Nestled between Lombok, the Gili Islands and the large island of Java in Indonesia, Bali is a destination which seems to be on everyone’s mind.

If you’ve never been to Bali, chances are you at least understand the feeling you’re meant to have, just at the sound of its lilting name.

Chris and I visited Bali some years back after spending time exploring Lombok and the Gili Islands. After feeling so deeply connected to Lombok on our Indonesia itinerary, we were worried that all the hype around Bali wouldn’t match up with what we found when we were on the ground there.

We couldn’t have been more wrong.

If you wanted to make a list of all the things one would want to see and do in a tropical destination, you’d quickly realize that Bali has it all: lush jungle terrain, high mountains and volcanoes, long and beautiful beaches, dramatic rocks, scuba diving, surfing…the list goes on.

On top of this, Bali has also gained a reputation for being the destination to which both surfers and yogis flock, and rightly so.

With the tranquil surroundings of bright green rice terraces, rainforested terrain and the mammoth swells of waves which crash on its southern shores, it provides the perfect backdrop for both of these activities.

If you’re planning a trip to Bali, it can be overwhelming to pinpoint exactly where you should spend time and for how long. Despite being an island, it isn’t a small one, and distances between locations can take some time to get to.

In this post, I’ve taken the time to outline the main essentials you’ll need to plan your 7 days in Bali, including ideas for the best month to visit Bali, whether or not Bali is expensive and how to tackle it, along with some ideas about where to visit in Bali.