When most people envision a honeymoon, they think of days on the beach drinking cocktails and watching epic sunsets. Jon and I are both adventurers at heart, so we knew that we couldn’t do a honeymoon that was soley relaxing at the beach. We both knew we’d get stir crazy somewhere like the Maldives. When we planned our honeymoon, we wanted to ensure we had a mix of adventure and relaxation. It was important to us to still get that beachy honeymoon experience, but also to visit somewhere with history and culture.
Enter Bali – the ultimate honeymoon destination for a mix of adventure and leisure. The first half of our Bali honeymoon was spent in Ubud learning about Balinese culture and eating local food. The second half was in Jimbaran Bay, where we totally relaxed and enjoyed some of the most epic sunsets.
Keep reading for a full Jimbaran Bay honeymoon guide, including why we chose to stay there for the second half of our trip. And you can read about the Ubud portion of our honeymoon here.
Xx, Kelsey
JIMBARAN BAY HONEYMOON GUIDE
WHY WE CHOSE JIMBARAN BAY
Choosing a destination within Bali is so hard because there are so many varied, incredible places. When deciding on the second half of our honeymoon, we had a few criteria. 1) We wanted the beach to be easily accessible. Areas like Uluwatu have incredible beaches, but they require trips up and down flights of stairs. 2) We wanted to stay at a resort that still had an authentic Balinese feel. There are many big resort compounds on the Bukit penninsula, but they feel like a hotel you could find anywhere in the world. 3) We wanted to still have that luxe honeymoon experience.
I can’t write this Jimbaran Bay guide without raving about the incredible beach. Think of an endless stretch of fine white sand, warm, shallow water, and sunsets that will take your breath away. A series of resorts dot the shore and boast private beach fronts. At the end, beachfront restaurants cook up fresh fish caught that morning.
The Bukit Peninsula is known for having more sunshine than any other part of the island. Even though it was rainy season, we had four days of straight sunshine. While the bay is very close to the airport (you can see planes landing all day), it doesn’t take away from the feeling of paradise. Jimbaran Bay does lack some of the cultural feel of Ubud. However, the long white-sand beach is so stunning, and it’s much quieter than Seminyak or Canggu.
WHERE WE STAYED
We stayed at the Jimbaran Puri Belmond Hotel, which was perfect for this part of the trip. It’s a slightly bigger property with more of the traditional beach resort feel, yet still in an authentic Balinese style. Each room is a private villa, and the property has it’s own private beach. The pool is also gorgeous with cabanas available for guests all day long. We didn’t love the food here as much as our Ubud hotel, but it was still very good! Because of this hotel’s location, there aren’t many restaurants or things to do located within walking distance, other than the incredible beach. We spent most of our time on the resort (and were totally happy with that)!
I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about the service in this Jimbaran Bay honeymoon guide. The staff was incredibly kind and treated us so well. We were welcomed with fresh juice, offered a round of cocktails, and everyone went out of their way to congratulate us on our marriage. This is where we really felt like newlyweds celebrating our new life together.
WHERE WE ATE & DRANK
The Belmond – Jon and I aren’t usually the kind of people who spend a lot of time at our resort, but Jimbaran Bay isn’t an area with a lot of restaurants that are easily accessible. We ended up eating at our hotel for most lunches and a few dinners. The food wasn’t as good as our Ubud hotel but still enjoyable!
Rock Bar – This place is in all the Jimbaran Bay guides, so I had our hotel book us an evening reservation. It’s a bar built onto the cliffside about halfway between Uluwatu and Jimbaran Bay. We had high hopes due to all the positive reviews and the epic views, but this place was the worst! It was so touristy, so crowded, and the food and wine were awful. We had one drink and an appetizer and left.
Scusa Restaurant – We ended up grabbing dinner at this spot after our disappointing Rock Bar experience, since it was within the Ayana resort complex. The Ayana resort feels like any other big resort that you’d find in Florida or Hawaii, so the food wasn’t anything to write home about. However we were super happy to be inside in the air conditioning, since most restaurants are outdoors.
Lucky Fish Lounge – We spent a day exploring Ubud and popped down to Bingin Beach to check out this fish spot. It’s billed as a lounge, but it’s really more of a beach shack with some seating. Now let me tell you, this was some of the best fish I’ve ever had. When you arrive, you walk up to the men at the grill and pick your fish from their cooler. It’s all fresh, caught probably an hour beforehand. They grill it right there and give you a plate with rice and veggies. Absolutely worth it and super affordable!
Drifter Surf Shop – We had a juice and an iced coffee here, and it was some of the best coffee we had on the island. It’s also a great place for vegan and gluten-free options.
Jimbaran Beach Fish Restaurants – There’s a stretch at the end of Jimbaran Beach with a dozen different fish restaurants where they’ll cook you fresh fish caught that day in the bay. We didn’t end up going since we’d gone to Lucky Fish, but it looked amazing.
WHAT WE DID
Lounged by the beach/pool – As I mentioned earlier in this Jimbaran Bay honeymoon guide, this part of our trip was all about relaxation. Most days we started at the beach, reading and taking a dip. Around lunchtime when the temps started to climb and the sand was too hot for my city feet, we’d move to the epic pool. Jimbaran Puri had some really fabulous cabanas for two that we’d lounge on all day long.
Paddle boarding – One of the nice things about our hotel was that they offered up paddle boards and other beach equipment for free. We only went out one morning, but it was so fun to spend some time out on the calm water and get in a little exercise.
Massages – I spoke about this in my Ubud post, but massages are a MUST do in Bali. They’re incredibly affordable and so good. We did a couple’s massage at the Belmond. It wasn’t quite as good as the ones we got in Ubud (and a little pricier), but still totally worth it. We also swung by a smaller spa in Jimbaran Bay to experience one of the super cheap Bali massages. It wasn’t nearly as good as the hotel one, but the price couldn’t be beat!
New Years Eve – We were in Jimbaran Bay for New Years Eve, which was incredibly special. We decided to stay at the hotel for the night given how bad Bali traffic is. While I loved the idea of a beach bar party, Jon and I knew we’d be miserable if we had to spend 2 hours getting home. In the end, it was the right decision. The Belmond threw a super fun dinner party with local Indoensian dance performances, live music, and fireworks on the beach. Jimbaran Bay is also a popular destination for NYE, and the beach was full of people shooting off fireworks all evening long.
Uluwatu day trip – Jon and I started getting restless after two beach days, so we booked a car with Grab and headed to Uluwatu to explore. It took about 40 minutes to get from our hotel to Uluwatu. Once there, we explored the various shops and then made our way to Bingin Beach for lunch. Unfortunately we weren’t super prepared and didn’t have towel to swim at Bingin Beach. It was so beautiful and less crowded than some of the other popular beaches, like Padang Padang. I’d love to go back and snorkel there. I also would not have minded checking out a spa because they looked really nice and very affordable in Uluwatu.
Uluwatu Temple boat tour – This is the one part of our Jimbaran Bay honeymoon guide I was most excited to experience. We had planned a boat to the cliffside temple during sunset but ended up having to cancel due to the tides. The hotel was very accommodating and offered to take us to another bay, but we decided to spend more time in Uluwatu instead. I’m still bummed we didn’t see the temple, but it’s just another reason to visit again!
IS JIMBARAN BAY WORTH IT?
Absolutely! If you’re looking to add some relaxation into your trip, I highly recommend Jimbaran Bay. It’s close to the airport, and you can easily visit other areas of the Bukit Peninsula by car. The beach is absolutely stunning, and the Jimbaran Puri Belmond hotel was a total dream.
If you’re looking to learn more about Bali, check out my Ubud guide which dives deeper into some pro-tips for visiting Bali and some incredibly cool things to do.
