Bali: Service Learning and Culture

Meet up with your group at a pre-selected location at your home airport. Once everyone has arrived, check your bags and go through security as a group. From here you will board your flight and depart for your international flight to Southeast Asia. This first day is counted as a full day of travel because the standard travel time to this destination exceeds 12 hours. This may change depending on your departure location.

Flight Details: Rustic Pathways will be happy to book your flight as an add-on service.

Arrive into Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS) and meet your Program Leaders who will be with you for the duration of the program. Head to Sanur and settle in, relaxing after your long flight. Join the group for dinner and an orientation discussion about the week ahead, expectations for your adventure, and an introduction to the local culture.

Famously known as the morning of the world, Sanur is famed for its iconic sunrise with a coastal stretch of beach in Southeast of Bali. Calm waters and white sandy shores make the beaches of Sanur a favorite for swimming, along with water activities like snorkeling and canoeing.

Overnight: Swiss Belhotel, Sanur

After breakfast, head to Sanur Beach for group games. Next, explore GWK Cultural Park, which is home to some of the most iconic cultural landmarks in Bali, including the magnificent Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue. The park features a range of cultural activities and performances, including the Kecak Garuda Wisnu dance, traditional Balinese music and dance performances, and much more. 

We will have lunch in GWK and drive to Uluwatu Temple, located on a cliff overlooking the bay. There, enjoy the Traditional Kecak Dance, a dramatic performance where 25-50 dancers chant “cak” and throw up their arms, depicting a battle from the Ramayana where monkeys help Prince Rama fight the evil King Ravana. The dance will be performed on an open stage on a cliff in Uluwatu Temple complex, with the sun setting over the water. End the day with dinner at the famous Jimbaran Beach.

Overnight: Hotel, Sanur

This morning, we will check out of the hotel and make our way to Tabanan. Known as the rice bowl of Bali, the vast Tabanan regency is famed for its magnificent rice paddies and authentic Bali life. Arrive at Rumah Desa in Tabanan and be welcomed with an introduction of Balinese culture and tradition directly from the locals. You will learn how to make Canang, or Balinese flower offerings, and learn a traditional song and dance while waiting for dinner to be prepared by our host. 

Overnight: Homestay or Guest house, Tabanan

After breakfast with your local host, prepare to spend the day helping the community out in the paddy field. Learn the traditional ways to plow and plant in the field, and also how to weave coconut fronds. These woven coconut fronds are used to make roofs or walls for huts as a resting place for the farmers. 

In the afternoon, rest and enjoy the atmosphere in the village. Then, freshen up, pack your belongings and we say goodbye to your hosts before heading out to Ubud. 

Join your group for a post-service debrief in the evening, discussing what you experienced and learned through hands-on work in the community.

Overnight: Hotel in Ubud

We’ll leave the hotel early this morning to drive to Mt. Batur and begin a long hike to a beautiful viewpoint to see the sunrise. Walk around the rim of a volcanic cone to see its crater from the last eruption in 2000 and witness the black lava from its original eruptions. Enjoy breakfast on the top of a volcano before starting on the long journey back down the mountain, surrounded by panorama views. 

Make a stop at Toya Devasya where you will enjoy the natural hot spring pools to relax and rejuvenate before driving back to the hotel. Lunch will be at a restaurant in Kintamani with a view of Mt. Batur and Lake Batur.

Overnight: Hotel in Ubud

This morning after breakfast, you’ll head to Ayung River for a 2-hour white water rafting adventure. Accompanied by professionals, enjoy the beautiful scenery while you raft down the river. You will have lunch at the end of the trip, then drive to Tegalalang which runs through Subak, the cooperative social system that controls the water. 

Next, visit a coffee plantation, also known as a Bali Agrotourism, where you’ll see various tropical plants such as coffee robusta, pineapple, Balinese snake fruit (salak), plain Balinese potatoes, fruit stars, cacao, jackfruit, durian tree and many more. Learn how to make Balinese coffee in the traditional way and taste the fresh coffee or ginger tea! You’ll also have the opportunity to purchase original Balinese coffee products, herb oil, and more. 

Overnight: Hotel in Ubud

**Recommended to wear comfortable clothes, hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, and sandals

**Please bring extra clothes, personal toiletries, and eco friendly sunscreen  

This morning you will drive to Saba Asri Turtle Conservation in Saba Beach, a black-sanded beach in East Bali that is a nesting habitat for sea turtles. Pregnant turtles return to the beaches where they themselves hatched years before, searching for a nesting spot. The self-funded Saba Asri Sea Turtle Conservation continuously performs egg-rescue and beach cleaning, providing a safe hatching facility and treatment center for injured turtles. Upon arrival, you’ll have an introduction and briefing about the life of sea turtles, get ready to clean their tanks and assist in research, monitoring, record keeping, and participate in a beach clean-up around their nest. Once your work is complete, you will be rewarded with the unique opportunity of releasing the hatchlings safely into the ocean. 

In the afternoon, drive to Padangbai for lunch at a local restaurant. After a safety briefing & equipment fitting, embark on a Jukung, or traditional fishing boat, with your guides on a snorkeling adventure. 

If time permits, we will visit Kusamba Beach to see traditional salt farming before dinner near the hotel. 

Overnight: Hotel in Kuta

Your Program Leaders will take you to the airport for your departure as you say goodbyes and reflect on your adventure. 

Flight Details: Rustic Pathways is happy to book your flights as an optional add-on service.