Side trip from Bali?

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Wanderlust_tim

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Hi all,
I am heading to Bali next week for ten days to visit a friend. However the thought of spending the time in Bali for that time is making me a bit queasy.

With that in mind I am looking to take a side trip for two to three days. So far I am thinking KL or Yogyakarta but I was wondering if anyone else had any recommendations? I'm looking to spend no more than $350 on flights and will avoid AirAsia Indonesia like the plague. Otherwise I am open minded.

Cheers
 
Yogyakarta is interesting, Borobudur & Prambanan temples, Mount Merapi Jeep Ride are all great.
Can highly recommend the M Gallery Phoenix Hotel, great historic hotel.
 
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ksthommo said:
Yogyakarta is interesting, Borobudur & Prambanan temples, Mount Merapi Jeep Ride are all great.
Can highly recommend the M Gallery Phoenix Hotel, great historic hotel.
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Thanks so much, they are great ideas. I hadn't considered a Mt Merapi jeep ride.
 
+1 for Yogyakarta. Closer to Bali, Lombok or Mt Bromo volcano (Surabaya) could be options worth considering.

Otherwise in Bali you could move around a bit, and instead of staying for 10 days in the one place , get a driver and go to some of the less well visited parts of the island and stay in a few different places for part of your trip.
 
We did a 3D2N Mount Bromo and Ijen Crater out of Surabaya last year. Some early starts for that one. Left from the accommodation at 0400hrs for Bromo Sunrise and 0030hrs for Ijen Crater Sulphur Blue Fire. Good value trip with surabayabromotour
 
The Gili islands and Lombok were quite nice when I was there in 2008. Bali is a big place and there's so much more to it than Kuta and Ubud. Depends on your travel style. Rent a Jiminy, head up to Lovinia and turn left or right - lots of lovely little towns/villages, great coastal scenery, volcanic sand beaches, warungs etc.
 
GPH said:
Darwin (lol)
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Funnily enough I am flying back via Dili and Darwin. I have never been to either and it allows me to stick to day flights.

dajop said:
+1 for Yogyakarta. Closer to Bali, Lombok or Mt Bromo volcano (Surabaya) could be options worth considering.

Otherwise in Bali you could move around a bit, and instead of staying for 10 days in the one place , get a driver and go to some of the less well visited parts of the island and stay in a few different places for part of your trip.
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I will most likely end up doing this. Getting a driver and doing some off the radar stuff is much more my cup of tea.
 
We've been to Yogyakarta last year from Bali using Garuda. In Yogya we stayed at the Sheraton in a club room. That cost about $100 Aust. a night and included breakfast in the club lounge and evening food and drinks. They had a range of quite good wine from Australia.. if you asked . When you consider a glass of wine costs about $15 or so, the overall price was excellent. It also included use of the spa and indoor pool. The outside swimming pools are really pretty. The hotel will pick you up and drop you off at the airport included in the room cost.You need to buy it on their website to get the inclusions.I couldn't find this sort of value in Bali.
We have also used Malaysian business class from Bali to Kuala Lumpur return. That costs about $350 and is quite fun as you don't need to sleep.. so you can eat and drink as much you want. Keep in mind the KLIA airport is a long way from the city. If you are looking for somewhere luxurious at a good price, have a look at Pullman at Bangsar... especially the club rooms. About $130 AUD or so on their website and you get breakfast and a really good buffet spread and drinks from 6pm till 8pm. This hotel choice can avoid having to get stuck in city peak hour traffic jams.
 
philelltt said:
We've been to Yogyakarta last year from Bali using Garuda. In Yogya we stayed at the Sheraton in a club room. That cost about $100 Aust. a night and included breakfast in the club lounge and evening food and drinks. They had a range of quite good wine from Australia.. if you asked . When you consider a glass of wine costs about $15 or so, the overall price was excellent. It also included use of the spa and indoor pool. The outside swimming pools are really pretty. The hotel will pick you up and drop you off at the airport included in the room cost.You need to buy it on their website to get the inclusions.I couldn't find this sort of value in Bali.
We have also used Malaysian business class from Bali to Kuala Lumpur return. That costs about $350 and is quite fun as you don't need to sleep.. so you can eat and drink as much you want. Keep in mind the KLIA airport is a long way from the city. If you are looking for somewhere luxurious at a good price, have a look at Pullman at Bangsar... especially the club rooms. About $130 AUD or so on their website and you get breakfast and a really good buffet spread and drinks from 6pm till 8pm. This hotel choice can avoid having to get stuck in city peak hour traffic jams.
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This is excellent advice, I think Jogja will wait til I can take my partner. KL however looks the goods and will try for this week. Do you think those club rates at the Pullman will apply for such a late booking?
 
We've always used the accor website to do any bookings for hotels like Pullman , Novotel, Ibis etc. And we're on their loyalty scheme. That's free to join, so you automatically get 10% discount. You'd need to check and see for your dates, but prices don't seem to vary much. It more depends on how many days the booking is for. That said, I notice the Istana has some specials on their website, and so does the Le Meridien both at Sentral and also out at PutraJaya. Be careful with bookings on 3rd party websites as they might not have all the inclusions. If you want cheap and cheerful, the Furama Bukit Bintang does excellent prices on executive suites on their website. If you don't mind being out of KL.. we've stayed many times at the Concorde Hotel, Shah Alam in their premier executive rooms. 3 day bookings get a ride back to the airport and a food voucher. it has a really good club lounge with about the most drinkable wine in Malaysia (Wolf Blass) Again, it is about $125 a night in premier executive club room... cheaper as a single. But that is a , long way from KL, but a nice place anyway. Good gym and pool.
 
About two years ago I did a short side trip from Bali to Yogyakarta, specifically to see Borobodur. Take advantage of the little bit of jetlag you get going from Aus to Bali and go as the first few days of your holiday if you can, because sunrise is the thing at Borobodur ! I was able to get up very early with no trouble. I stayed at the Manohara Resort, which is actually a study centre (www.manoharaborobudur.com) - it is literally in the grounds of Borobodur. I only stayed overnight - saw sunset from the temple, ate in the restaurant which was fine, great night sleep, sunrise at the temple and then visited Prambanan on the way back to the airport. It was pretty busy - you could certainly add another day - but it was a terrific side trip. Prambanan an excellent site - much bigger than Borobodur. Manohara organised drivers, tickets - the lot. Not expensive - within your budget I think. Fantastic. Also look at Komodo ? I've not been there and I think you would need to be an outdoors person, but it looks pretty great. Singapore is another side trip, as would be KL as earlier suggested but I think they'd both be more expensive. I travel to Bali every year or two, so don't worry about spending 10 days there - it's a wonderful country - so long as you stay away from Kuta ! It will be the holiday YOU make it. If you can set your own itinerary, splitting your time between Seminyak and Ubud would be my suggestion. Just beware customs heading into Bali - it always seems to take hours and the express concierge service isn't available any more so wear comfy shoes and have something to read and a bottle of water while you wait. And wait. And wait. Have a great trip.
 
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