Bali Itinerary 14 Days: Five Bases, Real Transfer Times (2026)

A 14-day Bali itinerary works best with 5 bases and 13 nights: Canggu or Seminyak (3), Ubud (4), Sidemen (2), Nusa Lembongan (2) and Uluwatu (2).

That order moves you in one loop around the island instead of zig-zagging through Denpasar traffic, keeps every drive under about 2 hours, and puts the boat leg in the middle, so a cancelled crossing never costs you your flight home. It suits Australian families on a two-week school holiday break as well as couples.

Why five bases, and not seven or eight

Many two-week plans also squeeze in Munduk, Lovina, the Gilis or Lombok. In practice every move in Bali eats half a day: checkout, a 1–2.5 hour drive, check-in. Eight bases means roughly four days lost to cars. Five bases means proper unpacking and pool days between big outings.

If you are still deciding whether two weeks is right for you, our breakdown of how many days you really need in Bali compares 5, 7, 10 and 14-day trips side by side.

Flights first: Sydney to Denpasar is scheduled at roughly 5h35 to 6h45 non-stop on Jetstar, Qantas or Virgin Australia, and Perth is about 3h30 to 4 hours. Before you land, every foreign visitor, children included, must pay the provincial tourist levy of IDR 150,000 per person, AUD 13 · USD 9, through the official Love Bali portal.

Days 1–3: Canggu or Seminyak to shake off the flight

Canggu suits surfers, café-lovers and older teens; Seminyak suits families wanting calmer streets, bigger resorts and shopping. Both are in the south, near the airport, so a tired arrival stays short.

– Day 1: arrive, pool, early dinner. Do not plan anything after a red-eye. – Day 2: beginner surf lesson at Batu Bolong or a lazy beach day, sunset at a beach bar. – Day 3: Tanah Lot temple at sunset, which is close to Canggu and pointless to visit from Ubud.

Days 4–7: Ubud for culture, rice terraces and four slow nights

Leave the south early. Canggu to Ubud is 30–35 km with no toll road, and it takes 50–60 minutes before 7:30 am but 100–130 minutes in the 4:30–7:30 pm crush, according to Bali Holiday Secrets’ 2026 transfer guide. A Grab or GoCar for four costs AUD 18–27 · USD 13–20 (IDR 200,000–300,000); a hotel transfer runs AUD 40–49 · USD 29–35.

Ubud is your day-trip hub, so four nights earns its keep:

– Day 4: settle in, Sacred Monkey Forest, Ubud Palace and the market. – Day 5: sunrise at Tegallalang rice terraces, then Tirta Empul water temple. – Day 6: waterfall day (Tegenungan, Tibumana or Kanto Lampo) or the Campuhan Ridge walk at dawn. – Day 7: cooking class or a rest day. Families: this is your pool day.

For a full-day car and driver, budget AUD 69–90 · USD 50–65 for about 10 hours, fuel included. Book through your hotel or a driver with recent reviews.

Days 8–9: Sidemen (or Amed) for the Bali most visitors miss

Sidemen is a green valley in east Bali that Ubud’s crowds largely skip, around 1.5 hours (37 km) from Ubud. Expect rice terrace walks, weaving workshops, Gembleng waterfall pools and very quiet nights. ATMs are unreliable, so bring cash and a light layer for cool evenings.

Swap option: snorkelling families can trade Sidemen for Amed on the north-east coast, with black-sand beaches and the Japanese shipwreck off the shore. The catch is the drive: Ubud to Amed takes roughly 2.5 to 3 hours.

Days 10–11: Nusa Lembongan, plus a Nusa Penida day trip

From Sidemen, it is about 1.5 hours (42 km) to Sanur’s harbour. Fast boats to Lembongan take around 30 minutes, cost AUD 14–24 · USD 10–17 (IDR 150,000–250,000) one way, and land at either Jungut Batu or Mushroom Bay depending on the operator, per the Nusa Penida travel guide’s boat page. Book the late-morning boat and keep luggage light; you often wade ashore.

– Day 10: mangrove kayak, Yellow Bridge to Nusa Ceningan, Devil’s Tear at sunset. – Day 11: Nusa Penida. Local boats take 10–15 minutes and cost about AUD 5 · USD 4 (IDR 60,000). Hire a driver on arrival for Kelingking and Broken Beach. The roads are rough, so younger kids may prefer a snorkel trip around Lembongan instead.

Days 12–14: Uluwatu to finish on the cliffs

Take a morning boat back to Sanur, then drive to Uluwatu, which is usually around an hour (closer to 1h15 at midday). Uluwatu is the right last stop: dramatic beaches like Padang Padang and Melasti, the Kecak fire dance at Uluwatu Temple at sunset, and a 40-minute to 1-hour run to the airport on departure day.

What a 14-day Bali trip costs in 2026

Costs swing a fair amount between this itinerary’s five bases. A 2026 South Bali cost guide puts a budget day in Canggu, Seminyak or Uluwatu, a simple guesthouse, warungs and shared transport, at around AUD 83-111 · USD 60-80 per person, and a mid-range day, a pool hotel and cafe meals, at around AUD 180-264 · USD 130-190.

Ubud and Sidemen generally run a little cheaper than the south coast bases, since guesthouses and homestays outnumber branded hotels and a plate of local food at a warung costs less than the cafe menus of Canggu. Nusa Lembongan sits in between: fewer dining options push you toward your accommodation’s restaurant more often, which nudges food costs up even if rooms are reasonably priced.

That 14-day total covers accommodation, food, local transport and entry tickets, but not international flights or the per-person tourist levy.

Two line items are easy to underestimate: the fast boats to and from Nusa Lembongan, which run AUD 14-24 · USD 10-17 each way as this guide’s transport section covers, and full-day drivers for Ubud and Sidemen sightseeing, which make sense to split across a family or small group rather than book solo.

A family of four travelling mid-range should budget toward the higher end of the range above, since larger rooms and family-friendly resorts in Seminyak and Uluwatu generally price above the solo-traveller average these guides are built on.

Card payments are now widely accepted at hotels, larger restaurants and chain convenience stores across all five bases, but Sidemen and the smaller Lembongan warungs still lean cash-heavy, and ATMs are scarcer once you leave the main south-coast strip.

Draw more cash than you think you need before heading to Sidemen or boarding the boat to Lembongan, since a card decline there means a longer trip back to a working ATM than it would in Canggu or Seminyak.

What to cut if you only have 10 days

Ten days means nine nights, so two bases have to go short or drop out:

– Drop Uluwatu. Do Uluwatu Temple as an evening trip from Seminyak on day 2 or 3 instead. – Cut Ubud to 3 nights. Merge the waterfall and rice terrace days. – Keep Sidemen or Lembongan, not both. Families with young kids: keep Lembongan for the beach. Couples who want quiet: keep Sidemen.

A workable 10-day version is Seminyak 3, Ubud 3, Lembongan 3, with the last night near the airport. Shorter still? Our 7-day Bali itinerary covers the south, Ubud and one island, the 5-day Bali itinerary sticks to two bases, and the 4-day Bali plan works for a long weekend from Perth.

What to pack for five different bases

Bali’s lowland bases, Canggu, Seminyak, Nusa Lembongan and Uluwatu, stay hot and humid year-round, so light, breathable clothing and reef-friendly sunscreen cover most of the trip. Sidemen is the one base where evenings turn genuinely cool thanks to the elevation, so pack at least one light layer or a long-sleeve top even though you will not need it anywhere else on the route.

A sarong is worth packing rather than renting at the gate every time, since several temples on this itinerary, including Tirta Empul and any stop at a working temple in Ubud or Sidemen, require covered shoulders and knees for both men and women. Most temples rent one for a small donation if you forget, but a lightweight sarong packs small and saves the queue.

• A rain jacket or compact umbrella; short, heavy downpours are common at any time of year, highland bases included
• Reef-friendly sunscreen for snorkelling around Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida
• A dry bag for the fast boat crossing to Lembongan and the Nusa Penida speedboat, both of which spray
• Insect repellent with DEET or picaridin; mosquitoes are present across all five bases, more so around Ubud’s rice terraces at dusk
• A printed copy or saved screenshot of your Love Bali tourist levy voucher, checked on arrival at some entry points

Pack lighter than a two-week trip suggests. Laundry services are cheap and widely available at guesthouses and hotels in every base on this route, so a smaller bag that is easier to move between five checkouts beats a large suitcase packed for every possible day.

Where to stay in Bali, base by base

– Seminyak or Canggu: first-timers and families on days 1–3. Seminyak is calmer, Canggu livelier. – Ubud centre or the Penestanan ridge: walkable to cafés and the Monkey Forest; the outer jungle villas are prettier but need a driver every time. – Uluwatu (Bingin, Padang Padang): couples and surfers who want sunsets and an easy airport run.

For a deeper comparison of every area, see our guide to where to stay in Bali.