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A list of places to visit and stay.

This section divides the island of Bali into several zones, to help you find your way around.

• The South (including Kuta, Legian, Denpasar, and the southern peninsula).
• The Central highlands (including Ubud, Bangli, Mas and Tampaksiring).
• The North (including Bedugal, Kintamani, Git Git Falls, Singaraja and Lovina Beach).
• The East (including Candi Dasa, the Bat Cave, Klungkung and Tirta Gangga).
• The West (including Gilimanuk and the West Bali National Park).
• Further afield (other places, such as Lombok and Java).

Some of the locations listed in this document have some very basic maps to indicate the areas where restaurants and accomodation, as well as local places of interest may be found.

Almost the entire island of Bali is ready and waiting for visitors from around the world--from the densely populated resort areas of the south, to the cool central mountain highlands and the spectacular eastern coastal areas. The best idea is to be mobile, to travel with a lightweight pack, a comfortable pair of shoes and an attitude of breaking the traditional tourist mould. Bali is kind to inexperienced travellers, and those who wish to try a trekking holiday for the first time would do well to start here. Most of the local people have at least a limited knowledge of English, low cost accommodation is plentiful, transport is reliable, the food is generally very good and safe drinking water is always available, as are many other familiar western goods (in case of emergency chocolate cravings for instance).

Being a tiny island, there is nowhere in Bali that cannot be reached in a single day, and there is no need to travel via overnight buses. This means that a fixed itinerary is not really needed, however a general plan of places to visit and stay at should be considered. The exact details of where you will stay and for how long will really depend on how much time you have available to spend on the island.

If you can stay a couple of weeks or more, you may consider staying in three or four places, and in eighteen nights it is possible to stay in perhaps five or six different places (depending on your own favored pace and on whether you decide to stay longer in a place you really like for instance).

Perhaps a circuit of the eastern part of the island is the best plan, starting in Kuta or better yet, Ubud, then a cool break in Bedugal (or nearby Candikuning), north to the Lovina beach area (perhaps Singaraja or Yeh Sanih as alternatives), eastward to Tirtagangga, Candi Dasa or Padangbai, then west to Ubud or Kuta.

Each of those places will provide great bases for day trips, long interesting walks and general relaxation. If you desire, there are many other villages that you can visit whilst maintaining the same general direction so that you can miss the masses of western tourists.

We have divided the island into several zones, so why not take a look around?

The South (including Kuta, Legian, Denpasar, and the southern peninsula).

Of Bali’s nearly one million visitors every year, the majority choose a package deal holiday that includes hotel accommodation in the southern resort area of Bali. This is the place of world class hotels, leather and cassette tape shops, boutiques, bars, discos, restaraunts and of course, the beaches. It is also the place of enthusiastic holiday revellers, indulging in sun, surf, beer, pub crawls and disco party-nights.

The south of Bali offers many places of interest no mater what your taste. Click here to take a quick tour of southern Bali.

The Central highlands (including Ubud, Bangli, Mas and Tampaksiring).

Strangely remote from the madding crowds of the Southern region, yet only a couple of hours away by even the slowest mode of transport. A stay in the Central part of Bali should be considered by everyone whose pursuits lean even slightly towards the cultural rather than the carnivale.

Highlights include beautiful jungle walks, stunning mountain vista’s over terraced rice fields and relief to see villages that have not yet totally succumbed to the trappings of the tourist trail. Click here to take a look at Bali’s Central highlands region.

The North (including Bedugal, Kintamani, Git Git Falls, Singaraja and Lovina Beach).

Travelling through the central area of Bali to the northern coast and the province’s second city-Singaraja, one can see the amazing contrasts of this tiny island; from the lush tropical forests of the central area, the cool sub-tropical highlands further north, and the open coastal hinterlands, the scenery of Bali is never dull. Click here to visit the Northern part of the island.

The East (including Candi Dasa, the Bat Cave, Klungkung and Tirta Gangga).

The spectacular coastal road of eastern Bali is an adventure in its own right, with tall mountains on one side and stunning cliffs and ocean views on the other. Few eastern villages encounter large numbers of tourists, and may be ideal for those who wish to avoid tourist crowds. Click here for a guide to the eastern part of the island.

The West (including Gilimanuk and the West Bali National Park).

Western Bali is often ignored by all except those travelling to Gilimanuk for the ferry to Java, however nature lovers should consider the Bali Barat National Park for a spot of bird-watching. Click here to check these places and the other attractions of the west.

Why not also consider looking at other parts of Indonesia while you are there, for instance...

Lombok

A slightly larger island than Bali, located less than 100km to the east, Lombok will present a distinctly different face of Indonesia to the traveller. The island tends to be drier, and like most of Indonesia, Lombok is predominantly Muslim.

Accommodation may be more basic (although international hotels can be found along the prime beach-fronts), and in some ways, Lombok may give an impression of what Bali was like 15 or 20 years ago.

Many collectors of Asian craftworks consider the work created on Lombok to be first class and definately collectable.

Flights of about 30 minutes depart Denpasar regularly, and cost about Rp.50,000, but the more adventurous and independant traveller can take the ferries from Padangbai which are scheduled to leave every two hours. Ferry tickets cost about Rp.8,000 and the trip takes about four or five hours.

Eastern Java.

The main island of Indonesia, Java is one of the worlds most densely populated islands, with many very large cities and a generally more frantic pace of life. The holiday atmosphere doesn’t predominate as it does on Bali, yet the traveller will find some fantastic sights to visit, and will be better able to observe the every-day lifestyles of the local population as they conduct their daily business.

If only a few days are available to divert to Java, then they are best spent on a trip to Mount Bromo for an overnight stay in one of the very cheap and basic mountain-top hostels and an early-morning hike to watch the sun rise over this steam emmitting live volcano. To miss out on seeing this great sight, yet to have been so close would be disappointing.

Given a week or so on Java, a visit to Yogyakatra or Solo should be considered for a first-hand look at the places that are considered to be the cultural heart of Indonesia.

Return to our Bali: The Online travel guide index.

Last updated: January 5th 1996