Crowded beach (many vendors, masseuses, beach boys, etc, high waves, strong currents) lined by numerous hotels and resorts, mostly in the 2- to 4-star categories. In early 2000 the beach road from the Hard Rock Resort to the Kumala Pantai Hotel has been extended to the "DOUBLE SIX" disco, and many hotels such as the Legian Beach, Bali Padma, Jayakarta Hotel, Bali Niksoma and others have lost their direct beach access and a large part of their garden.
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Kuta location on Google Map | Kuta Village Review | Kuta Gallery Photo
Hotels in Kuta area | Villas in Kuta area
Kuta and Legian (grown into one township during the past decade and spreading further north every month) are the centers of Bali's night life with a great number of restaurants, pubs, open bars, discos, and all kinds of super markets, department stores, and shops selling casual wear and beach fashions, antiques, handicrafts and souvenirs. Daily traffic jams and many, sometimes quite insistent hawkers have made this very untypical and rather ugly part of Bali a nightmare for many visitors. Recommended if you are looking for action, excitement, or just for a night out, but certainly not for a family vacation or romantic honeymoon (click here for more hotels and villas in this area)
Seminyak to Batubelig and Tanah Lot
[PIC] Until recently this used to be a rather rural, mostly residential area, stretching a few miles north from Legian. Good, off-white, sandy beach with powerful waves and some strong currents, and getting less crowded the further you move to the North. Fast increasing number of hotels and villas, good but reasonably priced restaurants and Bali's most interesting pubs and discos as well as shops selling casual wear, furniture, antiques, decorative items and handicrafts.
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Seminyak location on Google Map
Hotels in Seminyak area | Villas in Seminyak area
Recommended for visitors who wish to be somewhat away from the tourist crowds but appreciate easy access to the restaurants and shops of Seminyak, Legian, and Kuta. Access to other parts of the island is equally good as you don't have to pass through crowded Kuta. Between Seminyak and Batubelig, and in the beautiful, still rural area stretching further North to Canggu and up to Tanah Lot you'll also find some of Bali's most attractive vacation villas.
Recommended Accommodation : Le Meridien – Kumala Pantai - The Oberoi (click here for more hotels in this area) and a good choice of fully staffed Private Villas
Sanur Beach
This is where you'd find 25 years ago all of Bali's international standard hotels although the beach was never outstanding.
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Sanur location on Google Map | Sanur Village Review | Sanur Gallery Photo
Hotels in Sanur area | Villas in Sanur area
Today the beach has further deteriorated, and Sanur has become rather quiet compared to Kuta and Nusa Dua but is still popular with old-time visitors and some foreign residents.
Recommended Accommodation : Bali Hyatt - Mercure Sanur - Inna Grand Bali Beach (click here for more hotels in this area) and some Private Villas
Ubud and Surroundings
The town of Ubud is to Bali what Jogyakarta is to Java - culturally speaking. Ubud is where most accomplished painters, dancers, musicians, carvers and weavers live and work, and there are a number of very good museums and art galleries. Because of its location at the base of the mountains (about 19 miles or 30 kilometers north of Denpasar) temperatures are slightly lower than in the lowlands and year-round rain showers help to grow lush tropical vegetation.
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Ubud location on Google Map | Ubud Village Review | Ubud Gallery Photo
Hotels in Ubud area | Villas in Ubud area
The town itself has developed rapidly during the past decade, and today the main roads are lined with art shops, handicraft and souvenir shops, as well as many restaurants and cafes. Until late afternoon tourist groups and other day-visitors are roaming shops and eateries. After sunset, Ubud becomes quieter. Accommodation ranges from very cheap, very basic losmens, quite expensive but equally basic losmens, to some of Bali's best-known and most expensive boutique hotels and beautiful private villas. Most of these are located in Sayan a few miles away overlooking the picturesque Ayung river valley.
Recommended Accommodation : Alila Ubud - Four Seasons Sayan - Maya Ubud Spa and Resort - Kamandalu Resort - Pitamaha Resort (click here for more hotels in this area) and a few very attractive Private Villas
Candidasa & Lovina
These two tourist centers in the East and North of Bali have become popular meeting places for all those visitors wanting to get away from the tourists. Both offer a number of often quite simple but adequate hotels and restaurants.
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Candidasa location on Google Map | Candidasa Review | Candidasa Gallery Photo
Hotels in Candidasa area | Villas in Candidasa area
Lovina location on Google Map | Lovina Review | Lovina Gallery Photo
Hotels in Lovina area | Villas in Lovina area
Beach around Candidasa, however, have kind of disappeared during the last decade after most coral reefs in the area were destroyed, and many visitors do not like the black sand covering most beaches in the North of Bali.
Recommended Accommodation : Puri Bagus Candidasa - Rama Candidasa - Puri Bagus Lovina - Sunari Hotel (click here for more hotels in this area) and a good choice of fully staffed Private Villas
