Your Love Story In Bali – 12 Days

After breakfast, drive to Tegenungan Waterfall, a powerful cascade tumbling into a pool deep in the jungle. Then step into the Monkey Forest, where long-tailed macaques scramble over moss-covered temple ruins and through the giant banyan trees. Browse a traditional art market afterwards, full of carvings, paintings, sarongs and baskets, and enjoy the friendly back-and-forth of bargaining.

After lunch, visit a coffee plantation to see how Bali’s coffee is grown and roasted, including the famous kopi luwak, and taste a cup among the greenery. Later, head north to Gunung Kawi Sebatu, a water temple in Sebatu village where sacred springs feed tranquil lotus ponds and carved shrines. It is one of the most peaceful temples on the island, and a lovely place to sit quietly as the afternoon fades.

Set off in the dark with your local guide and climb the slopes of Mount Batur by torchlight. Reach the summit in time to see the first light touch Mount Agung, Bali’s highest and most sacred mountain, and enjoy a simple breakfast above the clouds.

Walk back down to Toya Bungkah village and ease your legs in its natural hot springs, with Lake Batur and the volcano you have just climbed right in front of you.

A generous buffet lunch awaits, well earned after the morning’s climb.

Back in Ubud, freshen up for a romantic dinner for two overlooking the rice fields, the perfect quiet end to a day that began on a volcano.

After breakfast, pedal along quiet lanes through bright green paddy fields, past farmers at work and ducks paddling in the irrigation channels. Stop at village temples along the way, where carved stone gateways and fresh offerings show how closely faith is woven into daily life.

A local family welcomes you into their home. Learn the meaning behind the small palm-leaf offerings placed out each day, and how a traditional Balinese compound is laid out according to spiritual beliefs, with the family temple in its most sacred corner. Then sit down to an authentic lunch of Balinese specialities, among them tender chicken and fragrant smoked duck.

After breakfast, take a short walk to Tukad Cepung Waterfall, hidden inside a narrow canyon where sunbeams slant through the rock and catch the falling spray.

Climb to Besakih, the Mother Temple, spread across the slopes of Mount Agung. Made up of dozens of temples on terraces rising up the mountain, it is the most important Hindu site in Bali, with sweeping views over the hills below.

In Klungkung, visit Kerta Gosa, the old royal court of justice, where the ceiling of the open pavilion is covered in paintings of heaven and hell, a vivid warning to anyone standing trial. Then follow a scenic road to Sidemen, a valley of rice terraces, traditional villages and rivers, with Mount Agung rising over it all.

Ride out to a little yellow bridge over the river, a simple crossing that gives a glimpse of everyday village life, then visit a local temple at the heart of the community. Next comes the highlight: the Sidemen swing, which sends you soaring out over green river valleys and rice terraces, with Mount Agung on the horizon.

Unwind with a 90-minute traditional Balinese massage, an island art that combines stretching, pressure and fragrant oils.

The rest of the day is yours to relax at your hotel or wander through the valley at your own pace.

After breakfast, transfer to the harbour for the fast boat to Gili Trawangan. As you cross the strait, watch the island come into view, a low line of palms and pale beaches on the horizon.

On arrival, hop aboard a cidomo, the island’s traditional horse-drawn cart, for the ride to your hotel, a secluded tropical retreat designed for couples. Spend the rest of the day settling in and enjoying each other’s company.

Slip into the clear water to snorkel or dive over coral gardens alive with fish and, often, sea turtles. Later, follow the music to a beach bar for a tropical drink in the sun, or retreat to your villa for some quiet time together.

If you feel like exploring, hop across to the neighbouring islands of Gili Meno or Gili Air, each quieter than the last, with soft beaches and gentle water.

As the sun sets over Bali’s volcanoes across the water, find a spot on the west coast and watch the sky turn gold.

Enjoy a last morning on Gili Trawangan, then take the boat back across the strait to Bali.

Visit Pura Taman Ayun, the royal temple of the old Mengwi kingdom, built in 1634. Surrounded by a moat, with tiered shrines rising over manicured lawns and courtyards, it is one of the most graceful temples in Bali.

Continue to Tanah Lot, a temple perched on a rocky outcrop in the sea and dedicated to the guardian spirits of the ocean. As the sun goes down behind it, the sky and the waves turn shades of orange, pink and gold.

Drive on to Uluwatu and check in at your clifftop resort, your home for the last three nights.

Cross by boat to Nusa Penida and explore its dramatic coastline, where the cliffs have been carved by the sea into arches, caves and hidden coves.

Sit down to lunch of local dishes at a beachside restaurant, with the sea breeze for company.

Slip into the water to snorkel over Nusa Penida’s reefs, among the clearest and richest in the region, before the crossing back to Bali and Uluwatu.

Relax in your suite, styled in contemporary Balinese design with wide views over the ocean, or by the pool above the waves. Uluwatu is famous for its surf breaks, and even if you do not ride them, watching the surfers from the cliffs is a pleasure.

For a special last night, the resort can arrange a private dinner for two in a setting of your choice: on the clifftop with the ocean beneath you, on a little island in the pool or at the water’s edge, with a menu created for the occasion.

Enjoy a last breakfast and a lazy morning by the sea.

Your guide accompanies you to Denpasar Airport for your flight home, carrying memories of temples, volcanoes and sunsets from the very first chapter of your life together.