World Travel with Bob: Bali, Indonesia, Part 1

Our cruise itinerary included two port stops in Indonesia. We had a one-day visit at Rincon Island, Komodo National Park, and an overnight stop at the port of Benoa, which is on one of the 17, 508 islands of Indonesia.

Rincon Island, Komodo National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site)

Rincon Island is home to about 2,000 Komodo Dragons. We were excited at the opportunity to view the large and somewhat terrifying Komodo Dragons. Our stop at Rincon Island provided a viewing opportunity from a raised boardwalk. So there was no trekking among Dragons (though this is apparently a tour option for some). Trekking does have some risk as Dragons can run about 13 miles per hour. While humans are not the typical dining fare of Komodo Dragons, a few unlucky rangers, villagers and a tourist (in 2017) have been bitten by a Dragon. The bite is venomous and can lead to blood loss, shock and death.

We had fingers crossed that Komodo Dragons would be wandering near the boardwalk. As dragons are often active during the day, we did come across a great photo opportunity.

The Komodo Dragon Is Guarding a Shoe
Where's the Shoe Owner?

Bali, Indonesia

We read that vehicle traffic from the port of Benoa to popular Bali sites can be very busy. Given our visit was limited to two days, we wanted to reduce our time in daily traffic jams. Rather than spend the night on-board the Viking Venus, we decided to spend the two days away from the ship and stay overnight in Ubud. Ubud is about a 60 minute drive (on good traffic days) from Benoa. This plan required us to find a local tour guide that could drive us over the two days and identify a hotel in Ubud for one night.

Through reviews on Cruise Critic Boards and a recommendation from a fellow traveler, we contacted Dewa Gede (dgrock1140 at yahoo.com). Dewa agreed to pick up my party of four from the port and serve as both driver and guide over the next two days. Dewa's van was comfortable and we enjoyed his sharing of history, life and family experiences in Bali. On another positive note, Dewa lives in Ubud, so our staying overnight in Ubud was convenient for his morning pick-up from our hotel. Dewa's 2025 rate was $80 USD per day, exclusive of any entry fees or meals. Dewa provided ice-cold water bottles during our drives.

Before leaving the Viking Venus on our Bali adventure, we provided Viking ship staff with our Ubud hotel contact information and confirmed our mobile phone numbers.

If you have a cruise itinerary overnight in Bali, staying off-ship for one-night with a private guide and driver allows you to make the best use of your limited time. Over the two day period, we were constantly on the move and enjoyed our visit.

Part two of this post will describe and share photos of the places we visited during our Bali stay.

Dewa Gede, Our Bali Guide and Driver

Adiwana Bisma Resort

There are many hotels, guesthouses and resorts in Ubud. I used Tripadvisor to help me select Adiwana Bisma Resort based on guest reviews and Ubud location. From Google Maps, I thought the hotel location was in town, but it was actually about a 15 minute walk from the resort on an unlighted road. It ended up that our first tour day ended at 6pm and our priorities were checking into our room, a hot shower and dinner.

We had dinner (and breakfast) at Pistachio, the on-site restaurant of Adiwana Bisma. The meals were delicious and we were entertained by Balinese dancers during dinner.

While we didn't have time to venture into the central Ubud business area, we found the Adiwana Bisma Resort a beautiful, quiet and relaxing place to stay. In fact, we wished we had additional nights at the resort. The resort staff were amazing and passionate about hospitality service. Our room was spacious, with large standalone bath tub and shower. Filtered water was provided along with a delicious welcome snack. We also enjoyed the garden view from our balcony.

Adiwana Hotels operate nine boutique properties in Bali. Five additional Adiwana resorts are under development. If you're visiting Bali, I recommend checking to see if Adiwana has a nearby location at your destination.

The resort sign from the road doesn't give a hint of the wonderful resort that is hidden from view. The resort grounds are next to a calming rice field and garden.