Greetings From Bali (Steve Wolf Travel Guide to Bali for the Surfer, Yogi, or MMA Dude)
I love Bali.
When I visited bali for the first time last year I was hooked. There is something magical about this place, and if you are a surfer, you truly are in paradise.
The first time I came to Bali, I bought a one way ticket and came with a backpack and a surfboard. I ended up at a Surfcamp on the southern part of the island (around Padang Padang) called Rapture Surf Camp. Josh is an Aussie guy that runs it and he is great. His wife Maggie who also designs some pretty cool bikinis does yoga classes on site as well. A surf camp is a great way to go if your traveling by yourself and you want to join some more experienced (or less experienced) surfers and get some local Balinese surf guides to take you to all of the hidden spots. There are many choices in surf camps out here, but for about 35 Euro a day ($45 USD) you get breakfast, dinner, surf transport and a really nice furnished place that all inclusive + the staff make it all worth it!!!! Whether you have never surfed a day in your life or your a pro, Rapture Surf Camp is the way to go!
On my second trip to Bali, I decided to come with a couple friends. We went the route of renting a Villa in the Seminyak area for a month. Seminyak is a great place to stay for many reasons, main reason being there is a little something for everyone up here. One of my friends is really in to Yoga and buy’s and sells hand made Balinese jewelry (Check her stuff out here). Seminyak has plenty of yoga to go around.
My other two friends are foodies and love to shop, and Seminyak has it all. Your outside of Kuta, the main drag of Bali which
is usually a loud crazy drunken shit show, but close enough to get a taste. The Seminyak main drag has all the shopping you could ever need as well as plenty of food options to sample all of the different styles of taste.
If your a Yogi 100%, and that is what you are coming to Bali to do, plan on spending some time up in Ubud. Ubud is like the Yoga capital of Bali with plenty of places to practice and plenty of food, shops, and accessories to meet the needs of the biggest yogi’s.
For me, Im here to surf and relax. Ill do some Yoga too, but recently I have been training Krav Maga back at home. Krav Maga is the hand to hand combat that is taught to the israeli defense force. Knowing that I would be gone for a month, I wanted to find some way to continue training while out here. I found an MMA gym in Seminyak that teaches Kick Boxing and Brazilian Jui Jitsu. The name of the place is Dojo Aora right underneath the Hammerhead Gym which is a traditional gym for you gym rats out there who just need to pump weights everyday.
All in all, out of all the places I have ever visited all of the world, Bali is the only place I have loved so much I have come back for a return visit. I am planning on buying a place out here and trying to live out here a couple months out of the year.
In the mean time here is a quick list of what I have used when coming to Bali.
1. Flights – Try Sky Scanner or Kayak (Usually China Air, Eva Air, or China Eastern are the cheapest to Bali)
2. Accommodations and Vacations / Yoga Retreats: this is where we stayed /// Villa Indago. go to the facebook page, and Send a friend request to Amanda Jane Williams. Amanda
**** Amanda Jane is amazing, She is an Aussie Yoga master and makes a living out in Bali arranging yoga retreat vacations. For the price you pay compared to what you get, she is hands down the best. All of the villas come with a daily maid who also cooks and does shopping for you. Amanda knows her stuff and will get you all set up with everything you need, from a phone, to a driver and will direct you to all the best shops and restaurants in town to boot. ****
3. Phone in Bali – Make sure to have your GSM phone unlocked and then get a pre-paid Telkomcell Sim card. They are easy to find, and are all over the island. To make calls back home, use SKYPE.
4. Surf Board Bali, to bring or not to bring – It’s usually going to be $75-$150 a board depending on the airlines, China Eastern counted my board as a checked bag, but you never know. Even though I brought my board last time, I decided to just buy one while I was out here. Here are a couple trusted places where you can get a legit board for about $350-$600
5. Clothes: Don’t bring anything warm, just lots of board shorts and sunscreen. You can buy the rest out here, its CHEAP!
6. Transportation: Scooters cost abour $3.50-$5 per day, or if you lack scooter skills hire a driver at about $40 per day!
Any other questions, just ask here, I love Bali and I believe everyone should experience this place!!!
CHEERS 🙂