Unforgettable holidays in Bali

Written: 23 december 2008
Travel time: 4 — 18 november 2008
Who does the author recommend the hotel to?: For recreation with friends, for young people
Your rating of this hotel:
9.0
from 10
Hotel ratings by criteria:
Rooms: 8.0
Service: 8.0
Cleanliness: 9.0
Food: 1.0
Amenities: 8.0
Bali Island - the financial side of the holiday.
Most vacationers, going on vacation, calculate their money: how much - where and whether it's worth it. Since our family belongs to the middle class, we are also engaged in this occupation. In this regard, in my review, I wanted to highlight in more detail the financial side of the trip to Bali by comparing two trips this year.
Trip 1.
I have a niece who, shocked by the beauty of Bali, on October 5.2008, went with her friend to this island for the second time. But not on a ticket. Since the country is practically visa-free - you pay $ 25 upon entry, she decided not to contact a travel agency. I found tickets on the TRANSAERO website (there are many other sites) at $ 900 per person round-trip, and everything else (transfer, hotel, excursions, etc. ) was provided to her by the Balinese guide Buda, whom she met on her first trip In the past year.

Buda operates separately and does not belong to any local travel agencies. He is fluent in Russian, has an excellent fleet of 5, practically new, air-conditioned Toyotas. He organizes the booking of almost any hotel, and in some he has discounts. Prices for excursions near Buda are much lower than in local travel agencies, including the agencies of the meeting party. He understands spas, the prices of which are also cheaper. And, in general, he knows all the information about Bali very well, to the point that he can book comfortable seats (except for business class) on transaero aircraft, where you can safely lean back and stretch your legs, which is important on a long flight.
Since I know Buda personally, I can only give him a good assessment: he is an honest and conscientious person, he works 24 hours a day. He loves Russians very much, probably because they are the only people who come to Bali in any season, even in the rainiest. .
Finally, my dream to visit Indonesia came true. On November 4.2008, my daughter and I went on a trip to Bali + Singapore (to be in Bali and not visit Singapore is a crime, especially since it is on the way there and back).
Because I am a lady of retirement age, so I don’t like uncertainty in my vacation. And so I always have round-trip tickets, the hotel where I will live, etc. And of course, I always take into account the wishes of my daughter. Since she decided to go surfing on her vacation, we booked a 3-star hotel Jayakarta (Legian district, near Kuta) 30 meters from the ocean. The place is frankly specific: day and night, crazy waves, high and low tides of 500m, hot, hot sun and crazy (beginner) surfers. Everything together is wonderful, considering that it is not always possible to see such things, if only in the movies. So, I want to say directly to all those who swim poorly: "You have nothing to do there. There are many other places in Bali for you, a calm sea, no tides and low tides, etc. " Well, we got a lot of joy, adrenaline and buzz. So learn to swim from childhood - it will come in handy anyway.
More about the trip. We flew on a Singapore Airlines Boeing. I really do not like rudeness, which flourishes on Russian airlines in the face of our flight attendants. Not to mention the service and food.
Everything was great on our flight. On the plane, everyone is merci, please. They just fed all the time. Service - luxury.

But there is a very big downside. For me it was too long flight (about 16 hours, with stops in Dubai and Singapore). When compared with transaero (direct flight 9 hours), then the difference is 7 hours. And the tickets themselves are more expensive (they don’t have a charter). Total: flight + transfer + hotel 3 * with breakfast = $ 4400. It should be noted that the hotel itself is good, but there are no breakfasts - we did not go to them. As for excursions, there are countless of them in Bali and almost all of them deserve attention. To visit them in one visit is simply unrealistic. After all, there is also fishing, surfing, waves, sun... which is impossible to refuse. It was necessary to organize your vacation somehow. Here we needed Buda, a simple Balinese guy with a sense of humor, who knows how to make an excursion program for a minimum number of days, inexpensively comfortable and according to your wishes.
I especially want to note the tour, which you will not find in any travel agency - this is "REAL BALI". Buda invented it himself. This is a journey to his parents, whose village is in the jungle. They grow pineapples, herring, and other exotics in their garden; coconuts and bananas in the garden - and all this you can try in various versions according to local recipes. From poultry they have fighting cocks. After a hearty lunch and dessert, walk through the jungle (you walk like in a botanical garden) with stories about nature, local customs and much more that no guide will tell you. The rest of the excursions are also very interesting and beautiful (especially on the island of Java). I will not describe because I think it needs to be seen rather than heard a hundred times.
All excursions near Buda are $20-30 cheaper than in travel agencies. And the island of Java is $80-100 less. Now multiply this difference by 2 and by the number of excursions (at least 8-10 of them) - this is a savings (more than $ 300)! And if you add here the tickets you bought + the 4 * -5 * hotel (breakfast + dinner) booked by Buda, then the rest will become even more pleasant: two weeks for 2 - ($ 3500 + SPA + excursions - $ 300 savings) = $4200 (without going to restaurants) is the cost of my niece and her friend. Our trip cost $1000 more.
In general, it is very pleasant to communicate with Buda. He does not cheat and offers the best in Bali. Here, for example, there is an excursion on elephants and there is ex-me rafting. Rafting is carried out by different companies. At Buda, rafting is organized by the Australian company AYUNG - the best in Bali (modern equipment and very reliable instructors). In addition, Buda usually combines (if you don't mind) these two excursions together, which is much cheaper. By the way, for me personally, this tour is the best: a narrow canyon with a mountain river, steep walls, all in lianas with little monkeys and a strong tropical downpour - in general, 33 pleasures.

Who is interested in seafood or any other cuisine - Buda will be happy to tell you the nearest restaurant, taking into account your wishes.
In conclusion, I would like to say that Bali is the place where you want to definitely return.
P. S. A little about Singapore.
Spent two days in Singapore just super. Great 4* hotel, great breakfasts and a free rooftop pool. Our visit to the island coincided with the days before Christmas. The whole city sparkled with multicolored colors and light. I liked everything in Singapore, except for the meeting party, which was represented by our compatriots, who for various reasons live in this city. They offered two tours that cost us $300 for two. There is no review - schoolchildren know more. Sintosa Island is beautiful, interesting, but expensive. As it turned out later, all this could be traveled by taxi ourselves and 3 times cheaper.
Everything else is good, everything is good, well, just fine!
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
Comments (9) leave a comment
Show other comments …
аватар