Anyone been? Missus is pushing hard for a holiday over there but I ain’t going unless the MTB action is worth it 🙂

Any tips / recommendations – not just biking, but places to go, things to do, places to avoid?

Help!

Spent a month in Bali few years back , great place to visit , eye opening culture & fantastic people.

As for mountain biking well most of the islands interior is jungle and the humidity is like a brick wall , i was pouring with sweat just walking down the street –  wouldnt like to do any serious exertion unless well conditioned for the heat..

I wouldnt go all that way with expections of it being a great riding vacation to be honest although i dont doubt someone somewhere caters for it

Only been to Bali for a bike trip so cannot really give any advice on sightseeing, heard the main bit being to avoid Kuta as its basicaly just a version of any Spainish seaside town but with Australians instead of Brits.
We did 4 days with Infinity Mountain Biking, seemed like a good bunch who do a wide spectrum of different types of rides, mostly XC related.
At the time Bali Bike park was not open, but thats not the case now so that may be a good place to visit if you like some shorter more gnarlier shuttle assisted riding?
Its been over 5 years but pretty sure both are still up and running (internet says yes).
Ride with a few Indonesians in HK and they say mountian bikings really picking up out there, but being Indonesia everything is pretty spaced out and difficult to get to for a tourist.

Just got back from a week in Bali. No biking involved but it’s the third time we’ve been and we’ll be going again I’m sure.

For places to stay I’d recommend Ubud or the surrounding area. Some superb restaurants and places to eat, loads of great temples, rice terraces and sights in general. If you’ve never been before it is a different world. And the people are genuinely the nicest people on earth. If you want detailed recommendations let me know. As above, avoid Kuta though, a bit like an Australian holiday camp (not in a good way).

When in Thailand we did some biking in the jungle (which was fantastic) and we rode with an Aussie who said that he went to Bali a lot for biking and loved it. Can’t help with specifics but it is there.

Thanks @tuboflard – PM me if you’ve got the time – would appreciate it ,(or wang it all in the thread – everyone can benefit from holiday advice!)

@nickjb – yep, been to thailand and done some cool stuff around Chiang Mai – but Thailand isn’t actually Indonesia 😉

There is a Bali Loose Riders chapter iirc

Thanks @tuboflard – PM me if you’ve got the time – would appreciate it ,(or wang it all in the thread – everyone can benefit from holiday advice!)

Not a problem, here goes. Firstly make sure you get your hotel or accommodation to sort you a transfer when you get there, there are lots of taxis but what on the map looks like a short journey takes ages as the traffic is mental. Airport to Ubud is about 30km but took us 2 hours last week. If you do decide to stop in Ubud itself, make sure you get somewhere pretty central as you’ll want to walk in to the middle for food. Taxis are really cheap though if you want them. Food wise, a few places I can recommend; Zest, Hujane Locale, Liap Liap, and if you really want to go to town, Locavore. Make sure you try the Babi Guling suckling pig somewhere too. Night Rooster for Cocktails.

For things to do, the ridge walk is really nice though I’d consider getting a driver for the day (often cheaper than organised trips) and go to places like Pura Tirta Empul temple. Some of the waterfalls are nice but often crowded. And go to some of the quieter less tourist popular rice terraces; we just asked our driver to go to the local ones which are less busy.

For something completely different we did a day in Seminyak at Potato Head Beach Club. I’m in to their kind of music and one of their resident DJ’s is amongst my favourites so made a trip there, though not for everyone.

There’s still lots of places I’ve not yet done too like lake Tamblingan and lake Beratan. Still not properly seen Mount Agung either except from the plane.

Check too when their day of silence (Nyepi) is; I’ve not been there for it and it changes each year but it is as it sounds. I’d actually quite like to experience it.

And finally, keep your fingers crossed for a minor tremor. We had a 6.5 earthquake there time before last, one for the tick list (though my other half wasn’t as impressed as I was…)

PS. Have a look on Ottolenghi’s instagram feed as he’s there at the moment.

View this post on Instagram

Totally spoiled for sensory choices at Ubud’s Art Market. I can’t tell you how many photos I took. So I start with awesome ladies with their awesome produce, before I rush to my Foodie’s Lunch at #uwrf19

A post shared by Yotam Ottolenghi (@ottolenghi) on Oct 25, 2019 at 8:51pm PDT

Cheers dude. Won’t be until March at the earliest I think, but good info 🙂