My first solo trip - 3 weeks Bali

Week 3: Gili T, Uluwatu and Canggu – Partying, diving and surfing

I have split my trip to Bali in a couple of blogs. This blog is mostly about scuba diving and parties on the party island Gili T, the calm and beauty of Uluwatu and surfing and relaxing in Canggu:

Party and scuba diving on Gili T
Relaxing in Uluwatu
Chillin in hipster town Canggu
Conclusion solo trip Bali

Click on the links below for my other blogs about Bali:

Week 1: Surf and yoga retreat on Nusa Lembongan
Week 2: Ubud – The cultural, culinary and green heart of Bali
Climbing Mount Batur (from Ubud)

Tip: Click the layers on and off in this map with the square button (with the arrow) on the left in the grey beam.

I found Nemo!

1. Party and scuba diving on Gili T

After my stay in the green surroundings of Ubud, I wanted some beach time again. I choose to go to The island Gili Trawangan (or: Gili T). Again, the organization I booked my transport to Gili T with, picked me up at my hotel with a minivan and dropped me in Padang Bai. Everybody was pushed into a restaurant to collect the boat tickets to Gili T. Sometime later I stepped on the boat on the upper deck and the party started right there: very loud music, sun, nice people and beer. Did I mention it was only 9 am? Actually, that wasn’t a problem for the Aussies and British on board.

Party boat with a black beach in the background

Gili T is a party island – even more than I expected. And unfortunately not in a positive way. But since I was there anyway, I also partied there. Dinner at the night market (every night) was one of my highlights. But also scuba diving with turtles and white tip reef sharks was very cool! Every night, the colourful sunset was spectacular. Snorkeling here was again a fiasco because of the very annoying tourists who didn’t understand not to touch the coral and turtles.

I stayed in Gili Orchid Guesthouse. It’s a very simple guesthouse with only 3 rooms. They gave me a bicycle to use for free, so I could easily ride around the island.

Locations:
Manta Dive Resort Gili Trawangan
Gili Trawangan, Lombok-NTB Indonesia
Website: https://manta-dive.com/
Tel: +62 (0) 81237889378
Trawangan Night Market
Next to the jetty; Gili Trawangan, Lombok Barat, Nusa Tenggara Bar. 83352
Gili Orchid Guesthouse
Jl. Bulu Babi, Gili Indah, Pemenang, Kabupaten Lombok Utara, Nusa Tenggara Bar. 83352
Book via Booking.com

Tip: There are many options available to stay on Gili T, so browse the booking websites and book only for your first night. If you like your guesthouse you could prolong your stay and if you find another place which is even more beautiful, you could make a booking there for the rest of your stay on Gili T.

2. Relaxing in Uluwatu

From the loud Gili T I travelled to Uluwatu. I seemed to be the only guest at the fantastically situated hostel Bali Rocks. To get to the hostel I had to walk about 100 steep steps down, in the burning sun and with all my bags. But when I finally arrived, it was a little paradise with stunning views, a private beach and (again) gorgeous sunsets. And that was all for me alone! The famous – and because of the fame quite touristy – Padang Padang beach next to my hostel, where you even had to pay an entrance fee, was not that exciting compared to my private beach.

The Uluwatu Temple with sunset was a nice experience. You’re not the only one here, but it’s very spacious so you can easily find your own spot to watch the sunset. And there are plenty of people around you to take a picture of you if you want to.

Location:
Bali Rocks
Uluwatu, Pecatu, South Kuta, Badung Regency, Bali 80361, Indonesia
Tel: +62 817-344-788
I booked via Facebook

3. Chillin in hipster town Canggu

I spent the last couple of days in the hipster town Canggu. Very good restaurants (most of them serving international hipster food), laid-back people, surfing, great beach clubs, nice parties and not too touristy (yet). I really enjoyed my time here!

I didn’t rent a scooter in Bali, because I didn’t feel very comfortable trying to ride it when I was travelling alone, but I rented a bicycle a couple of times. The small guesthouse Canggu Bagus where I stayed was located in the centre, so I could easily reach every spot by bike. Most of the days here I spent on the beach surfing and reading in the sun. You can rent a surfboard everywhere along the beach and it seemed like everyone was a surf teacher. Canggu has a black sand beach, so it’s definitely not one of the most beautiful, tropical beaches in Bali.

Surfing and a ceremony go very well next to each other on Canggu beach

Some hotspots in Canggu:

Have lunch and chill an afternoon at beach club La Brisa (opened its doors in September 2017, so it was brand new when I was there). Order breakfast, lunch or dinner at Organic Cafe, Betelnut, Crate Cafe, Cafe Vida, Little Flinders, The Shady Shack. Enjoy some drinks and dance the night away at Old man’s, The Lawn (with a nice pool!), Pretty Poison (they use the former pool outside as a halfpipe to skateboard) or just on the beach when there’s a full moon party.

I also visited the Tanah Lot Temple. This was a huge tourist attraction with especially a lot of souvenir shops. Also in the temple itself you’ll have to pay for your “blessings” and to enter a special cave with snakes too (nothing special here, though). The restaurants are not great either. The temple was not the best experience after all.

Locations:
Canggu Bagus
Jl. Pantai Batu Bolong No.50 A, Canggu, Umalas, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia
Tel: +62 821-4763-6058
All the other locations are pinned in the Google Maps map at the top of this blog.

4. Conclusion solo trip Bali

Bali, Nusa Lembongan and the Gili islands are the perfect destination for your first solo trip. Bali has so much to offer: culture, stunning nature, beaches to relax, surf and dive and adventurous (night) hikes. And the food is só good!

On the other hand, Bali is very touristic (at least at the places I’ve been). For the real, authentic Indonesia you’ll have to look further. But because there are so many tourists there are many facilities as well and the food is delicious. The Balinese people are super friendly, most of the locals speak English and it’s very easy to travel around the island.

Click on the links below for my other blogs about Bali:

Week 1: Surf and yoga retreat on Nusa Lembongan
Week 2: Ubud – The cultural, culinary and green heart of Bali
Climbing Mount Batur (from Ubud)

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’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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