A honeymoon, just like the wedding, is special and comes just once in a lifetime. Thus, one wants it to be perfect. Yet there are so many restrictions like the budget, the duration and the kind of place (hills or beaches or historical for instance). For us the biggest constraints were the budget and the duration while planning our honeymoon. I had a certain few places in mind, read Turkey, Greece and Maldives, but they didn't quite seem to fit the bill.
My husband wasn't too choosy about the kind of place and left all the planning on me as I seemed more excited about it. The only thing I was sure about was that I did not want to go to any of the cliched places and it had to be a place where no one I knew had gone for their honeymoon. So I searched and searched and decided on Bali. Because, it fit our budget, duration and the criteria of being a 'unique place'. The other thing was that I knew was that I didn't want to go to a travel agent and get a fixed commercialized itinerary. After all, it was my honeymoon, something personal. How could I let a stranger decide where we should go, what sight seeing we should do and where we should stay. Also, these travel agents usually recommend very commercial places and hotels and I wanted to stay in small but luxurious boutique-y places. So after reading and researching on Wikitravel and TripAdvisor, this is how I planned my trip.
All the rates mentioned may have changed as I went for the trip in December 2011.
Travel:
Airfare: INR 37,000 per ticket from Mumbai to Denpasar, Bali Malaysia Airlines ( no non stop flights available from Mumbai to Bali) Within Bali, we had hired a taxi to take us around. Lot of on the spot bargain deals available. No need for prior booking. The hotel provided airport transfers on paying extra charges.
Visa:Indians are given a visa on arrival on valid passports and a payment of USD 50. Keep some spare dollars as they ask you to pay some charges upon departure as well.
Places Covered:
Ubud: (for 3 days) Calm, serene, green,non-touristy. This is how I would describe Ubud the best. Also made famous by the movie Eat, Pray, Love.
Seminyak: (for 3 days) We chose Seminyak over Kuta as it belongs to the same bracket (known for shopping and nightlife) but is better, less crowded and more sophisticated.
Accomodation:As I mentioned earlier, I wanted something boutique-y which was luxurious in its own way and yet pocket friendly.
Ubud: We chose Allam Indah. All rooms are beautiful,huge, the decor has a Balinese touch, nothing modern about it (no TV also). Since, the concept of the resort was to be secluded and close to nature, it is not very centrally located. But they provide shuttle services to the main street and market which was very convenient and helpful. Our room Lily was affordably priced at $65+ tax per night.
Seminyak: We stayed at Uma Sapna Villas. When in Bali, skip normal hotel rooms and opt for a private villa with a personal pool and garden and the works. What is surprising is that both are priced on par. Uma Sapna is very contemporarily designed, spacious, centrally located and moderately priced. We chose the smallest villa to suit our pockets and they were priced at $120 + taxes per night. Both the options chosen by us are ranked very high by all the reviewers on Tripadvisor. Agoda also provides some good deals.
Things to do:For a quick snapshot you can check out my pinboard here:
Ubud:
Ubud market- Shop for silver jewellery, trinkets and handicrafts.Mt batur - The active volcanic mountain a must. Also follow it up with lunch at restuarants facing it.
The Monkey Forest.Various temples.Rice terraces which will be found all across the interiors of Bali.Spices and coffee plantations.Also make time for a spa while you are there as Seminyak will be expensive.
Seminyak:
More popular for its swish restaurants, nightlife and shopping.Tanah Lot for the sunset. Uluwatu Temple. Seminyak square for shopping. Prana spa - Check out the Moroccan themed decor. Has also won some awards.
Jimbaran beach - For water sports and sunset dinner for seafood lovers.
Restaurants:For us. the availability of vegetarian food was a strict criteria while selecting the restaurant which wasn't so difficult as Bali has ample options for the same:Ubud:
Lotus cafeBuddha barLittle India
Seminyak:
Zula - Nice Mexican and Mediterranean food
Queens Tandoor - Indian food
Bars: Rock Bar - Situated on a cliff and a part of Ayaana resort. Its a must visit as the resort itself is also very beautifully done. While we were at the resort we were also lucky enough to witness a Balinese wedding.
Potato beach club - For it quirky window walls. A huge club. Every place in Bali is huge (the real estate must be very cheap there).
Also, ask your hotel help desk for the latest bars as new places keep springing up in Seminyak.
Hope this information helps you while planning your honeymoon. If you have any queries, you can leave them in my comment box and I shall try to answer them.
This trip was originally published on Straight Talk.
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