Bali: Monkey Forest, Taman Ayun, Tanah Lot Temple Tour

I loved the variety of sites... art venue what we wanted to see..(painting wood carving or silver/gold)..then to coffee/ tea house. 2.temples flexible with time..then was eager to please. Friendly honest and informative Professional and fun

Our guide was excellent. A word of caution about the Monkey Forest. You have a guide (separate from the tour) that takes you around the forest (which isn’t a forest). The place is not in good condition. At the end the guide forces you to visit their shop and puts on a sob story about how they are unpaid and only occasionally are chosen to be a guide. I do not appreciate this method. There is also a pretty hard sell to take picture with the fruit bats at an additional charge. The temples and grounds were lovely.

Good trip although the guide we had was still learning english and it was hard to understand what he was saying

Went to monkey forest via Buffalo Tours. What a great place, monkeys are SO tame. You are advised at start of tour not to look monkeys in eye, as this means a challenge to them. The monkeys are, apparently, fed six times a day so do not try and scrounge food off visitors. There is also a show available to attend where they tell an ancient story. Was certainly a trip not to miss - fabulous!

I came out as a lone traveller to Bali so I essentially had a private guided tour! My local guide was very knowledgeable and friendly, so the day passed very quickly. In addition to explaining the different places we went to, he spoke about the religion and politics of the area (I knew very little about Hinduism and he was very good at explaining it), and the history of Bali and its colonisation. I'm very glad I booked a tour rather than trying to get to the sites by myself, and would definitely recommend this tour to anyone visiting Bali!

Really enjoyed visiting the monkey forest, watching them was incredible. But what is wrong with people? The amount of litter absolutely everywhere was completely disgusting, such a shame that a people are so disrespectful and b the park does not employ people to pick this litter up. They were more worried about selling you a photo with a monkey sitting on your shoulder than anything else. Apart from that it was great to watch these amazing animals especially the babies of which there were many. Definitely worth a visit but you’ll have to turn a blind eye to the litter.

Very friendly and professional tourist guide, the tour was a total pleasure and the wife was very happy ! Would recommend to anyone visiting Bali, it's the highlight of our trip !

<p>Great day out, although Tanah Lot is so very busy so we weary of that! But that's no reflection on the professionalism of the guides on the day</p>

Great day with our guide. He was very knowledgeable. The monkeys were awesome. At Tanah Lot our guide had us wait as everyone left after the sun had set to see the thousands of bats that flew out of the caves along the shore. Book for sure it was great.

When he arrived at the temple to meet us, he didn't even know our itinerary. He asked one of us to pull up our complete itinerary for him to see. We went through the entire temple in about 20 minutes. During the entire time, he would periodically be chatting on his cellphone. He dropped us off at the monkey temple and stayed on the car as we went through the site. He discouraged us from going to Tanah Lot because the sunset would've not been very visible due to the cloudy weather. We went anyway but he barely gave us a tour. He just walked us through the site and answered a couple questions we had. Never did he actively try to expound knowledge upon us. He seemed lazy and unwilling to work.

Fun place to visit with family. Beautifly set park which gives an opportunity to see many monkeys at their very relaxed mood and in a beautiful atmosphere. Park has lots of staff around so it's easy to get guidance and find your way around. it's a large area so get comfy shoes and enjoy the visit. I would recommend this cool place for sure. But don't carry water or food, monkeys will approach you with no warnings.

It’s a must see place the most well behaved monkeys I’ve ever seen wondering around the forest of their own! I was skeptical at first from reading some reviews about some negative remarks about the monkeys but I’m thankful I went to see for myself! It’s a beautiful forest where monkeys call it their own kingdom!

In the forest itself it is very beautiful, but the monkeys themselves are not so friendly, especially the big ones, thank God no one monkey did not jump on our head, otherwise I think it would not be very pleasant, they fight among themselves sometimes that looks too scary, I would not advise going there with small children and would not go there a second time, but little monkey kids are very cute and safe.

<p>Great tour - but be aware that the ladies selling things at the end are kinda pushy</p>

Took an independent guided tour here earlier today. What an amazing place👍 Buy some small bananas off the guides and the monkeys will love you and happily scoot with them for a bite to eat👍 Great place to go, - just be mindful of the rules within the Monkey Forest however.

This tour was awesome! I had such a good time on it, partly because of our guide and mostly because of the other travelers on the tour. They kept things interesting to say the least. Our driver was such a good sport about it though! The monkeys were the highlight of the tour and are very eager to be around you. Kind of scary but also exciting if you've never been around roaming monkeys before. It's a must do while visiting Bali.

<p>Very long tour because of terrible traffic jams in Bali. The tour and travel took nearly 6 hours. The monkey forest was not really very worthwhile. The Messi Temple was worthwhile, but the Tanah Lot was spectacular. Unfortunately for us we got there in a wind and rain storm.</p>

What a crazy place.... The Monkeys are quite cheeky.. . Our Guide was very knowledgeable .... Recommend this place to any one who has never had contact with these little Monkeys and of course the Cultural experience

i went this garden with our tour leader , is very beautiful place , monkey was every where , you shouldn't look at monkey eyes because they come to you and touch you and never give them food too . they live there free , i recommend this garden to see. یکی ارباغهای زیبایی که میشه دید باغ میمونها هست - دم درب ورودی نوشته شده که بهشون غذا ندیدوتوچشمشون نگاه نکنید چون خیلی شیطون هستند و میان طرفتون وممکنه بترسید - میتونید عکسای قشنگی اینجا بگیرید - بهتون دیدن این جا رو پیشنهاد میکنم -

<p>Enjoyed seeing the monkeys and temple. Tour guide too invasive.</p>

<p>If you like animals this was a fun tour. Bought bananas to feed the monkeys. Monkeys throughout the forest vying to be fed a banana. Great opportunities for photo taking. Temple was interesting.</p>

<p>We were picked up from the hotel then stopped first at a traditional Balinese farm for the fried tapioca and sweet potato. It was an opportunity to go to the toilet on what ended up being a lot of time spent on the road in a minibus. It was time that probably could have been better spent on the rest of the tour though as we must have been there for at least forty-five minutes. Mengwi Temple was beautiful but quite rushed. You had to chose between keeping up with the tour guide to hear what he had to say or taking photos, we opted for the latter. At the monkey forest and Tanah Lot you are left to your own devices to wander around and get a lot more time to explore. There are two monkey forests in the area and from what we heard the one we went to wasn't the better of the two. The monkeys are equally cute and mischievous. The swarms of flies were annoying. Bring lots of insect repellant. At the end of the tour there was a row of stalls and shops where it got awkward, with some particularly pushy hawkers. We got to watch the sun going down at Tanah Lot and it was beautiful, but be prepared for the fact that this is probably the most popular tourist spot on Bali and you will have to fight your way through huge crowds. Doing a guided tour in that kind of environment is impossible, so allowing people to do their own thing is the best approach. The tour guide spent most of the time talking on the minibus about local religious beliefs. I don't know if this was preplanned or because an American woman asked him a number of questions about it, but I would've liked to have learnt a bit more about the places we were visiting. Overall the trip was very light on historical detail. The driver and guide were friendly, but if you are picked up first expect to be dropped off last. By Western standards this was a cheap trip, but by Balinese it was overpriced. Make sure your bring plenty of your own water and small denomination notes to pay to use toilets. We managed to book the tour very last minute, so it was great in that regard, but if you have the time to find something a bit more personalised I'd recommend doing so.</p>

<p>Lotsa monkeys, you get up close and feed them peanuts.</p>

<p>Our guide was lovely, informative, and patient. This monkey forest we found out has the monkey temple as well which is kinda cool. It also has the only area of monkeys that are calm. A good one for kids. I understand the monkeys in the other monkey forests can be dangerous and mean (FYI)!!</p>

<p>Tour very good, went to beautiful places and our tour guide and driver were very nice, it says average time 5/6 hours but we got picked up at 1.30 and didnt get home till about 9 it took a long time to get home.</p>

<p>Unfortunately I can only rate part of the tour as we did no get to complete the itinerary due to poor planing, bad traffic,and added stops that took time. Pickup was on time and driver and our guide were cordial and knowledgeable, but early unscheduled stops kept us from sunset at Tanah Lot. Sad!!!</p>

<p>The tour guide was brilliant and informative. We had a very productive day driving around with someone who knew the area. You do feel rather pressured in the first part of the day, as the shops / workshops you visit are clearly after your money and unless you have good haggling skills or know what your money can get you, it's a rather unpleasant experience as you don't want to offend but don't want to be ripped off. The food section was slightly odd, but a welcome refresher. The Coffee Plantation was great- at first sight it looks like the animals are being badly treated in cages, but I was encouraged to see a rescued bat with a broken wing being looked after. You get a platter of different coffee at the end, and you are given the hard sell- however we felt happy to purchase something as you got something from them too. The Water Temple was good to see, but if you are going to another temple on your own, there's not much need for it. The Monkey Forest isn't as I first thought the one in Ubud but further south. Here you are assigned a guide who carries a stick to ward off any angry monkeys. We were fine. However at the end, and probably the most unpleasant part of the tour, we were ushered into her closed up stall where she locked us in and tried to force us to buy something. We didn't, and felt suddenly very unwelcome. In hindsight, I would have bought something small so would advise this. Tanah Lot was great, but busy, and we made it just in time before the sun went completely.</p>

<p>Amazing tour. Great tour guide and very informative!</p>

<p>This day started out with a visit to a water temple -- very lovely. Then we got talking about the luwak -- mongoose -- that is part of the coffee-making process, so our guide Darta took us to a nearby coffee plantation that had a tame luwak, which we could pet and hold! This was not part of the tour, but we had lots of fun with the mongoose and looking around the plantation. Next was the monkey forest -- lots of monkeys, which we photographed, but did NOT touch! We did hold some fruit bats and had photos taken in traditional Balinese outfits! That was cool.. Then we were talked into buying some stuff from our monkey forest guide, which we wouldn't have bought and which took too much time. We then quickly zoomed to Tanah Lot, where we arrived almost too late for the sunset. The tide was out, so we could walk all over the rocks and tide pools, and it was very picturesque. Just wish we could have gotten there sooner. Very fun day!</p>

<p>The monkey forest is really touristy and a bit overrated. The guide takes you to their shop and you feel compelled to buy something which was a bit annoying. The temple was stunning! Tanah lot is definitely worth going to. It's beautiful and we had some great pictures. It is busy though!</p>

<p>Good tour but We felt rushed as it was only half a day. Our guide didn't have the best English but was very knowledgeable about where we were and made a good effort to explain things to us. he also knew the best view points so although we didn't have much time I felt he made the best of what we had</p>

<p>Tour guide and accommodations were great. As there were only three of us on the tour, the attention we received made the tour even better. I also appreciated this tour because it took us to the less populated Monkey Forest Sanctuary - as there are two of them - where we received a private guide that allowed us to closely interact with the monkeys.</p>

<p>Fantastic! Also included stops to a jewelry studio, coffee plantation, and a local rice plantation that served us fried tapioca and sweet potatoes. The guide went above and beyond, I learned so much about Bali. Thank you!</p>

<p>our guide was fantastic, very friendly and told us a lot about history and customs of Bali.the only thing wrong with this tour is the bali monkey forest which is not the Ubud monkey forest. you do not enter any forest its more like a carpark and found the monkeys here a bit agressive</p>

<p>Tanah Lot was very interesting but we didn't get a chance to get close to it or go in it. The Bali monkey forest was ok but did not like the part in the end where they bring you to vendors in hopes of buying something. It was raining too hard to see the Mengwi Temple so that was a waste of time.</p>

<p>Monkey forest is nice enough, temple is okay, tanah lot all right, but all not a necessary part of Bali. A good afternoon tour though if you want to get out for a while.</p>

<p>Great view on Tanah Lot....good experience with the praying moments in the temple.The othe stops were not that great. Rice terrance is not the one in Ubud. This one you do not see the terraces...very little. The monkey forest is not the same than Ubud one.....you do not see many thing in here.</p>

<p>This was a nice tour, worth spending an afternoon on. At the monkey forest not the main one, one in Ubud is better by miles and a must-see a shop owner took us around maybe 15-20mins before taking us back to her shop where we were obliged to buy something. We even offered a donation, but in the end had to buy an extortionate badly-made wooden monkey! Mengwi Temple was really beautiful and our guide explained as best he could, English wasn't great a bit about what the different structures represent and some of the history. We arrived at Tanah Lot much too early to be worth staying for the sunset, so had a wander about then left. Perhaps we didn't spend enough time at other areas beforehand, but it was so busy we weren't too bothered. It is a beautiful place, and I imagine especially so at sunset, but wasn't much to actually see there and incredibly busy with other tourists. Our guide was nice, and tried to give information where he could, but the language barrier was unfortunate. He did also take us for a traditional snack at a rice field, which was a nice extra.</p>

<p>Monkey forest was a bit of a disappointment and we were taken round quickly (ie 5 mins) then pressurised into buying items for the guides shop.<br/> Coffee plantation good, temple was nice to see and walk around.<br/> Our guide was good and very passionate about Bali.</p>

<p>A good halfday tour for tourists who wants to maximize their stay in Bali but beware the traffic situation could be bad and the time spent in transit could be longer than the tour itself.</p>

<p>Had a wonderful experience on this tour! the tour guide was knowledgeable, spoke good English, and was flexible with the itinerary. would definitely recommend!</p>

<p>Our guide was out of this world fantastic. We went on a sunday, which we didn't realize wasn't the best day for the guides as there are religious obligations in the morning. That said, we were the only ones on the tour and i don't know if our guide took us at all off the beaten path, but we thought he may have taken us to some extra spots. It was an absolute blast. First stop was a local thread factory, where you have time to shop although this will be the priciest shopping probably in all of Bali, then a jewelry village also very expensive but you can negotiate to an extent. After that it was a bit of a longer drive to Mengwi Temple, which is just gorgeous. Then a local rice farm/coffee shop before Tanah Lot. if you don't want to get stuck in hours of traffic, ask your guide to time it right where you see the sun beginning to set at Tanah lot but don't stay for the whole duration as it is insanely crowded. I definitely recommend this day! The scenery even during the drive was amazing. It was a fun-filled day completely full of culture. Highly recommend!</p>

<p>The tour was good although there were some stops included which were not mentioned initially when I booked this tour i.e: coffee plantation, which in my case was an unnecessary stop and meant that we missed out on enjoying more time at Tanah Lot Temple which I would have preferred. The other couple I shared the car with also agreed on this. Lucky that I asked the driver to put his foot down in order to reach the temple for Sunset, otherwise we totally would have missed out on that experience as well. Other than that, pleased with the experience.</p>

<p>Everything was fabulous especially our wonderful guide Putra!</p>

<p>This trip was a lot of driving between the three major activities... and was intersperced with multiple shopping stops Batik, Silver, Art, even coffee beans. So much time was spent on the shopping stops that it permitted much less time at the actual places we had wanted to see. Our guide was pleasant but not very talkative. If you wanted to know something, you were expected to ask. It was great to see the temples, but that can be easier done without all the unwanted shopping. However, if you also like to shop, this is the tour for you!</p>

<p>Fantastic guide, took us to many places along the way to the monkey temple. Beautiful sunset at Tanah lot</p>

<p>I was the only one of the tour which was disappointing. did not like visiting the factories as felt obliged to buy. overall ok</p>

<p>Started off quite well - was disappointing towards end wherein the guide will rush you at Tanha Lot. This is the place where you would like to spend some time and enjoy and immerse in the beautiful evening environment. He will just let you stay there for 15 min and allow few pictures and then ask you to come back. Forget about Sunset view</p>

<p>An excellent trip and great tour guide with good knowledge. will recommend to anyone who to see sunset. Tanah Lot is a very beautiful temple seen from a far!</p>