We departed from Puri Bagus Hotel after breakfast at around 9.30 am, running a bit late as we have planned on leaving at 9 am that morning. We drove out from the hotel, heading west back to down town of Lovina again as we missed the hot spring the previous day and reschedule it for today. We made a left turn by the crossroads where it has a big sign of Hot Spring. We drove through the smaller road to the village of Banjar and made a short stop by the local morning market at the village where there were dozens of women selling fruits, offerings, vegetables and tropical spices.

We continued to Banjar Hot spring after the market, paid Rupiah 3,000 per person to enter the hot spring where you can go for a great swim. The hot water is being piped into the swimming pool from a nearby natural hot spring by a little temple on the upper side of the swimming area. There are 3 different size of pool and the biggest one in the middle is very much for swimming and the other 2 are for shower. The last bottom one is the tallest fountain which is the warmest amongst the entire fountain. It feels great when you let the water hit your back, it felt like getting such a great massages. On the apposite side of the small river, they have a natural Jacuzzi from a different source of the hot spring where you have to pay a little extra to have yourself in this pool and they also have a massage’s services for about 50,000 Rupiah for 1 hour. A little restaurant is also available above the main pools area where we can have simple Balinese foods. We enjoyed our swim for about 2 hours before continuing our trip to the nearby Buddhist monastery.

We drove through little villages again, up the hill where the monastery sits on the hill overlooking the north Bali Sea. On the top of the hill above the main monastery, there is quit a huge Buddhist Stupa built which is look like a miniature of Borobudur. The view is lovely from around the Stupa where you can see green rice terraces at the bottom of the valley, the view of the small river running through the valley, view of the mountain side as well as view over the Sea.

We left the Buddhist temple and drove back to the main street towards Singaraja, the northern capital, passing down town Lovina again. We were just driving through the town of Singaraja without making any stop here as it was seemed to be a bit busy. We kept driving east, passing Singaraja and made a stop at Sangsit Village, but a crossroad in the market area, there’s a sign on the right side of the street to Pura Beji which is the local Subak temple. The temple is so beautiful with its fantastic carvings all over the gates and the shrines in the inner courtyard. old frangipani grows in the temple courtyards. The temple was firstly built in the 15th-century for worshipping the goddess of rice, Dewi Sri.

After Pura Beji, we drove east following the coastal roads with the view over the ocean, passing the Air Sanih, Ponjok Batu and made a stop for lunch at Tembok Village, in a great resort by the beach named Poinciana. It looks like a very nice resort but it is quit in the middle of nowhere, but would be great to skip or getting away from busy tourist’s area. Lunch was very good and spent about Rp. 150,000 for 2 people with drink and main course.

We left Poinciana and back on the road heading to Amed with a short stop at Tulamben which is known for its diving and snorkeling resort. We intended to go for snorkeling at the wrecked but the wave was quit rough and it was quit late in the afternoon where we wouldn’t be able to have a good vision underwater. We sat by the beach for 10 minutes before driving back to the main street, down to Amed. We started entering Amed when the sun was setting behind the great volcano of Mount Agung. We drove along the road by the coastal line and enjoying such a great view along the beach with its colorful fishermen Jukungs that are parked along the shores. There are hundreds of them. We finally got to Villa Santai that we did book in advance as we were worried of not having a room there. It is a small resort by the beach but quit nice.

We made a day of excursion to the island of Menjangan for snorkeling. We arranged the trip with one of the diving company from Taman Sari Beach Cottages that take their clients out to Menjangan Island on a boat straight from the front of the hotel. It was a great boat trip and we got a chance to snorkel at some of the good points of the snorkeling sites there on the island. It is a small island where it has some nice white sand beach, beautiful coral, colorful fish. It was really a fabulous snorkeling that we had there.

We got back to the resort around 2.30 PM and getting ready to continue our trip to Lovina for our next stay, which is around 50 km from Pemuteran.

We left the hotel at around 3 PM, driving east passing the seaside temple of Pulaki and Pabean Temple where there are hundreds of monkeys there by the area of the temple and also along the side of the road, waiting for the people to stop and feed them. We did not make a visit to the temple as those monkeys seemed to be a little aggressive.

We left the area and kept driving east towards Seririt, a little town west of Lovina. We drove straight to Puri Bagus Hotel for a night stay. It is a nice resort by the beach.

Lovina is one of the most touristy places at the north coast of Bali. After all, there is a great beach here and it is one of the best snorkeling places in Bali. The coral is not very colourful here, but there are beautiful species of reef fish. When we snorkeled here, we saw a few humphead wrasses together. This huge, ugly fish is a very friendly animal. I had seen them before, but never in a school. On the beach, you may notice the brightly coloured fishing boats. Despite the many tourists in Lovina, it is a much more quiet alternative to the noisy Kuta beach town. There are many cheap places to stay and eat around town. A good way to get around is by renting a bike. But beware, as some steep roads await you!

A small side trip just out of the city can be made to the Daybreak Waterfall (in Indonesian: Air Terjun Singsing). It's only a few kilometers away from the city center, so you can even do it on foot. If you feel sweaty, you can take a refreshing dip in the water. It is definitely not the most gorgeous waterfall I have ever seen, but its location, right between the rocks, is lovely. If you are here with a vehicle, you have to leave it at the roadside and walk the last part to the waterfall. It is still a steep climb up.

Close to Banjar village, and more to the west from the waterfall, is the island's only Buddhist monastery, Brahma Vihara Arama. At first sight it may look like a normal Balinese Hindu temple, but it is more colourful, and then of course there is a golden Buddha statue inside one of the temples. From the site, you have a nice view of the surrounding area and of the ocean. If you come here with a bicycle, it is quite a steep climb up the hills surrounding Lovina. Nearby is a hot spring (air panas), of which the water flows out of dragon heads carved from the rocks.
Lovina can be reached by bus from most places in Bali, and it is a good stop-over on the way to Java. The village of Gilimanuk, where the ferry to Java leaves, is around 80km more to the west.