A luxuriously affordable honeymoon in Bali

A honeymoon just like the wedding is special and comes just once in a lifetime. Thus, one wants it to be perfect. Yet there are so many restrictions like the budget, the duration and the kind of place (hill-y or beaches or historical etc). For us the biggest constraints were the budget and the duration while planning our honeymoon. I had a certain few places in mind (read Turkey, Greece and Maldives) but they didn't quite seem to fit the bill.

My husband wasn't too choosy about the kind of place and left all the planning on me as I seemed more excited about it. The only thing I was sure about was that i did not want to go to any of the cliched places and it had to be a place that no one I knew had gone for their honeymoon. So i searched and searched and decided on Bali. Because, it fit our budget, duration and the "unique place" criteria

The other thing that was I knew was that I didn't want to go to a travel agent and get a fixed commercialized itinery. After all, it was my honeymoon, something personal. How can I let a stranger decide where to go and what sight seeing to do and where to stay. Also, these travel agents usually recommend very commercial places and hotels and I wanted to stay in small but luxurious boutique-y type of a place. So after reading and researching on Wikitravel and TripAdvisor this is how I planned my trip.

All the rates mentioned may have changed as I went for the trip in Dec 2011.

Travel

Airfare - INR 37,000 per ticket from Mumbai to Denpasar, Bali Malaysia Airlines ( no non stop flights available from Mumbai to Bali)Within Bali, we had hired a taxi to take us around. Lot of on the spot bargain deals available. No need for prior booking. Hotel provided airport transfers on paying extra charges

Visa

Indians are given visa on arrival on valid passports and payment of USD 50. Keep some spare dollars as they ask you to pay some charges on departure as well

Places Covered:

Ubud (for 3 days) : Calm, serene, green,non touristy. This is how I would describe Ubud the best. Also made famous by the movie Eat, Pray, Love

Seminyak (for 3 days): We chose Seminyak over Kuta as it belongs to the same bracket (known for shopping and nightlife) but is better, less crowded and more sophisticated

Accomodation:

As I mentioned earlier, I wanted something boutique-y which was luxurious in its own way and yet pocket friendly.

Ubud: We chose Allam Indah. All rooms are beautiful,huge, the decor has a Bali touch, nothing modern about it (no TV also). Since, the concept of the resort was to be secluded and close to nature it is not very centrally located. But they provide shuttle services to the main street and market which was very very convenient and helpful. Our room lily was affordably priced at $65+ tax per night

Image Courtesy:baliwww.com

Seminyak: Uma Sapna Villas. When in Bali. Skip normal hotel rooms and opt for a private villa with personal pool and garden and the works. What is surprising is that both are priced on par. Uma Sapna is very contemporarily designed, spacious, centrally located and moderately priced. We chose the smallest villa to suit our pockets and they were priced at $120 + taxes per nightBoth the options chosen by us are ranked very high by all the reviewers on Tripadvisor. Agoda also provides some good deals.

Image Courtesy: allseminyakvillas.com

Things to do:

For a quick snapshot you can check out my pinboard here

Ubud

• Ubud market- Shop for silver jewellry, trinkets and handicrafts
• Mt batur - active volcanic mountain a must. Also follow it up with lunch at restuarants facing it
• Monkey Forest
• Various temples
• Rice terraces - will be found all across the interiors of Bali
• Spices and coffee plantations
• Also make time for a spa while u are there as Seminyak will be expensive

Mount Batur

Coffee tasting @ plantations

Seminyak 

More popular for its swish restaurants, nightlife and shopping:

• Tanah Lot for sunset
• Uluwatu temple
• Seminyak square for shopping
• Prana spa - Check out the morrocon themed decor. Has also won some awards
• Jimbaran beach - for water sports and sunset dinner for sea food lovers

Tanah Lot Sunset

Restaurants

For us the availability of vegetarian food was a strict criteria while selecting the restaurant which wasn't so difficult as Bali has ample options for the same:

Ubud

• Lotus cafe
• Buddha bar
• Little India

Pond inside Lotus cafe

Seminyak

• Zula - nice mexican and medditaranean food
• Queens Tandoor - Indian food

Bars

Rock Bar - Situated on a cliff, a part of Ayaana resort. Its a must visit. The resort itself is also very beautifully done. While we were at the resort we were also lucky enough to witness a Balinese wedding.

Image courtesy: tipsbaliholiday.blogspot.in/

Potato beach club - for it quirky window walls. A huge huge club. Every place in Bali is huge (the real estate must be very cheap there)

Image courtesy: lostateminor.com

Dining at Potato Beach Club

Also, ask your hotel help desk for the latest bars as new places keep springing up in Seminyak

Hope this information helps you while planning your honeymoon. If you have any queries you can leave them in my comments box and I shall try to answer them.