My Top 13 Favourite Experiences in Indonesia

Last Updated on 18th March 2023

As I did after spending 3 months in New Zealand and 1 month in Australia, I thought it was only right that I shared my favourite experiences in Indonesia after spending almost 2 months there.

I’ve made it no secret that Bali wasn’t my favourite place in the world and there were many reasons why I didn’t love it, but there were also numerous things that I did love about the Indonesian island, as well as its neighbours; Gili T and Nusa Penida.

Looking back on our time there, we managed to do so much and I’m excited to get plenty of travel guides written up for you guys, as well as honest and real accounts of our time there!

In the meantime however, here’s my top 13 favourite experiences in Indonesia!

Having a “holiday” at Bali Sunset Villa

Despite what many people think, travelling full time certainly isn’t as glamorous and as easy as it looks; it’s full on, intense and often exhausting. So, after we’d been living in a campervan in New Zealand and Australia for 10 weeks respectively, we were more than ready for some downtime and relaxation.

After a couple of days getting used to our new surroundings in Bali at another hotel for two nights, we checked into Bali Sunset Villa for 9 nights and it was the most restorative and relaxing time we’d had in a long time.

We did very little apart from eat, swim, write and drink (oh, and we also came down with Bali Belly but alas!) and it was oh-so lovely.

Surfing lesson in Seminyak

Before we started travelling, I had an immense fear of the ocean and everything that lives within it (particularly sharks and whales!). But since spending so much time snorkelling and diving in Australia, I’ve discovered a new-found love for the sea and now I try and push myself out of my comfort zone as much as I can with regards to swimming, snorkelling and now thanks to the beaches in Seminyak; surfing!

Matt and I paid £7 each for a 2-hour beginner’s surfing lesson while we were staying in Seminyak and I have to admit, I took to it like a pro 😉

It’s definitely a lot harder than I thought it would be, and a lot more strenuous too, but it was so much fun and for just 7 quid, it was definitely worth the money!

Seeing my mum for the first time in 5 and a half months

While this experience isn’t specifically related to Indonesia, it is the place that my mum flew out from the UK after not seeing her for almost 5 and a half months!

My mum is my absolute best friend and she’s the most important person in the world to me so to go almost half a year without seeing her was unfathomably hard. Thankfully, she finally made it out to Bali to see us and it was the most incredibly happy couple of days.

We ate lots of yummy food, hung out by the pool in our hotel and did plenty of exploring too. The best part was just seeing her though and spending some much-needed quality time with her.

I’m not sure how long it’ll be until I next see her so I’m keeping those special memories alive for as long as I can!

Visiting the Ubud Monkey Forest Sanctuary – favourite experiences in Indonesia

While we were in Ubud, we paid a visit to the Monkey Forest Sanctuary which was such a fun and cool experience!

The monkeys are free to come and go as they please and there’s hundreds of the little buggers running around, pulling your hair and trying to steal your things!

They take the definition of “cheeky monkey” quite literally and they’re so mischievous and naughty but great to watch as they play and interact with each other.

Staying at Trinity Gardens Ubud

The Tower Trinity Gardens Ubud Bali house

Speaking of our time in Ubud, we stayed at the beautiful Trinity Gardens resort for two days while we were there.

We did very little for those two days apart from admire the stunning surroundings of the nature, rice paddy fields and the local village.

It’s a truly spectacular place to stay and I’d highly recommend it if you’re looking for somewhere luxurious while in Ubud.

Learning to semi-cope with my fears in Singaraja

A gecko skin that had been shed!
The view from our mountain-top cabin!

As we planned to stay in Indonesia for two months and you’re only permitted to a 30-day Visa on Arrival entry when you land in the country, we stayed in Singaraja for 12 days so that we could extend our visas at the immigration office.

I’m going to write all about our experience with extending our visas in Indonesia because quite frankly, it was a bloody nightmare.

However, while we were in Singaraja, we stayed in a homestay that was essentially a few log cabins on top of a mountain. While it might sound incredibly romantic and idyllic, it was actually a pretty difficult experience.

I wasn’t in a great head space anyway, but combined with the fact that we were so far removed from literally everyone, there were no nearby restaurants, we had many issues with our visas and the whole place seemed to be swarmed by ants and geckos, it was an experience that wasn’t wholly enjoyable.

Upon reflection however, I can appreciate what that time in the mountains taught me and how it changed my perception of travelling. Basically, not everything is always beaches and cocktails and waterfalls, there’s a fair amount of sh*t to deal with a lot of the time and while the highs massively outweigh the lows, it doesn’t mean that the bad times aren’t there.

While we were in Singaraja I had to live with geckos pooing on the bed, waking up to ants crawling on my pillow as well as having to live off 17p noddles for 12 days. That experience taught me to be grateful for the simple things in life and it showed me that we all have bad days/weeks, even when travelling and “living our best lives”.

“Outing” the famous Lempuyang Temple – favourite experiences in Indonesia

Lempuyang Temple Bali top favourite experiences in Indonesia

If you’ve seen my previous post, you’ll know all about me sharing the “truth” about the Lempuyang Temple in Bali.

While the temple itself is absolutely beautiful and a great experience in Bali, I didn’t love it because of those things.

It was actually one of my favourite experiences in Indonesia because it showed me the real side of travelling and people documenting their travels on Instagram.

I won’t go into too much detail as I did write an entire post about it, but I’m grateful for that experience as it showed me so much about the effects Instagram has had on Bali.

Coffee and tea tasting near Ubud

On our day trip from Ubud, not only did we visit the likes of the Tegallalang Rice Terraces and the Tirta Empul Temple, we also made a stop at the Agro Santi coffee plantation near Ubud.

Despite the fact that I’m not a huge coffee drinker at all, this activity turned out to be one of my favourite things we did in Indonesia as it was so well organised and so much fun!

Seeing Diamond Beach for the first time

I’m honestly SO excited to share my content from Nusa Penida with you guys in the coming weeks as it’s such a beautiful place and we had an amazing couple of days there.

For now though, my favourite place in Nusa Penida and one of my favourite experiences in Indonesia as a whole was seeing Diamond Beach for the first time.

There’s no edit whatsoever on the picture above; it really does look that paradisal and it’s one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen!

Gili T Pub Crawl – favourite experiences in Indonesia

I’ve talked all about the Gili T Pub Crawl in my post about Gili T Nightlife so it’s probably no surprise that the Pub Crawl was one of my favourite things we did in Indonesia.

It was such an awesome night and it’s something that I really wasn’t sure if it would be worth the money at first but I can safely confirm that it is! I’d highly recommend it if you find yourself in Gili Trawangan.

Eating so much delicious food in Gili T

Another one of my favourite experiences in Indonesia was eating so much delicious food while we were in Gili T.

We ate so good while we were on the island for 10 days and we ate everything from £1.50 Ayam Lalapan to £6 pizzas! The Gili T food scene has so much to offer and now I’m desperately hungry thinking about all the yummy food we ate there!

Snorkelling with turtles – favourite experiences in Indonesia

As I mentioned before with regards to my phobia of the ocean, most of my fear seems to have subsided somewhat so I can now thoroughly enjoy diving into the water headfirst and interacting with some of the ocean’s coolest wildlife.

While we were in the Gili Islands, we went on a snorkelling tour and came up close and personal to the most incredible giant turtle!

It was an experience that I’ll never forget and it was a proper “pinch me” moment!

Watching the most magical sunsets in Bali

Bali is world-famous for its breathtaking sunsets but we didn’t experience our own until the last couple of weeks we were there.

When my mum was over, we headed to a beach in Seminyak and were greeted by one of the most incredible sunsets I’ve ever seen. The picture above really doesn’t do it justice; it’s definitely a “you have to be there” kind of experience as it’s the most magical and enigmatic thing in the world!

Writing this post has made my incredibly grateful for our time in Indonesia and while I don’t think I’m in a huge rush to head back there anytime soon, I can truly appreciate just how amazing the country is!

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Have you ever been to Bali, Gili T or Nusa Penida? If so, what were your favourite experiences in Indonesia? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter @imjustagirl_16.

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