Bali 2011

[TomC]

7 nights at Scuba Seraya
2 nights in Ubud
all diving
all meals (except a couple in Ubud - we know a fantastic restaurant)
all transfers

all this for $ 1,250.00    Details on Trip Brochure download.

[scubafish]

I was wondering if the 2 days at Samhita Gardens Hotel were all at the end of this trip? Or one day before and one day after?

[scubafish]

I should arrive in Denpasar early afternoon  May 28.

Am I missing something? The package starts on the 27th, right? Is there a logical reason to arrive on the 28th?

[pettyje]

You are so right.  There is NO logical reason.  Thanks for pointing that out.

[pettyje]

Now then. Scheduled to arrive Denpasar the afternoon of the 26th.  Trying to take care of too many things and the dates ran together.  Glad to get that straight. Thanks.

[jrandml]

According to Tom's previous posting the two nights are the 27th and 28th.

May 27 - May 28  Arrive Bali and be picked up by Ubud hotel.  Some people will want to arrive 'days' early and at the very least, people will be on different flights.  So, we will all not arrive at the same time.  The hotel in Ubud is less than 1 hour from the airport and they will meet small groups at the airport for a minor fee.

May 29 - June 5  Scuba Seraya will pick us up as a 'group' in Ubud on May 29.  It is a 3-1/2 - 4 hour drive to Tulamben.  We will do our dive package for the next 7 nights.  Scuba Seraya will deliver us to the airport on Jun 5.  The drive to the airport is 2-1/2 - 3 hours, they will use vans and we are going to schedule several departure times.  Some of us are departing early to catch another flight to Maumere but there are those who do not need to get to the airport until much latter.

June 5 - June 15  Komodo Dancer East of Flores dive trip.  There are 5 of us who intend to go on this add-on live-abroad trip.  Anyone is welcome to join but we were not able to book this as a group trip as we could not muster the minimum number of divers.  Each person is arranging this section of the trip separately through Island Dreams.

[jrandml]

My plan is to arrive on Sunday the 22nd and do some sightseeing around Denpasar the 23 & 24th and then head to Scuba Seraya early on the 25th.
ML

[TomC]

Two nights (May 27, 28) at the Samhita Gardens hotel in Ubud + day time transfer from airport to Samhita Gardens hotel is included in the HUPS package.  On May 29th, Scuba Seraya resort will pick us up, as a group, from Samhita Gardens in Ubud and transfer us to Scuba Seraya resort.  On June 5th, Scuba Seraya resort will arrange two (2) group transfers to airport, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

All the costs for the above arrangements have been contracted and are included in the HUPS package.  Anything differing from the above arrangements will be an additional expense to you.  An exception to this statement is if you want to arrive early to Bali and go directly to Samhita Gardens hotel in Ubud, the transfer from the airport to Ubud will not cost extra.  This is what I would recommend if you want to do some Bali touring.  Ubud is an ideal location to stage day trips to the temples, rice fields, etc. 

Both Samhita Gardens hotel & Scuba Seraya resort will give us the group rate for additional nights, if consecutive with the the group nights.  However, I am not sure of the cost of transfers to / from Scuba Seraya if not part of a group transfer.  I think there will be minor additional charge if not part of group transfer.  If you want to go to Sanur or some other location - all transfers will be at your own expense. 

I will need to know what 'extras' you want  (additional nights in Ubud or Scuba Seraya).  I will have to book those nights for you.  There are other areas of Bali that also have good diving ops and we can book those too.  I can also give you the email address for the booking agent for Scuba Seraya, they appear to able to book basically anything pertaining to Bali.

At the moment, I am out of town and in a couple of hours, I will be out of the country - I will be back home in one week.

[pettyje]

Thanks for the additional details on the Bali trip. Really looking forward to that trip.

I'm going solo to Roatan the first week of Sept. if any one else is interested. Unfortunately having to go through San Pedro Sula to get to Roatan.  Having never been there any suggestions and recommendations?  

[Debbie]

OK.... I've managed to use up most of the miles in my Continental account, but I've got tickets on United & Thai Airways:  IAH-SFO-NRT-BKK-DPS  A bit convoluted, and overnight stays required in Bangkok both directions.  But, not bad times.... with layovers, 27.5 hours from Houston to Bangkok, then 22 hours back from there. 

The Thai air flight from Bangkok puts us into Bali at 2:15 in the afternoon of 5/26 (we're coming in a day early and plan to spend the next day at a spa).  It departs Bali at 4 pm on 6/5, so plenty of time to get to the airport from the resort.

2 tickets for 250,000 miles and $140 in taxes.... with everything except the flights to SFO in business class.

[scubafish]

Debbie,
 Are you going to the spa day on the 26th or 27th? The package starts the following day that you arrive?
 
Looks like we will be getting in at 19:10 on the 26th too. Are you guys getting a room close to the airport or going on to Ubud on the 26th one night early?

[Debbie]

I'm thinking we'll just go on to Ubud one night early, and do our spa day there on 5/27.  Have you seen David Lenderman's picture of his feet in a tub surrounded by flowers?  I think the spa that was taken at is someplace in Ubud.  I want to spend the day there being totally pampered........!

[scubafish]

I remember the picture well... Looking forward to it...

[jrandml]

The spa in Ubud is the Zen Bali Spa.  They have a website if you want to check out their services and make a reservation.  Very nice facility.  Several Hupsters have visited the spot.

[Debbie]

I checked it out..... that's exactly what I'm looking for!!!

At current exchange rates, you could have one of everything - - massage, body scrub, floral bath, facial, manicure, pedicure - - and your bill would under $60.

And, it looks convenient to our hotel.

[Debbie]

Since I couldn't make the meeting tonight (I'm in Portland on business), I've been researching spas in Ubud.  The Zen Bali Spa (www.zenbalispa.com) seems to get very mixed reviews from folks on Trip Advisor.  Some really liked it, some thought the staff a bit standoffish and the place a bit dirty.

Other places that got more uniformly high reviews include: 

SANg Spa (yes...that's how they write it... http://sangspa.blogspot.com).  They have a 5 hour treatment package for 430,000 Rp (about $47)

Karma Spa (www.karmaspaubud.com)  Considerably more expensive relatively speaking (but still a ton cheaper than here!)  A 5 hour package is 995,000 Rp (about $112).  The 4 hour package includes a 4 handed massage.... 795,000 Rp.  Or you can just have the massage - two therapists for 90 minutes for 400,000 Rp ($45).