The perfect compliment to productive meetings and conferences is the fantastic range of activities and attractions bountiful Bali has to offer. With blue skies and warm temperatures most of the year, conference organisers or incentive planners will have no reservation including group activities in their programmes. Bali may be a great place to get a tan, but remember that there is more to the island than great beaches

Always Something to do
life times to try everything the island has to offer. From spectacular dawn climbs of smouldering volcanoes to legendary world-class surf breaks, Bali’s attractions are raved about and have earned the island its place as the world’s favorite island destination in Travel & Leisure magazine for several years running. Offshore or onshore, natural or man-made, cultural or educational, your options are covered. Being a small island, the beaches are never far away and the gamut of water-sports offered is staggering. You’ll think twice about lying on a sun-chair when you have the temptation of going windsurfing, surfing, boogie boarding, paragliding,swimming, diving, snorkelling, sea walking, sport fishing, wake boarding, jet skiing, power boating, or kite surfing – you name it and Bali’s water-sport operators have got it!

Inland, trekkers, climbers, naturalists and rafters will delight in the more mountainous regions – the vistas are astounding and the wildlife always abundant. Here you can escape from the busier south, perhaps participating in a yoga or meditation course, marvelling at a sacred waterfall, or just losing yourself in the tropical vibe of the lush rainforests.


For rafters, bungee jumpers, 4-wheel drive enthusiasts, and hang gliders, thrills and quasi-adventures abound, but the exemplary safety record of the major actionsport operators on the island suggests that most adventures are decidedly ‘soft’ and are always operated under the eyes of well-trained and experienced professionals.

A number of specialist firms are expert providers and organisers of group and team-building activities such as white-water rafting expeditions, river kayaking, mountain treks, and cycling tours; while others offer offshore excursions and activities, such as paintball competitions and high- and low-rope challenges over spectacular river canyons. Rafting through tropical rainforest on the Ayung River outside Ubud is a beguilingly safe activity that suits all ages. The shallow, winding river spills over rockfalls and narrows with stops along the shore through an Eden-like setting. Run by veteran river guides, the rapids provide enough thrills and spills to get the adrenalin levels rising.


Cycling tours are classified as ‘gentle’ adventures - essentially peaceful and enjoyable rides through rainforests, rice fields and rural areas with some strenuous sections through the hills. Guides provide useful information on the natural terrain, wildlife and the agrarian life of the areas. Numbers are flexible, making a cycling trip suitable for groups of any size.

Trekking options are plentiful with hikes of various lengths and degrees of difficulty to accommodate walkers at almost any level of fitness. Offered are easy jaunts through centuries-old irrigation systems to visit forest temples; more arduous volcano climbs, jungle treks that start before sunrise; and bird watching expeditions through picturesque river valleys. Bali’s rich variety of ecosystems makes all these options, and more, possible.

Why not opt to simply follow the leader and sit back and enjoy an informative guided tour of Bali? Guides speak a range of languages and outings usually include transport, safety gear, lunch and changing facilities. Any tour can be customized to meet the special interests of any group, which may include team-building activities, gourmet meals and cultural experiences.

It is said that there are more artisans in Bali than on any similar space on the planet, meaning that the artistically inclined visitors will easily find their creative niche. Balinese culture boasts a seemingly endless array of traditional art forms for you to try you hand at, and you can even learn on location with local village artists. Participate in a gamelan and dance workshop, carve a traditional mask, mould some pottery, or cook up a ‘spice-storm’ in a Balinese cooking class.

For those on a generous budget, why not charter a helicopter to see the dreamy island from the air? Or maybe treat your group to a Harley Davidson motorcycle tour? For a bit of friendly competition, award-winning golf courses are dotted across the island and you can choose from a number of locations, including beachside and mountain-enclave settings.

More sedentary-minded travellers may choose to a stroll around a butterfly, bird or elephant park, or simply amble through breezy rice fields in villages off the beaten track. Never fear boredom on this vibrant, fun-filled island – there will always be something new just waiting to be discovered.

Popular with small groups and conferences are evening dinner cruises in the calm confines of Bali’s Benoa Harbour with entertainment and a splendid buffet meal.

An altogether different experience is offered by several Bali-based sailing vessels. There are local cruises, some with an option to scuba-dive and snorkel, as well as idyllic evening sails - perfect for those seeking a romantic interlude afloat. Others offer sailing adventure to the archipelago’s placid eastern islands.

Cruise in wooden pinisi outfitted with modern navigational gear, specially designed and modified to make passengers as comfortable and as safe as possible on journeys around exotic destinations such as Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo, Flores and Sumba.

Surprisingly, the key part of a successful MICE event may be simply leaving the island to join one of the many safe, diversified and enjoyable short or long cruises operating out of Bali.

Those more at ease in smaller bodies of water, never fear – you can get your thrills and spills at Bali’s specialised water playgrounds and hotel pools.

Surf Mecca
Since the early 1970s, Kuta’s six-kilometre stretch of shoreline - the longest and the most beautiful in all of Bali - has to its credit a broad crescent-shaped swath of grey sand and excellent recreational waves of up to two metres, fanned and given shape by offshore winds for at least nine months of the year.

The surfing cognoscenti, however, grab their sunscreen and catapult themselves far from the madding crowd to the remote sun-drenched beaches of the Bukit on the island’s southwest tip. With its endless sunshine, perfect waves and impressive cliffs facing the menacing Indian Ocean, this dry and rocky peninsula offers some of the premier surfing spots on the planet. The Bukit’s surf breaks, which Bali is famous for, are at Uluwatu, Bingin and Padang Padang and are ‘on’ when the southeast winds blow offshore during the dry season. During the wet season (November-March) surfers prefer the eastern side of the Bukit where the wind will also be offshore. Surfing is also the big attraction of the offshore island of Lembongan, the home of one of Indonesia’s most outstanding surf breaks.

Prized surfing beaches for beginners and intermediates are Dreamland on the Bukit; Medewi in far-off Jembrana Regency, 75 kilometres (2.5 hours) west of Denpasar; Balian at Lalang Linggah 10 kilometres’ west of Antosari; and Canggu, southeast of the famed Tanah Lot sea temple.

Water-sports Unlimited
The sports mantra for Bali could well be marine sports. Water-sports enthusiasts can literally jump off the deep end and spend a day snorkelling a pristine tropical reef. The presence of so many hardcore surfers and surf shops in Kuta/Legian attests to the fact that Bali’s waves are equal to the best found anywhere in the world.

Few places combine vibrant traditional culture, scenic beauty, fine hotels and restaurants with such an extensive marine-sport infrastructure.

Water-sports companies line the gentle but shallow shorelines of Sanur and Tanjung Benoa, but the premier beginner diving and snorkelling locale is the splendidly isolated coastline around Amed in the northeast. Spectacular Menjangan reef in the northwest, with its gorgonian-covered walls, is one of the great dive locales of Southeast Asia.

Big fish scuba enthusiasts dive the island of Nusa Penida off Bali’s southeast coast or explore the eerie sunken World War II American Liberty ship at Tulamben. The wreck, which stretches vertically for over 100 metres, is inhabited by an astounding four hundred species of reef fish.

On Bali’s east coast, the bay and surrounding waters of Padangbai are excellent and reliable snorkelling and dive-spots, particularly for species you won’t see elsewhere on the island. Needless to say, Bali is internationally known among scuba divers and snorkelers for its diverse marine life, superb visibility and sensational drop-offs.

The island is also an excellent base from which to venture deeper into the archipelago for diving and sport-fishing adventures on chartered boats. Many of Bali’s hotels also offer water-sports centres with experienced instructors and first-class equipment. Reputable dive operators provide gear, tanks, wetsuits, lunch, transport, experienced diving instructors, as well as porters to and from the beach.

Bali is the ideal place to earn your PADI diving certification that takes two days, and can be taught in English, German, Spanish, French or Japanese!

More Adventure Options
Also on four legs, but somewhat closer to the ground, is a day of horse riding on a spectacular beach north of Kuta in Kerobokan. Thoroughbred, local and mixbreed horses are available for rides through rice fields, on the beach or through local villages.

There are also tandem parachute jumps, paragliding, body-boarding, wakeboarding, water- and jet-skiing, windsurfing, scuba diving, deep sea fishing, passages on tall sailing ships, mountain bike tours, and paint ball competitions. You name it, Bali’s got it all!

Explore the secret soul of the island on a in a four-wheel drive vehicle with your own driver-guide. Venture through the highland villages of Tabanan Regency; observe the planting of new rice shoots; pay a visit to an ancient quarry and a typical Balinese farmer’s compound; and top off your day with a gourmet Indonesian lunch buffet served in a restaurant deep in the rainforest.

All of Bali’s more remote areas can be visited by off-road four-wheel drive vehicles which cater for groups of up to 30. This may include a day trip up to the cool mountainous terrain of Jatuluwih on the slopes of Mount Batukaru, worlds away from the crowds of Bali’s south. For the truly bold, wander Bali’s back roads on your own in a new self-drive car or motorbike, both easily arranged by meeting planners.

Ride an Elephant
Local destination management companies may arrange a visit to Bali’s only elephant park just 30 minutes’ north of Ubud. Here is a chance to get up close and personal with one of the world’s rarest species of elephant (Elephas maximus), while enjoying a beautiful and mature tropical park, located in the village of Taro, one of the island’s oldest Hindu mountain communities. Each animal has its own name, playful character and individual temperament. Visitors may hand-feed and pet these and have their photos taken with them.
The park also serves an important educational function through its unique elephant museum and information centre where visitors learn about the animals’ ancestry and intra-species diversity through historical and cultural exhibits, informative posters, an art gallery of works actually produced by the park’s elephants, and the only full-size replica of a mammoth skeleton in the Southern Hemisphere.

Talk to the Birds
Pretend you’re Dr. Doolittle and talk with the birds at the Bali Bird Park. In fact, few people realise that only a few minutes’ drive into the countryside northeast of Denpasar is Indonesia’s finest collections of birds. More than 1200 specimens are exhibited in naturalistic enclosures amid a superbly maintained horticultural garden.
Within the park’s ample grounds are 277 bird species including such exotic creatures as cassowaries, pelicans, hornbills, radiant parrots, black palm cockatoos, stately African crown cranes, Bali’s own endangered starling and one of the world’s most extensive assemblages of birds of paradise - a species endemic to Eastern Indonesia and New Guinea.

The park has microhabitats for every species combining plants and birds of the tropical bio-systems of South America, Africa, as well as regions of Asia and Indonesia. Over sixty exhibits are displayed including two enormous walk-in aviaries containing some of the world’s most amazing tropical birds in an authentic rainforest environment.

Diverse and rare avian species are not the only exotic creatures found within the confines of the Bali Bird Park. The famous Komodo dragons, some exceeding two metres in length, also make their home here.

The attraction’s two-hectare gardens alone are worth the visit. Made up of waterfalls, lotus and water lily ponds, towering palms, and footpaths winding through hundreds of species of tropical flora, the park is in fact a vast botanical garden.

Equipped with a modern avian nursery, fully trained staff, and a resident ornithologist, the park is both a caring home for birds and an unforgettable experience for visitors of all ages. A souvenir shop displays unique arts and crafts with an emphasis on the avian and natural worlds.

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