Day trips from Bali
10 h route4 stopsBest: Nusa Penida on a weekday. Batur, setting off at two in the morningUpdated July 2026
Bali’s best day trips aren’t in Bali: they’re the islands next door and the volcanic interior, and both need expectations managing before you book anything.
And the rule applies to everything here: if it’s in the photos, it’ll be packed, and the only defence is the clock. In Bali, getting up early isn’t a virtue, it’s the difference between seeing a place and seeing a queue.
The route, stop by stop
4 STOPS- 01
Nusa Penida · 45 min by boat
The island next door and the most spectacular trip: enormous cliffs falling into turquoise sea, with Kelingking Beach, the dinosaur-head one, as the absolute star. It’s three quarters of an hour by fast boat from Sanur.
Now the truth the photos don’t tell: Nusa Penida’s roads are terrible, narrow and full of potholes, and crossing the island takes far longer than you think. A day only covers two or three spots, not the whole list.
Getting down to Kelingking beach is a very steep descent on a precarious staircase and isn’t for everyone. Most people stay at the top viewpoint, which is where the photo is anyway.
Hire a car with a driver, not a scooter: those roads aren’t for learning on.
- 02
Mount Batur at sunrise
The classic: they pick you up at two in the morning, drive you to the foot of the volcano and you climb in the dark with a head torch, about two hours, to be at the top at sunrise. It’s 1,717 metres and the volcano is active. From the top you watch the sun rise over Lake Batur and, on a clear day, Mount Agung and even Lombok behind.
It’s hard but not technical: it’s a long slope of loose ash. Two honest warnings: it’s genuinely cold up there, even if you came from the beach, so bring a jacket. And it won’t be empty, there are dozens of people every morning. A guide is compulsory.
If the sunrise is cloudy, there’s no refund and no second chance: it’s a lottery and sometimes it doesn’t pay.
- 03
The Gili Islands
Three tiny islands off Lombok, with no cars, no motorbikes and no police: you get around on foot, by bike or by horse cart. Gili Trawangan is the party one, Gili Air is the middle ground and Gili Meno is the empty, romantic one.
What makes them special is the water: green turtles live there and you see them snorkelling a few metres from the shore, no boat needed. Important warning: this isn’t a day trip. It’s between an hour and a half and two and a half hours by boat, and those fast boats cross open sea and cancel in bad weather.
Plan on sleeping there at least one night, and on the possibility of being stuck a day if the sea turns.
- 04
Sidemen, the alternative to Ubud
The answer for anyone who arrives in Ubud and is disappointed to find a scooter jam. The Sidemen valley, to the east, is what Ubud was thirty years ago: terraced rice fields, villages, songket looms, and Mount Agung, the island’s highest and most sacred volcano, filling the background.
There’s nothing to “do” and that’s the plan: walking among rice fields without passing anyone.
It’s an hour and a half from Ubud, and it’s the best decision you can make if you came looking for the Bali of the photos and aren’t finding it. It works as a day trip, but it earns a night.
Frequently asked
Can you do Nusa Penida in a day from Bali?
Yes: it’s three quarters of an hour by fast boat from Sanur. But the island’s roads are dreadful and crossing takes a long time, so one day covers two or three spots. Hire a car with a driver, not a scooter, and expect to see Kelingking from the viewpoint: getting down to the beach is a very steep staircase.
Is climbing Mount Batur worth it?
If you don’t mind a two-in-the-morning pick-up and a two-hour climb in the dark, yes: the sunrise over the lake from 1,717 metres is spectacular. But it’s a lottery, if it’s cloudy there’s no refund and no second chance, it’s cold up there and there are dozens of people every morning. A guide is compulsory.
Can you visit the Gili Islands in a day?
Not sensibly: it’s between an hour and a half and two and a half hours by fast boat each way, crossing open sea, and those boats cancel in bad weather. Plan on at least one night and on the possibility of an extra day if the sea turns.