FRONTIER
And of course cheap fares and cheap accommodation are two of the key reasons Territorians are in love with Bali.
Holiday-makers are spoiled for choice on every level - whether you are staying in the up tempo hustle and bustle of Kuta to the more sedate Sanur or even more sedate Nusa Dua.
The one thing you quickly find out about Bali is that cheap accommodation does not mean poor quality.
When you compare like for like accommodation between Bali and Australia, Bali wins hands down for price. And the same goes for everything you see and do.
My most recent holiday to Bali took me to Nusa Du and the five star Novotel Bali Benoa. It was my first time to this side of Bali and it won’t be my last. Traditionally I have been a Kuta, Legian holidaymaker, but with schoolies in full swing and my 15-year-old daughter joining me, the father in me said no. It was a good decision. Every night the resort had a themed buffet with traditional live entertainment.
To be honest I didn’t miss being away from Kuta and Legian and neither did my daughter.
She was over the moon to be able to take full advantage of the wide range of water sports on offer, from para gliding, jet skiing and the like.
Of course it’s not all about sun and sea or lazing poolside.
For $60 a day we hired a driver to take us wherever we wanted to go. This is the best way to explore the island.
Ketut Mike had been recommended by a friend and the recommendation was spot on. Considering it costs more than $30 to catch a cab from Darwin n airport to the city, $60 for a driver tour guide in a modern n airconditioned car for around d 10 hours every day was an absolute steal.
No visit to Bali should be without a trip to Ubud, Bali’s cultural heart.
In the mountains, just an hour’s drive north of Denpasar, this traditional country town is home to one of Bali’s Royal Families and is well known as a flourishing crafts centre.
It is also home to the Ubud Monkey Forest, one of Ubud’s most p popular p attractions. This natural forest sanctuary is the residence of a horde of grey long-tailed macaques and is well preserved thanks to a community-based management program.
Besides watching playful monkeys in their natural habitat, swinging through canopies, lazing along pathways or feeding on bananas, the site offers cool walks along paved pathways through a leafy nutmeg forest.
Ubud is also known for its quality restaurants, but we discovered a humble well kept secret nestled in the rice paddy fields behind the royal palace. If you are in Ubud seek out Sweet Orange Warung, you will not be disappointed.
It is a 10 minute walk behind the main drag of Ubud. The food is simple, safe and cheap. The setting is calm, peaceful, and untroubled.
While in Ubud we took the time to do some adventure quad biking. Your guide will take you through the farms and backstreets of Ubud as well as combining the tour with some off roading and mud larking. It was $70 well spent for two hours.
A Bali volcano is always a sightseeing highlight so our driver took us to Kintamani. Mount Batur surrounds the 13square kilometre Batur caldera lake. We took the winding road down to the lake shore and the warm soothing waters of the popular Toya Devasya Hot Spring Wellness Resort.
The number of things to do in Bali is plentiful and affordable.
There is no doubt about it. The arrival of Virgin Airlines on the Darwin-Bali route will be a game changer.
The quick Bali weekender is now more attractive than ever. At the same time overseas tourists have a new option to enter Darwin.
Tourism Minister Lauren Moss said her department, Tourism NT, would undertake a co-operative marketing campaign with Virgin Australia in Bali to build inbound demand on the route by promoting major events such as the V8 Supercars, AFL matches and Darwin Festival.
“This is a great outcome and a vote of confidence in the Territory,” she said.
Indeed it is.