Summer Holiday In Bali 2023

When it comes to summer holiday, Bali might be our one of the top list destination no matter where we currently stay at the moment. Lucky me, Bali is just less than one hour flight from my city so I don't find it hard to get there. This summer holiday, I spent it with the best companion (my sister and my best friend) for 5 days and I would say Bali always has new things to offer - although it is not my first time coming to Bali this year (I went there last April for my close friend's wedding). Anyway before the summer ends, I wanted to share my experiences in Bali, hope you can feel the excitement by reading this article!

DAY 1 - Exploring Seminyak (Part 1)

We arrived in Bali on Saturday noon around 12 p.m so we couldn't check-in the hotel yet. Therefore, we decided to just have lunch in our all-time favorite Japanese restaurant, Rayjin. They offer the best teppanyaki and the taste never changes since years ago. Then after checking-in, we continued strolling around Seminyak, and accidentally found Bali Beach Bowl. It's a vegan/vegetarian restaurant as it offers plenty of plant-based meals and smoothies. We ordered plant-based snack, smoothies, and whole coconut - lucky us, they gave a free whole coconut if we submitted Google review, so I did it! Frankly, this place is really worth to visit if you're into plant-based meals!

On the evening we managed to visit art gallery named Feliz' Eye, located nearby Seminyak Village (they also have branch in Ubud). I always find joy whenever I come to art gallery and this place gives all the mood I need. Although the place is not very spacious, but the place is decent enough for us to enjoy and buy painting from various artists. Later after that, we went to Motel Mexicola. I would say it's the highlight of the day because it's my first time coming there for, well, a party. I thought it would be too much for me, turns out it's not. I enjoyed the musics there because most of the musics are not too loud and the people there are decent enough, they don't bother each other. I probably thinking to go back there again when I come to Bali!

DAY 2 - Exploring Seminyak (Part 2)

Still in Seminyak area, early in the Sunday morning we went to Livingstone. I had almond pistachio croissant paired with Canggu blend latte, best pairing before a long day ahead. While for lunch, we went to El Greco to try Greek foods for the first time. Unexpectedly super good, we really enjoyed all of them . They taste more like Italian but with less spices. The waiter gave us free Limoncello as drink compliment, unfortunately it contains alcohol so I can't drink it.

Later after that, we went strolling around Seminyak, stopping at some local boutiques, shops, and Kim Soo for perfume and reed diffuser. Anyway, we ended up chilling at Mano Beach House, had a bottle of Kombucha and snack, until a friend from Belgium came and said hi. We had a nice chit-chat and caught the sunset together. It was a beautiful day and we ended the day by having dinner at Mad Ronin, the viral ramen house at Seminyak. We managed to have quick photo booth there!

DAY 3 - Ubud

Going to Bali without visiting Ubud feels like something is missing. Ubud is definitely my favorite place in Bali because of the nice weather, plenty of arts, nice resorts, and Sayuri. I went to Sayuri last year during summer break in Bali to meet a friend and I had a nice memory there, so I visited it again. It's a vegan/vegetarian restaurant with plenty of menu options and they have lot of activities such as yoga class, cooking class, language class, etc. The place is very homy and the foods there are my favorite!

After finishing lunch there, I accompanied my sister to have lunch (yes we have different preference of food, she is more into meats while I am more into fruits and plants, lol). We went to a super unique restaurant named Clear Cafe, the place is super cozy, surrounded by plants and woods, they also required us to take off the footwear before entering the place. My sister said the pasta is really good, I ordered the veggies juice but it was not my taste.

Feeling fulfilled with vegan stuffs, we went to our resort, Suara Alam Ubud, managed by Ini Vie Hospitality. This resort supposedly a honeymoon resort, but well, I spent there with my sister which I know it's kinda awkward but anyway - we enjoyed the resort so much. It's not far from the main street, very quiet, convenient, surrounded by the nature. The signal is pretty good and it's easy to order Grab or Gojek, breakfast foods are really good as well - however they don't have spa and gym facility yet, only 1 medium size pool and 2 small pools.

DAY 4 - Canggu & Jimbaran

After a peaceful day in Ubud, we moved to the most hyped area these days, Canggu. I drove around 2 hours to get there. The traffic was so bad and I had lacked of sleep, so 7.AM Bakers to the rescue. Their latte is really good and awoke me, however I didn't manage to try their well-known avocado toast (recommended by Belgian friend) because my sister got so pissed off with Canggu's traffic already. So we gave up our hotel in Canggu and just immediately booked another hotel in Jimbaran. Blessing in disguise! The hotel, Jimbaran Bay Beach Hotel & Resort where we stayed is just in front of the beach and it's very convenient. From the rooftop we can see breath-taking view and we managed to catch the sunset again before we leave the day after. We also had a decent dinner at hotel's restaurant, had a deep talk with my sister and I feel so blessed that we moved to Jimbaran instead of staying in Canggu.

DAY 5 - Pizza Feast, Art Gallery

Finally the last day. We didn't do much at Jimbaran as we rushed to buy some stuffs to bring back home for family and friends. We just had lunch at L'Osteria, Italian restaurant in Jimbaran (they also have branches in Canggu and Ubud). The place is very thematic and the foods are amazing. We had pizza and Bruschetta, the portion made us food coma but we really pleased! Later after that, we just had some killing time before going to airport. I drove to Kuta to initially visit an art gallery there but it's so hard to find parking! Thank God my sister found another art gallery located near the airport so we went there, Gallery Zen. It's not bad, all of the arts we enjoyed are contemporary arts - very cute and colorful!

It's a wrap! Five days summer holiday in Bali is finally come to an end. This makes me realized how I have this love and hate relationship with airport. However, since Bali is pretty close with my city, I am sure I'll go back there soon - fingers are crossed, this time with my lover!

Have you visited Bali for summer holiday before? Let me know, which part of Bali do you like the most?

Also read: Ngong Ping, 360 Hongkong Experience: Cable Car, The Big Buddha