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Melbourne to Bali: Lovina dolphins and Ubud

Melbourne → Denpasar (Bali) → Lovina → Ubud

Lovina Beach
"Morning_of_Lovina_Beach_200507-6.jpg" by unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons· licence

Dolphins & rice terraces Best season (general guide): May–Oct (dolphins year-round)

For Victorians, Bali is a relatively short flight north, and this version of the trip skips the crowded southern beaches in favour of two quieter sides of the island. You land at Ngurah Rai airport, sleep one night nearby, and then drive north over the volcanic spine of Bali toward the coast at Lovina, passing lakes and clove plantations along the way. The itinerary spends one night in Denpasar (Bali), two nights in Lovina and four nights in Ubud.

Lovina is the place for an early start. Local boatmen take visitors out at first light to look for the wild dolphins that live off this coast, and you're usually back for breakfast. The rest of your stay can be spent snorkelling on nearby reefs or visiting the Buddhist monastery in the hills above Banjar. The drive south to Ubud brings you into Bali's cultural centre, a town of dance performances, galleries, yoga studios and paths along the river valleys, with rice paddies coming right up to the edge of the guesthouses.

May to October is the drier, calmer part of the year and coincides with Australia's cooler months, so it's a popular time to escape. Dolphins are present in every month, though wind can stop the boats in the wet season. A road trip across the island means you can pause wherever the views or a warung tempt you.

Renting a car with a driver for the cross-island legs is common and lets you stop at Lake Bratan's temple or the twin lakes of Buyan and Tamblingan on the way north. When visiting temples in Ubud, wear a sarong, which most temples will lend you at the entrance. Ubud's early mornings, before tour buses arrive, are the nicest time to walk the terraces and the Monkey Forest paths.

Suggested outline

  1. Melbourne

    Start

  2. Denpasar (Bali)

    By air · 1 night suggested

    One night by the airport before driving north.

  3. Lovina

    Overland · 2 nights suggested

    Two nights for a dawn dolphin trip and a relaxed north-coast day.

  4. Ubud

    Overland · 4 nights suggested

    Four nights at the island's cultural centre.

Day by day

  1. Day 1 · Denpasar (Bali) — Recover near the airport· Melbourne → Denpasar, Bali (by air)
  2. Day 2 · Lovina — Arrive on the north coast; quiet afternoon· Denpasar, Bali → Lovina (overland)
  3. Day 3 · Lovina — Sunrise dolphin boat trip; hot springs at Banjar or inland waterfalls
  4. Day 4 · Ubud — Arrive in the uplands; town and market walk· Lovina → Ubud (overland)
  5. Day 5 · Ubud — Rice-terrace walk (Tegallalang or Jatiluwih)
  6. Day 6 · Ubud — Temples and craft villages
  7. Day 7 · Ubud — Free day: river-valley paths, a dance performance
  8. Day 8 · Ubud — Travel home from Ubud· Ubud → Denpasar (overland), then Denpasar → Melbourne (by air)

A suggested pace only; expedition days are set by the operator.

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Denpasar (Bali)

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Lovina

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