Bali: Culture & Coastlines

A warm welcome: Bali is known for its warm atmosphere with friendly personalities and smiling faces. Meet your local Trip Leader and the people who'll be beside you as you hike mountains, try new foods and create memories sprinkled with inside anecdotes.

Sunset dinner: names swapped and bags dropped, witness your first sunset of the trip. You know it's a moment that changes your brain chemistry when you can't tear your eyes away. Then: grubs up. What local dish do you hope to see on the menu tonight?

Caffeinated start: coffee calls! At a local plantation, farmers will explain a coffee's journey from bean to cup. It adds more flavour to every sip when you see the place where it's grown.

Uncover Ubud: you've got four nights here. Get the local's view (and your bearings) during a walking tour of Ubud with your Trip Leader. You'll visit: Ubud Palace, Ubud Art Market and the town centre. What you learn? Only your Trip Leader can say.

Roll back the clock: who's calling shotgun for today's ride in a 1970s VW convertible? Split yourselves into small(er) groups and tumble into the car for a day filled with some stops you won't see coming (if your hair's whipping your face!).

Not-so-secret stops: only because we're about to tell you. You've heard of the Emerald City; now witness the emerald tiers of Jatiluwih rice terraces. Then, seek a temple hidden from the usual tourism track.

Lunch cooks assemble: meet a local family who's starting your day with a cooking class. Vibrant spice pastes, generational techniques and a peaceful place to sharpen your culinary skills? Done. After: plate up your creations and eat.

Spiritual purification: ever wanted to be cleansed of your demons? This afternoon could be the highlight of your entire trip. Take part in a melukat which removes stress and negativity from your body as you step into a rippling body of water. A moment to connect with yourself, your trip mates and Bali's spirit.

Headlamps on: alarms ringing before sunrise is the sign of an activity that makes you sick with excitement. Stretch those quads and calves and stuff your feet into sturdy shoes because a local guide's taking you to the top of Mount Batur.

Summit sunrise: after racing against the sun, pulling each other up some slightly steep terrain and seeing only a few steps in front of you, huddle together on Mount Batur's peak. Sunlight spilling over Lake Batur, this might be your new favourite sunrise. That nap by the pool after: deserved.

Fall for a waterfall: a narrow stream with big impact, Leke Leke Waterfall deserves a moment of awe-filled silence. We head there in the morning to avoid the not-so-silent crowds.

Row, row, row: oars up on a slow (perhaps dawdling, but that's okay!) canoe across the calm, sacred waters of Lake Tamblingan, surrounded by ancient temples. Test your team building skills, and if you fall in? That's a story to tell at every future party you attend.

Coastal captivation: ready to relax? Lovina's a good place to start. Crashing waves that lull you to sleep, a mix of flavours in restaurants dotted along the beach and a resort hotel with a pool overlooking the ocean.

Dolphin spotting: this morning's activity is worth every yawn on a local fisherman's boat as you bob out to sea before sunrise. Surrounded by nothing but lapping waves, keep your eyes peeled as dolphins flaunt high energy levels under pink skies.

Later, your way: with hours of free time to do more of what you came for, take relaxation to the next level on one of the poolside sun loungers at the hotel. Or settle in a beachfront restaurant for hours of snacking and story-swapping with a view.

Morning pedal: cycling solo is fun, but cycling with friends is an opportunity for giggles and glistening eyes. A local guide will take the group through Pemuteran Village. What to spot? Market life, powder-soft beaches and crinkled faces plastered with smiles.

Later, your way: after arriving, stay at the hotel for a long, languid sunbathe. Organise an afternoon of (competitive) beach games. Or gather the group and head to an eco-friendly restaurant; some even grow their own produce.

Under the sea: pinks and lilacs, yellows and oranges... colours so vibrant in reefs so clear, you might repeatedly wipe your snorkel goggles in disbelief during this morning's boat trip to secluded islands off the coast of Pemuteran.

Lunch at leisure: we've sorted lunch for you on Menganjan Island today! Swap your favourite moments from snorkelling and then, go in search of Menjangen's residents and namesake: wild deer. If you spot any, grab a selfie and let us know!

Coast to Canggu: buy snacks, grab water and have your current watch or read ready to go. Travelling from Menjangan to Canggu takes roughly three and a half hours with a few stops to stretch your legs.

Later, your way: things to do in Canggu? Fall onto a beach beanbag. Check out the surfers as they spin through waves on their boards. Pick one of the coffee shops made for socials. Or ask your Trip Leader for insider tips other tourists won't know about.

For Final farewell: go on, wear the outfit you've been saving to show off sun-kissed skin for your last dinner together. Between bursts of local flavour, share the moments that shaped the trip, and shaped you too. Tonight's sunset: a bittersweet memory.

Reunion promises: the trip may be over, but the connections you've made will stick with you – in the lyrics-to-your-favourite-song kind of way, not the bugs-caught-in-fly-traps kind of way. You can always break the rules, make spontaneous plans and extend your trip together, if you wanted...