Private Tour: Balinese Culture and Scenery (visit ubud area)

My sister and I were the only two on this tour the tour guide, Jerry, stated that it was low season. Jerry was a great guide and provided us with many detailed responses to our questions regarding the Balinese culture. He even provided us insight on the practices and culture within different areas of the island that we passed through.

We are rating this tour three stars because of the multiple taxing and fees that we had to pay in addition to the tour itself please note that the fees is nothing compared to the experience, but there were A LOT of fees and we felt that it should have been highlighted in the tour description itself. For example, to look at the Kintamani Volcano from several miles away, we had to pay an entrance fee per person since we stopped at the pay station. For those who did not stop at the pay station, they were not bothered it might have been locals.

The Tegenungan Waterfall was thunderous and exuded majestic views, but it was packed with people and unfortunately, the base of the waterfall was severely trashed. There were plastic debris and trash e.g., cigarettes, decomposing foods, etc. floating in the water and on land left by humans. To get closer to the waterfall, you could take a short 'paved' hike with a small entrance fee.

The Tegallalang Rice Terrace was the best part of this tour. The pictures do not do it justice. Again, there were multiple entrance fees to get to the top of the rice terrace. There were two trails: right and left. On one of the trails, there were two separate entrance fees to get further to the top. In addition, workers in the rice field requested money when we took pictures of them it was really uncomfortable when they demanded more money if they were not happy with your donation. In addition, there was no way of getting around paying as we noticed first hand that the workers blocked tourists from leaving until they paid...

Last, this is a 7.5 hour tour, so lunch needs to be had unless you bring your own. You get dropped off at a place where a Western-style buffet is served. It's approximately 10USD per person that is really overpriced in Bali, so we opted out and asked our driver to take us some place authentic. Jerry took us to a market with absolutely no tourists where we watched the chef cook our fish and make us fresh juice. We dipped our hands in water with lime and washed our hands to prepare for our delicious utensil-free meal. It was the most authentic meal during our entire travel!

Overall, the tour was good, but not great. We kind of felt cheated.... But we do recommend visiting the rice fields and the waterfall if you get the chance!

Our tour guide was Made and he gave us a great private tour through the villages and towns of Bali. We visited an ancient temple, saw a Balinese cultural show and enjoyed a wonderful lunch at a mountaintop restaurant. From the restaurant we had a spectacular view of a volcano and the nearby valleys. this tour is definitely one not to be missed!

Loved the tour. Made was very informative and really made the experience. Over and above this tour, we stopped at a traditional Balinese House which was very interesting and opened out eyes to how simple the Balinese really live. This tour certainly covered the Cultural aspect of Bali and the scenery was amazing. I would highly recommend the tour.