Our Postcards: Bali

How the island won us over

Bali was never really on our radar.

The journey felt long, the culture felt completely different, and it simply wasn’t somewhere we had seriously considered. Then our daughter visited and came back full of stories about the villas, the atmosphere, the restaurants, the sightseeing and the slower pace of island life. Before long, we were researching flights and wondering why we had not thought about Bali sooner.

There are many ways to travel here. Bali can be a backpacking trip, a wellness escape, a luxury holiday or something very relaxed and affordable in between. Over two weeks, we had a little taste of everything, from full-body massages costing less than £7 to a very special spa day at Six Senses.

This is our postcard from a trip that took us from Uluwatu to Ubud, with friends joining us along the way. There was memorable food, beautiful villas, extraordinary relaxation and more than enough reasons to start planning a return.

The journey there

We flew from Heathrow to Dubai, then on to Bali, with layovers of less than three hours each way. For us, that worked really well, especially as long airport stopovers can quickly add to the cost once you start buying food and drinks.

Before landing, we had downloaded an eSIM, arranged an airport transfer and completed our visas, which made the arrival process feel much more straightforward. Our driver stayed in touch on WhatsApp, sent us a photo of himself and shared his exact waiting location, so finding him after a long journey was refreshingly easy.

Settling into Uluwatu

For the first week, we stayed in a relatively new private villa in Uluwatu. It had a small dipping pool, sunken lounge seating and a kitchen area on the ground floor, a large bedroom with an en-suite upstairs, and a lovely outdoor seating area on the roof.

We stayed fairly centrally, which made it possible to explore some of Uluwatu on foot. Walking is not always seamless, though. Pavements can be uneven, and there are sacred offerings placed outside homes, shops and temples, so you do need to look where you are stepping and move respectfully around them.

To explore Bali more widely, many people use motorbikes. If you are an experienced rider, hiring one can give you a lot of freedom, but the roads can be busy and you need to be very aware of your surroundings. We also used Grab and Gojek, which were incredibly affordable, sometimes costing as little as 50p for a short ride. Tipping your driver is always appreciated.

Favourite finds in Uluwatu

We found plenty of places we would happily recommend in Uluwatu.

Alchemy was our favourite coffee spot, with fantastic vegan options that even we, as non-vegans, really enjoyed. The Cashew Tree was excellent for both breakfast and dinner, while Gooseberry felt like more of a treat dinner and was absolutely worth it. Ulu Garden was lovely for breakfast, The Hatch is another good breakfast stop, YUKU was our favourite dinner recommendation, and Chela is worth visiting if you fancy trying a charcoal smoothie.

A 50th birthday on the cliffs

During the trip, I celebrated my 50th birthday, which made Bali feel even more special. My friends kindly treated me to a pampering session at Senses Spa at Biu Biu Resort, set in a beautiful cliffside location.

The massage was exceptional, the setting was stunning, and afterwards we wandered through the grounds before sitting down to dinner with a view. It was thoughtful, memorable and exactly the kind of birthday I hoped for.

I was also gifted a couples’ spa day at Six Senses Uluwatu, which felt like a real highlight. Bali is a wonderful place to slow down. Whether you are booking a luxury spa, having a simple local massage or taking a quiet morning by the pool, there is something about the pace of the island that makes it very easy to relax properly.

A small stop for coffee lovers

One small outing we enjoyed was Coffee Luwak Bukit Sari, an open museum with a shop and tasting area. There was a selection of teas and coffees to try, as well as the option to taste Luwak coffee.

It is worth reading about how Luwak coffee is produced before deciding whether to try it, but the stop itself was interesting and gave us another glimpse into Bali beyond the beaches, restaurants and villas.

On to Ubud

For the second week, we travelled north to Ubud and stayed in a two-bedroom villa tucked away from the main town. It was not the sort of place where you could easily walk out to cafés and shops, but it gave us a peaceful base with a pool while we waited for friends from Australia to join us.

Ubud had a different feeling from Uluwatu. It was greener, slower and more focused on temples, rice terraces, cafés, wellness and day trips. It felt like the right contrast after a week on the coast.

Rice terraces, temples and sound healing

We visited Tegalalang Rice Terrace, which was one of the most peaceful parts of the trip. We walked through the terraces, stopped for coffee and took in the views. Tis Café, overlooking the rice terrace, was a lovely place to pause and enjoy the setting.

We also visited the Water Palace, where we stopped for coffee overlooking the pond, and the Monkey Forest, which is well worth seeing. Just keep hold of your belongings. The monkeys are part of the experience, but they are very quick.

One of the more unusual things we tried was yoga and sound healing at The Pyramids of Chi. It was something my husband never imagined he would experience. He found it a little odd, but also relaxing enough that he may have nodded off, and he was not the only one. A few people around us were snoring by the end.

We also had a lovely chat with the owners, who were originally from near where our friends live in Australia and, strangely, also knew our home area well through work. It was one of those unexpected travel coincidences that makes a place feel smaller than it is.

Our sightseeing also took us to Ulun Danu Temple and the Holy Hot Springs on a day trip towards Lovina. Each outing added another layer to the trip, from remarkable landscapes and temples to experiences that were entirely new to us.

Where we’d go back in Ubud

A few Ubud places we would recommend are This Is Bali, Jinny’s Garden, Lazy Cats Café, Gedong Sisi Ubud, and Clear Café and Spa. We also loved doing a jewellery-making workshop, which made a lovely change from sightseeing and gave us something personal to bring home.

A few things worth knowing before you go

Research the flights first. We travelled on a strict budget, and finding suitable flights was the key starting point. Remember to factor airport prices into your spending money too; in Dubai Airport, a pint of beer was around £15.

Arrange your airport transfer in advance. Having a taxi booked before arrival made everything much easier, especially with WhatsApp contact, a driver photo and a shared waiting location.

Complete your visa before landing. This made immigration and passport control straightforward for us.

Take care when walking in Uluwatu. Watch for holes in the pavements and avoid stepping on the sacred offerings left by local residents.

Use Grab or Gojek for short journeys. They were easy, affordable and very useful when walking was not practical.

Leave room for unplanned discoveries. Alongside the places we had researched, some of our favourite moments came from things we stumbled upon like coffee tastings, sound healing, workshops and simply enjoying the villas.

Would we go back?

In a heartbeat.

Bali gave us far more than we expected. We loved the mix of beautiful villas, welcoming places to eat, memorable sightseeing, restorative spa experiences and new things to try. It also showed us that, with careful planning, Bali can be done in a way that feels special without needing to be extravagant every day.

We left feeling as though we had only scratched the surface. There is still so much more we would like to see, and we would happily return.

Have you been to Bali? Share your favourite places, recommendations or travel questions with us. We would love to hear them.