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PROMISE YOURSELF THAT ONE DAY YOU WILL WAKE UP IN BALI.
INDONESIA
Yogyakarta, Bali, & Gili T
13
days
02/03/19-02/15/19
Indonesia has it all! Temples, volcanoes, luxury hotels, beaches, food from all over the world, spas, monkeys, rice terraces, mopeds, surfing, snorkeling, shopping. Indonesia has something for everyone.
2 weeks in INDONESIA
As a country with over 17,000 islands, Indonesia is easily one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to. After months of begging my mom to visit me during my Chinese New Year holiday, she finally booked her ticket. We traveled all around Indonesia for 2 weeks and had an incredible time. There is truly so much to do in this tropical country and it’s very affordable. The beaches, people, mountains, temples, shopping, surfing, and food are all amazing. You could easily spend more than 2 weeks exploring Indonesia, but this was a sufficient amount of time to see the main sites. I’ve laid out our 2 week Indonesia itinerary below that includes Yogyakarta, Gill T, Ubud, and Canguu. Bali is a perfect trip for any occasion, whether that be a honeymoon, a solo trip, with family, friends, or a mother/daughter trip like mine. Book a ticket and go, you won’t regret it!
Yogyakarta
Yokgakarta (or Jogjakarta) is considered to be the creative capital of Java, Indonesia. This city has incredible sights like Prambanan and Borobudur and a population of only 400,000 people. It was a great place to start our 2 week Indonesia journey with my mom. Being her first true international experience, she couldn't believe the amount of motor bikes driving on the streets. Yogyakarta is definitely a less touristy destination, and the locals were so excited to see us!
Sunrise Borobudur Tour & Merapi Jeep Adventure
Rise at 3:30 AM to experience the sunrise at the Borobudur temple, trust me it's worth it! You can certainly go and do this on your own, but I felt that it was much easier to arrange with a tour company (we used Viator). We arrived at the temple and were given a flashlight, explored a bit and waited in anticipation for the sun to rise over the gorgeous temple. After an hour or so, we left the temple to have breakfast (included in the tour), then got ready for the rest of our adventure filled day. Traveling around a volcano by Jeep was the highlight of our Yogyakarta trip. We had an absolute blast driving over the rugged terrain, making many stops along the way. Our guide was amazing, and turned into our own personal photographer! We made a lot of other stops along the way with our tour guide who knew the ins and outs of the city. My mom even experienced her first squatty potty on this day and is scarred for life!
Since the tour begins so early, you arrive back to your hotel around noon. We napped for a couple of hours then continued our journey downtown to do some shopping at the markets on Malioboro Street. If you are pressed for time, I wouldn't necessarily go too out of my way to visit Yogyakarta. We loved the temple and Jeep tour, but the rest wasn't anything to rave about.
Other Things to do in Yogyakarta:
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Prambanan temple
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Water Castle (Taman Sari)
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Sukorama Rice Fields
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Underground Mosque (Sumur Gumuling)
Gili Trawangan
Gili T is a tiny island that thousands of tourists flock to every year for its stunning beaches, scuba diving and night life. The island is only 7 km around, making it super accessible by foot, bike, or horse carriage. We spent 2 days on the island, but definitely could have stayed a day or too longer. Keep reading for our favorite things to do on Gili Trawangan!
Book a Snorkel Tour
My mom and I were ready to take on our first real snorkeling trip, and what better place to do it than on Gili T! As you walk along the coast of the island, you will find tons of places advertising snorkel tours. We chose one based on price and chatting with the locals who operated the tour companies to gauge their friendliness. We paid about $10 each for a private 4 hour island tour to 3 different locations. Our guide also had the newest GoPro that we used to take pictures and videos along the way. We went to the underwater statues at Gili Meno first which turned out to be a bit underwhelming because this location was full of tourists. Afterwards our guide took us to lesser known locations where there wasn't another person in sight. We found and followed sea turtles and even saw a manta ray! It was an exhilarating and exhausting day that has inspired me to snorkel at every tropical location I've visited since.
Explore the Island
Renting a bike seemed like the easiest way to explore the island. We rented them for a couple of dollars from our hotel. You could spend hours visiting all of cute shops, restaurants, bars, and beaches. I highly recommend Regina Pizzeria for delicious pizza, and stopping at different beach bars for cheap tropical drinks. Find a beach location with swings and hammocks for the perfect Instagram pic and spend hours baking in the sun. Don't miss the sunset! Gili T had the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen.
Other Things to do on gili t:
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Scuba diving
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Rent a kayak
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Day trip island tour
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Explore the nightlife
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Night market
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Rent your own snorkel gear
Ubud
Ubud has by far been one of my favorite places to visit in Southeast Asia. Centered in the middle of Bali, this city is a jungle oasis and spiritual hub. Full of culture, stunning temples, cute cafes and amazing markets, I could honestly see myself living here. When planning your trip to Bali, make sure to add a few days for Ubud.
Tegalalang Rice Terrace
The Tegalalang Rice Terrace is a must-do in Ubud and should be near the top of your to-do list! Enjoy the jungle vibes by walking around the fields, or take a ride on a Bali swing. This is truly a destination like no other.
Sacred Monkey Forest
Ask anyone, and they'll tell you that no trip to Ubud is complete without a visit to the Sacred Monkey Forest. This sanctuary is full of hundreds of cheeky monkeys that aren't afraid of anything. This is a super exciting experience for anyone, especially if you have never seen monkeys outside of a zoo before. You can get so close to the monkeys and it is so cute to watch them interact. One of the monkeys even lifted up my dress and tried to steal my purse. You'll find monkeys lurking all over the streets and on top of buildings in Ubud. There are even signs warning you to watch your belongings. Pay attention to these, because a big monkey came out of nowhere and snatched our leftover food right out of my hands. (scariest experience ever!).
Shopping
Shopping in Udub is so dangerous because there are so many cute stores and boutiques. My mom and I spent hours roaming in and out of stores and definitely spent way too much on clothes, bags, accessories and souvenirs. Plan on leaving some room in your suitcase!
White Water Rafting
If you're feeling adventerous, then why not raft the rapids of the Ayung River? This trip was so much fun! It wasn't extremely dangerous, but there was definitely some fun rapids and waterfalls to go through. I found this trip to be the most affordable through Airbnb Experiences with transportation and luch included.
Other Things to do in ubud:
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Mount Batur Sunrise Trek
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Balinese massage
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Yoga
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Campuhan Ridge Walk
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Kecak Fire & Trance Dance
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Tegenungan Waterfall
