In a nutshell
- Bali is seriously beautiful — but also seriously popular. The well-known highlights on Bali are almost always packed with tourists.
- The good news: for every crowded attraction, there’s a cool alternative that almost nobody knows about.
- For example, we did a secret waterfall canyon tour and had the entire route completely to ourselves.
- In this article we share all 8 of our favorite Bali hidden gems — complete with Google Maps links so you can find them easily. Just keep them between us, okay?
Our Insider Tips on Bali on a Map
On the map you can see exactly where our Bali hidden gems are located. No matter where your road trip through Bali takes you and which region of Bali you stay in, there’s always a secret spot nearby.
Some of these off-the-beaten-track insider tips aren’t the easiest to find. That’s why we’ve included a Google Maps link for every single one.
Secret Waterfall Tour at Goa Rang Reng Waterfall
Location: to Google Maps
Admission: 20,000 IDR / about 1 euro; the secret tour is donation-based
The Goa Rang Reng Waterfall is honestly a bit underwhelming compared to other waterfalls on Bali. That’s exactly why it doesn’t draw huge tourist crowds — and that’s not even the main reason it’s one of our top secret spots on Bali for your trip to Bali.
At the waterfall, there’s a tour where you hike a riverbed through a canyon with a guide to three other hidden waterfalls. Only 25 visitors per day are allowed on the tour — which is how we ended up completely alone with our guide in the canyon for the entire thing.
The waterfalls themselves weren’t jaw-dropping. But what really won us over was having the place completely to ourselves and soaking up the nature and the little adventure in total peace. You even have to swim a few meters, and you can jump off a rock into the water — if you dare.
Get there as early as possible to snag one of the limited spots. You can’t book the tour in advance — it’s a secret, after all. And the morning light is much better for photos.
Our Extra Tip: Chat a bit with the guides at the entrance to the Goa Rang Reng Waterfall. They’ll fill you in on the secret tour. You’re not allowed to do it alone — a guide is required.
Day Trip to Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan
Location: to Google Maps
Cost: 7–8 euros for the ferry tickets to the islands
Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan are the small, lesser-known sisters of Nusa Penida. They sit between Nusa Penida and Bali, about a 30-minute boat ride from the mainland.
The two islands are connected by a bridge, so you can easily explore both in a single outing.
On Nusa Lembongan and Ceningan you’ll find a genuinely laid-back island vibe. There are few tourists, long sandy beaches with beach bars, and a handful of small sights.
Both islands are perfect for a day trip from Nusa Penida or Bali. You can hit all the highlights in one day and then just relax on the beach afterward.
Our Extra Tip: Secret Point Beach. It’s on Nusa Ceningan and is a beautiful little beach with almost nobody on it. Like a hidden gem within a hidden gem.
Read more about Nusa Lembongan and Ceningan:
Sweet Orange Walk
Location: to Google Maps
Admission: free
The Sweet Orange Walk is our favorite highlight in Ubud and one of the most beautiful rice fields on Bali in our opinion.
The rice fields sit right in the middle of the city. Picture this: you walk away from the loud, chaotic streets packed with scooters and people, turn down a small, inconspicuous alley (to Google Maps), and suddenly you’re surrounded by green rice fields. Everything goes quiet. There’s no one else around — just a few rice farmers.
A small trail winds through the fields. The walk takes about 30 minutes. A fun detail: the path is made of concrete slabs with little messages written on them.
Our Extra Tip: About halfway along the path you’ll pass the Sweet Orange Warung, a small Indonesian restaurant. Definitely stop in for a break. It has a really cool atmosphere, with coconut-carved faces hanging everywhere.
Amed and the East of Bali
Location: to Google Maps
Cost: free
The old Bali still exists — you just have to know where to look. Amed is one of those places. This fishing village in eastern Bali is seriously versatile, beautiful, and peaceful.
The area has it all: dark and light sand beaches, great snorkeling, vast rice fields, lush green mountains, and a coastal road with stunning vistas.
Amed is especially popular with snorkelers and divers. You won’t find parties here, and there are no tourist crowds either. Instead, there’s real peace and quiet — Amed is still a relatively unknown destination, which makes it one of the best secret spots on Bali to add to your list.
Water Slide Lemukih
Location: to Google Maps
Admission: 20,000 IDR / about 1 euro
What could possibly be cooler than a natural water slide through the jungle that most tourists on Bali don’t even know exists? Yeah, we thought the same thing — and of course we had to try it immediately.
It’s about 50 meters long and an absolute blast. You sit on an old scooter tire, get water shoes and a helmet, and off you go. You really pick up speed, which is exactly what makes it so much fun. At the bottom you land in a small pool and climb back out onto dry land.
When we visited, we didn’t run into a single other tourist. We paid the entrance fee to the owner and were free to slide as many times as we wanted until we ran out of energy. The owner even took photos and videos for us.
And right around the water slide are idyllic rice terraces you can walk through once your adventure is done.
Our Extra Tip: The drive there is a bit tricky. Touts standing along the road will try to push overpriced tours on you. Enter Warung Kubu (to Google Maps) as your destination and drive straight past them — don’t stop even if someone calls out to you. Eventually a Water Slide sign will show you when to turn left. After that, just follow the road to the Water Slide.
Nunggalan Beach
Location: to Google Maps
Admission: free; 5,000 IDR / 30 cents parking fee
Around the Bukit Peninsula and especially near Uluwatu, the beaches are almost always busy. But Nunggalan Beach, at the very southern tip of the Bukit Peninsula, hasn’t been discovered by many yet.
To get there, you hike down the steep cliff for about half an hour via rock steps and through forest. That’s probably exactly why it’s still one of Bali’s best-kept secrets.
The beach is completely empty. You’ll relax on golden sand, and you can even spot an old shipwreck. It’s great for swimming and surfing, very clean, and there’s a drinks stand too.
Car Temple on Nusa Penida
Location: to Google Maps
Admission: donation-based
What makes Pura Paluang on Nusa Penida so unusual are its two car statues — which is why it’s often called the Car Temple.
The statues were built into the temple before there were even any cars on the island. That makes the whole thing pretty bizarre, since nobody really knows why they’re there.
We visited completely without any other tourists around, so it’s still a genuine under-the-radar spot on Bali.
That said, we wouldn’t make a special trip just for the temple. The upside is that one of Nusa Penida’s biggest must-sees — Kelingking Beach — is right next door. If you’re visiting the beach anyway, the Car Temple is the perfect place to decompress after the crowded viewpoint. It’s only 5 minutes on foot.
Our Extra Tip: On the way from the viewpoint to the temple, there’s a second viewpoint that almost nobody visits. You only see the T-Rex head from behind, but the panorama is still great.
Eating a Sweet Martabak
Location: at street stalls and in warungs
Cost: around 30,000–70,000 IDR (2–4 euros)
Our last tip is especially for those with a serious sweet tooth: a sweet martabak. It’s incredibly unhealthy, extremely sweet, and absolutely delicious.
Think of it as an extra-thick pancake topped with chocolate sprinkles, a milk cream, and peanuts, then folded in half. A pure flavor explosion — and incredibly affordable.
