Holly and Blaine Murphy
Sample Itinerary
Day 1
ARRIVAL DENPASAR
Welcome to Bali! This is one of the most popular and visited islands of Indonesia, yet it still retains its special allure.
Upon arrival in Denpasar, meet your guide and transfer to your resort in Sanur. This seaside beach town was the first one to be established on the island. Take a walk along a quiet beach. In the distance you can see Lembongan Island and on a clear morning. Looking north, you might spot the mighty Agung Volcano.
Overnight Tandjung Sari
Day 2
SANUR
Today you’ll have a chance to partake in authentic Balinese culture. You’ll have a chance to visit a bustling, un-touristed market where locals from all corners of Bali come to sell their produce and wares. It’s a good way to experience everyday life in a Balinese city.
This afternoon is free to enjoy the quiet beach near the hotel.
Tonight at 6.00pm be prepared for a unique experience – a special dinner in a Balinese home! Meet Malaika, a member of the Balinese Royal Family in Tabanan. She will welcome you into her home in Sanur and prepare a delectable dinner.
Overnight Tandjung Sari
Day 3
SANUR – ABIANSEMAL
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast at the hotel.
Later this morning, meet your private guide and depart to visit one of Bali’s most spectacular sites, Tanah Lot Temple. This is a Balinese icon, and one of the most photographed temples in the world! It is perched on a barren rock outcrop and at high tide is completely surrounded by the ocean. You’ll then continue to Mengwi for a visit to the Royal Family Temple of Taman Ayun, one of the most beautiful temples on the island.
This afternoon, arrive to your romantic property in Abiansemal. The Fivelements Puri Ahimsa is the Bali’s most awarded wellness destination, deeply rooted in the island’s ancient traditions.
Overnight Fivelements Riverfront Suite
Day 4
ABIANSEMAL
Today you will enjoy a very special Wellness Signature Treatment at Fivelements. During this half-day program, experience the combination of sacred atmosphere, combining traditional Balinese healing therapies, as well as the chef’s specialty three-course tastings based on innovative living cuisine. At the end of the program you’ll enjoy the ancient fire blessing.
Overnight Fivelements Riverfront Suite
Day 5
ABIANSEMAL – KAYUPUTI
This morning around 10.30am meet your private guide and driver and head to Kayuputi area, in northern Bali.
En route you will first visit to Bedugul, with its well-known temple Puru Ulun Danau Bratan. This temple, built in 1663 for the goddess Dewi Danu, is of great importance as the water from Lake Bratan irrigates much of the land south of Bali. Nowadays it’s become also a tourist site, so expect the place to be busy. Here in the island’s cooler elevations, there are plenty of stalls on the side of the road selling local strawberries. Be sure to try some!
Later this afternoon, you’ll arrive in your gorgeous resort in Kayuputi Village in the Munduk area, in the heart of lush clove and coffee plantations. Here, check in at the relaxing Sanak Retreat, This small property consists of private villas and suites tucked away in the lush vegetation.
Overnight The Sanak Retreat
Day 6
KAYPUTI
Today you will can stretch your legs with a walk to the village of Kayuputi. From there, continue on a jungle trek to the sparkling and mystical Lake Tamblingan, which is home to a local fishing village. Your guide will take you across the lake on a handcrafted canoe to visit an ancient holy temple. On return, take a stroll in the village and stop by the Munduk waterfalls.
Return to your retreat this evening. Settle in for a lovely evening.
Overnight The Sanak Retreat
Day 7
KAYUPUTI – UBUD
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast at the hotel.
Later this morning, meet your private guide and depart to visit Bali Botanical Garden and then continue to Jatiluwih, which means “Supreme Beauty of Nature.” Here you will have a seemingly endless view of green, terraced rice fields.
This afternoon you’ll arrive in Ubud. Late in the 19th century, Ubud prospered and began attracting refugee painters, sculptors, dancers and architects who had fallen out of favor in the other kingdoms. Ubud attracted Western artists and scholars such as Miguel and Rose Covarrubias, Margaret Mead and Walter Spies, who helped secure Ubud as the cultural and spiritual nucleus of the island.
Settle in with the evening free at your leisure.
Overnight The Sankara Resort
Day 8
UBUD
Enjoy this morning free at your leisure.
Early this afternoon, meet your guide and enjoy a walk through the countryside surrounding Ubud. Pass through beautiful terraced fields, small villages and Hindu temples, stopping along the way to meet the locals. Your stroll will end near the Neka Museum, considered by many to contain one of the finest private collections of art in Southeast Asia.
Then, spend the afternoon meeting local artists at their homes and workshops. This is an experience most travelers never see, yet is such a huge part of the Balinese culture.
Afterwards, enjoy having a dinner with a host family in a real Balinese home. Then return to your hotel late this evening.
Overnight The Sankara Resort
Day 9
UBUD – CANGGU
Enjoy this morning at leisure at Sankara Resort.
This afternoon, meet your private guide and depart for a visit to Green School Abiansemal. This place was initiated by John Hardy, a famous jewelry producer in Bali. The Green School turns heads for its pioneering attempt to integrate traditional academic education with environmentally sustainable practices. It has been honored by visits from thousands of people from all over the world, including Dr. Jane Goodall and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
Afterwards you’ll continue to coastal Canggu, just north of Seminyak, and check in to Tugu Hotel.
Set on a private, quiet beach near a traditional Balinese fishing village, Hotel Tugu Bali is nestled amidst lush paddy fields near Batu Bolong Temple, one of Bali’s most sacred temples. The resort, which features its own private beach, is only a 30-minute drive from the tourist areas of Kuta, Legian and Sanur, yet feels a world apart.
Overnight Tugu Hotel
Day 10
CANGGU
The final day of the trip is dedicated to getting hands-on in the kitchen. Join other guests for a Balinese cooking class with the resort’s chef, Iboe Soelastri, in the resort’s open-air kitchen and cooking school, Waroeng Djawa. Soelastri began cooking as a young girl under the tutelage of her grandmother. Your class will begin by choosing your preference of dishes from a large collection of Javanese and Balinese recipes. Then you’ll visit a Balinese traditional market to find the freshest ingredients from this archipelago once known as the Spice Islands. Finally, you will return to the resort to prepare and savor your chosen dishes.
Overnight Tugu Hotel
Day 11
DEPARTURE
This afternoon after check out, meet your guide and be transferred back to the airport for your flight home.
