About Us
Who We Are
Akbar and Jay met in 2023 through a mutual friend, and it didn’t take long to figure out they were after the same things — good travel, real experiences, and the kind of trips that stay with you. A group trip to Bali that year ended up being more than just a vacation.Â
What we do now grew out of that. Not a business plan, but a question — how do you give other people access to a place like this in a way that actually does it justice? Bali has been done a thousand times, but most couples who go still feel like they only scratched the surface. We wanted to change that.
We built this to help couples start their next chapter somewhere that earns the moment. Not a resort itinerary. Not a highlight reel. The real Bali — beautiful, layered, and genuinely unforgettable — planned by people who know it from the inside.
Meet The Team
We're a group of people who genuinely love what we do — and we're based in both Indonesia and the USA to make sure every detail is taken care of, wherever you are.
Akbar
Co-Founder of TheBaliCharm
Akbar was born in Surabaya, Indonesia, and Bali was never just a vacation destination. Every year, his family made the trip, and somewhere along the way the island became part of how he understood home. Moving to the United States didn’t change that. He still goes back every year – still walks the same streets and notices what’s new, what’s been lost, what holds. Few people get to watch a place grow and change the way he has — and fewer still carry it with them the way Akbar does.
Jay
Co-Founder of TheBaliCharm
Jay grew up in California and always found a reason to travel. New places, different cultures – if there was somewhere worth seeing, he wanted to see it. Out of everywhere he’d been, Bali was unique and felt different. The kind of place that’s hard to describe until you’re there. He wanted other people to experience that, making sure every couple who books a trip gets the experience they are looking for, and leaves with exactly what the island promised.
Dedi
Bali Ground Specialist
Dedi grew up in Karangasem, on the eastern edge of Bali where the rice terraces still run deep and the pace of life hasn’t chased the tourist trail. He learned Bali from the roads he rode as a kid, the ceremonies his family kept, and the neighbors who are still there. That kind of knowledge doesn’t expire. When a package itinerary claims something is “authentic” or “hidden,” Dedi is the one who knows whether it actually is. He reviews and audits every package and itinerary we offer — checking not just logistics, but whether what we’re promising holds up against the Bali he knows. And when a couple lands and the trip begins, he’s there for all of it — driving, guiding, troubleshooting, and making sure the experience matches everything they were told it would be.
Bayu
Bali Ground Specialist
Bayu is from Singaraja, the old colonial capital in Bali’s north — a part of the island that most visitors fly over without ever seeing. Growing up there gave him a different lens on Bali: quieter coasts, older traditions, a community that runs on trust and long memories. He has watched tourism reshape the island from a vantage point most outsiders never find, and that perspective is exactly what makes him valuable. Before any itinerary goes out under our name, Bayu has been through it — scrutinizing the flow, the vendors, the timing, even all the way down to the traffic. On the ground in Bali, he’s the constant — driver, support, fixer, and the kind of local presence that turns a well-planned trip into one a couple will spend years talking about.
Our Story
This is the story of how The Bali Charm began.
1
5 Months Later
January 2025 — The Bali Charm takes its first step
A group of friends. A trip to Bali. And a feeling none of us could shake — that this place was too special not to share. That trip planted the seed for everything that followed.
2
1 Month Later
1 Month Later
June 2025 — The Bali Charm opens its doors to the world
We built a place online where Bali dreams could take shape. Our first honeymoon packages and website came to life — carefully put together so every couple could experience the island the way it deserves to be experienced, without the stress of figuring it out alone.
3
July 2025 — Our First Couple says Yes
Our first couple handed us something precious — the most important trip of their lives. Watching them discover Bali’s hidden waterfalls, its best coffee, its quiet unforgettable moments — that’s when everything became real for us too.
4
12 Month Later
June 2026 — Launched digital products and Bali planning services
We expanded our services to include digital travel products and dedicated Bali planning, while refreshing our honeymoon packages with current pricing and tailored itineraries
