I am heading to Bali in August and I want to go to Lombok as well. I am currently thinking of 3 nights in Bali (Ubud) and then 3 nights in Lombok. Just wondering if this is the right amount of time for each or would you split the 6 nights differently?

Too short a trip to split, especially if this is a first trip to Bali. I'd spend all 6 days there, maybe 3 in Ubud and 3 somewhere else (pick a coast). If you have been to Bali before, maybe skip it or transit directly to the Lombok ferry, then play the return to Bali by ear according to when you get tired of Lombok. You might need at least one night on Bali depending on your outbound transportation schedule.

Its about 5 hours by ferry, so burns a day; really not worth it for your length of trip. Stay at Seminyak for 3 days, to complement Ubud.

I might make it a 7 night trip. It is my first trip to Bali but I'm sure I will visit again so I am not worried about getting a lot done. Just want to chill out and see a few beautiful places. The reason I was attracted to Lombok over a coastal Bali area for the second half of my trip is because the beaches look much nicer than Bali beaches (on the whole) and I would like to visit the Gili islands for some snorkeling and perhaps do some trekking too.

What do you think to something like this:

Arrive Bali 2:30pm day 1
Stay in Ubud for 4 nights
Fly Garuda to Lombok at 19:10 on day 5

Fly lion air to Bali at 17:30 on day 8

So overall 4 days in Bali
2.5 days in Lombok

Or if I book the other way around the flight times allow me 5 full days in Bali and 2 full days in Lombok.

Would you still recommend leaving out Lombok?

Your faith in the reliability and punctuality of Indonesian domestic carriers is touching.

Which are you thinking of and what are you looking for in a beach?

The Gili's have nice beaches and snorkelling with a number of lodging, eating options and other tourists. The South Lombok beaches are beautiful, empty of tourists (which some women find disconcerting safety wise ime). Often a bit too much surf for nice swimming. Only a couple "western standard" places to stay there - the Novotel Coralia, and http://www.heavenontheplanet.co.nz/ Sengiggi has the Sheraton but is a poor beach for swimming and the town itself was rather rundown (6/09, last time I was to any of these).

Plenty of nice beachs on Bali itself; for beach time I'd stick to Bali or head out to the Gili's on a fastboat. Wouldn't bother with Lombok this trip - as has been eluded too Indonesian Air travel has flexible schedules. So does the ferry, but the ferry's slower. Going from Kuta, Lombok to DPS airport via ferry and taxi takes 8-11 hrs total in my experience.

Coming from the person who just thought about doing Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda in a week . . or how to do Hong Kong in a weeked . . don't bother. You do not have enough time to even absorb Ubud. let along Bali. Lombok is OK if you are thinking of island hoping onward to Flores, Komodo, Timor or any of the other 9,997 islands; but, you would miss too much of Bali.

I'm currently on my 5th night in Bali (my 2nd time) and I have barely covered half of what I wanted to see. I would say stay in Bali for the duration.

From Ubud, you can get to Tulamben for some good diving, around the coast suggest Menjangam and Penida. Gillis is fun, you have to be young, read this as no police, mushrooms,I am here for a good time. best to take a fast boat from Ahmed or fly ex DPS if staying down on the coast. I have used Garuda for years, always reliable, did have problems with gung ho pilots and landings but that is all in the past, there is a different culture within there now. What people are expressing is that Bali is laid back, before you realise it it is 11am in the morning. The Ubud town is small and most of the hotels are over on the ridge and a good hours slow stroll into the centre, so it is very easy to waste a day or two. If you are adventuresome, you will be asked every minute if you would like transport, so price a day, over the Volcano down to Lovina and further along the coast. To give you an idea I will rent a car and driver for several days when I am in town, depending on distance and petrol the whole day shouldn't cost you more than 500,000, plus a tip that's about $60-70+. If you can afford a hundred bucks, a day out with your own car/driver, a spot of lunch and a good dive over a wreck is awesome. Your driver will park under a tree, and have a snooze, never a problem for them

Good car+driver for a day never cost more than USD 50 when I was there in Oct 2010 (renting a car without a driver will usually cost more). But much better to rent a scooter, that is USD 5 per day and more importantly can go twice as fast in traffic as a car. Bali is a lot of fun esp. if you get away from the highly touristed areas.

I have a sub-set of the Bali problem - only 3 nights.

All evidence suggest staying in the south of the island, and to minimise travel time. Mrs TK wants to relax and shop, and perhaps go for 1/2 sightseeing tour to Ubud or similar.

Seminyak has been suggested as the place for a couple in late 40s......or one of Sanur or Nusa Dua

Thoughts?

Cheers, TK

We stayed at the GH Hyatt Nusa Dua, but went to Ubud every day for our daily massages at Venezia Spa. It takes over an hour to get to Ubud and it could get tiresome, wish we had stayed in Ubud to save the hassles of driving. There are lots to do in Ubud.

Seminyak is by far the nicest, in terms of restaurants, shops, beach and villa/hotel quality. I stayed at Nusa Dua on my first trip to Bali and hated it -- a 5-star butlered desert that could be anywhere in the world except Bali. Ubud is cooler and rainier at times, also much smaller and now very touristified (but still charming). Sanur and Kuta are cheaper and it shows, ok if you know your way around but why bother?

Thanks, pretty much settled on Seminyak, now just waiting for Accor Great Asia Sale to score a nice room at the ex-Sofitel ...

... but will take any recommendations on accommodation up to to USD 125 a night.

Cheers, TK

I am planning a 5 days-1 week side trip to Bali from SIN with family, and Mrs LonLH is very keen to swim in the sea (prefers sea to the pools). I had a couple of trips to Bali, stayed in Nusa Dua both times (with a few days in Ubud second time). From a beach quality point of view, am I better off staying in Bali or Lombok? Don't want to travel too much looking for a beach as we have a three year old.
TIA for your inputs.