Top 10 Things to Do in Bali | Experiences Worth Booking Before You Fly

The list

1. Mount Batur at sunrise

The 4am start hurts once and pays off for years: a ninety-minute climb by torchlight, dawn breaking over Lake Batur and the volcano's shadow stretching across the caldera, then eggs cooked in volcanic steam while the light turns gold. Bring a warm layer (the summit is genuinely cold before sunrise), proper shoes and a full water bottle. Book a small-group trek with hotel pickup and a licensed local guide; the difference between good and bad operators on this mountain is the whole experience, and the good ones sell out across the dry season. Compare Batur treks on Viator.

2. Tegallalang or Jatiluwih rice terraces

Tegallalang for the classic tiered postcard ten minutes from Ubud, Jatiluwih for the vast UNESCO-listed version where the terraces roll to the horizon and carry a tenth of the crowd. The subak irrigation system watering both has run cooperatively for a thousand years and is half the reason the island looks the way it does. Go before 9am for empty paths and kind light, carry small notes for the farmer donation posts, and let a driver handle the ridge roads while you handle the camera.

3. A proper Balinese cooking class

Market tour at dawn while the produce is still arriving, then a traditional compound kitchen, ten dishes from sate lilit to lawar, and the base-gede spice paste you will chase forever afterwards through every Australian supermarket in vain. Most schools include hotel pickup, a recipe book and a lunch you cooked yourself and will talk about for years. Ubud's established schools book out in dry season, and the morning classes beat the afternoon heat. Find cooking classes on Klook.

4. Nusa Penida's west coast

Kelingking's dinosaur-spine ridge, Angel's Billabong's natural infinity pool and the collapsed sea arch at Broken Beach in one swoop by fast boat and island driver. The single most spectacular day available from Bali, and the one most worth pre-booking properly, because the good operators bundle the crossing, the driver and lunch while the improvised version wastes half the day negotiating at the harbour. Add the Crystal Bay snorkel stop if the season is calm, and pack proper shoes; the viewpoints are dust and steps. Compare Penida day trips on Klook.

5. Uluwatu Temple at sunset, kecak fire dance after

Clifftop temple on seventy-metre limestone walls, delinquent monkeys with a documented sunglasses habit, then a hundred bare-chested performers chanting the Ramayana as the sun drops into the Indian Ocean behind the stage. The kecak has no orchestra, just voices, and it lands harder than any show with one. Arrive an hour before the dance for the clifftop walk, buy tickets ahead in peak months, guard hats and glasses like they owe you money, and stay for the fire finale as the sky goes purple.

6. Sunrise or sunset at Tanah Lot

The sea temple every brochure promised, marooned on its wave-cut rock at high tide and reachable across the causeway at low, with holy springs and a resident-blessed snake or two in the base caves. Best photographed at low tide from the black-sand side as the sun goes down behind it. Pair it with the Canggu shortcut home and dinner at a beach warung. Crowded because it earns it; arrive an hour before sunset and let the tour buses leave first.

7. The Campuhan Ridge and Ubud's quiet morning

A free ninety-minute ridge walk starting behind Ubud's oldest temple before the heat arrives, elephant grass and palm valleys on both sides, ending at a hilltop cafe whose coffee tastes like achievement. Go at sunrise for mist or the last hour before sunset for gold. The antidote to Bali's traffic reputation and the standing argument for giving Ubud at least two nights, as our Bali guide insists.

8. A waterfall day in the north

Sekumpul for the drama (arguably the island's grandest falls), Banyumala for the swim, Aling-Aling for the cliff-jumps and natural slides. Distances are deceptive; book a driver day-tour and chain two or three rather than soloing the mountain roads. See waterfall tours on Viator.

9. Snorkelling the Amed coast or the Blue Lagoon

House-reef snorkelling straight off black-sand beaches on Bali's quiet east coast, a Japanese patrol-boat wreck in shallow water at Amed, the bigger Liberty wreck at nearby Tulamben for those who progress to diving, and turtle odds worth taking at the Blue Lagoon near Padangbai. Gentle enough for confident kids, cheap by any standard, and gloriously untrendy; the east coast runs a decade behind the Canggu clock and knows it.

10. A purification ceremony at Tirta Empul

Holy springs feeding a line of carved fountains, and a purification sequence, bow, intention, immersion, repeat, that Balinese Hindus have followed here for a thousand years. Visitors are welcome to participate, not just photograph, provided it is done properly. Go with a guide who can walk you through the etiquette and the meaning; a hired sarong, a change of clothes and genuine respect are the real ticket price beyond the modest entry.

Spreading the ten across a week

The list divides naturally by base. From the coast: Uluwatu's sunset dance, Tanah Lot, and snorkelling days run easily with a driver. From Ubud: the terraces, the cooking class, Tirta Empul and the Campuhan Ridge are all within a short hop, and the Batur trek's 2am pickup hurts least from an Ubud bed. Nusa Penida wants a full day from either base with nothing planned that evening. The classic error is booking Batur and Penida back to back; both are magnificent, both are exhausting, and the day between them is where the pool earns its keep. Two big experiences per week plus daily small ones is the rhythm that comes home glowing rather than tired.

The skip list (and the safety list)

Skip the elephant "sanctuaries" that offer rides; riding and bathing tourism is exactly what ethical sanctuaries do not do. Skip the swings-and-photo-props tier of Instagram tourism unless that is honestly the trip you want, in which case go early and enjoy it without shame. Approach luwak coffee plantations as a scenery stop, not a purchase. On safety: check that snorkel and boat operators carry life jackets that exist in adult sizes, treat the Penida crossings with respect in rough-sea months, and hydrate like it is your job on the Batur climb. None of this is meant to frighten; it is meant to keep the week boringly incident-free, which is the best kind of week.

Ceremonies: the experience you cannot book

Bali's best moments are frequently unticketed: a village temple anniversary spilling into the road, offerings being woven at a doorway, a procession that closes traffic while gamelan plays. You cannot schedule these, but you can be ready: keep a sarong in the day bag, accept delays with grace, ask before photographing, and follow your driver's lead on etiquette. Travellers who treat interruptions as the itinerary consistently rate them above everything they paid for, which says something lovely about Bali and about travel generally.

Booking notes

Live partner prices, instant confirmation and free cancellation on most listings. One note specific to Bali: for anything with a sunrise start, the Batur trek or a Nusa Penida crossing, book the day before at the latest and confirm the pickup point in writing, because the island's early departures run on WhatsApp and a vague arrangement is how people miss the boat. Get the big line item sorted first though: your Bali flight quote is free and lands within 2 business hours.