In Reply to: First time in Bali. posted by Leaah on Wednesday, 2. September 2009 at 21:58 Bali Time:
My 22 yo son (who hasn't been to Bali since he was about 9 & hated it) & I have only 6 days in Bali in Oct/Nov & this is what I have planned:-
2 nights booked at a hotel off Poppies 1 in Kuta. There are plenty of cheap places in & around Poppies 1 & 2 - do pre-book to save valuable time. Kuta is a very convenient, central place to stay especially if your time is limited. Great shopping, ditto restaurants. Lots of metered taxis. You could do a trip to Tanah Lot on one of your nights in Kuta - no biggie if you miss it in my opinion. Hire a driver, don't self-drive.
Then we have 2 nights at a hotel in Monkey Forest Rd in central Ubud (no taxis there & I hate bargaining with drivers every time I want to go out - I like to stay centrally so I can walk to the markets, shops, restaurants in the area - many if not most hotels provide free transport but it can be a bit hassley).
The bike tour I have also booked will collect us from our Kuta Hotel early morning & drop us back to our Ubud Hotel at the end of the ride (thereby saving us time & transfer costs). The downhill bike ride through rice paddies & villages includes breakfast at Kintimani overlooking the active volcano, a traditional Balinese lunch, etc etc - plenty of info in the archives. Son insists on doing this - thinks it will be the highlight of his trip (I'd rather be shopping & eating - ah, the things Mums do).
If you have time in Ubud you could combine a trip to the excellent Neka Art Gallery with lunch across the road at Tropical Bale - a superb, reasonably priced restaurant set in rice fields. Get a driver to take you back to your hotel in Kuta for your last night.
Since your time is limited don't use Perama - cheap but way too time consuming & often no aircon.
Plan ahead & book in advance as much as you can. It's busy then. Try to fit in a massage. Leave your last day free to do whatever takes your fancy. I like to be very organised at the start so I can put ticks on my list & then be more relaxed.
Hope this helps.