This is our third time in Bali in almost 12 years of marriage. The first time we came, we were newly married, less than a year in. We spent a few days in Bali before heading off to Kanawe, Komodo Island, and the Gili Islands. We made some unforgettable memories that trip, but that’s for another post inshaAllah.
The next time was just last year in 2024, this time with three kids in tow, winding down after our wonderful Africa trip. (Side note: Flying with kids is a whole ball game in itself! Read about some of our experiences and tips here.)
This time round, December 2025, we spent six days in northern Bali, in Lovina and Kintamani. It was our first visit to this part of the island, and I have to say, this is the trip that made me fall in love with Bali.
Accomodations
Night 1: Lumbung Sari Hotel Legian (cost: $39) This is a very basic hotel. We got to Bali very late on the first night and we just needed a place to sleep, before we started our long journey the day after.)
Night 2-4: Villa Aura (cost: $48/night) – We absolutely loved this place and would recommend it to everyone in a heartbeat! Its a two bedroom villa with an outdoor kitchen and pool. The entire place was very private, with a female staff living on site for cleaning and other things we needed. Kedek, the staff onsite, was very kind us and our girls. If we are to come back to this area again, I would love to stay here for longer.
Night 5-6: Noya Hotel (cost: $50/per room/per night) We booked two separate rooms in the hotel. They didn’t have hot water in the bathroom during our stay and didn’t clean the room daily, which took away from the experience. But the views and the location was great!
How we got around
We used Grab for shorter trips. For longer journeys, the drivers preferred to arrange the trip directly rather than through Grab. We also contacted some drivers via WhatsApp for transport during our stay. It cost us a similar amount anyway, but gave us a bit more flexibility. This also allowed the drivers to earn their wages in cash without having to pay a percentage to Grab. We’re happy to pass on their numbers to anyone who’s interested.
Our Itinerary and costs
Note about costs: I have put all the tour and car hire costs in IDR. Most tour and ticket costs are costs for our family of five, unless specified. $1 (AUD) is about 11,000 IDR.
Day 1
We had breakfast at the hotel, then we drove for 3 hours to Lovina. We made a stop for lunch at a warung, then at Leke Leke waterfall (cost: 200,000 IDR) along the way. We wanted to make a few more stops and check out some other waterfalls, but the kids started complaining after the first one. 🤣
With rain coming and going throughout the day, we decided to head straight to our accommodation afterwards.
Car hire for the day: 700,000 IDR
Day 2
Relaxed at home!
Day 3
We did a tour (cost: 1,050,000 IDR) where we swam with dolphins snorkelled in a small coral area off Lovina. It began to rain quite heavily while we were on the boat. The walk back was a struggle, but we made it in the end.
Day 4
We drove from Lovina to Kintamani, visiting Jembong (cost: 150,000 IDR) and Gitgit (cost: 135,000 IDR) waterfalls along the way. We had some delicious food at a truck stop warung for lunch. It started to rain during the second half of the day.
Car hire for the day: 800,000 IDR
Day 5
We went to a cafe called Paperhill for breakfast and photos of the area. After duhr, we went to Toya Devasya Natural Hot Spring (ticket prices: 170,000 IDR each). It started to rain quite a lot that afternoon as well!
Day 6
We went to Padengbai Ferry Port for our onwards journey to Lombok (ferry tickets: 286,000 IDR in total), visiting Sideman Rice Terraces (ticket: 25,000 for each adult; free for kids) along the way.
Lovina
There is so much to do in Lovina, but as our itinerary shows, we stuck to waterfalls, swimming with dolphins, and a reef tour. It rained for the majority of our stay, but that didn’t stop us from experiencing any of it. Most activities only took about half a day, and the kids spent the rest of the time in the villa pool. We would love to explore some more waterfalls if we come another time, inshaAllah.
I was absolutely amazed by the dolphin tour. We could see dolphins swimming beneath us and all around us as we held onto a metal pole at the side of the boat. The boat moved forward for a while while we were holding on, and to me, it felt quite fast. I was especially impressed that our kids managed to hold on, alhamdulillah. Badhon and I took turns being in the water and only took one child each time, so that one of us was able to be on the boat with Zahra and the other child. Looking back, we wish we had brought full-face masks so they could have enjoyed the experience even more.
We don’t have photos from the short snorkelling session at the coral reef, but we saw some beautiful fish. It was raining at that point, so we kept the kids on the boat. We have been on many snorkelling trips, yet, it never ceases to amaze me how there is an entire different colourful world under the water. It brings to mind the name of Allah, Al Musawwir, The Fashioner. He has designed every single of one of these beautiful creations, and they are all exalting Him.
“He is Allah, the Creator, the Inventor, the Fashioner; to Him belong the best names. Whatever is in the heavens and earth is exalting Him. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.” (Quran: 59:24)
Kintamani
Kintamani is a district known for the famous volcano – Mt Batur. Mount Batur, Mount Abang and Mount Agung form the mountain ranges that can be seen from the hotels in Kintamani.
The meal at Paperhills was probably our most expensive meal on this trip. The first collage includes a photo of us sitting in the middle of the pool, which was taken there, and it really is a picture-perfect place. Ironically, though, it ended up being one of our least enjoyable meals, with flies everywhere and the kids not feeling too well. Some of our most enjoyable meals on this trip, in contrast, were simple warung meals. The experience brought to mind the concept of rizk – provision – what is written for us. Whether it’s enjoyment, happiness, or love, if it is meant for us, it will reach us, and if it’s not meant to be, then it simply won’t happen. So, we thank Allah, for all of the enjoyable experiences we have had, alhamdulillah.
Toya Devasya
This is a water park built around a natural hot spring, with an infinity pool overlooking the lake and a few fun water slides. We spent a few hours there enjoying the warm water with the kids. It started to rain towards the end, but the warmth of the water kept us happily lazing around even through the rain. We didn’t take the pram, but found the park manageable without it since we were mostly in the water. There are plenty of food options inside the park, although there were also a lot of flies — so many that there was even a warning at the entrance 😐. As the rain got quite heavy on our way back, we ended up buying sushi from the local Alphamart and had that for lunch later.
Onwards to Lombok
On our last day, we stopped by Sideman Rice Terrace, though we didn’t get to explore the whole area as we were rushing to make the ferry — which we missed anyway due to traffic and ended up catching the next one. Even in those brief twenty minutes of walking, I found myself telling Asiyah how the rice terraces reminded me of visits to my dadubari when I was little. My uncle was a farmer, and some scenes from our yearly trips to my dad’s village looked very much like this.
As you may know, there are several ways to get to Lombok from Bali. But the cheapest option is the slow ferry, which we took, and it cost us under $30 for our whole family. We’ve now made it to Lombok (where I’m currently typing this post from!), and we’ll be here for a month, catching up on some much-needed rest after a hectic year. You might also be seeing us a bit more on Instagram as we try to catch up on sharing our travel posts — so let us know in the comments if you’d like to hear more about our time in Lombok.
