Arriving late one evening, i'm not going to lie, but I had doubts about coming south rather than heading straight to Seminyak. Our shuttle bus had dropped us off in the centre of Jimbaran where we thought we were staying, turns out we were actually staying in Balangan. Luckily a lovely driver from another coach ordered us a taxi as we were dropped off on the corner of a main road, making it hard to flag down a cab. So after a 90 minute bus journey from Padangbai and a 30 minute taxi ride through the quiet streets of Jimbaran and Balangan, we finally arrived at our accommodation. Luckily there were still serving food because we were starving! A word of advice, eat just before you get on a boat from the Gili islands to mainland Bali, because you're in for a long ride!

It was wrong to make a quick judgement, but it's easily done when you're dropped off in the middle of no-where, late at night and away from any bar/restaurant. Waking up, it was a different story...

We made a plan. We were here for another two nights, we had a birthday to celebrate, a dance show to watch and beaches to explore, the only way we were going to accomplish all these things was to hire a scooter! 

It turns out, although we were in the middle of nowhere, we were right next door to a garage. So we hired a scooter for 2 days at 60,000 IDR per day (approx £3.50), cheaper than Ubud! If you feel confident enough to drive a scooter I highly recommend this as it's the cheapest and quickest way to get around, walking is not an option and taxi's are very expensive (it will cost the same to get around Jimbaran than it would to travel from the airport to Ubud - 250,000 IDR).

First we decided to check out Jimbaran beach as we heard that the waves were quite mellow here and we could surf being beginners and all. The waves were actually non-existent when we came and you could actually paddle-board it was that calm. Jimbaran is a long-stretch of golden sand known for it's fish restaurants.

A morning was enough for us here, so off we went to check out Balangan beach which is roughly a 20 minute ride away heading south. There were definitely waves down there, unfortunately this time, too big for us surf novices and too close to rocks for my liking! However, if you're a confident surfer then this is the beach for you! If you would like some quiet time, there is a beautiful bay tucked away at the end of the beach (right hand side), not too many people gather here. There are also plenty of restaurants to grab a bite to eat at the other end of the beach whilst watching the competent surfers do their thing!

A must-see whilst you are in this region is a dance show at the Uluwatu Temple, as far south-west as you can go in Bali. The temple looks over the Indian Ocean and holds regular dance shows throughout the day. The Kecak and fire dance performance was recommended to us by a taxi driver, according to him this is the best dance show in Bali. It starts at 6pm just as the sun is setting over the sea and is based on the story of Ramayana, which was quite bizarre because days before in Padangbai we watched an Indian-narrated film also based on this tale! The show only goes on for an hour but it's really good and quite comical towards the end. If i was you, I would get to the temple for around 5pm, have a walk around and then grab a seat early in the small arena to get a good view. It costs around 30,000 IDR to enter the temple and 100,000 IDR to watch the show. Women need to cover their legs, sarongs and sashes are available for free at the entrance, men can wear a sash or sarong out of respect but it's not compulsory. There is also a large car park in front of the temple.

Our last day was spent on one of the most beautiful beaches I have visited in the world, living up to it's name, Dreamland Beach. It looks untouched, with it's stretch of fine white sand and turquoise waters. Surfers line up to catch the waves whilst swimmers spend most of their time ducking them! There is a restaurant on the beach serving lunch and snacks and sun beds are available to rent. 

Seeing as we were celebrating a birthday that day, we decided to step it up a notch and spend the afternoon sipping champagne in the infinity pool at El Kabron Spanish Restaurant & Cliff Club, which overlooked this stunning bay. 

Expect 5-star service, sunset views, great cocktails and delicious food. It is not massive, which allows for more of a personal touch and you wont be surrounded by tourists either. Be prepared to spend some money, an afternoon and evening of sun lounging, cocktails, nibbles and dinner costs around 3,000,000 IDR (approx £170) but well worth it if you fancy a bit of luxury on your travels. 

Alternatively, you can head up north and experience a similar set-up in Seminyak at Potato Head, however this is a tourist trap, so be prepared for masses amount of people, overly-attentive staff and a struggle for a sun lounger.

Recommendations:

Eat & drink

If you are staying on the outskirts of Jimbaran like we were then the restaurants are few and far between. However, there is one that caught our eye, Cafe La Vida. Situated on the winding roads of Balangan, it is a cosy restaurant/bar lit in colourful festive lights. It was also the most popular restaurant we came across in the whole three days in South Bali. The service wasn't the best, in-fact the staff were very slow and forgetful, but the food was good. Between us we had ceviche, fish taco's and a burger. The pizza's looked and smelt amazing. It's the kind of place where you can kick back and relax with a mojito whilst watching the pro-surfers on the big screen. 

El Kabron Spanish Restaurant & Cliff Club (see above).

Transport

As I said before the easiest, cheapest and fastest way to get around Bali is by scooter, but if you don't feel confident riding one (the roads can get pretty manic), then a taxi is your best bet. There is a company called Bluebird Taxi's that operate around the Jimbaran area. Expect to pay quite a lot in fares though due to the incomplete roads and distance in-between towns. 

If you are coming from the Gili Islands and you booked a return ticket with a shuttle bus to your next destination, then this would include a ride to Jimbaran (last stop on the route; Padangbai-Denpasar Airport-Seminyak-Jimbaran). If you didn't, don't worry there are plenty of taxi drivers offering you a ride, however they tend to charge a lot more so you are better off arranging your shuttle before-hand if you can. The shuttle bus will drop you in the centre of Jimbaran, so you will most likely need to get a taxi from the drop-off point. 

A taxi from Jimbaran to Seminyak will set you back approximately 150,000 IDR (£8.50). If you are going to the airport from Jimbaran, then this shouldn't cost you more than 100,000 IDR.