When travelling so far, you’d rather make the most of your time. Here are the things you don’t want to miss when in Seminyak, at the South of Bali.
If you have already read my article about Ubud, you already know how much we regretted not to have more time there. Well, let me tell you that we would also have loved spending more time in Seminyak in order to explore more and laze more! Nevertheless, our program still allowed us to take a few days off – by “off”, I mean a few days of not discovering anything and just relax.
Day 1 – Seminyak center
We arrived to our Hotel in the early afternoon after having left Ubud. We unpacked and then jumped in a taxi to go to the center and rent a scooter! We became addicted to scooters, the freedom it offered us, as well as the rapidity with which we could go from a place to another. Trafic in Ubud was okay, but it was terrible in Seminyak. Riding a scooter saves you some precious time.
We hadn’t eaten, so in between our search for a scooter, we went to the Daily coffee kitchen to get a consistent drink. Mathew took an Oreo milkshake and I had an avocado one. Both were delicious! Gonna try to reproduce these beverages at home!
After having found our new scooter, we went to a beach located near the famous Finn’s club. We joined our friend, the one we met in Ubud, in a cute beach bar called Olla Kala beach bar for a drink. It was sunset time, so we also had the chance to enjoy a breathtaking view. It was perfect!
Then we took our scooter and rode around to find a restaurant for dinner. We ended up at Two Trees eatery, where me and our friend had the most tasty vegetarian curry ever and Mathew a delicious burger in a pretty environment. A must go!
Day 2 – Seminyak center
We really wanted to surf while in Bali. Mathew can surf well, but I actually can’t hahah. I had already tried in Portugal and Australia, because I love surfing. But although I sometimes manage to stand up, let’s say I’m not really gifted! It would probably be better to take a lesson next time.
Anyway, we rented surf boards for two hours and went on an adventure. It was fun, but the waves became more and more crazy and, at some point, it was too much for me. Be careful about when you go – depending on the weather and the time of the day, the ocean is more or less agitated and it can become dangerous. Also, keep yourself hydrated! Surfing is physical and the sun is strong in Bali, leading to sunstroke quite easily.
After surfing, we stayed around and had a drink in a nice beach bar called Seaweed beach bar. Mathew and I both took a smoothie with red fruits. It was perfect to boost us after the intensive surf session!
After a quick shower at the hotel, we went to La Laguna. I loved the decoration of this restaurant! It was colorful and had something bohemian that created such a pleasant atmosphere. We sat on the terrasse and ordered fish tacos, an avocado toast and their special fries with truffle, parmesan and aioli. It was so incredibly delicious! We enjoyed our meal with iced teas. It was refreshing and very good!
Later this day, we went to Olla Kala beach bar. We tanned for a while on their comfortable pouffes and ate a delicious nasi goreng for dinner. This place is very relaxed. It’s perfect if you want to laze on the beach in front of the ocean, with some good music and a drink during sunset or earlier for a tanning session.
Day 3 – North west of Seminyak
This day was all about lazying! We spent our day at Potatoe head, a famous and trendy beach club. Actually, we wanted to go there the previous afternoon, but we arrived late and it was already full.
This time, we arrived early enough to find a perfectly located deckchair. It was about 10:15 am and we took the last deckchair available (while it opens at 10:00 am). Therefore, my first advice in case you plan on going there, is to arrive at the opening.
In many beach clubs like this one, you don’t really pay for a deckchair. In order to occupy one, you have to pay a fee that acts like a credit that you can spend on food and drinks during your time in the club. So, basically, you don’t rent the deckchair. If you spend the entire money, good for you! If you don’t, the rest is the club’s.
It was perfect for us, because we love eating. Furthermore, it was so hot that we drank about 7 liters of water to avoid insolation. We used the entire credit we previously paid, so it was absolutely worth it.
We spent the entire day there, the ambiance was really cool and we could choose between refreshing ourselves in the pool or in the ocean, as it’s in front of the club. Another must-go!
We wanted to visit Kuta beach while in Bali, so we went there right after Potatoe Head. The beach was crowded, but we still enjoyed a beautiful sunset. We could see the difference between the beach in Seminyak and the one in Kuta in terms of number of people. We felt kind of stressed by it to be honest: people walking around everywhere, the children playing, some guys droning, a wedding on the beach… To be honest, the sunset was worth it, but I’m not sure we would go there again.
Day 4 – Lower South West of Seminyak (around Uluwatu)
We started the day by going to Padang Padang beach. When we arrived there, some locals were in the middle of an offering ceremony. It was beautiful to assist to this celebration, we felt so lucky! If you ever happen to see one, stop for a minute and enjoy it! Then, we lazed in the sun for about an hour on the sand before hitting the road to go where we would spend the rest of the day.
We had planned to spend the afternoon at Oneeighty° pool at The Edge, a cliff-top club. We had booked a VIP deckchair for two about one month earlier, which came with towels, free-flow water, facial mist, a granita and WiFi in addition to the fee we had to spend on food and beverages (just like explained above when talking about Potatoe head).
This place is breathtaking! Everything is clean and beautiful, the service is considerate (like everywhere in Bali to be honest) and the food delicious. As for the sky pool, it’s impressive! We also had a wonderful view on the ocean, which allowed us to see turtles, dolphins and a shark from far. It was a magical!
We had a really nice time there and stayed until 7pm. We would have loved to stay longer, but we had a 1h30 journey to go back to the hotel.
Day 5 – Nusa Penida Island
We had booked a tour on Nusa Penida Island for the day, but it didn’t go as planned. Mathew got a sunstroke from the day before and was sick all day. Therefore, we didn’t make the most out of it, but that’s not all.
We were taken to three different places for snorkeling in a small private boat: Crystal Bay, Gamat Bay and Manta Bay, where we could see Manta rays. Manta Bay was the cooler spot, as it is where we saw some impressive Manta rays!
I was so happy to have the chance to see a Manta ray, but in all honesty, I felt rushed. When we were arriving at this spot, the boat driver told us to put our tuba and mask on. We got ready and didn’t really know what was happening until he shouted “there’s one! Jump!” and immediately stopped the boat.
I wasn’t ready to jump, but still did under the pressure. In the water, I found myself facing this impressive Manta. I was alone since Mathew jumped right after on the other side of the boat. I hate being alone in the ocean, I need someone close to me to feel safe. So, I panicked! I told myself it would be safer to go on board again and put a life jacket on to help me float – I’m a good swimmer, so imagine the panic! Reassured, I quickly went back in the water, but the manta was already gone. It was an impressive experience, but I wished we could have been less stressed and better informed about how it would work, in order to truly enjoy the moment and not flip out like I did.
Then went to Crystal Bay beach, Angel’s Billagong, Broken beach and Kelingking beach. We also ate in a warung in between – this is how the local restaurants are called. These places were all beautiful and impressive, yet very touristic.
In the end, I don’t know if it’s the tour itself or Mathew’s health state that made this day not as fun as I had pictured it. We spent a lot of time in the car to go from one place to another, there was a lot of trafic and many trafic jams because of the tourists visiting the island (us included of course). The time planned on each spot was also too short in my opinion. Not a must to me, but you’re free to try and make up your own opinion. 😉
Day 6 – Lower South West of Seminyak (around Uluwatu)
It was our penultimate day and after the not-so-successful excursion of the previous day, we wanted to make the most out of it! We went down to Uluwatu again and started with a stop at Dreamland beach. The waves were crazy there, so we couldn’t go in the water and the beach was flooded. Not only does it mean that there’s no way you can just chill on the sand with your towel, but the waves may even splash you and your stuffs if your on a deckchair. We still enjoyed our hour and a half there, but it wasn’t the most relaxing beach.
Then, we went surfing to Binging beach. We rented the surfs on the spot. It was really nice, but the waves were too crazy for me (again), so I stopped quite quickly and rested on the beach while waiting for the boys.
After a well deserved lunch at about 4pm (unfortunately, I don’t remember the name of the place we went to) and the visit of a secret beach that our friend made us discover, we went to the Uluwatu Temple. We wanted to see the sunset from there. The temple is on a cliff, therefore the view we had over the sunset was wonderful! Be aware that this place is unsurprisingly crowded with tourists and full monkeys. One even tried to steal the flip-flop I was wearing!
Day 7 – Seminyak center
Time went by so quickly, it was already our last day. We wanted to get a few gifts for our families and friends, so we quickly went down to the flea market of Seminyak. I didn’t like it as much as Ubud market, because of the limited choice and high prices.
Back at the hotel, we enjoyed a great couple massage before leaving for good. We had an absolute blast in Bali, it was awesome!
Feel free to share with us your tips about Seminyak and Bali in the comment section!
Love, Pauline