A 7 day Bali itinerary gives you a short but very achievable amount of time. In this Bali itinerary, 7 days are jam-packed full of fun activities! Read on to find out the best way to spend a week on this gorgeous Indonesian island.
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Necessary Spacing
- Day 1 – Fly into Ngurah Rai airport and head to Potato Head Beach Resort to wind down from your flight and get into the ‘Bali vibe’.
- Day 2 – Tanah Lot temple, surf lessons, night markets & sunset meal and beer.
- Day 3 – White water rafting, Sacred Monkey Forest & rice paddy dinner.
- Day 4 – Balinese Cooking School & traditional local cuisine surrounded by dancing fireflies.
- Day 5 – Mt Batur sunrise walk, hot springs & luxury accommodation.
- Day 6 – Waterbom water park! & nightlife if you have the energy…
- Day 7 – Kuta’s hidden walkways, street food and flight home.
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Hostel/Co-Working Space
Looking to find the perfect place to hustle, work, rest and play? Welcome to Tribal Hostel, the world’s best co-working hostel! Soak in some sun and relax in the infinity pool or hit the billiards table for a game of rapido pool. There’s always plenty happening down at Tribal so rest assured, if you’re looking to find the perfect place to blend fun and hustle, Tribal truly has everything you need…
7 Days In Bali
Have a read to find out what else I have crammed into your Bali 7 day itinerary. There are so many great things to do in Bali but on a short time scale like this, you need to be organised!
This itinerary is jam-packed and focused on the south. If you have more time, do some research on where to stay in Bali – you might find that spending time in the north of the island is more your thing.
There are a few days planned for relaxing though – that’s part of the attraction of spending a week in Bali! There’s plenty to keep you busy, but you also have the option of enjoying the slow-paced side of life here too.
Are 7 Days in Bali Enough?
This is the million-dollar question right here! Are you wasting your time even looking at this post? Rest assured, you are not. 7 days in Bali is more than enough time to visit the biggest and the best places.
If you’ve done your research then you will notice that I have left out a few famous places, such as Pura Lempuyang, from this itinerary. A lot of the most famous places in Bali are only famous because of their Instagram pedigree.
In reality, a lot of these places feature long travel times to get to, large crowds, long queues and annoying revelations (the famous mirror image at Pura Lempuyang is created using a special filter for the photographer’s camera).
If you want more than a 7 day Bali itinerary then checking out these places is recommended but with only a week available I would suggest going to more memorable locations.
What Makes This Itinerary One Of A Kind?
I have read quite a few itineraries for Bali that are so busy, with lots of transport, sights and activities that they forget the most important thing about Bali!
It’s all about relaxing and soaking up the ‘Bali vibe’ that I’m sure you’ve read about. This 7 day Bali itinerary has everything from GO GO GO to watching the sunset with a cold brew on a beanbag at the beach.
You’re almost certainly coming to Bali because you’ve read how relaxing and chilled out it is. Even though you’ve only got 7 days, don’t forget to give yourself some time to actually experience why you came. Read on to find out how you can get the best of both worlds!
The Perfect 7 Day Bali Itinerary
- Day 1 – Fly into Ngurah Rai airport and head to Potato Head Beach Resort to wind down from your flight and get into the ‘Bali vibe’.
- Day 2 – Tanah Lot temple, surf lessons, night markets & sunset meal and beer.
- Day 3 – White water rafting, Sacred Monkey Forest & rice paddy dinner.
- Day 4 – Balinese Cooking School & traditional local cuisine surrounded by dancing fireflies.
- Day 5 – Mt Batur sunrise walk, hot springs & luxury accommodation.
- Day 6 – Waterbom water park! & nightlife if you have the energy…
- Day 7 – Kuta’s hidden walkways, street food and flight home.
Day 1
Fly to Ngurah Rai airport as early as possible in order to maximise your time. You really don’t want to fly in late and miss your first day.
It sounds obvious but so many of us are so focused on saving money that we see one flight is the cheapest and go straight for it. I’m all for saving money but when an early flight is $20 more than a late one but you get an entire extra day in Bali, it’s a no-brainer!
Potato Head Beach Resort
Get a taxi from the airport straight to Potato Head beach resort in Seminyak. This is the perfect way to start your 7 day Bali itinerary. You’ll be able to chill on bean bags and gaze out over the infinity pool overlooking the Indian Ocean.
Pro Tip
The taxi companies inside the airport charge an absolute fortune to get even the shortest possible distance. I would strongly recommend organising a transfer with one of the beach resorts. Most of the beach resorts offer shuttle buses to their resorts for free.
Buy a beer or seven and relax your way through the inevitable jet lag and achey-ness you’ll be feeling after your flight into Bali.
The beach resorts in Seminyak all have everything you’ll need for a complete day of preparation for your Bali backpacking adventure. It’s a packed 7 day Bali itinerary so you’re going to need this to cope with the following week.
Accommodation
After spending all day in Potato Head, or another one of Seminyak’s famous beach clubs, I highly recommend staying at Amerta Seminyak.
Click here to book your stay now.
Day 2
Tanah Lot
Get up nice and early and grab a taxi to the famous Tanah Lot temple to the north of Canggu. I’m not a big temple person but Tanah Lot sticks out as one of the best. Built onto a rock slightly out to sea, the pictures you can get are the sort you’ll put on your wall for sure.
After Tanah Lot drive back down to Canggu and pop into one of the many surf schools and book yourself a lesson.
Surf Lesson
The surf in Canggu can be around an intermediate level but don’t let that put you off. Just make sure that you don’t go alone and that you definitely have an instructor if you’re a beginner. The perfect way to ruin your 7 days in Bali is to get into trouble by not taking precautions. We highly recommend booking a surf lesson if you’re a beginner.
Night Markets
In the afternoon/evening find out which markets are up and running on your particular day. Your options are La Laguna night market, Love Anchor, Samadi or Old Mans. I’ve linked to all of the markets pages so choose the one that’s best for you. I highly recommend La Laguna so if you plan your trip to get to Canggu when that is running then you wouldn’t regret it.
Pro Tip
Every traveller’s worst nightmare has returned – the infamous haggle. Bali is no exception to the bartering rules. If you visit a market then the stall owner will often overcharge you significantly. They are usually EXPECTING a haggle so don’t be put off or offended as they realise the final price will be much lower. A lot of people recommend trying to get the price down to around a third of the asking price. I personally think this just makes the whole experience more tiresome and annoying.
You have to be very experienced with haggling to have any chance of getting it down to a third so go in at half and bring the owner down a few times before giving another offer. Remember, if you’re not happy with the price then just walk away.
However, it’s also important to remember the value of the item, how much difference a few dollars is going to make to you and how much it would make to the seller. Don’t be too cheap!
Canggu is a ridiculously good place for eating out. If you want to watch the sunset over the Indian Ocean whilst having a beer and a nice meal then the best is probably La Brisa.
If you decide to go down to La Brisa then watch the sunset, enjoy the nightlife and head back to your hotel.
Accommodation
I am in Canggu as I’m writing this and so many of my friends are packing up their stuff and moving to Base Hostel. I’ve been down and seen some of their rooms and for the price, it will be hard, if not impossible to beat. I highly recommend checking in to Base for the night.
Click here to book your stay now.
Day 3
White Water Rafting
Before you leave your home country, book a white water rafting tour in the Telaja Waja River north of Ubud. They will then pick you up from your hotel in Canggu nice and early and ferry you off to the top of the river before you spend 2 days in Ubud.
You make your way downstream for over an hour rafting through some of the most beautiful rainforest canyons you could possibly imagine. You have to duck under makeshift wooden bridges and have the opportunity to jump off ledges into the water at certain pools.
The highlight has to be going over a 4-metre weir right at the end and plunging into the pool below.
Comfortable water shoes are one of the best things to bring on your trip! They’ll protect your feet from rocks, hot sand and critters, plus having a pair means that you won’t ruin your everyday shoes. These quick-dry beach shoes have one of the best ratings I’ve ever seen! They come in 37 different colours, multiple size options (handy for bigger-footed people like us!) and are super lightweight so don’t weigh down your luggage.
Our Top Pick
After the rafting, they organise a buffet lunch and ferry you back to wherever you need to go. In this case, you’ll have to let them know you won’t be going back to the same hotel but in fact, you’ll be going to Ubud, right in the heart of Bali.
Sacred Monkey Forest
After dropping your stuff off at your hotel, make your way to the Sacred Monkey Forest. The monkeys at the monkey forest have literally grown up around humans so they are not afraid of you whatsoever. They are also completely wild, in the sense that they can leave whenever they want.
If you approach one or a group then if you want they will come over and climb on you so you can get some cool pictures of you holding a sacred monkey.
They used to sell bananas that you held above your head to get the monkeys to run up your body. Now they don’t but the monkeys have learnt that if you put your hand above your head then this is the cue to run over and have a climb
If you don’t really want them to come over to you it is very easy to avoid that. They won’t climb over you if you don’t open yourself up to that happening.
You can easily spend a couple of hours in the Sacred Monkey Forest; it’s a very nice walk even if you don’t really like monkeys.
Rice Paddy Dinner
For dinner take a walk away from the town centre and walk amongst the rice terraces. Down these beautiful winding roads, there are some of the best restaurants and warungs in the whole of Ubud.
You can order some slow-cooked duck and a Bintang and watch the sunset over the rice paddies.
So, by this point, you’ll be over halfway through your 1 week Bali itinerary but rest assured the best is yet to come!
Accommodation
If you are looking for either a private room or a dorm room then take a look at Puri Garden. It has the ‘Bali vibe’ that everyone wants in accommodation and you can’t go wrong.
Click here to take a look and book your stay now.
Day 4
Balinese Cooking Class
Book a Balinese cooking class before you leave and you will be picked up from your hotel in Ubud at 8 am. This was definitely one of the highlights of our trip!
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Balinese Cooking Class at an Organic Farm
You’ll start the cooking class by visiting a local market and shopping for the freshest ingredients. Once you arrive at the farm, you’ll be shown around and your guide will introduce you to the family way of life in Bali. After a welcome drink, you’ll meet your chef who will lead you through the cooking process! Once everything is prepared you’ll get to eat the delicious Balinese dishes you’ve created. There are meat and vegetarian options.
After picking you up you will be ferried off to a local market and taken around the different stalls looking for and purchasing ingredients for the days cooking. This really gives you the opportunity to experience what life is like for the local Balinese people and not just the tourist destinations.
The class is so hands-on and you get to eat everything you have personally prepared throughout the day.
Pro Tip
Many of the cooking schools will be inside a traditional Balinese home, complete with a personal temple. Before cooking they take you around the grounds for you to experience how they live. They will ask if any of the women present are on their period. If you are on your period then they will politely ask that you do not go into the temple. Don’t be offended as this isn’t specifically due to periods but any bleeding at all.
I think this is then the perfect day to really get away from the towns and experience some real remote Balinese culture. We all come to Bali to relax and soak up an atmosphere that we are missing from our day-to-day lives back home.
Firefly Evening Meal
Make your way out into the countryside with some locals and watch fireflies dancing in the night. You will be served some absolutely amazing local cuisine, as authentic as it comes, and get a chance to relax a little before tomorrow’s very early start.
Day 5 is going to be a really early morning so feel free to not go out into the firefly paddies if you think you’re going to need an early night! Or, you can check out this list of fun things to do in Ubud if you wanted to try something different.
Accommodation
I would recommend staying in whatever hotel you were in the night before. There’s no point in having to move all of your things from place to place if you don’t have to.
Day 5
Mt Batur Sunrise Walk
There are really very few places in the world that allow you to see such a beautiful sunrise on top of an active volcano. Mt Batur is one of those places. You really would be silly to miss such an epic experience.
You will be picked up from your accommodation at around 2 am and be driven to the village at the bottom of the mountain.
Click here to check prices and availability for your Mt Batur sunrise walk!
From there you will walk up to the peak in time to watch the sunrise over the island of Bali. You will even be able to see the lava from the crater itself!
If that wasn’t enough then you will be taken to some local hot springs where you will be given time to soak away your aches and pains from the morning activities and maybe even wake yourself up a bit!
Use the below calendar to check dates, availability and possible deals!
Eventually, you’ll be taken back down to Ubud where you will be dropped off at a place of your choosing. This will be around 1 pm.
I would suggest then taking a taxi back down to Kuta and checking yourself into one of the more luxurious hotels in town for a couple of nights. The accommodation in Bali is so affordable that it would be a crime not to book yourself into a luxury resort for a fraction of the amount it would cost elsewhere.
Accommodation
We stayed in a hotel called Amnaya Resort on our way back and it was simply divine. You can get a free-standing bath in your room and the restaurant and pool on site are exceptional.
Click here to take a look and book your stay.
This might be a good time to get a Balinese massage or some spa treatment, either in the hotel or at any of the small outlets all over Kuta. It will be a lot cheaper in a small outlet but you can’t really beat a luxury resort Balinese massage for quality and relaxation.
Pro Tip
If you feel pretty fresh and up for some more activities in Ubud before you head down to Kuta then check out the Ubud market. This long sprawling market has everything you could possibly want and you get to have a bit of fun bartering the ridiculous prices that the locals throw at you
You’re almost certainly going to fall asleep in the afternoon because of the ridiculously early morning but don’t worry, you’re going to need it for the following day.
Day 6
Waterbom
Now you’re back in Kuta you have to go to Waterbom. Rated as one of the best water parks in the whole of Asia, this is a must-visit whilst in Kuta.
This is a whole day activity and, believe me, you will be more than satisfied by the end of the day.
Pro Tip
At around 4pm every day all of the bakery goods throughout the park go half-price until the park closes. Wait till then to fill your face with all the cakes and muffins you could want.
By the end of the water park, you won’t have any energy left to explore any more of Kuta. If by some miracle you do then avoid the main strips as they are catered very much to people who just want to get drunk and party. If that’s your thing then knock yourself out.
Remember your flight is the next day!
Pro Tip
Take your action camera! Waterbom is one of the only big waterparks I have ever been to that allows you to take action cameras on some of the biggest slides (not all of them). Don’t miss out on getting some epic videos!
If you’re in the market for an action camera then our current recommendation is the GoPro Hero 9. Yes, the Hero 10 is currently the flagship but it doesn’t have that much more than the Hero 9 and costs a lot more. The front-facing screen is a godsend for selfies and video and you get the famous GoPro durability and stabilisation that they are now renowned for. Check out current deals here.
Our Top Pick
Accommodation
Stay wherever you booked on day 5 to save yourself the trouble of moving.
Day 7
Final Day
Depending on your flight, the last day of your 7 days in Bali will be spent biding time until you have to be at the airport. Either way, there are some very good alleyways and back streets in Kuta with much nicer and cheaper food as well as some really nice shops for souvenirs and gifts.
If you haven’t already maxed out your luggage space with memories and gifts then Kuta is a great place to wander around until you have fulfilled your quota.
After this packed week full of early starts and late nights you’re going to leave Bali with memories galore and pictures to remember them by.
Final BIG tip!
I highly recommend checking yourself into Premier Lounge at Ngurah Rai airport before your flight. After you’ve bought yourself a meal and a drink in the terminal then you’ll probably have spent more money than what this lounge would cost ($22). With AC, buffet, showers and drinks all complimentary, I really can’t see a better way to prepare you for an international flight. Bali is a great place to visit if you’re on a budget but if you want to splash out a little on your way home then a lounge is a great idea!
Packing List
Our Top Pick
If you don’t have a camera then I HIGHLY recommend the Panasonic Lumix ZS70K. It is an affordable point-and-shoot camera that can be picked up and used by anyone of any ability. The camera captures gorgeous images and surprisingly excellent video whilst fitting in your pocket. The main difference between this and your phone’s camera is that it also has an incredible optical zoom so you won’t miss any of the shots you need to take. Check it out here.
Our Top Pick
Carrying around a big backpack can be tiring, so you’ll need something extra comfortable like this Osprey Renn. It has an adjustable shoulder harness so it’s suitable whatever your height and the back panel is ventilated which helps on those hot sweaty days! The bag has plenty of compartments for all of your belongings – there’s a space for your sleeping bag, water reservoir sleeve and rain cover too! Click here to buy yours.
Our Top Pick
For city exploring and shorter hikes, you’ll need a decent day pack. We recommend one like Osprey’s Arcane, as not only can it hold a 15″ laptop, water bottle and everything else you would need day to day but it is also incredibly stylish (we think). We have used Osprey for loads of different bags over the years and they have all been perfect. Check out the Osprey Arcane on Amazon here.
Our Top Pick
If you’re not really planning on doing any major hiking then we recommend that you check out these AKK walking shoes. There are extremely lightweight, breathable and have memory foam insoles to make them super comfy. Don’t make the mistake of spending loads of money on insane walking boots if you don’t need to! Check them out here!
Our Top Pick
If you’re in the market for an action camera then our current recommendation is the GoPro Hero 9. Yes, the Hero 10 is currently the flagship but it doesn’t have that much more than the Hero 9 and costs a lot more. The front-facing screen is a godsend for selfies and video and you get the famous GoPro durability and stabilisation that they are now renowned for. Check out current deals here.
Our Top Pick
If you’re worried about powering your devices on your trip then the simple solution is to take this EPIKA worldwide travel adapter. We have used it all over the world and it has worked flawlessly. Being able to charge up to 5 devices by USB (4 USB-A’s + 1 USB-C) plus a full power outlet socket is incredibly useful and works as an all-in-one solution. Check it out on Amazon here.
Our Top Pick
If you’re worried about your devices losing power throughout the day then we recommend the Anker 10,000mAh power bank. Anker actually makes quite a few power banks but this one comes with a USB-C and USB-A port which means that you’ll be able to charge any of your devices regardless of connection. The 10,000mAh capacity is enough to completely charge an iPhone 12 twice so you should be good for a number of days with this beast. Have a look at the price here.
Our Top Pick
Packing cubes are a really easy way to organise your luggage before going away and Jade absolutely swears by them when we travel. I don’t use them and I always look over at super organised Jade spending 5 seconds looking for something in her bag whilst I’m there for 5 minutes. Don’t be lazy like me! Take a look at these packing cubes from Shacke Pac. They come with 4 cubes in varying sizes and a laundry bag to separate all the dirty clothes from the clean ones. The reviews for these are something to behold so check them out here!
Our Top Pick
We all know that tampons and pads are bad for the environment (not to mention uncomfortable and expensive!) so get yourself familiar with a reliable menstrual cup, like this one from Sirona. These can be reused for up to 15 years – think of the money and plastic waste you’ll save! Made from medical-grade silicone, Sirona’s cup is designed for comfort, sustainability and protection. Click here to choose the right size for you.
For a comprehensive breakdown of this list go to our budget savvy packing list guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the best time to go to Bali?
The dry season is the best time to visit Bali, which runs from April until October.
Are 7 days in Bali enough?
I think it is just enough time to experience Bali. We would always like more time and if you can go longer then why not. With this itinerary, I think you can see enough to get a good feel for Bali.
How much is a beer in Bali?
IRP 25,000 in a bar (cheapest). Around US$1.7
Can I use US dollars in Bali?
Local shops do not accept US dollars throughout Bali, you can, however, change dollars into IRP at many exchanges throughout the Island. The exchange rate offered by these exchanges is also relatively good compared to other countries.
Do you need injections for Bali?
It is recommended to make sure you are up to date with all vaccinations, please click HERE for more information about vaccinations and real medical advice.
Do you need a visa for Bali?
If you are staying for 30 days or less then there is a list of countries HERE that do not require a visa. If you require longer then a visa will be necessary unless you leave the country and return once a month.
What language is spoken in Bali?
Indonesian primarily, however, a small minority still retain the original Balinese language.
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