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Impulse Vacation: Bali

So, on Wednesday Boyjangles and I decided to book plane tickets to Bali for a couple of weeks, and that plane leaves on Sunday, and now I need some recommendations. So, those of you who have been to either Bali or the Gili Islands, what did you do? Where did you stay? How did you get around?

We are fairly impulsive travelers, but booking a 40+ hour flight 4 days in advance probably takes the cake. We have a lot of airline miles, and had been talking about going somewhere this summer, but we’ve had a lot going on in our lives (Boyjangles finishing grad school and getting a new job, cross country move, bought a house, etc.) and there was so much uncertainty that we just didn’t feel like we could make concrete travel plans. But we realized that we have a few weeks of down time where we can’t really make any progress on house stuff, and this will be the last time Boyjangles has off before starting a job that we expect to be very all consuming for the next few years, so we decided to just go. And we chose Bali because a) there were mileage flights available, b) it seemed like somewhere that we could go with minimal to no planning, c) it’s affordable, and d) snorkeling/diving and beaches!


So we will be there for 2 weeks, and based on a recommendation from an Aussie friend who has been a bunch of times, I plan to get out of the south ASAP because we are interested in a low key vibe. I have booked our first night at a hotel on the beach in Sanur (near the airport), because we will be exhausted from the flight and will need some drinks on the beach pronto, but on our second day I’m thinking of heading to Ubud for a few days, and then to the north coast, which just looks amazing.

My very loose plan is then to work our way around to Amed, and then catch a boat to the Gilis for a few days, and then eventually boat back to the south for our flight back (I did do enough research to know that these boats exist). For those who have been, does this make sense? What things are must see? Any places you stayed that you loved? Should I book something in Ubud, or is it reasonable to expect to just show up and find something? We aren’t terribly picky about accommodation, and we aren’t super budget limited, so I think we’ll be fine, but maybe I’m wrong?

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