Week 1: Yoga and surf retreat on Nusa Lembongan
My first solo trip! What an experience! In 2017 it was time for me to finally travel alone for some time. Quite exciting for someone who doesn’t even go to the beach or have a coffee on her own.
But I made the decision: I’m going alone this time. After some research my eye fell on Bali: right season (September), friendly people, delicious food, many things to do and also very safe for a woman travelling alone.
I have split my trip to Bali in multiple blogs. In this blog I’ll tell more about my preparation and the surf and yoga retreat I did the first week of my trip on the island Nusa Lembongan:
Tip: Click the layers on and off in this map with the square button (with the arrow) on the left in the grey beam.
Click on the links below for my other blogs about Bali:
- Climbing Mount Batur (from Ubud)
- Week 2: Ubud – The cultural, culinary and green heart of Bali
- Week 3: Gili T, Uluwatu and Canggu – Partying, diving and surfing
1. Preparation
The first week I wanted to get into travelling alone, but also meet people. I’m not very into yoga, but I liked the idea of relaxing with yoga and massages in the first week. Furthermore I like to be active (and to be surrounded by active people), so I booked a 6-day yoga and surf retreat on the small island Nusa Lembongan.
Yoga and surf retreat
Book via www.bookyogaretreats.com. This website offers all kinds of retreats all over the world. It’s a good start for your search for a retreat and to see what’s possible.
And there I was at Schiphol airport: packed backpack, boarding pass and passport in my hand and enough books to survive three weeks alone.
2. 1 night in Sanur
After a long trip I arrived at my Guest House Kayu Sugih in Sanur to spend the first night. A calm, green oasis in the middle of the vibrant centre of Sanur! I just had to walk around the corner for nasi goreng at one of the many restaurants along the Jl. Danau Tamblingan and go to bed.
Location:
Guest House Kayu Sugih
Jl. Danau Tamblingan No.76, Sanur, Kec. Denpasar Sel., Kota Denpasar, Bali 80228, Indonesia
Tel: +62 361 282916
Book via Booking.com
3. Yoga and surf retreat on Nusa Lembongan
The rest of my journey to Nusa Lembongan was completely settled by the yoga retreat company; very comfortable! The next day a van picked me up from the guesthouse and dropped me off at the dock (I had a ticket for the boat with the company Arthamas). At the beach of Nusa Lembongan someone was waiting for me to bring me to Rama Garden for the retreat. When I arrived at Rama Garden I was welcomed with a delicious fruit shake, a reusable eco-bottle, a canvas bag and my program for the week.
My first yoga-class was in the afternoon in the Yoga Shack. After class I walked back to Rama Garden with two other girls and we liked each other so much that we decided to have a beer right away on the beach. We were still in our yoga outfit so we wouldn’t miss our first sunset on the island. The view on the almost erupting volcano Agung was stunning.
The program for most of the days on Nusa Lembongan was surfing in the mornings and yoga in the afternoon, and from time to time a massage. Surfing on Nusa Lembongan is perfect for beginners, because there’s always a reef break and the waves are not too high. Of course, depending on the tide, but with the surf teachers of Monkey Surfing you’ll catch a wave in no-time. Surfing was the bomb!
One day we rented bicycles – in between surfing and yoga class – to ride around the island. There is only one steep climb on the island (and you wish you had a scooter at that place), but the rest of the ride is quite easy. We cycled for about 3 hours around the island and saw all the highlights during the trip (yes, the island is that small).
It was “Mola-Mola”, or “moon fish”-season and I really wanted to see this special creature, so I went scuba diving with Mola Mola divers. Unfortunately the water was very cold, the current was strong and there were no Mola-Molas around at that time. The conditions at the second diving spot were much better and we were treated with a lot of manta rays.
NB. I was very happy with the action-cam (with a water resistant case) bought for this trip.
The program of my retreat includes a snorkeling trip with manta rays, but that was more like a witch hunt in my opinion. It was very crowded in the water and people were awfully chasing the mantas. I didn’t like that experience very much. Especially compared to the very beautiful diving experience I had with the manta rays the day before.
Locations:
Rama Garden
Lembongan island, Jungutbatu, Nusapenida, Klungkung Regency, Bali 80771, Indonesia
Tel: +62 811-1330-090
Website: www.ramagardenlembongan.comYoga Shack
Secret Garden Bungalows, Nusa Lembongan, Jl. Jungutbatu, Klungkung Regency, Bali 80771, Indonesia
Tel: +62 813-5313-6861
Website: www.bigfishdiving.comMonkey surfing
Banjar Kaja, Desa Jungutbatu, Nusa Lemobongan, Klungkung Regency, Bali 03661, Indonesia
Tel: +62 821-4614-7683
Website: www.monkeyactivities.comMola Mola Dive Lemobongan
Mola Mola Lane, Jl. Jungutbatu, Nusa Lembongan, Bali
Tel: +62 878-6137-0010
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/molamola.divelembobgan
Click on the links below for my other blogs about Bali:
- Climbing Mount Batur (from Ubud)
- Week 2: Ubud – The cultural, culinary and green heart of Bali
- Week 3: Gili T, Uluwatu and Canggu – Partying, diving and surfing
Bali is the only destination I travelled completely solo. Other great destinations to travel on your own and I already wrote a blog about are: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Brazil and Israel. Take a look at my blogs for more travel inspiration for a solo trip.
I recommend my blog “Whale sharks, manta rays and dhows in Tofo“, Mozambique, if you’re interested in scuba diving.
I’ll write more about other perfect countries for (solo) travellers including Sri Lanka, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Cambodia.
If you have any questions, please let me know in a reaction below or via the contact page.
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