They are THE girls you contact if you want to know anything Bali related. With more than 12 years island experience, Pris and Eve’s Welike Bali platform has evolved in a household name and brand. They sell merchandise, test the best hotels and hotspots and they have recently published their first Dutch Bali Guide! Time to have a chat.
Hi Girls! How are you? Could you tell our readers a little bit about Welike Bali and who you are?
Hi! We are Pris & Eve, two best friends from Holland. We met each other at our first job after we finished our study and became friends. Back in 2009 we decided to move somewhere sunny for one year. Given that we both have Indonesian roots, decided to go travel to Bali. 11 years passed, and here we are! When we arrived back in 2009 there were lots of cool things happening on the island and new hotspots opening. So that’s how we started Welike Bali.
We couldn’t find any nice websites with non-touristy info about Bali.
A blog about everything we like on the island. Over the years we expanded our blog with our Instagram channel, YouTube, published our Bali travel guides in English and recently also our official Dutch book! It’s filled with more than 300 tips And since 2 years we also run our Welike Bali shop. We design Island life inspired t-shirts, sweaters and accessories and have them handmade in Bali.
We think a lot of our followers love the island of Bali, but what makes it so special for you guys?
The moment we arrived in Bali we felt that instant connection. It’s the sun, the ocean, surf, the people, amazing creative vibe, incredible food from vegan till the best nasi campur. But mostly because we love the feeling of freedom and life outside. Getting up early when the sun rises, jumping on the motorbike, surf, have coffee and breakfast at one of our many favourite cafes and after that we start our working day. In the evening we see our friends over dinner and in weekends we go on trips to create content and explore new spots. It’s an inspiring place to live!
So for those who haven’t been to Bali, what are THE hotspots on the island at the moment?
This one is so hard to answer haha! You can’t even imagine how many amazing stays, restaurants, beach hangouts and other hotspots there are. The 300 spots in our book are even a tiny few of our favourites! And it also totally depends on your travel preferences and budget. You can go all out luxury or off the beaten path local or low budget.
But we can say for first time Bali go’ers it’s a must to go to:
- Canggu to eat, surf & chill.
- South Bali (The Bukit) for the best beaches, magical sunsets, surf and cute stays on the beach
- Ubud for culture, arts and rice field walks (if you are more adventurous head up to Jatiluwih or Karangasem for incredible nature and rice paddy jungle valleys)
- East Bali for the authentic Bali vibe away from mass tourism. Black sand beaches, local villages, eco stays along the beach and palm tree fields as far as you can look.
- An island outside of Bali! It’s a must. Visit the Gili- or the Nusa islands for clear blue water and white sand beaches. Or head up to Flores for an unforgettable trip with island hopping, snorkelling with manta rays and sleep on a deserted island.
The Welike Bali girls in Flores
Evelien (Eve for short), you just became a new mum to a baby boy – who looks very cute btw, how will you combine the traveling to Bali, especially when he gets older?
Thanks! Haha. Manua is turning 1 this week! Before Manua I spend a few months on and off in Amsterdam and Bali and with Manua we plan to do the same. This first year we stayed more in Holland, to be close to family but we’re so ready to head back into the sun haha. It was super easy to fly with him as a newborn, when he could sleep in the basinet in front of our chairs. I’m curious how our next flight will go since he won’t sit still anymore I’m sure it will be tough but we’ll survive haha.
Apart from Bali and Amsterdam, what is your favourite place you want to keep coming back to?
Los Angeles, Hawaii and Tahiti! These three places in the world are our absolute favourite. We’ve been here a few times and we are already planning a new trip this year. Can’t wait to bring Manua here! We love the energy and creative vibes of Los Angeles, and get so inspired each time we are here. We love to just live a ‘daily life’ in LA. Get up early, workout, hike or surf, have breakfast or pick-up a juice or coffee to go on Abbot Kinney and then start the day. Hawaii & Tahiti is island life to the fullest for us. The ocean, waving palm trees, eating açaí bowls along the road at the local food truck and exploring its beautiful raw nature and incredible beaches.
You have recently published a Bali Travel Guide, what can people expect to read and see?
We did, so excited! Up to the present time, we have been self publishing our smaller-size English Bali Guide for 3 years now, and last September we released our official Dutch Bali Travel Guide! Together with Uitgeverij Unieboek Het Spectrum which is being sold in more than 100 stores throughout the Netherlands. We made it to give everyone an unforgettable dream holiday to Bali! Whether you’re travel solo, with friends, on a honeymoon or with kids. It’s the crown on our 10 year anniversary in Bali!
We curated our top 300 favourite addresses. From the nicest places to eat and sleep to the best surf spots, beaches, spas, shops, yoga schools and special trips. We also give tips how and where to travel for the surrounding islands including Flores, the Gili Islands and Nusa Lembongan, Ceningan & Penida. And we interviewed fellow Bali lovers, like Benthe Liem, Vivian Hoorn, Rachel “De Huismuts” from Sas and Nina Pierson about their favorite Bali places. We wanted to make it a ready to go guide, so we also added a handy packing list, day-to-day travel routes, practical tips and a Bali bucket list to tick off while in Bali!
If you could only pack 3 items in your suitcase, what would definitely be in there?
Without hesitation; a bikini, sunscreen & our analog camera.
The Instagram game is constantly changing, how do you guys keep your relevance and stay innovative in “the game”?
We believe the key is to be valuable and offer something to your audience. In our case: our personal tips for Bali and inspiration to travel anywhere sunny. We’re lucky amazing new spots and island stays are popping up every day in Bali so we always have something new to share. The whole lifestyle around it, like what bikinis or Summer outfits to wear make it personal because you can understand more of who Pris & Eve are.
We think the trend is moving towards being creative and real
e take our followers along in our daily life in Bali and Amsterdam with Manua (and Pris in Biarritz with the boyfriend in the Summer months) and also experiment with analog photography on the feed and more IGTV videos.
Which music can we find on your ultimate roadtrip Spotify list?
- It’ll be mostly Hawaiian and singer songwriter music! A few on repeat are:
- Kimie Miner – Sea of Love
- Khai Dreams – Sunkissed
- Nani – Good Morning
- Anuhea – Forever Summer
- Leon Bridges – Beyond
But we can also be in the mood for a good Beyonce, Anderson Paak and always love a good 90’s hip-hop playlist!
So far, which was your highlight of 2019 (ok, the baby doesn’t count ;-))
Haha ok otherwise, we would definitely have baby on number one! And our first time with baby Manua in Bali :))
But besides baby, our highlight is the launch of our Welike Bali book. It really felt like the cherry on the pie of 10 years Welike Bali. But we must say our years are usually a collection of highlights as each trip is so special! We fell in love with Bawah, an island in Indonesia so paradisally it’s almost unreal. Loved our surf trip to the Mentawais with 10 surfer girls from around the world, work trips to Mauritius and Portugal.
Evelien with her husband and baby Manua
What can we expect from Welike Bali in 2020?
There will be exciting things happening! We have designed some new curated travel guides and clothing collections for our Welikebali Shop which we will release around February/March. And we’re having something fun to announce soon, can’t spoil everything yet but is has something to do with Welike Bali Holidays ;)) In addition we also have some sun-kissed destinations on our bucket list we want to travel to, like the Philippines, Greece, Maldives, Mexico (ok we’ll stop this list will get too long haha) so above all we’ll be spreading lots of sunshine in 2020!
And last but not least, what kind of travellers are you?
Notably, we are in love with the ocean, beach and waving palm trees! Long days under the sun, exploring sea life, surfing and eating our way through the day hehe. But we also love to visit cities like Paris, Marrakech, Los Angeles, New York (NY is still on the bucket list!) and explore new spots. That cool coffee bar, cool concept store or incredible vegan cafe. We get so excited when we see new places in the world, it gives so much inspiration and energy! We don’t really have a specific travel style, we can enjoy a luxurious resort in the Maldives, a low-key airbnb in the city, but also a simple beach shack on a deserted island. But we are a sucker for a good design or an eye-catching tropical set-up so it will need to look a little bit nice 😉
Thanks for the chat girls and let’s travel soon!
Find our more about Welike Bali on their tropical website!
x
Wander-Lust
Read more interviews here:
