Bali Cycling Tour Review – Bali Hai Bike Tours

Bali Cycling Tour

Best Way to Experience Rural Balinese Village Life – Bali Cycling Tour by Bali Hai Bike Tours

We stayed in Ubud on our recent trip to Bali for my birthday celebration, and one of the highlights of the trip was the Bali Cycling Tour by Bali Hai Bike Tours. It was a full day tour from 9am (pick up from our hotel in Ubud) to late afternoon about 4pm with breakfast and lunch provided for US$50 per person. However, the real cycling part was only 2 over hours as we stopped at a few places along the way. We were joined by a father & daughter pair from the U.S. on this adventure.

Luwak Coffee Plantation

Our first stop was the Coffee Plantation for Luwak Coffee (or locally known as Kopi Luwak), which is also known as the most expensive coffee in the world (about US$100-US$600 per pound or 500g). Luwak coffee is produced by coffee beans which have been digested by an Indonesian cat-like animal called the civet cat.  The faeces of this cat will be collected, processed and sold as Luwak coffee. Hence, this is also the reason why Luwak coffee is also called cat poop coffee or civet cat coffee. This might not be the most civilised coffee plantation where they locked up some of the civet cats, I hope the cats are well taken care of as I’d seen them happily eating the coffee beans non-stop when we were there.

Free Sampling of Different Flavoured Coffee
Tegallalang Rice Terraces

Next stop was the Tegallalang Rice Terraces in Ubud which is famous for its beautiful scenes of rice paddies involving the Subak (traditional Balinese cooperative irrigation system). Subak, the water management/irrigation system for paddy fields on Bali island which was developed in the 9th century is listed as a World UNESCO Site since 2012. Tegallalang forms the 3 most splendid terraced landscapes in Ubud’s shared region, with the others being in the villages of Pejeng and Campuhan. We stopped for some quick photos sessions and I absolutely loved the beautiful landscape out here.

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Tegallalang Rice Terraces
Tegallalang Rice Terraces
Breakfast With A Volcano View

We continued driving up the mountain and reached the beautiful vantage point overlooking the 2 active volcanos, Mount Batur and Mount Agung for a late breakfast. The air was chilly and the view of the volcanos was absolutely breathtaking, even on a misty morning. We had the choice of fried rice or fried noodle, and added the orange juice on our own with extra cost.

Breakfast Overlooking Mount Batur
My fried rice breakfast overlooking Mount Batur, the active volcano
Let The Fun Begins

After breakfast at 12.20pm, we were all set to go at the start off point 10 minutes away. The bikes were ready for us and Wayan, our lead guide, took us cycling through the amazing Balinese villages. Kadek, the other guide was carefully following us at the back throughout the entire journey. Wayan took us cycling through the small alleys of the local villages, mostly unpaved roads hence the mountain bikes came in handy. My favourite route was the amazing bamboo forest that we cycled through, which is located in Kubu Village, Bangli province, about 30km northeast of Ubud. Even though it was midday and the sun was out, we barely feel any heat while cycling inside the bamboo forest.

Bali Cycling Tour By Bali Hai Bike Tours
Our mountains bikes
Bali Cycling Tour By Bali Hai Bike Tours
Amazing Bamboo Forest (Screen captured from my GoPro video)
Bali Cycling Tour By Bali Hai Bike Tours
Into the Bamboo Forest (Screen captured from my GoPro video)
Bali Cycling Tour By Bali Hai Bike Tours
Backcountry cycling (Screen captured from my GoPro video)
Traditional Balinese Village – Penglipuran Village

One of the highlights of this cycling tour was the stop at the traditional Balinese village, Penglipuran. The name of the Penglipuran Village according to the mythology from the old village folks came from “Pengeling Pura” (remember with the temple), which also means” remember the ancestor”. This traditional Balinese village has barely touched by the modern world with all the symbolic Balinese architectures intact. We were invited to the locals’ houses and marvelled at their traditional bamboo kitchen (so delicate), family temples (a must for every household) and the different living areas of the household. Big Teddy even bought himself a full suit of traditional Balinese Sarong and headgear from the locals. This place is famous among tourist even the locals as we saw busloads of the Indonesia students just before we left the village.

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Bali Cycling Tour By Bali Hai Bike Tours
The traditional Balinese village, Penglipuran
Bali Cycling Tour By Bali Hai Bike Tours
A walk in the village

Up Close With The Paddy Fields

The other highlight was the cycling through the paddy field up close. We even watched how the local kids and adults bathing naked openly in the Subak water system surrounding the paddy fields. We were shown the Subak Water Temple where the locals would pray for good harvest every time before the planting and harvesting seasons. Those paddy fields and traditional water system are so astonishing, I was glad that I’d seen them up close here in Bali.

Bali Cycling Tour By Bali Hai Bike Tours
Kids bathing naked in the Subak water system
Bali Cycling Tour By Bali Hai Bike Tours
Subak Water Temple
Best Thing To Do In Ubud

We had so much fun that we didn’t realise that time had passed so quickly. By 3pm, we had come to the end of our bike tour. Lunch was arranged back in Ubud town at a restaurant right by the paddy field. With the much need coconut water and fried rice/fried noodle served for lunch, we were so glad that we did this Bali cycling tour and spent a fruitful day outside experiencing the different side of Bali that I’d never experienced before. Thank you Bali Hai Adventure Tours for hosting us on this amazing backcountry experience in Bali and I would highly recommend this Bali cycling tour for those who are looking for off beaten path activity to do in Bali.

Have you been on a Bali cycling tour or elsewhere? If yes, tell me your experience… Also, if you’re looking to plan a trip to Bali soon, find some inspirations with this guide for things to do in Bali.

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Bali Cycling Tour by Bali Hai Bike Tours
Thank you Bali Hai Bike Tours for a fun day out!

Bali Hai Bike Tours Official Website: http://www.balihaitour.com/
TripAdvisor Reviews please click here.
For Bali cycling tour booking please check http://www.balihaitour.com/booking.php
For more information, please email balihaitour@yahoo.com / balihaitour@hotmail.com

Check out my other posts on Bali here.
Do follow my adventures on Facebook here and Instagram here.


Bali Cycling Tour Review - Bali Hai Bike Tours

A big thank you to Bali Hai Bike Tour for hosting this tour. As always, all opinions are my own and I only recommend services that I’d personally use.

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13 comments

  1. oh jeez good for you for cycling. I sweat to death just walking around Bali hahah.
    I visited some coffee plantations too…the civets in cages always made me sad. I don’t think they are treated very well to be honest 🙁

  2. You had me at the bike a little, explore a little tour but wow…. I love how narrow the trail is through the bamboo forest and then going to an authentic Balinese village. Wow. This looks like so much fun.

    We did a tour through Thailand during December and loved it. Bikes are a great way to -feel- another country when you are traveling through it. We found an interesting distinction between bike tours. If you use a road bike, expect the riders to be hard core. If you use a mountain bike it’s usually mellow (unless it’s hard core)

  3. The bike tour took you to so many scenic spots along the way! It must be so nice and chill to bike through that bamboo forest! You’re so lucky to visit a traditional village – what a nice way to experience the local culture!

  4. It’s so cool that you got to see these plantations where this very special coffee comes from 😀 I love coffee but I’m not sure if I’d be up for trying it. From the photo with the free samples I assume you did? How did you like it?

  5. This looks like so much fun! I’ve been to Bali twice, but never Ubud, so it’s on the list! You got to see so much on this tour and I’m sure it was much easier than trying to walk it all! We did a similar bike tour in Vietnam and it was a blast. I just loved seeing and photographing the rice terraces there, too!

  6. I totally remember taking the same tour in Bali. I really enjoyed it. It was super fun and on our trip, my cousin tipped over and fell into the rice paddies. It was pretty hilarious! Thanks for sharing your experience

  7. The civet cats makes me so sad but otherwise, what a fun itinerary! I can’t wait to go back to Bali in a few months.

  8. Oh my gosh. I wasn’t sure about a bike tour, but 2-ish hours sounds doable. Especially when Lusaka coffee is part of the experience! AND rice terraces? I’m in!

  9. Looks like a pretty solid tour of some of the interior tourists spots on Bali. That luwak coffee is something else isn’t it? Did you like it? I thought it was damn good coffee, but hardly worth the price in my books. The other thing with these civet cats is you wanna make sure the animals are actually treated well! Just a little tip for anyone who might happen to read this 🙂

    1. I’m not a coffee person so can’t really comment on the luwak coffee. Agree with you on the civet cat treatment and their use for tourism.

  10. This looks like such a fantastic trip! I’m hoping to visit in January so definitely adding these suggestions to my bucket list. Now I just gotta learn how to ride a bike hahahaa. I’ve heard about Luwak Coffee as well. Definitely not my cup of tea (coffee) but I do hope the cats aren’t abused!

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