The Ayung river is, in my opinion, the better choice if you are travelling with younger children or those who just want a more relaxing ride down a beautiful river. The waters are more calm here, with many rapids but no large waterfalls to go down.

There is also usually a chance to swim in this river. Sometimes the guide will stop you in a nice spot with a waterfall and let you swim around it, or other times if you’re floating in a safe area, you can just jump out and swim alongside the boat for a while.

If you have chosen this river, do prepare yourself for a looooong walk down several hundred stairs down to the river, and a long walk up. I don’t think you can escape it, I’ve been on the Ayung river with several different companies, starting at different locations, but the walk down was always the same – gorgeous, but my legs hurt for 2 days afterwards haha! Well worth it though!

Depending on the route you take, you may see a beautifully carved wall along the side of the river. It was done around 2005 I believe, but it looks ancient and you may get a chance to stop and take photos with it.