Bali and Lombok - A balinese adventure

Bali is a beautiful island with everything you would expect from a tropical island but it also has much more to offer. Beautiful beach plus the whole interior of the island is rainforest, there are amazing paddy fields and they also have a volcano! The combination of temples, rain-forest, paddy fields and beaches plus its outlying islands. This makes it a lovely diverse destination.

Most come for the beaches which are gorgeous, but many also come because Bali offers great value for money. There are many hotels to choose from, each one nicer than the last, The best news is that the standard of accommodation in Bali is very high. Bali also has the same summer season as ourselves here in Ireland so it is high season in Bali from May to September with highs of 31 degrees. This makes it a great destination for anyone tied to taking their holidays in our summer months and also for couples getting married in the summer as it is a perfect honeymoon destination.

We spent a week on the beach and also stayed three nights in Ubud which is in the centre of the island. You are surrounded by rain-forests and paddy fields and it is a great base to explore from. The Monkey temple with its reclining gold Buddha and monkeys, made a fun day out. A trip to see the volcano is also a must and you can stop for tea or a quick bite to eat in a little restaurant with one of the best views I have ever encountered. The restaurant sits overlooking the volcano and the lake below with the clouds floating b, it was gorgeous.

There are many sights to be seen and a quick look on Instagram will constantly show you new ones. The local guides are usually happy to take you anywhere you wish to go, from temples carved in to the side of cliff faces to temples on island, waterfalls and cliff drives there is loads to see and do. I would recommend booking a guide before you go so you have a plan and don't miss out. Ubud itself is an interesting town with lots of shops and restaurants and if you ever wanted to furnish your home with Balinese furniture this is the place to buy and they will organise shipping for you.

There are many outlying islands from the Gili islands to Lombok which we visited. We took a flight over which I would recommend as the boats are quite long. Lombok is much more laid back than Bali, it's a real chill out zone and has and amazing coastal drive with stunning views and I really liked it here. All in all it is a beautiful island with friendly locals and great food and service offering a great choice of hotels for all budgets.

There are also great options for you to include another city on the way to Bali too as it is quite a long way. Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai and Hong Kong all offer great connections to Bali so you can see two places for the price of one which is always great.