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Private Tours from Benoa Bali


Tara Jane
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HI, I am starting to look into private tours for our time in Benoa 9am to 5pm.

Have looked here and at trip advisor and googled. The company that seem to get a good report are dean at bali distinction team. I have emailed but the reply was very lacking in any sort of information or itinerary just a few photos of places in bali. I asked again but still a vague reply, not particularly encouraging to book with him.

Does anyone know of bali-marine-sport.com ? their website is impressive with 10 tours to choose from but cant seen anything on trip advisor.

Any other recommendations would be appreciated.

We are 4 adults, not into museums or shopping and not able to do anything too physical, a cancer survivor and 2 knee replacements in our group.

We would prefer to see the countryside, a traditional village, perhaps the lake, volcano, rice terraces. Just want to be away from the busy "tourist" parts of bali. I have no idea if my wants are even possible in the short time 9am to 5pm that we will be in Benoa, first trip to Bali. I am very much an over organiser so am finding it rather frustrating at this stage. We would want to be back on board by 3.30pm to allow for any hiccups. We will not be wanting to stop for lunch.

Thanks heaps

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We booked with Dean from drivers with distinction for New years day 2015. He has quite a few driver/guides and we were assigned Mandika. We had no problem finding him at Benoa and we saw much of what you wanted to see. We had a great day and i would thoroughly recommend the company and Mandika.

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About 2 years ago we had one of Wayans drivers. He suggests a daytour in his website, but if you are interested in other sights he will certainly included or change it the way you want.

The driver was waiting at the dock with a name sign, we payed him at the end of the day, incl. a nice tip. The car had airco and was very comfortable for 4 persons.

http://baliprivatedriver.com/holiday/full-day-tour/

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Dean was probably the best tour we have been with anywhere in the world. Remember he is in Bali, not Melbourne. On the day, he asked us what we wanted to see, we had one lady with mobility issues and Dean managed to talk operators of tourist sites into letting us ride up to office rather than 200m uphill walk.:)

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I just got back from an Asian tour that started in Bali. First, let me tell you that you will not want to leave Bali after you have seen it's beaches and country side. I hired a driver whose name was Pinah, info@kintamanitour.com. We actually stayed at one of his cottages, but he provided us with a full day tour at a VERY reasonable price. Our interests were the country side as well as one or two temples and other must see places. The county side was phenomenal with rice fields and just about every type of fruit and vegetable growing on every square inch of land. It also tended to be one small village after another which we enjoyed more than the heavily populated coast line (except for the beaches). Enjoy

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thank you so much. We also dont want to see the cities but prefer the villages and countryside. We will only have 6 hours travelling time. I understand it is 2 hours drive each way to go to the volcano and lakes area so if we go there wont get to see much else. Is there a rough itinerary you could suggest that would take us to see real countryside in 6 hours. I have been in touch with a few drivers but am none the wiser with what they can offer in 6 hours. Im not sure if it is a language barrier or cultural issue that I cant get any difinative answers.

thanks heaps

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Indonesians are very polite and usually want to be positive. So our driver would always ask where we wanted to go next, even though we had no clue. So what I did was write down what I wanted to see and the time we had to be back to the ship. Fortunately for us, we started from Kintamani, so we had a more leisurely drive that what you will have. I would tell the driver that I wanted to see the monkey forest (you will see a lot of motor scooters getting there as well native shops that carve wood, stone, make furniture, etc. Then the Water Temple after which you want to see the rice patties (Tegallelang) and country side. Tell the driver that you would like to see Kintamani ONLY if he thinks he can get there and get you back to your ship on time. You will see some amazing agriculture when you venture out into the country side. The one site you may not be able to see is the Tanah Lot Temple that sits on a rock in the ocean. It is out of the way unless that is all you want to see. Plus you have to drive through the city to get there.

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Thank you. Hopefully he will take us to the furtherest place first and work our way back, skipping places if we are pushed for time. We dont leave til 5pm but I would like to be back at the ship around 3.30pm.

still trying to convince hubby that we will be quite safe going with a private driver.

he is saying he will stay on the ship which is crazy.

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The most important characteristic of a tour guide is not knowing where all of the tourist hot spots are, but to be able to put together a day that meets the interests of his clients. Dean of http://baliwithdean.blogspot.com meets that need perfectly. I am usually very cautious in choosing drivers, especially on day trips from cruises, because not only do I insist that our interests are met, but getting back to the boat on time- without getting back too early, is imperative.

I contacted numerous companies from the web for our trip to Bali on a cruise. Our requirements were to visit beautiful scenes off the beaten track, exposure to real people, and as much as possible for an 8 hour tour, feel like we at least glimpsed the “real” Bali. Dean was perfect!! He had a very neat and clean car with good a/c, and we definitely were off the beaten track. The highlight for me was visiting a Hindu temple preparing for a celebration. We were able to wander around the temple, and watched the women make exquisite offerings to be used at the celebration. My husband took some phenomenal photos, that he admits that Dean pointed out. We wandered through rice paddies, down dirt roads, and really felt like we saw the real Bali. We did visit a few “touristy” sites including Tanah Lot Temple. If you are going to spend the money and put forth the effort to travel to Bali exploring Bali with Dean is the way to experience Bali to the fullest.

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Yes I understand what you are saying. I did contact Dean but he is already booked the Day I am in Bali. Think I have found one through recommendations on trip advisor. Still need to convince hubby or might book and see if anyone at meet and mingle wants to join me.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We signed up for two days of private touring with Agung, MyDriverinBali, and thoroughly enjoyed it and found the cost to be very reasonable. Excellent english and a very safe driver, as well as very flexible on the itinerary. We saw more areas than most people on the ship and and never had a worry about not making it back on time. He formally worked on HAL so knows what it means to be on time. Here is his web site: http://mydriverinbali.blogspot.com. If that doesn't work google Agung Wijaya for tours in Bali. Bali is beautiful.

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  • 2 months later...

I just returned from an extended stay in Bali. I was picked up at the airport by my prearranged driver Putu Supartana who was excellent and his price much lower than most of the others. Please email him and he will put together an excellent itinerary for you. His English is great and he is conscientious and will work with you and outline everything specifically so you can finalize your plans before leaving home. You need to nail down an itinerary with someone you can trust, in order to get back to the ship on time. I used him for 5 days as I found him to be awesome. His English was excellent, his knowledge of Bali and the local culture and religion was extensive, his van was nice and it had great A/C. He was flexible and worked with me both before I left home, and after I arrived, to make sure my itinerary was the best possible. We often spent 10 hours a day exploring all areas in Bali and he made suggestions about additional things to see or hotels I might like. He was very friendly and is a good family man. I went to Lombok for a while but made sure I could have him again as my driver when I returned again to Bali. We have actually become friends and I will use him when I make a return visit to Bali and he has offered to do anything for me that I might need, both while at home and when I return to Bali. He always had an umbrella available, and a sarong and sash in order for me to visit the temples. Sometimes he would be arranging my sarong and sash outside the van, before I went in the temple, while local women supervised. :) I was able to see all of Bali and its temples, amazingly beautiful rice terraces, lakes, mountains, beaches, and small traditional towns. I would not have been able to see as much without having Putu as my driver. He was always great to respond promptly to my emails.

 

If you need a good driver his contact info is: http://www.putudriverinbali.wordpress.com

call/sms: +62 81 805 671 005

putu.supartana@yahoo.com

 

You can also email me for suggestions if you decide to book with him, or I can review what he suggests, to tell you if I think it is doable or what is more important to see. I found the other companies I researched, wanted to recommend whatever was the shortest or easiest drive, and often told me that I couldn't fit everything in, when I could, and did. I know for a fact I saw more amazing things than most other people did, and at a cheaper cost. You are like me - I don't want to stop for a long lunch and didn't stop to waste time watching jewellery or carvings be made as there are more exciting things to see and visit.

 

Marilyn

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello Tara

Interested to know if you have already done your Bali tour and how it went. We are going to be on Legend of the Seas arriving in Benoa for the day Monday June 22nd and would like to do a tour. Hope to hear from you or someone else. Tony

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Yes we are back. Cant say we had a wonderful day in Bali but that wasn't due to our driver. We ended up using Buddy and he spoke great english, had a lovely van, was an amazingly safe driver, despite all those crazy drivers he somehow managed to know what they would be doing. I am a very bad back-seat driver normally and felt very at ease with buddy.

We were a couple of hours late getting off the ship, rhapsody claimed it was due to customs holding things up. We didnt get into his van until 11.45 am, went up to the rice fields, and Batuan Temple at Batuan Village, by passing all the tourist areas, went to a lovely waterfall and then it was time to head back to the ship via a silver shop as one in our group wanted to visit. We were to be back by 4pm so we wanted to be back by 3 to allow for any hold up. Consequently it was a very short trip but enough that I dont ever plan to return. My reason for saying that is I could not cope with the harrasment by the locals to buy their goods. Every time we got out of the car we were immediately harrassed by locals to buy, adults and children alike. We always take items for the children when we visit the south pacific islands and they are always beautifully polite and appreciative. The kids in bali were screaming and pushing for more. Really regretted taking things for them.

When we returned to the ship we went to a very small market outside the fence, once again it was all too overwhelming. If they hadn't been physically touching me by pushing their stuff onto me I might well have bought some things but I just got out of there as fast as I could.

There were some items to buy in the terminal which was inside the security gates.

When we got to singapore I went to chinatown on the hop on hop off and bought things that were even cheaper than bali.

If I ever do return to bali it will be to stay at one of those resorts with security compound and that is not my way of travel. I like to be out with the locals.

Hopefully you will have a better experience.

By the way, we were told the tender would be a 45 - 50 mins ride however it was only 15 mins going over and about 25 mins going back. Going over we were on a bigger tender that they hired, on the way back it was the ships usual lifeboats.

Buddy has a great report on tripadivsor and his email is buddybali@yahoo.com He charged us $75 AUD for a larger van and $65 AUD for a 4 seater. We went with 2 other couples, one we were travelling with and the other we met on board the ship.

Edited by Tara Jane
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I actually expected some criticism of my honest reply to you, but appreciate I didnt get any negative feedback. All I could do was say it how we felt it was.

I worked with a girl who goes to bali every year and absolutely loves it, she was married there last year, but I know they go to a specific resort and stay there the whole time.

We didnt have a great day, but we did get off the ship and are glad we did as now we have experienced bali for a few hours.

I'm sure there are lots of cruise critic members who love bali.

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Hi there Tara Jane - or anyone else with info.

 

We are also arriving on Legend of the Seas on 22 June, and have booked a car+driver to take us to Ubud for a day spa. I'm just wondering how easy it will be for us to locate our driver when we get off the tender (he will have a sign). I read some information that suggests drivers can't get into the port area to pick up visitors - any truth to that?

 

We are scheduled to arrive in Benoa at 0700, and are hoping to be picked up at 0830 - maybe ambitious but we'll see how we go...

 

Any info appreciated.

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You wont have any trouble finding the driver. They are all standing outside the wire fence with signs showing who they are to collect. Getting through all the hopeful drivers is more difficult. Just say already booked when they try to approach you. Its just a case of scanning over all the signs to find your name just like at the airport arrivals hall.

I did keep in contact via sms with our driver to let him know we were delayed getting off the ship and sent another text as we left the ship on the tender so he knew which tender we would be on.

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  • 4 months later...
You can also email me for suggestions if you decide to book with him, or I can review what he suggests, to tell you if I think it is doable or what is more important to see. I found the other companies I researched, wanted to recommend whatever was the shortest or easiest drive, and often told me that I couldn't fit everything in, when I could, and did. I know for a fact I saw more amazing things than most other people did, and at a cheaper cost. You are like me - I don't want to stop for a long lunch and didn't stop to waste time watching jewellery or carvings be made as there are more exciting things to see and visit.

 

Marilyn

 

Hi Marilyn

 

Reading your review, we have booked Putu for our upcoming trip to Bali in January. We are interested in your itinerary as we seem to enjoy the same sort of tour and would like further details but can't see your email address. It would be great if you could put a list of where you went on here - we have booked Putu for 2 days.

 

Many thanks.

 

Brenda

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Hello All,

We cruised Asia in Jan-Feb 2015 but did not cruise Indonesia. However, we did a post-cruise in Bali. We spend 7 days in Ubud and 10 days in Seminyak.

As it was our first time in that beautiful part of the world, Bali's way of life blew our socks off! The rice fields are a gift for the eyes. I just don't have the words to explain how wonderful our time in Bali was. We had asked our small Balinese hotel (only 6 rooms) to included transportation. Well, the person, Dewa, who picked us up was a blessing. He toured us around Ubud and area for 3 days(including rain forest, rice paddies, volcano, temples...).

 

Dewa became a dear friend to us. His passion for his country and his religion was addictive. Their community is really important for them and they are selfless people. Everyday, he would give us all he got; his passion for his work. So it was easy to become close friend. After 7 days, he drove us from Ubud to Seminyak (60 min). We thought, we would not see Dewa anymore. We were wrong! My DH became seriously ill and almost died! He spent 2 weeks at the international hospital. I emailed Dewa to let him know what was happening... Who did we see at the hospital? Dewa. He drove twice an hour away to visit DH. And he felt bad he could not come more often! We were blown away by his generosity and care.

 

Dewa's email is dgrock1140 at yahoo.com

 

Believe me, if you hire him, you will know you have been touched by someone really special.

The Canadians!:D

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  • 2 weeks later...
We booked with Dean from drivers with distinction for New years day 2015. He has quite a few driver/guides and we were assigned Mandika. We had no problem finding him at Benoa and we saw much of what you wanted to see. We had a great day and i would thoroughly recommend the company and Mandika.

Hi, I'm quite interested in your feedback on taking a private tour of Bali on New Year's Day. We will be tendered from 7:00-17:00 this year. I've recently joined our roll-call thread, and there are a few scary stories about the traffic there and getting back to the ship. This in turn is making me re-think the excursions we have arranged for ourselves.

Was returning on time a nail-biter in your experience?

Currently my spouse and I are planning two different excursions - he'll be scuba diving, and they intend to pick him up at 7:30 for a 15:30-16:00 return... I've got a private tour, which picks up at 8:00 to visit per the driver's recommended itinerary: Batubulan @To watch traditional Barong and keris dance

- ubud art village @ celuk for their silver smith. Wood art and painting

- Susut village visiting agro tourism for famous coffee luwak

- Tampak siring @ Holy spring temple named Tirta Empul

- Tegalalang @ Ceking rice terrace*

- Ubud Monkey Forest*

 

 

Does this seem doable in your experience with the traffic to be expected on New Year's Day? Cheers, Jessica

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We did the excursion with our Princess ship and I am glad we did it with the ship. I would have been a nervous wreck because we were quite late for the last tender, but the ship waits for its own excursions.

 

Everything was fine up to and including the outstanding lunch (temple, volcano, traditional village, rice terraces, garden restaurant for lunch). After that we went to downtown Ubud where traffic had come to a standstill due to the sheer number of people and a temple festival. The market had uninteresting stuff at high prices. The roaming street vendors were obnoxious and comparable to the ones in Cartagena, Colombia. I also did not like the silver jewelry in the store to which the bus took us at the end.

 

Unfortunately, we will go back to Bali - however on a different ship. I sure hope they offer a better excursion.

Edited by Floridiana
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