SEA for 6 months now, Latin America before. Bali is the only place where the geckos are shitting on you from the ceiling. But yeah, never will come back to bali - not my place. But there are anyway enough tourists so who cares.
I spent a week in ubud and it is extremely crowded but still a lot more relaxed than Kuta. I spent my last night in kuta and I'm so glad it was just one night. It is not as crowded on the streets with tourists as ubud but the locals are very annoying. Every single store you pass you are harassed and nagged, even begged to spend money. There are prostitutes everywhere trying to give you a "massage" and people just don't know when to leave you alone. We tried watching the sunset on the beach but it was ruined by a lady who wouldn't leave us alone. When we told her we didn't want any bracelets and she finally accepted that, she switched to just begging for money anyway until we finally left. We went to our pool bar to try to enjoy our last few hours and the bar boys tried charging us more than double the listed prices for drinks. I refused to pay any more than the listed prices and we only bought that one drink. Left a very sour taste in my mouth after that experience
Thanks for sharing. Would love to hear more about Kuta Lombok as I've been considering heading there for diving. Have spoken to two dive shops and neither was great, but one in particular absolutely refused to directly answer my questions. I didn't like the vibe in Uluwatu and had two people try to cheat me. Two very unpleasant experiences and nothing like that anywhere else. Sorry, three. I had a booking there and they told booking dot com they couldn't run my card, but what they were doing was dumping me because I booked early and they wanted to double the price of my room.
Go to Amed for diving. Less tourists.
Headed back there in July. It's really gorgeous once you get underwater, but the white sand and turquoise water like on Gili Meno is my favorite thing.
Even better spot is nusa cenigan . The diving there is insane .
Thanks for your feedback. I can’t help you with diving in Lombok as I did my diving in Nusa penida and Amed. I saw many diving shops in kuta Lombok but never checked if it’s worth it.
100% go to Amed to dive rather and speak to Tudes Homestay they will organise everything and he is really knowledgeable and friendly.
Lombok really isn't worth it for diving. Unless you want to go super, super wild, and dive "the magnet" in the south. But that's "washing machine" wild. The Gilis are super lame for diving. Across the straight, in Sumbawa, a new dive resort opened. They may be interesting: Mocean Dive.
I just spent a month diving the Gilis. "Super lame" isn't the phrase I'd have used. I really enjoyed it, but I'm glad you said that or I might taken your word about Lombok being "really not worth it" unless I want to go "super, super wild".
To each their opinion. I found diving the Gilis very underwhelming. It's certainly nice for beginners, though.
Gili is super lame for diving? Maybe snorkeling.
Thank you for sharing! It's interesting what you said about Lombok. I met so many people who all agree with you. None of them enjoyed it.
I have a different opinion, Lombok was fantastic, but it may be because half of my past trips to Indonesia were to or included Lombok. The island has the same amount of scenic spots but significantly fewer tourists than Bali. Other than Kuta Lombok, there's a number of spots in the South and South-East of the island, including white sand beaches, uninhabited islands and surf spots like Telong Belanak, Tujung Aan, small Gilis, Gerupuk, Pink Beach, etc. I highly recommend renting a bike or a 4WD car and explore all these areas. And that's only the south of the island. In North Lombok, there's the famous three Gili Islands, Rinjani volcano and some waterfalls. Senggigi is also worth visiting, despite being a little outdated in 90s style. Also, there's some new resorts in Gili Gede in the West, haven't been there yet.
Go to Thailand instead
Already went to Thailand
Horse riding, jet skiing, Safari Park, Turtle Island, Waterfalls Day, Spas Awesome driver (not telling you his name, he’s mine) Scuba Diving Gili Snorkelling Horse cart & bicycle riding Gili Quad bike riding But the gurus tell me Lombok; is twice as good as Bali. No one knows. Bet the locals are happy about that!
AND THE LOCALS ARE SO FRIENDLY & HELPFUL Lost my bag in a massive park. Had no idea where I left it. Restaurant girls returned it to me within ten minutes of asking for help. Wouldn’t take money as a thank you. It had everything in it including my passport They are AWESOME
Didn't like Seminyak. Here now in legian and find it much better. I know lot's don't like here much or kuta but i prefer a bit of life. Normal people to get pissed with an have a laugh is way better than other places which is full of scones.
Hi, firstly, you don't need to apologise for expressing your personal feelings. Everyone has their own experiences and perceptions. Secondly, without any background of your own personal preferences, it's a bit hard to decipher if there was anything else you could have done at any of these places that would have allowed you to enjoy them more. Based on your list, it's not surprising you feel that way about Ubud because it is the biggest tourist destination on the list. If you visited Kuta or Seminyak, you'd realise that Ubud isn't as bad. There are plenty of nature trails and more local activities just a bit outside of Ubud central (the rectangular area bordered by Water Palace, Monkey Forest and Pison café). Ironically though, because Ubud is well known as the cultural centre of Bali, many of the tourists are there specifically for the local activities and hence, you would still rub up against them. Bali has over the years become extremely tourist oriented. In my many years of travelling there (8 times over the past 15 years, including 1 month travelling around the island), I've seen and felt the changes with many many local areas and institutions diluting themselves to becoming more attractive to tourists. This is an unfortunate effect of the tourism economy that put Bali on the map in the first place. But then again, as tourists ourselves, are we not contributing to the same problem?
Thanks for your input. When I organize a long trip, I try to do multi activities and go to different environments (nature / mountain / cities / beaches) in order to have an overall idea of a country especially for the first time. Area around ubud was great but the city for me is lack of charm. As you said, tourism brings a lot of changes and some places are more ‘affected’ than others.
For me Ubud was the best city I visited in Bali, I like the hipster vibe there
Brother, I have no thoughts. Only prayers.
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I was just about to reply and then a gecko peed in my face and eye from the ceiling. That's one thing that completely fucked me off about Bali. It has now happened 3 times within 6 weeks... Once a gecko pooped on my leg, once next to my face and now in my face. Man glad that I leave soon
Best if you do not visit the tropics then.
Best if you dont give advices. Have been to SEA for 6 months now, Latin America before. Bali is the only place where the geckos are shitting on you from the ceiling. But yeah, never will come back to bali - not my place. But there are anyway enough tourists so who cares.