duration
daily
park gate
drive checklist
A safari tour gets you closer than walking ever will
A safari tour in West Bali National Park works on one simple principle. Deer, boar and junglefowl treat an approaching vehicle as background noise. They treat an approaching human as a threat. Stay in the car and you get within metres of animals that would have melted into the scrub long before a walker arrived.
That is the whole case for taking a safari tour rather than walking this part of the park. The savanna between Tegal Bunder and Segara Rupek is open ground with long sightlines, and an official park guide rides with you to read it. If you would rather be on foot, our trekking routes cover the forest zones instead.
Tegal Bunder
The route starts here, in the heart of the park. Mangrove meets savanna, and brackish marshes act as watering holes. This is the zone the Bali myna release programme works in.
Open savanna
Grassland with scattered trees and long sightlines. Rusa deer and muntjac graze in the open as the heat drops, and wild boar work the tree line.
Coastal scrub
Drier, thornier ground running toward the peninsula. Green junglefowl favour the track edges here, and monitor lizards cross in front of the vehicle.
Segara Rupek
The turnaround point, a temple on the strait facing Java. Ebony leaf monkeys move through the canopy above the approach, and the light here at the end of the drive is the reason for the 3 PM start.
Three hours, door to door
Our safari tour runs as a single afternoon departure, timed so the last hour of the drive lands in the best light and the highest animal activity of the day.
The drive
3 hours- 15:00Pickup from your hotel in the Pemuteran or Menjangan area
- 15:30Arrive at the park, meet your official park guide
- 15:45Tegal Bunder, marshes and savanna edge
- 16:30Open savanna, driving slowly toward the peninsula
- 17:15Segara Rupek Temple, turnaround and the view to Java
- 18:00Back at your hotel
Times shift by fifteen minutes or so through the year as sunset moves. Your guide sets the pace on the day, and stops wherever there is something to see.
Ask about this tripIn the rate
Included- TransportReturn hotel transfer from the Pemuteran or Menjangan area
- GuideEnglish speaking official West Bali National Park guide
- PermitPark entrance fee, handled before you arrive
- InsuranceTrip insurance for every passenger
- WaterMineral water in the vehicle
The park permit is the part most independent visitors get stuck on. Counters keep short hours and take cash only. We settle it in advance, so the drive starts on time. Full detail in our permits and fees guide.
Regulars on the safari tour route
None of these are guaranteed. All three are seen on most afternoon drives, and all three are easier from a vehicle than on foot.
Ebony Leaf Monkey
Trachypithecus auratus
Canopy near Segara Rupek
Green Junglefowl
Gallus varius
Track edges, coastal scrub
Wild Boar
Sus scrofa
Savanna tree line, late light
The savanna empties in the middle of the day
Animals here follow the heat, not the clock. Through the middle of the day the savanna looks empty because everything is lying up in shade. Activity returns as the ground cools, and the last ninety minutes before dusk are the densest stretch of the afternoon.
Dawn is just as active, but the park road into this zone is better suited to an afternoon safari tour, and the light across the savanna toward Java at the end of the drive is the best of the day. Serious early risers are better served by bird watching, which starts at first light.
What to bring
- CameraA 200mm lens or longer. Animals stay at a distance even from the vehicle, and the light drops fast after 17:30.
- BinocularsBring your own if you have them. Useful for the marshes at Tegal Bunder and the strait at Segara Rupek.
- ClothingLong sleeves for the last hour. Mosquitoes come out near the mangrove and the marshes at dusk.
- FootwearClosed shoes. Most of the trip is seated, but there are short stops on uneven ground.
- WaterMineral water is in the vehicle. Bring extra in the dry season if you drink a lot.
- CashSmall notes for the donation box at Segara Rupek Temple, if you want to make one.
What the safari tour turns up
Seventeen species our guides record regularly on this safari tour route. Sightings are never guaranteed, and the list runs differently in the wet season.
Nothing matches that search.
Mammals
7 speciesBirds
7 speciesReptiles
3 speciesThis is the drive list, not the park list. West Bali National Park holds over 160 bird species in total, most of which need a dawn start on foot to find. The full checklist sits on our bird watching page.
Common questions
Pickup is at 3 PM from your hotel in the Pemuteran or Menjangan area. The drive to the park takes about thirty minutes, and you are back at your hotel around 6 PM.
Mostly, and that is the point. Animals tolerate a vehicle far better than a person on foot. There are short stops where you can get out, including at Segara Rupek Temple, and your guide will say when it is sensible to do so.
Possibly, but never count on it. The Bali starling, also called the Bali myna, is critically endangered and the wild population is small. The Tegal Bunder section of the route is where the release and monitoring area sits, so that is the best chance on this drive.
Yes. This is the most accessible trip we run in the park, because almost all of it is seated in a vehicle. It suits families with young children and anyone who would find a trek too demanding.
Yes. The rate covers the park entrance fee, the official guide, return transport, insurance and mineral water. Park fees are set by the authorities and can change, so our permits guide carries the current detail.
Yes, and it is the most common pairing we arrange. A morning trip to Menjangan Island finishes in time for a 3 PM safari tour pickup, so you get reef and savanna in one day. Message us and we will line up both.
