Bali Essence
- Culture & Heritage
- Beach Escapes
Overview
Day 1 - 2: Bali - Ubud
- Arrive in Bali. Drive to Ubud.
- Visit Gunung Kawi, Tirta Empul. Enjoy the spectacular views of green rice terraces and the Pakrisan river.
Day 3 - 5: Batubulan - Batur - Sanur - Departure
- Learn about the Balinese philosophy through Barong dance in Batubulan.
- Enjoy the view of Batur volcano and Lake Batur.
- Drive to Sanur and relax on the idyllic beach.
- Board the departure from Bali’s Denpasar airport.
Customizable itinerary
Discover the true spirit of Bali with our ‘Bali Essence’ tour in 5 days, carefully crafted to immerse you in the island’s most authentic experiences.
Explore Ubud, the cultural heart of Bali. Immerse yourself in Balinese culture by visiting the sacred temples of Tirta Empul and Gunung Kawi, and enjoy the traditional Barong dance, which depicts the battle between good and evil spirits. Take in the breathtaking views of Lake Batur before stopping at the Tegalalang rice terraces, one of the island’s most photogenic landmarks. No trip to Bali is complete without experiencing the ocean, so be sure to visit the beautiful seaside town of Sanur, with its idyllic beach, which makes for the perfect conclusion to your journey.
A warm greeting awaits at Bali International Airport; your private guide and driver will meet you at the arrival lounge and take you directly to your hotel. Your knowledgeable guide will be happy to answer any questions along the way and will assist you with check-in and registration at the hotel.
After a short rest, we will drive from the south of Bali to Ubud. The Balinese kings, benevolent to the arts, transformed their court seat into a true global village. Ubud shops, galleries and craft shops blend traditional arts and crafts with modern design. Visiting European artists, attracted by the lure of an untouched tropical paradise, were encouraged to stay. They gave new impetus to the existing local arts while creating some exciting new forms in the process. This atmosphere reverbs to this day. A visit to Ubud means indulging in the local arts, visiting the ancient temples and enjoying the archetypical Balinese surroundings of steep gorges and sculpted rice fields.
Ubud is the ideal basis to explore some interesting landmarks and sights of Bali’s hinterland and enjoy the enthralling Balinese landscapes. Famed for its painters and sculptors, the township and nearby villages exude an atmosphere of grace and serenity that has attracted art celebrities from all over the world. The Balinese culture is alive and well with some of the finest workings in wood, stone and silver on display.
Venture north up to Gunung Kawi. Gunung Kawi is only to be reached via a flight of stairs. You will, however, be rewarded with magnificent views over rice terraces and the Pakrisan river. Then we will move onwards to Tirta Empul, a major temple complex and holy mountain spring in the village of Manukaya.
Meals: (Breakfast/Lunch/_)
Today you will have the best of culture and nature in a day. First, you will attend a playful introduction to the Balinese philosophy. The gracious Barong dance in Batubulan, performed by professional actors and dancers. Proceed to the rightfully famous woodcarving center of Mas. Young artisans with amazing skills emblaze tropical woods with life.
Then we will drive further to the east and enjoy the breathtaking view over the volcano and the Lake Batur, while having lunch in Penelokan, Kintamani. This is the largest lake in Bali and can be found in the smaller, secondary caldera of the Batur volcano, right at the foot of Mount Abang. The final stop will be the photogenic Tegalalang Rice Terraces before you arrive in Sanur.
Meals: (Breakfast/Lunch/_)
Enjoy morning breakfast and day at your leisure to enjoy at the resort or self-explore the beautiful surrounding.
Meals: (Breakfast/_/_)
Free at your leisure to enjoy the resort’s facilities until departure time, meet your guide at the hotel lobby for your transfer service back to Denpasar airport. End of services.
Meals: (Breakfast/_/_)
Useful Information
This tour is built upon our firsthand knowledge & experience, offering you the best choices available. The price of this trip varies depending on the number of people in your party, dates of departure, and availability of ground services. Please click on REQUEST A FREE QUOTE (above) and supply the required information, enabling us to send you your personalized quote within 24 hours!
Note: Amendments CAN be made to this tour to suit your requirements.
What’s Included?
- Accommodation with daily breakfast at selected hotels
- Private Vehicles and Drivers
- Private English Speaking Guides (Other languages if available, upon request)
- Meals as mentioned in the itinerary (B= Breakfast, L= Lunch, D= Dinner)
- Entrance fees for all mentioned sights visited
- Service Charge & Government Taxes
What’s Not Included?
- Your International Flights to and from Bali
- Indonesia entry Visa Fees (contact us for further information)
- Personal Expenses (such as laundry, telephone, drinks, etc.)
- Any bank fees or charges at your end
- Meals other than those mentioned in the itinerary
- Personal Travel Insurance
- Tips for guides and drivers
Free service. No credit card required
Reviews on Our Service
Great trip experience in Vietnam and Cambodia
We travelled to Vietnam (Hanoi, Sapa, HCM (Saigon) and Mekong Delta) and Cambodia (Siem Reap) and used Lizzie Pham from Asia Pioneer Travel to book all the transfers, guides and hotels. We couldn’t be happier with the travel arrangements. Lizzie and Elly were always there to check on how things were going and if something was brought to their notice, they would get it rectified immediately.
The highlights of our trip were the temple visits in Angkor Wat (Guide Ratnak was fantastic) and the homestay in the Mekong delta.
Would recommend Lizzie and Asia Pioneer Travel without reservation.
Vietnam
We recently returned from a 12-day trip to Vietnam that was organized by Asia Pioneer Travel. Cherry was fantastic; she organized and communicated everything perfectly. Would recommend them without reservation.
Amazing Holiday trip to Vietnam and Cambodia
Cherry crafted a wonderful trip for my family of 4 with private guides and drivers in several cities between Vietnam and Cambodia to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Day. Our entire trip was full of interesting information and great food! Our guides were great, all with a wealth of knowledge regarding the sites they took us to and we were even able to take a few side trips off the beaten path to see the real Vietnam and Cambodia, not just the touristy areas. Overall we had an excellent trip and would definitely use Asia Pioneer Travel to plan future holidays.
SE Asia trip with Asia Pioneer Travel
We went from 12/18-24 to 1/3/25 on the SE Asia natural and food discovery tour. My wife and I decided to go on this trip in November without any prior knowledge of this company and very little in the countries we would visit. Mr Winston and Asia Pioneer Travel could not have been nicer to us. They delivered everything they promised in their trip. I was a bit concerned about this trip as we had been to India before and the sites and food are more exotic than most places. However, the guides were great and we got picked up and dropped off and had a guide with us to make the many activities we had go smoothly. The guides were happy to help is with whatever we needed including carrying lots of ice, cold bottles water for us.
We have travelled overseas extensively and this is one of the most action packed and memorable trips we have had.
At our request, this travel company switched part of our visit from Phuket, Thailand to Angkor Wat, Cambodia (which is the biggest religious site in the world and has some awesome temples) and they added a water puppet show (so fun) in Hanoi for us. We enjoyed the itinerary. We saw many different sites and tried many types of food on the food tours. We couldn’t have been happier on this trip. We highly recommend them. Great trip! Open communication all the way.
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