Bali is the paradise island that most people dream about! I want to explain the 5-day itinerary in Bali for
If you are planning to go to Bali, or you want to know what it looks and feels like to travel to Bali, then you will love this post.
On a side note, before travelling to Bali for the first time, it would help if you read some tips for first timers in Bali. If you are more focused on the spiritual side of Bali (if there is any left), here are some things to do in Ubud, Bali.
As part of our organized trip, we visited the following (and they all deserve to be on your 5 days Bali itinerary):
- Ubud Monkey Forest
- Tegallalang Rice Terrace (where rice field swings are)
- Bali Pulina (a taste of some traditional tea and coffee from Bali)
- Tukad Cepung Waterfall
- Balai Gili water palace
- Temple Of Lempuyang Luhur
- Seen the Sahadewa Barong Dance
- Sukawati Art Market Guwang
- Seminyak
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Your Bali 5 day itinerary for first-timers (Bali itinerary 5 days 4 nights)!
I’m going to share with you my tried and tested plan for a perfect Bali 5 days 4 nights itinerary. However, if you don’t feel like planning all of this (for which you will either need a driver or to rent a scooter), you might consider booking some day tours to avoid all the hassle.
Day 1 in Bali: Arrival in Bali
This is the first day of the 5 days Bali itinerary. I want to share a bit of my experience getting there, to know what to expect upon arrival. If you have more time on this day, I recommend visiting Kuta, the capital of Bali.
If you’re arriving from outside of Asia, I guess you will be tired by the time you arrive in Bali. It took me 14 hours to get there, 1 layover of 8 hours and a journey through 7 different time zones. It took forever. But I hope you can sleep on the plane.
I should have arrived at 17:30 local time, but it was after 18:00 that the plane actually landed.
It turns out Denpasar Airport has only one runway, and the plane I was on had to circle the island 4 times, before getting permission for landing.
The immigration formalities took at least half an hour (the queue was huge), and then I had to wait for my luggage for about 20 more minutes. I think it was later than 7 pm when I walked into my hotel room, at the Novotel Bali Ngurah Rai Airport.
The good thing about this hotel is that you can literally walk from the airport to the hotel; it’s almost the same building. You can hear some airport sound going on, but it wasn’t an issue seeing how tired I was. The hotel itself is lovely. (Great food!)
If you still have time and energy, I recommend visiting the Kedonganan Beach, which is close to the airport, and you can watch the sunset there.
Day 2 in Bali: Bali swing and coffee
Wake up early on the second day of your 5-day Bali itinerary. Get up around 9 am to have breakfast, which is lovely! Or so I hear, seeing as how I overslept.
Apparently, it takes me a few days to adjust to a new time zone. Pack your stuff, put your luggage in the car and start exploring Bali.
As I suggested before, in the tips for travelling to Bali for the first time, renting a car with a driver is the best option for sightseeing. If you are more than 1, it’s the best option!
You can find local agencies basically everywhere on the island. Online and offline. You can even ask your hotel’s reception to help you find a driver. TripAdvisor and Instagram are other resources you can use for this.
Ultimately, and probably the best option, is to find an agent on the street or one of those taxi drivers waiting for customers and bargain for a good price after you clearly explain where you want to go.
Ubud Monkey Forest
Make your first stop at the Ubud Monkey Forest, to get acquainted with the Balinese climate. I’m talking about nature, bugs, mosquitoes, humidity and monkeys. They say it is the “natural habitat of the Balinese long-tailed Monkey”.
There is a set of simple rules to follow. DO NOT pet/feed/stare at the monkeys.
Also, keep all your belongings safe, as they can try to grab them and run away with them. I heard bad stories about the Bali monkeys, so please keep your important stuff safe. Because if the monkeys steal it, it’s bye-bye to your stuff!
But in other ways, monkeys are lovely creatures. Some of them are even sweet!
One of them was licking a stolen hand sanitiser, and although you could see from its expression that it tasted terrible, the monkey wouldn’t let it go! Consider yourself warned!
Tegallalang Rice Terrace
The second stop of the 5-day itinerary in Bali for first-timers is the Tegallalang Rice Terrace, where you can find all the rice field swings made famous on Instagram. I counted 5 or 7 swings.
As I visited in December, which is considered to be the low season, not all of them attended. And it was almost raining when I was there (check my cloudy photos), and still, I had to wait to get on the swing!
Also, I was a bit disappointed, because all the rice was already harvested (and they have 3 crops per year). It was not my lucky month, I guess. Nevertheless, it was beautiful there!
Tip: Don’t linger around too much during the rainy season, especially on a cloudy day! The rain started as we were waiting for the car to pick us up.
Bali Pulina
The final stop of the day was at the Bali Pulina! This is a magical place to taste some traditional tea and coffee from Bali. When you visit Bali, many travel agencies will advertise Luwak coffee.
A reservation is needed for a visit to Bali Pulina, especially for larger groups.
The entrance ticket is 250,000 IDR (July 2023), and it includes the coffee tour, 7 different kinds of coffees and tea tasting, a sweet snack (I had fried banana) and 1 full cup of tea/coffee of your choice.
Luwak coffee is a special and expensive type of coffee, and a visit to Bali Pulina will grant you at least an explication of the process of making this special coffee. You could also order
Luwak coffee is coffee that is prepared using coffee cherries that have been eaten and partially digested by the Asian palm civet (Cat). After tasting coffee, you will get to experience the swing over the jungle.
Arrive at the Sthala, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel in Ubud Bali and make it your base for the next 2 nights! It’s one lovely hotel; I could live here for a while.
My honest opinion in planning a perfect 5 days Bali itinerary is that you need to try at least for one night a cool accommodation, like the ones you see on Instagram, right in the rice fields or in the forest.
If you are looking for something more budget-friendly, check out the many amazing budget-friendly accommodations in Ubud! It’s hard to pick one because all the hotels are so beautiful!!
Day 3 in Bali: The Gates of Heaven
Rise and shine! This is the 3rd day of your five days Bali itinerary.
Have a morning swim at the hotel’s pool (most hotels in Ubud have a swimming pool), and keep your swimsuit on!
Tukad Cepung Waterfall
The first stop will be the Tukad Cepung Waterfall, and you will get wet even if you don’t intend to! Also, if you are going there to take some nice pictures as a memory, you will get really wet! Bring a GoPro and rubber sandals.
Balai Gili Water Palace
The next stop will be Balai Gili water palace, where you can find some local restaurants where you can have lunch. I loved this place so much, and you will too. Indonesians come here to take wedding pictures, and I can understand why!
When we were here, it was so hot; I couldn’t move! And still, it took me 15 minutes to walk around and take some beautiful pictures.
Lucky me that there weren’t too many people around. It was kinda empty, really, and the only other people I saw, except our group, were three little Indonesian boys. They were staring at us and giggling.
Right after we left, it started raining! And the tropical rain is something that one can never witness here in the West, so you’re in for a surprise from nature.
Gates of Heaven (Lempuyang Luhur temple in Bali)
The next stop was the famous temple with the Gates of Heaven! Instagram made #gatesofheaven famous.
To get there, the road goes through a few villages! Because the entire community needs our (the tourists’) help! So somewhere along the way, we parked our cars, jumped into a local’s car, and there was a per-person price for the transport. I don’t think it was more than 50k IDR per person in 2018, but I don’t really remember. It took ten more minutes to use their car.
I find this kind of stuff annoying, especially if you are travelling on a budget, even if you’re in Asia.
I think it’s fair that everyone gets a cut, but it’s so exhausting finding all these details and how everyone is trying to get money from you, how no clear info is written anywhere! But I guess this is one big downside of travelling to less-developed countries in Asia. However, we need to remember that we are a guest in their country, and they’re all trying to make a living. So remember to be kind.
As we arrived at the Lempuyang Luhur temple, the rain seemed to have stopped. But 2 minutes after getting out of the car, it started pouring like I never thought it could.
This was the heaviest, most violent rain I have ever witnessed.
We waited about an hour for the rain to stop, hidden inside a small tea shop next to the temple. Remember you need to buy something if you want to sit down! And when tropical rain hits, you will want to be under a roof, for sure!
The heavy rain stopped, and we put on the raincoats as it was still dripping a bit.
The temple was full of puddles, around ten other people were visiting, and two locals were taking pictures of the tourists at Heaven’s Gates!
Yes, this is the famous place where all those Instagram photos are taken!
The truth is, there is no lake but a mirror held by the man taking the pic, just under your phone’s camera, to have a reflection of the gates. And if there’s no clear sky, you can’t see the volcano through the gates.
Even with just a few people visiting, I waited a few minutes to take a picture in this famous spot. I wanted a pic with my camera, but apparently, the mirror catch doesn’t work with a camera. It works only for smartphones. Of course, a donation is expected for the two local men taking pictures.
Back to Ubud
Head back to Ubud for dinner. We went to Milk & Madu Ubud, and it was very nice.
If Western food is what you are looking for, then this is a good place for you. If you are looking for a traditional and cheaper meal, look for a Warung – a type of small restaurant owned by locals. Bali has some amazing dining places so make sure to check Bali’s best restaurants.
If you have more time to spend in Ubud, check out these ideas of what to do in and around Ubud, Bali.
There are a few bars in Ubud if you are up for an after-dinner drink on your 3rd day of the 5 days Bali itinerary.
Take a look at L.O.L Bar. They had live music. Lots of tourists around. Many bars in Indonesia have bands to perform live music. That is a nice touch.
Head back to your hotel and have a well-deserved night’s sleep.
Day 4 in Bali: Traditional Dance
Good morning, beautiful Bali!
By now, you should be accustomed to the heat, humidity, and local time. So this means you can really appreciate the perfect morning weather. Pack your luggage and take it with you, because it’s time to change location once more.
And to tick off the touristic list of all the must-dos from in this 5-day itinerary in Bali for first-timers, you need to see the traditional Balinese dance (the Barong & Kris Dance or the Kecak & Fire Dance ). We saw the Barong dance, which was in the morning. The Fire dance was in the evening.
Sahadewa Barong Dance (traditional Balinese dance)
Sahadewa Barong Dance is the place we’ve been to and it was so nice.
It took me a bit to understand what was happening, but fortunately, they gave you a flyer at the entrance, to explain the entire story of the show. I even took a pic with the cast at the end of the show.
Sukawati Art Market Guwang
Sukawati Art Market Guwang is the next stop. Buy all those souvenirs you need, clothes, fruits, bags, soups, and home decorations. Everything you want and more.
Don’t forget to bargain, as everyone is trying hard to sell you stuff. I’ve been told this market is cheaper than the one in Ubud. Either way, I have to tell you the merchants from Bali are used to massive tourism, and what they are selling is not that cheap.
For me, some of the stuff was cheaper back home in Romania than in Bali.
My advice would be to only buy something that you really like and can’t find it at home. Otherwise, I wouldn’t carry it from the other side of the world.
Lunch at Nook
Ready for lunch?
Head over to Nook, a wonderful restaurant, with a wide variety of western and Indonesian dishes!
It looks so cute; people take pictures everywhere. And the food..!
We were eight people at the table, and it took us 20 minutes to finish taking pictures of our food. It was beautiful! And delicious!
They even have a small shop for home decorations and small accessories. Luckily everything has a price tag, and you don’t need to haggle.
Remember that if something has a price tag, it means it’s already a bit too expensive. I bought a nice set of bamboo straws from there!
Stay in Seminyak
Then head to Seminyak! Time for some Bali beach time and relaxation. And for beer. Bintang is the local beer, and it’s a must-try!
We stayed at the
If you decide to stay at
When I was a little girl, I wanted to own a hotel (I had a bright mind as a kid). Do you know why? Because I wanted to live in one. Well, if my dream ever becomes true, then I want a hotel like this one!
Seminyak is where all the parties happen. Everybody is having fun (and drinking). It’s different and unexpected.
Seminyak is a fun place, with a huge beach, perfect for surfers. It was windy when I was there, but it’s a perfect place to watch the sunset, and the beach gets crowded around that time.
The huge offer of bars, pubs, hotels and hostels will make you want to stay at least for one night! If you are still into that. For complete silence and relaxation time, you should head back to Ubud.
I went to Mexicola bar, to have a beer after dinner. It was funny to watch Asian people dance to Mexican music. Somehow, I could have never imagined such a thing.
But we all had a great time, locals and tourists together.
Day 5 in Bali: Relax & Departure day
Take your time and relax a bit before leaving. Hang out by the pool or at a spa. Take a jog on the beach. Do some souvenir shopping. Wherever you stay in Seminyak, you will find it easy to do all of those things and more.
If you need to get to the airport, remember to reserve at least 1 hour for the ride.
Seminyak isn’t far away from Denpasar Airport, but the traffic can be pretty bad. Also, I recommend using Grab app. It’s like Uber, but the Asian version. There are also the famous Blue taxis, but I heard some nasty stories about them.
Bali travel tips to know before planning your 5-day trip to Bali
Bali time zone
Bali is in UTC+08:00 time zone, and if you’re travelling there from Europe like I was, chances are that you will feel the jet lag.
My body had no idea that it has to go to sleep at midnight, and I couldn’t sleep until 4 am. Guess who missed breakfast the next morning?
I didn’t even hear the alarm. My advice is to try to adapt to the local time in Bali before you arrive.
Try not to sleep on the plane and to go to sleep when you arrive, if you arrive in the evening. If you arrive in the morning or during the day, plan your sleep schedule accordingly to the Bali time zone.
Where to stay in Bali, Indonesia?
When booking a hotel in Asia, you can either use Booking.com or Agoda.
You’ll find most hotels here. If you’re keen on a popular place with limited rooms, make sure to book in advance.
Internet in Bali
Some years ago, the only way to get internet when arriving in Bali was to get a SIM card from the airport.
But if you want to make sure you’ll have an active internet connection the moment you step out of the plane, I strongly advise you to get Airalo.
You need a smartphone that supports eSIM to use it. Pre-purchase a data package and you’re all set! I love this thing!
Bali weather
You need to prepare for the Bali weather.
If you’re going to visit Bali during the wet season (October – March), then you need to think about what you’re going to wear, what skin products you will want to use and everything else.
If you’re coming from a dry climate, such as in Europe, then the first gasp of Balinese air will shock you, and leave you breathless. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.
The major issue is that it’s wet and hot during the day, and you’ll be constantly sweating, drinking water, and everything will feel moist and melting (including make-up or underwear). Bring thin clothes that can dry fast, and have multiple layers of clothes to use.
As for the make-up, don’t plan on using too much. Sunscreen is a must, but other than that, it’s impossible to wear makeup. That’s why I don’t recommend bringing too much make-up with you.
This is my suggestion for a 5-day itinerary in Bali as a first-timer. I hope this Bali 5-day itinerary will make your holiday in Bali just the way you dreamt of it!
If you’re not convinced yet, here is a short 1-minute video I made with my highlights from Bali.
Make sure to check this extremely comprehensive Bali travel guide for some essential tips and what to do in Ubud, what to explore in Kuta, Lombok and how to spend 3 days on Gili Air. Enjoy your holidays!
It looks amazing I hope I can make it over there one day!
It’s a paradise if you like the sun, beaches and waterfalls 🙂 I hope you will get to experience Bali or any other part of Indonesia 🙂
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