Indonesia
Bali Dirt bikes
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While in Bali I went on all of the Bali Dirt Bikes tours. These were really the highlights of my trip. It was also my first time trying off-road.
Tabanan Beach & Jungle tour
I started with the ‘Tabanan Beach’ tour and chose to do a full day (8 hours). A participant from the U.K was also joining the tour. He had booked the ‘Tabanan Jungle’ tour so the tour guide decided to combine both tours into one day. When I made the booking I signed up for the advanced level, since the tour is also available to people without a licence. This was a good choice as I happened to be quite on the same level as the English guy, which made it good fun.
You get picked up from your hotel or hostel and driven to Bali Dirt Bikes, located in Canggu. Here you get your bike, I booked the 23’ KLX 150, which seemed like a good beginner bike. Other options would be: 23’ Diablo 230, 20’ Husqvarna FE 350, 23’ KTM 250 EXC, 23’ KTM 350 EXC F, 24 Beta RR 300 2T, 24’ KTM 300 EXC. Bali Dirt Bikes provides all protective gear including an armour, helmet, pants with knee protection, goggles, boots and gloves. All materials were very clean.
After getting all the gear on we drove to the Tabanan jungle with 2 tour guides. The Tabanan jungle was quite a difficult terrain without having any off-road experience, but as I’m not the scary type, I still managed to keep up with the group and learn fast. Although I didn't book the Jungle tour, this turned out to be the best part of the tour. The plants, trees, animals, heights and views were just magnificent.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2J0Z8WI33Z/?igsh=bjJtYTJnY2JzbXo3
Riding in the jungle was spectacular and great fun as it was challenging but doable for a beginner. Riding in the middle of nowhere but not getting lost due to the two experienced local tour guides is a big plus. They chose a route which fits your level. We visited the Desa Wisata Gunung Salak waterfall.
Around noon we had lunch at a local restaurant overlooking beautiful rice fields. Lunch was included in the price and it was very tasty! After lunch we drove to Tabanan Beach. On our way there I almost hit a snake. Running into a huge snake on the road was quite unexpected, not something that happens to me everyday hahaha. My camara lens guards where damaged from all the jungle crashes.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1JcP3uyz_8/?igsh=MTc2cDR4c3NtdHExbw==
When we got to the beach we were just racing through the water! At some point I felt like I was swimming or riding a jetski rather than a dirt bike. It was hilarious and so much fun. Below are some video’s I posted on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0_ZRCrSiBe/?igsh=MWRiMnhjNGxuNWczZw==
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2edB2UoPZE/?igsh=MXdjejF2N2xhbnhhdw==
The faster you ride, the less slippery or challenging the balancing game is, so I think we all know which way to go. The beach was full of rubbish, this is probably why we were allowed to ride there. The beach is perfect for drifting and there was literally no one there. We were so tired from riding all day that we didn't last until sunset which was too bad. We were exhausted but had an absolute blast. So we drove back to Bali Dirt Bikes and changed our clothes. We could keep the Bali Dirt Bikes off-road jersey and also got an awesome Bali Dirt Bikes T-shirt. I just love souvenirs haha. After this we got a lift back to our hotel / hostel.
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Kintamani Volcano & Forest tour
This tour is a bit different from the tours in Tabanan since it’s in the Kintamani region, the volcanic area of Bali. After getting picked up at your hotel or hostel by van, we were heading towards Kintamani instead of the Bali Dirt Bikes location in Canggu. This is quite a long drive but definitely worth it. This part of Bali seems very underrated. Especially if you love riding motorcycles, hiking, heights and coffee this is the place to be! It’s less touristy, beautiful and unique. It really feels like Bali, back in the day, before all the western influences.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1PREh9Sx_B/?igsh=MWVzMG5jeTNjN240Zg==
So the tour started at a different location, the bikes and gear were already at the location.We drove to the Kintamani Volcano. The terrain was quite challenging with a lot of big rocks that made me fall a few times but I was still having a blast. The black volcanic dust clouds look amazing when you ride fast. The tour guide was challenging me to follow him up a very steep hill. Bring it on! I made it up but getting down was a lot harder than I thought. I posted some videos about this adventure on my instagram, they are quite hilarious.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2hijFOoSDb/?igsh=bm8yaHpjMm8wdDdv
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2cuWlRI4gK/?igsh=OHNsZThlODkyOXFn
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2u84uCoHPj/?igsh=MThoM3hsNmQzNjJqMQ==
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2xXYqsIDno/?igsh=dGVmZXZ5dDdndHR2
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C261wzuIG6C/?igsh=OWVpdzQxaG5uN3hv
When we headed to the Kintamani forest it was raining. I don’t mind the rain as it feels quite warm in the tropics. However the rain made riding super challenging, the forest had some really steep downhill trails. This was my second day trying off-road and I was definitely lacking experience. So our tour guide had to improvise and took me to easier trails which was greatly appreciated! I fell often and was going quite slow. Sadly the extra SD card I bought in Indonesia had an error so I didn't get a lot of video material on this part of the tour.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2rPrAAod5R/?igsh=bDRneWJhY2c2MGdl
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4AQrJgoy4_/?igsh=MWV5enExN3h2MWtzMA==
I was in Indonesia during the rainy season. On the tour it started pouring so we headed to a restaurant for lunch. We were completely drenched and exhausted after the long drive to Kintamani and riding the volcanic terrain. The food was delicious and we had a chance to warm up. It kept pouring, the tour guide asked us if we wanted to ride some more after lunch, since we booked a full day. We looked at the sky, saw litres of water coming down, started laughing and told the tour guide that we would take a raincheck ;) We would still have to do a 2,5 hours drive back, so we decided to call it a day.. We had a blast though and I fully recommend the Bali Dirt Bike tours!
