Posted on TripadvisorVerified Tour guides that will make your trip really memorable. Putu, Kadek and others at Balifriend are amazing. There were 10 of us, older and somewhat incapacitated ladies that came to Bali to buy and learn how to make batik fabric amongst other things. These guys were with us the whole 2 weeks and took us everywhere. Putu was knowledgeable, helpful, a great driver and no matter how many bags or suitcases he had to schlepp about he did it with a smile. He and his brother and crew made this a vacation to remember. Definitely recommend them.Posted on TripadvisorVerified The Highlight of Our Trip to Bali – Thank You, Made! We spent two weeks in Bali, with 9 days of touring guided by the amazing Made Wira. From Seminyak to Ubud, Sidemen, Amed, Padang Bai, Uluwatu, Nusa Dua, and Kuta — Made made every stop special. He gave fantastic recommendations, avoided tourist traps, and adapted to our plans with ease. He was always early, drove safely and comfortably, and made sure we were well taken care of. His English is excellent, and his hospitality background really shows. Made taught us so much about Bali’s culture, history, and religion, and patiently answered all our questions. By the second day, he felt like part of the family — kind, funny, and thoughtful. He even looked after our sick kids and brought us fresh fruit daily, including things not even in season! Booking with Bali Friend Tour and riding with Made was the best decision we made. Five stars doesn’t feel like enough. If you can, book with them and ask for Made Wira — you won’t regret it!Posted on TripadvisorVerified Disappointing experience, rooms with COCKROACHES: a TRAP We booked and payed a room with private bathroom in a boat tour in Komodo, for Lexy boat. We paid for a service that promised a boat with private rooms and bathrooms, but the night before departure, we were informed that it would be replaced with a much lower-quality boat. My experience with this boat tour was terrible, and i felt completely deceived The replacement boat was in extremely poor condition: there were no private rooms, and only two shared bathrooms were available for 12 passengers(we were only 8 but if they had more people it would be the capacity) and about 5 or 6 crew members. To make matters worse, the rooms were infested with COCKROACHES, making the environment unhygienic and impossible to sleep. When we raised our concerns, the company failed to provide any reasonable alternatives or refund part of the amount we paid. It became evident that this last-minute switch was likely a deliberate practice to maximize profits, leaving customers with no real choice but to accept the downgraded service. I didn't like also the Guide Ryo. This was one of the worst travel experiences i’ve ever had. I strongly recommend avoiding this company, as their lack of respect, transparency, and basic hygiene standards is unacceptable. Don’t risk your money and your peace of mind. The only good things were the people that we met, the food was really good(ignoring the hygiene conditions where it was made) and the places we visited.Posted on TripadvisorVerified Boat trip zonder airco en met kakkerlakken Via het reisblog Salt in Our Hair werden we getipt om voor onze reis naar Komodo National Park bij Bali Friend Tour te boeken. De reviews waren goed en op de foto’s zag het er mooi en niet al te massaal uit. Omdat het onze huwelijksreis was en mijn man een handicap heeft (hij draagt een prothese), boekten we de honeymoon cabin met eigen badkamer. Contact ging snel via whatsapp, al moesten we af en toe zelf er achteraan om te checken of het goed zat met de betalingen en wanneer we meer informatie zouden krijgen. Vlak voor de trip hoorden we echter niks en moesten we zelf achter meer informatie over onze tour aan. Een avond van te voren kregen we een whatsappbericht dat door omstandigheden we niet met de boot konden die we geboekt hadden en overgeplaatst werden naar een andere boot. Ik kreeg een flyer doorgestuurd met de nieuwe boot, die helemaal niet op de oorspronkelijke flyer als optie erop stond. Op de nieuwe boot zouden we geen honeymoon cabin met eigen badkamer en het dek zag er ook een stuk kleiner uit. Yande verzekerde ons dat dit hetzelfde type boot was en daardoor de prijs hetzelfde bleef. Niets bleek minder waar: de boot was krakkemikkig en klein. We waren met 8 personen die allemaal gedowngrade waren naar deze boot. Er liepen kakkerlakken over de muren en bedden en tot overmaat van ramp deed de airco het in onze kamer niet. Hierdoor hebben we 2 nachten niet tot nauwelijks geslapen en heeft mijn man de tweede nacht zelfs op het dek tussen crewleden geslapen. Ondanks dat de crew aardig was en de (wel vrij toeristische) tripjes naar de bekende plekken erg mooi waren, was het een onprettige en ervaring en zochten we contact met een voorstel tot compensatie. Het leek ons op z’n minst eerlijk als we de prijs voor een gedeelde kamer zouden betalen die op de folder stond (3.250.000 idr) in plaats van wat we betaald hadden (4.400.000 idr pp, totaal €500,-!). We hadden immers niet gekregen wat we hadden geboekt en ook nog eens het slechts geslapen van alle andere gasten op de boot door de niet werkende airco en insecten. Je stelt je wel iets anders voor op huwelijksreis. Ook zei hij dat we extra kanotochten zouden krijgen, wat ook niet is waargemaakt. Helaas heeft Yande niet eens gereageerd op mijn bericht en verzoek. Dat vind ik ronduit onbeschoft en laat zien dat als het geld eenmaal binnen is, de ervaring van de gasten niet meer uitmaakt. Daarom wilde ik ook deze review plaatsen, als er een gesprek was geweest dan had ik dat niet gedaan. Ik zou zeggen; lekker ergens anders boeken!Posted on TripadvisorVerified A great time with a great driver on Bali! We were on holidays in July 2024 and for three weeks we enjoyed Bali and also visited Lombok. We were accompanied during our trips by Jana, our driver from Bali Friend Tour.The company Bali Friend Tour was accurate, very responsive and they provided us with tours and a great driver against friendly prices. Our driver was driving very safe in the balinese hectic traffic circumstances but also smart so we got everywhere in time. We never had to wait a minute to be picked up and were flexible to go and stop where and when we wanted. Jana is much more than a driver, he became our friend in Bali and showed us great places, talked about Balinese culture and history and always with humor and a smile. Our kids like him a lot and so did my wife and me. Nothing was too much for him. He also gave us some good advices and helped with tickets etc. I would recommend Jana anytime to anyone, he was truly a big contribution to our trip in Bali.Posted on TripadvisorVerified Amazing tour guide and transportation all around the island I can’t rave enough about our experience with Putu. My wife and I originally were scheduled to come to Bali in 2020 but with COVID our vacation was cancelled. We were in contact with Putu for a few years. Our friend highly recommended him several years ago. He was wonderful and we consider him a friend now. We used him for our airport transfer in to Seminyak and he arranged another driver, Tude to bring us to Ubud. Tude was also wonderful. We used Putu for a private tour around Ubud and it was wonderful. He can put together a customizable tour. We spent 10 hours with Putu and it was a magical day. We spent time seeing wonderful places. Putu also speaks excellent English. Putu arranged for a driver to take us from Ubud to Nusa Dua and he also brought us to Uluwatu. I can’t rave enough about Putu. He was very professional and always on time. I would highly recommend him to anyone coming to Bali for transportation around the island or customizable tours. Not only is he professional and efficient but an all around decent human being. He is a great photographer. I’d highly recommend you request Putu.Posted on TripadvisorVerified Avoid This Company Went with this company due to all the 5 star reviews. The guy messaged us on WhatsApp and was very helpful but from there everything was terrible. We booked the boat trip to see manta rays and the nusa penida island tour. We were picked up at 7:30am and taken to the harbour. We then sat around for 3hours waiting for our boat to arrive to go and see the manta rays. After asking numerous times and receiving a 10min reply each time, we eventually got on a boat trip only for us to go to two small bays, nowhere near the manta rays or any of the bays we had booked. We then go into a car for the island tour and had roughly 10mins at each of the three stops before being told we had to leave or we will miss the boat back. This trip cost is nearly £100 for two people as it was meant to be a private tour for two people. The guy offered us a £25 refund which we never received and he also tried to fob us off by saying the water was too cold and choppy for manta rays, even though we had spoken to numerous people later that day who had been out to see the manta rays and told us the conditions were perfect. Would 100% avoid this company. Much better tours out there for cheaper price.Posted on TripadvisorVerified Awesome time in Nusa Penida. We went on a 2 day 1 night tour in Nusa Penida Bali. Our guide Mandra is an excellent driver, very respectful and knowledgeable. The itinerary of my tour consist of the east and west of Penida with west being on the first day. Instead, he suggested we go to the east first as it was further and less popular. I guess people who took a day tour would choose the west tour as that is where the most popular Kelingking Beach (T-Rex) is. We didn't have to fight the crowd. It was wonderful visiting Diamond and Atuh Beach (side by side) then to the Treehouse and Teletubbies Hill (the later isn't quite popular but my kids had a kick living their favourite childhood tv programme!) The next day we started early before the crowd from the main island came in! Angel Billabong and Broken Beach were almost deserted and when we left Kelingking Beach, streams of cars were just getting there!! Amazing insight from our tour guide Mandra! Awesome and humble guy. We had an incredible time in Nusa Penida. Had a good laugh at other people's antics trying to get that perfect Instagram shots. One guide even shouted "you will get 10, 000 likes with this photo" hahahaa the world we live in now! I highly recommend Balifriend tour. They're safe, friendly and experienced in guiding me and my boys.Posted on TripadvisorVerified Great day out Lovely day out, thank you! Our driver was flexible with the itinerary, helpful, pleasant, always happy and spoke good English. The car was clean and comfortable.Posted on TripadvisorVerified Great Tour Nice Guide with Great explanations to culture and art. I learnt a lot- good alternatives if you don’t want the instagram crowds - Recommendation for everyoneLoad more