Directory - Bali and Lombok - page 170

Other Tours
There a number of Bali tour operators that
offer tours that vary from the norm. Often
these can be excellent ways to see things that
are otherwise hard for a visitor to find such
as religious ceremonies like cremations. Trips
to remote areas or villages can be a fine way
to see aspects of rural life in Bali. Many come
with local guides who take joy in describing
customs, how crops such as rice are grown
and other details of day-to-day life.
Look to the following tour operators for
more creative and inventive tours. Prices span
the gamut but tend to be more expensive than
the bog-standard tours aimed at tourists.
Bali Discovery Tours (

LOMBOK ROAD DISTANCES (KM)

Ceningan and ancient Tenganan. You can make
arrangements to stay with a family in the villages.
Suta Tours ( 0361-465249; www.sutatour.com)

Arranges trips to see cremation ceremonies and special
temple festivals; market tours and other custom plans.
Ubud Tourist Information (Map p188 ;

%

973285;

%

Jl Raya Ubud; 8am-8pm) They organise simple yet

effective cultural tours, especially around special religious
events.
Waka Land Cruise (

Bangsal ---

h

Bayan 57 ---

Kuta 86 143 ---

Labuhan Lombok 101 66 75 ---

0361-426972; www.waka
experience.com) Luxurious tours deep into rice terraces
and tiny villages.

%

Labuhanhaji 157 100 57 39 ---

Lembar 54 121 64 109 77 ---

Mataram 32 96 54 69 64 27 ---

Pemenang 1 56 79 109 105 53 26 ---

Lombok
Some companies organise day tours around
Lombok from Bali, which cost US$100 or
more and involve tearing through Senggigi
and a few villages by minibus. A longer tour,
with more time for sightseeing and relaxing,
will be more expensive but more satisfying.
Tours originating on Lombok are based in
Senggigi. You can usually book market visits
in Mataram, a jaunt out to the Gilis or a trip
down the south coast.

Praya 54 121 26 66 39 39 27 53 ---

Pringgabaya 102 74 83 8 26 102 75 101 62 ---

Sapit 106 47 101 25 43 120 92 119 80 18 ---

0361-286283; www
.balidiscovery.com) Offers numerous and customisable
tours that differ from the norm. One visits a small rice-
growing village in the west near Tabanan for hands-on
demonstrations of cultivation.
JED ( Village Ecotourism Network;

%

Senaru 54 102 140 68 106 116 86 63 117 81 54 ---

Senggigi 18 81 64 79 74 40 10 25 40 88 106 72 ---

Tetebatu 76 120 50 45 32 98 44 75 29 46 63 130 54 ---

0361-735320; www
.jed.or.id) Organises highly regarded tours of small
villages, including coffee-growing Pelaga in the mountains,
fruit-growing Sibetan in the east, seaweed farms on Nusa

%

There is an extraordinarily wide range of
prices for the same sorts of tours. The cheaper
ones may have less comfortable vehicles, less-
qualified guides and be less organised, but the
savings can be considerable. Higher priced
tours may include buffet lunch, English-
speaking guides and air-con, but generally a
higher price is no guarantee of higher quality.
Some tours make long stops at craft shops, so
you can buy things and the tour company can
earn commissions for the tour operator. Tours
are typically in eight- to 12-seat minibuses,
which pick you up and drop you off.
Tours can be booked at the desk of any
large hotel, but these will often be more
expensive than a similar tour booked at a tour
agency with the price in rupiah. If you can
get together a group of four or more, most
tour agencies will arrange a tour to suit you.
It's much better to create your own tour and
itinerary by chartering a vehicle.

you will be picked up in the morning along
with other travellers at nearby hotels. You
may then go to a central area where you are re-
distributed to the minibus doing your tour.
Prices can range from 20,000Rp to
100,000Rp even if standards seem similar, so
it pays to shop around.
Bedugul Tour Includes Sangeh or Alas Kedaton, Mengwi,
Jatiluwih, Candikuning and sunset at Tanah Lot.
Besakih Tour Includes craft shops at Celuk, Mas and
Batuan, Gianyar, Semarapura (Klungkung), Pura Besakih,
and return via Bukit Jambal.
Denpasar Tour Takes in the arts centre, markets,
museum and perhaps a temple or two.
East Bali Tour Includes the usual craft shops,
Semarapura (Klungkung), Kusamba, Goa Lawah, Candidasa
and Tenganan.
Kintamani-Gunung Batur Tour Takes in the craft
shops at Celuk, Mas and Batuan, a dance at Batubulan,
Tampaksiring and views of Gunung Batur. Alternatively,
the tour may go to Goa Gajah, Pejeng, Tampaksiring and
Kintamani.