Jimbaran is in the southern part of Bali and is known as the fishing village and draws tourist in with its numerous coastal resorts and beaches. We left the hustle and bustle of Ubud and moved into a villa in Jimbaran near the Garuda Wsinu Keneana Cultural Park. We were excited to immerse ourselves in not only the Balinese culture but also the water as we had a lot planned for the next month including scuba diving!
Beautiful statues such as this one are located all throughout Bali. Some are located along busy intersections and others near temples. Everywhere you look there is something spectacular to see!
Where we stayed
Nestled above the Banyan, Hibiscus and Bamboo trees, hidden just outside of town you will find Villa Jiwa. The photos we had seen were amazing and therefore we had been looking forward to this place for months! The driver picked us up in Ubud and we started our journey to Villa Jiwa in Jimbaran. We initially realized that the driver did not speak English as well as most of the other drivers we had used for our day trips in Ubud but was not a big issue. So note to self, driver does not equal guide. It was just a very quiet ride but in some ways it was nice so that we could enjoy the views as we had about an hour and a half drive to get to our villa. The hosts of our Airbnb provided plenty of information ahead of time including local markets or grocery stores located near the villa. We asked Meydar our driver to stop at the Gourmet Market on the way so that we could stock up n some essentials we thought we might need during our first few days. When we arrived at the villa we got a quick tour from the host on duty and met the staff which actually lived in the quarters below the main villa. We unpacked and as the sun set we planned out the next few days and then called it a night!
Before we get into our least favorite parts we want to first talk about the things we really liked about Villa Jiwa and the area we stayed.
- The villa staff were all great! This included our villa host, driver and the onsite staff that with one text would be standing in person in less than 5 minutes.
- Having a personal chef available was super convenient and just as affordable as going out. Breakfast lunch or dinner, we tried them all!
- The views, the views, the views. The villa was set high enough to have unobstructed views of the bay with a 360 degree view from the rooftop veranda. We even had a surprisingly close up view of the 400ft GWK statue from our villa which was especially impressive at night!
- The peaceful serenity of being nestled outside of town for quiet evening just the two of us and waking to the sounds of nature every morning.
Instagram vs Reality hits home
You know that old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words, well sometimes those words are good and sometimes they are not so good. Don’t get me wrong, the villa was amazing, great location, beautiful views, very attentive and amazing staff, but there were a few things that didn’t translate in the photos. What was missing was primarily was what comes along with a home in Bali that has an open air living/kitchen area and outdoor master bath. While during breezy days and evenings this was fine but we are westerners and because of that we are accustomed to more A/C than just that in the sleeping area. We were in Bali during the end of the rainy season but the temperature was still on the warmer side reaching the upper 80’s (Fahrenheit) each day. With that being said expect to sweat a lot, have bad hair days – everyday, and deal with lots of uninvited guests. This included crawling critters like lizards and ants to flying critters like mosquitos, birds, including the chicken that liked to sleep on our sofa at night. We learned quickly to put everything in the fridge, and I mean any and everything that was remotely edible, even if it was unopened. And not unusual for homes in this area we found out, we had something break or go wrong just about every day for the first 10 days we were there. The A/C, the internet, the stove and oven, then the microwave the next day, and then the most important thing stopped working which was the ceiling fan in the living area. They were all fixed or attended to but for the luxury description, and rate to go along with it, we were disappointed to say the least. (Spoiler alert – because of the issues we were having with our stay we will end up cutting the Jimbaran stay short by two weeks and will be headed to new accommodations in Seminyak)
What to do in the Jimbaran area of Bali!
If you love the beach then this part of Bali is for you. We took several days to venture out and check out the different beach areas while we staying in this part of the island. Pete even found a way to fit in a round of golf as well. Below are some highlights of what we did during our stay in Jimbaran.
Beach Clubs are very popular in this region of Bali and more are being built every year. Some are more family friendly than others so the best thing to do is do your research and plan your day trip by making reservations when necessary and pack your bags and head out. Many of the beach areas have entertainment including live music, DJ entertainment and even cultural dances or bon-fires in the evening. Head out early if you are looking for a quiet relaxing day at the beach but if you are more interested in live music and/or a more party atmosphere you should hit these beach clubs later in the day.
Here is a map showing where our villa was (in the center) and where the beach clubs we visited were located. Most were only about a 20-30 minute car ride if traffic was low.
Sundays Beach Club was by far my favorite beach club we visited. It is stunning and you actually have to take a cable car to get down to the beach area. we made a reservation and got there early, around 10:00am, and we able to pick the perfect lounge chair spot. The service was spectacular and when a quick rain cloud came in our served quickly secured us a seat in the restaurant and when the rain cloud blew away he upgraded us to our own private cabana. The only thing I would mention is that they have a bonfire on the beach each evening at sunset and because we got there early we left before the evening festivities.
Melasti Beach – this is a public beach area that you will also find access to several private beach clubs just steps away. We got there kind of late in the afternoon so we opted for one of the clubs as most of the lounge chairs on the beach with umbrellas were taken. Many of the beach clubs require an entry fee and some require a minimum food purchase as well but it is a good way to secure a seat even if it is just to dine and people watch.
Ulu Cliffhouse is located on a stunning cliff-side setting in Uluwatu. The food and service was fantastic. There are spectacular views and also access to a private beach. We simply stopped by for a late lunch but if you stay through the evening you may find live music and more of a beach club vibes.
Scuba Diving – We had already lined up a diving with SEA Bali Diving before we even arrived in Bali. We wanted to get a few days of diving in before our trip to Sorong where we will be boarding a liveaboard to dive in March. We were super impressed with SEA Diving Bali and with the owner, Lars. He made a special trip to our villa to meet with us prior to our first day of diving. I can honestly say I have never seen that kind of service from a dive shop before. His shop provided transportation to and from our dives as well as lunch for each day of diving. We would highly recommend SEA Diving Bali! For those interested in more about our diving in Bali stay tuned for a future post that will cover our entire diving experience.
Shopping – what girl doesn’t love to shop! Let me first start off by saying that our shopping during our stay in Jimbaran was very different than that in Ubud. We were staying in a remote area that was not walking distance to anything. So we took the opportunity while in Jimbaran to hire a driver that has experience in authentic Balinese furniture among other things. And we owe all the thanks to some travels that we now call friends, that we met at the Turkish Air lounge in Istanbul during our layover. We will talk more about this adventure in Balinese furniture in a later blog but for now just know we spent several days going to furniture shops and learning all about teak furniture and finding lots of items that we fell in love with and decided we needed to take them home with us. This hilarious part about this is that before coming on this trip we sold basically everything we owned and didn’t plan on returning to the US until sometime in 2024! Luckily we have made some really good contacts and have a freight forwarder helping us store our goods until we need to ship them back.
SPA Day Anyone! – Spas are popular in every part of Bali! We found a spa that we fell in love with in Uluwatu called Spring Spa. This location is their newest spa and had just be open maybe a month or two when we visited. It was beautiful and the service was so great that we visited it several more times in the short 2 weeks we were in Jimbaran. We will definitely be visiting their other locations if they cross our paths!
Spring Spa in Uluwatu was peaceful, quiet and the accommodations were perfect! We were even able to shower after each massage in our private outdoor shower – that is with the exception of the peeping-tom monkeys.
Food and what we ate
Jimbaran is primarily a fishing village so if you love seafood this is the place to be! The beach resorts we visited all had amazing menus and the food and service was second to none but there are also a few places that we visited around the Jimbaran area that we enjoyed just as well. Here are some of the local Jimbaran restaurants that made our list!
La Barca located in Uluwatu is an Italian restaurant that was recommended by our villa host. The food we ordered was good but the service was sub par. That being said, we had been kind of spoiled from the service we received while in Ubud. This is a newer location for them and the decor and atmosphere was really cool. We will be trying their other location in Seminyak later in the trip to just to try their pizza, we saw two of them being served while we were there and they looked amazing
Akua de bilbo is a Mediterranean tapas restaurant located in Jimbaran Bay. We really enjoyed the food and the calamari was probably the best either of us have ever had. There was a little shop located in the restaurant where you could shop a few local handmade items and with just a few steps you could find the Jimbaran Bay Beach. Oh, and the sangria was also great!
Jukuna Bali Seafood is a place we would have never found on our own. Ajae, our driver now turned friend picked this spot for us to try. We even got to go into the kitchen to watch the chefs at work. If you are looking for traditional Balinese seafood it doesn’t get much better than this! While this is a little different from a fancy beach resort but the food was top notch!
Some of our favorite meals were prepared by our private chef. He did not reside onsite but was provided by our villa and we just had to book the meals ahead of time. We had breakfast and dinner with them several days during our visit. He and his wife were super sweet and they even would bless the villa during each visit. See the first blog post for an overview of canang sari.And while this sounds expensive the cost to have him come cook and serve our meals was less expensive than most meals we had outside our villa. To put it in perspective every meal we were served cost us less that $20 USD, and that was for both of us to eat!
Pete enjoyed a great day of golf with our new friend Stephen at Bukit Pandawa Country Club. The course was wonderful and the sea views were amazing! We had 2 super nice young ladies as our caddies. They read greens, lined up putts, and gave us good distances. What a blast!
The Gourmet Market was just a quick 5 minute car ride from our villa in Jimbaran. It would be comparable to a small Whole Foods in the US. You could also eat on site at the market or choose from may food vendors in the courtyard. One favorite of ours was the Turkish cafe called Istanbul Corner Bali.
The Modern Nomads 
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