From “Why Drive?” to “Let’s Road Trip to Bali!” – How the Pandemic Changed My Mind

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d ever go on a road trip to Bali. I mean, why spend hours upon hours stuck in a car when you can hop on a quick flight? That’s been my travel motto for years.

My husband, on the other hand, has always wanted to road trip across Java, an idea I’ve consistently vetoed.

But then the pandemic hit, and everything changed. Borders closed, flights were grounded, and our lives became an endless cycle of staying home. Suddenly, my “fly-only” rule felt like a distant luxury.

Pandemic Reality Check

2020 wasn’t all bad for us. In fact, we were incredibly fortunate to squeeze in one last trip to Iceland before the world shut down. (Read here)

While everyone else was canceling plans, we were reminiscing about glaciers, Northern Lights, and snowy adventures. But as the months dragged on, cabin fever started creeping in.

We managed a short glamping trip to Lembang at Trizara Resort, taking every precaution imaginable.

But by January 2021, it became clear: COVID wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. We had to adapt. Staying home forever wasn’t sustainable, and our family desperately needed a break.

Why Bali? Why a Road Trip?

Flying was out of the question. Children under 12 weren’t allowed on planes, and the risk of catching COVID at the airport or on a flight felt too high.

So, for the first time, the idea of a road trip didn’t seem so crazy.

And what better destination than Bali? It’s a place we know and love, and let’s be honest—driving to Bali couldn’t possibly be harder than navigating Iceland’s snowstorms, right?

The Plan (or Lack Thereof)

According to Google Maps, the journey from Jakarta to Ubud is 1,185 kilometers, or roughly 19 hours of non-stop driving. Of course, we weren’t planning on doing it all in one go.

My husband was the sole driver, so we decided to break the trip into three days, stopping for two overnight stays along the way.

The route is fairly straightforward thanks to the Java Toll Road, which stretches most of the way. But once the toll road ends in Probolinggo, it’s time to navigate the Pantura Road to reach the Ketapang Ferry Port in Banyuwangi.

Here’s the twist: while we had our accommodations in Bali all booked, we decided to wing it for the road trip. No pre-booked hotels for the journey—just a sense of adventure and trust that we’d find a place to crash each night.

Our Journey

Day 1

D-day! We left our house around 9am (later than what we planned lol) and drive to Semarang with a stop for lunch in Purwakarta to eat their famous Sate Maranggi.

Jakarta-Semarang is 6.5 hours driving and after many stops we reached Semarang around 6pm. We were already hungry, so we drove to Gombel to have dinner in Alam Indah Restaurant. Gombel area is situated in the upper part of Semarang where you can see a beautiful view of Semarang city lights at night. We stayed the night at Novotel Hotel.

Day 2

We checked out around 9am after breakfast and continue driving to Situbondo. We took a break at a Rest Area outside Surabaya which has a mosque for Friday prayer and Restaurant for lunch.

Pantura road was busy as usual with a lot of trucks. It was already 8pm when we reached Situbondo, so we decided to stay in the area instead of pressing thru to Banyuwangi which was still 2 hours away.

We stayed the night in Rosali Hotel, 20km away from Pasir Putih Situbondo. Rosali Hotel is a complex of hotel room and villa surrounded by a large garden.

Day 3

After breakfast in Rosali Hotel, we drove to Ketapang ferry port (around 2 hours) and take the ferry to Gilimanuk (30 minutes).

We had lunch in Gilimanuk and continue driving to Ubud (3.5 hours) where we have booking for Villa Kayu Manis in Sayan.

Day 4

Today is Nyepi Day so we cannot go outside out villa and asked to remain quiet. Hotel is still providing the usual service. So we had our breakfast, lunch and dinner inside our Villa.

Day 5

Bali is still very quiet because this is still Nyepi Holiday but we are already allowed to continue normal activity and go out.

Day 6

I divided our Bali holiday between Ubud and beach holiday. Today we checked out from Villa Kayu Manis to move to Karma Kandara. I have always wanted to stay at Karma Kandara Villa but never got round to it.

Day 7

Day at the Beach…finally some Vitamin Sea!!!

Day 8

Check out in the afternoon and drive back to Gilimanuk to cross to Banyuwangi. We stayed in Kokoon Hotel, a new Hotel situated in the center of the city.

It was already dark when we get to Banyuwangi so we went straight for dinner in Pesona Seafood Restaurant. This place has really good food! The seafood was fresh and tasty. It’s not super cheap but average for seafood prices in Indonesia.

Day 9

We’re going to explore Banyuwangi. Visiting Pantai Boom and Baluran National Park. Pantai Boom, located only 2km away from the city center, is a famous place to see sunrise and a hang out place for local people.

Pantai Boom has many instagramable spots, one of them is the spiral bridge. There is also eco adventure park and harbour. Once a year there is a popular dance festival “Gandrung Sewu” attended by at least a thousand dancers.

From Pantai Boom we stopped to buy sego bungkus for picnic lunch at Baluran National Park.

The Baluran National Park is known as the African Savannah of Java. The savannah (Zona Bekol) turns brown in the dry season and the park is surrounded on one side by the sea and ringed by hills and Ijen volcano.

You can expect to see buffalo, antelope, monkeys and peacock roaming in the savannah. The best time to visit the National Park is either in the morning or close to sunset time.

We left the park before dark and stay the night in Goya Hotel Probolinggo. There are not many good hotel option in Probolinggo. Situbondo is actually a better chooce to spend the night.

Day 10

Check out Hotel and drive to Surabaya to have lunch in Layar Seafood Restaurant and dessert at legendary Zangrandi.

Both Restaurants are one of Surabaya culinary legend. From there we continue to Semarang and stay the night there.

Day 11

As this is the last day of our Road Trip, we took time to do morning walk in Semarang Old Town, my favourite area of the city.

If you are in Semarang, don’t miss visiting Semarang Old Town (Kota Lama Semarang). Kota Lama is a cultural heritage area where we can see many old and historic buildings from the Dutch Era.

At that moment, the area was the center of government. The architecture of the buildings is in European style with large main doors and windows, decorative elements, and high ceilings.

There are some interesting spots to visit such as Blenduk Church, Taman Srigunting, Jiwasraya Insurance Building, Outdetrap Building, Semarang Art Gallery, De Spiegel, Marba, and so on.

For those who like walking, strolling around the corners of Kota Lama is very interesting to do since you can walk comfortably in the pedestrian area.

You can also take a regular tour organized by a touring community. On a weekend evening, you can enjoy the atmosphere of Car Free Night along Jl. Lt. Gen. Suprapto.

From Semarang we drive thru toll road to Cirebon and stop in the rest area Heritage KM 260B. The rest area was once a sugar mill factory and now converted into rest area which has various restaurants and shops.

We took another stop in Cirebon to eat Mie Koclok I have been craving. Most places only start selling Mie Koclok for dinner but Mie Koclok Pak Rasita is one of the few who open for lunch. From Cirebon we drive back to Jakarta (around 3 hours) and arrive before dark.

Tips, What to Know and Prepare

• As Hubbie is the solo driver and I don’t have a valid driving license, we take a break every 2-2.5 hours to ensure he’s not sleepy or tired. We have plenty of drink and snacks in the car.
• We were traveling during pandemic time so we are extra discipline with hygiene. We carried disinfectant spray, hand sanitizer and installed air purifier in the car.
• We carefully chose Hotels which practices good Covid 19 Health Protocol and take extra careful when we eat out for lunch and dinner
• Semarang is actually not an ideal stop in term of distance from Jakarta. If we were to re-do the trip, I would leave home earlier and stay the first night in Surabaya and the second night in Banyuwangi so we can cross to Bali in the morning.
• Banyuwangi has a lot of major attractions and is worth to stay for more than just 1 day . We couldn’t go to Ijen on this visit and only finally went on our second visit. Even then we still haven’t explored the small islands and the beaches there. So if you are doing road trip like us, allocate at least 3 days for Banyuwangi.
• Situbondo area is interesting and famous for their beach (Pasir Putih). We stayed in Rosali Hotel, which I highly recommend but if you want to stay in the beach front location you can stay in Utama Raya Cottage. They have a big rest area and we went there for dinner on our way back to Probolinggo. We should’ve just stayed the night in Situbondo instead of Probolinggo because the hotel choices in Probolinggo is more limited.

A New Adventure

This road trip became more than just a journey to Bali—it was a lesson in adapting, letting go of perfection, and embracing spontaneity. It was about rediscovering travel in a new way, even if it meant spending hours on the road.

Who would’ve thought that a pandemic would turn me, the ultimate “fly-only” traveler, into someone who willingly says, “Let’s hit the road!”?

How about you? What kind holiday did you do during the pandemic?