Bali (Indonesia)
Bali is a Hindu island in a Muslim nation, and that single fact explains almost everything that makes it special: twenty thousand temples, a daily rhythm of woven palm-leaf offerings on every doorstep, gamelan rehearsals drifting out of village pavilions, and a landscape of volcanoes and rice terraces shaped over a thousand years by the subak water-temple system that UNESCO now protects.
This guide plans the island properly — the Sacred Monkey Forest and the rice terraces of Tegallalang from a base in Ubud, a purification bath at the holy springs of Tirta Empul, the Kecak fire dance at sunset on the cliffs of Uluwatu, Tanah Lot on its rock in the surf, a pre-dawn climb up Mount Batur for sunrise over the caldera, a speedboat day on Nusa Penida, and the quieter highlands of Jatiluwih and Lake Beratan. It is honest about the new realities, too: the tourist levy you pay online before you land, the e-Arrival Card, stricter temple etiquette, the fees and safety rules on Nusa Penida, the two-hour drives that look like twenty minutes on a map, and the wet season that runs from November to March. Then it matches you to the right base, from a river-valley sanctuary near Ubud to a cliff-top villa above the Indian Ocean or a 1960s bungalow on the beach in Sanur, because in Bali where you sleep decides what you see.
Ubud & the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary
A jungle temple sanctuary on the edge of Ubud town, home to more than a thousand long-tailed macaques, mossy stone dragons, ancient banyans and a ravine crossed by a carved bridge. The essential first stop in Bali's cultural heart — with your sunglasses firmly zipped away.
Uluwatu Temple & the Kecak Fire Dance
A sea temple on a sheer limestone cliff at the south-western tip of Bali, and at sunset a chorus of men chanting the Ramayana in an amphitheatre above the ocean, ending in fire. Bali's most spectacular evening — mind the monkeys.
Mount Batur Sunrise Trek
A pre-dawn climb up an active volcano in the Kintamani highlands, reaching the crater rim as the sun rises behind Mount Agung and the caldera lake turns silver below. Two hours up by torchlight, with a local guide — and a breakfast cooked in volcanic steam.
Nusa Penida Day Trip
A speedboat across the strait to Bali's wild sister island: the T-Rex headland of Kelingking, the sea arch at Broken Beach, the tidal pool of Angel's Billabong and Crystal Bay. Spectacular, rugged and best done with a driver who knows the roads.
A jungle temple sanctuary on the edge of Ubud town, home to more than a thousand long-tailed macaques, mossy stone dragons, ancient banyans and a ravine crossed by a carved bridge. The essential first stop in Bali's cultural heart — with your sunglasses firmly zipped away.
The emerald amphitheatre of rice paddies twenty minutes north of Ubud, carved into a valley and watered by the ancient subak system. Walk down into the terraces at dawn, before the swings, cafes and crowds wake up.
The water temple of Tampaksiring, where a sacred spring bubbles into stone pools lined with carved spouts and Balinese Hindus queue to purify themselves. Visitors may join the melukat ritual too — respectfully, in a bathing sarong, in the right order.
A sea temple on a sheer limestone cliff at the south-western tip of Bali, and at sunset a chorus of men chanting the Ramayana in an amphitheatre above the ocean, ending in fire. Bali's most spectacular evening — mind the monkeys.
A shrine on a rock in the surf off Bali's west coast, reachable on foot only at low tide and silhouetted every evening against one of the island's most photographed sunsets. Busy, commercial and still genuinely magical.
A pre-dawn climb up an active volcano in the Kintamani highlands, reaching the crater rim as the sun rises behind Mount Agung and the caldera lake turns silver below. Two hours up by torchlight, with a local guide — and a breakfast cooked in volcanic steam.
A speedboat across the strait to Bali's wild sister island: the T-Rex headland of Kelingking, the sea arch at Broken Beach, the tidal pool of Angel's Billabong and Crystal Bay. Spectacular, rugged and best done with a driver who knows the roads.
A long ribbon of dark-gold sand on Bali's south-west coast, from the beach clubs and boutiques of Seminyak to the surf breaks, rice-field cafes and sunset bars of Canggu. Come for the surf, the sunsets and the scene — and respect the red flags.
The vast, sweeping rice terraces on the slopes of Mount Batukaru, heart of the UNESCO-listed subak cultural landscape. Bigger, quieter and more authentic than Tegallalang, with walking trails through working fields and forest.
The split gateway in east Bali that frames Mount Agung like a painting, and one of the island's holiest temple complexes. Famous for its photo queue — but the real reward is the pilgrim climb above it.
A tiered shrine that seems to float on a misty highland lake, dedicated to the goddess of the waters who feeds the rice fields of Bali. Cool air, mountain views and one of the island's loveliest temples.
Bali sits in the Coral Triangle, and its reefs are a short drive from the temples. Start with the calm, fish-filled cove of Blue Lagoon in Padangbai, then graduate to the Liberty wreck at Tulamben and the manta rays of Nusa Penida.
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
Ubud (Ayung River valley)
Thirty-five suites and twenty-five private pool villas in a river valley outside Ubud, where the jungle meets the Ayung River and rice paddies terrace down to the water. Every guest has a personal Patih, or butler. Bali at its most serene, and most expensive.
Check rates →Ubud (Central, Jalan Hanoman)
A 106-room resort on Jalan Hanoman in the heart of Ubud, with gardens, a pool bar and an award-winning spa, a stroll from the Monkey Forest, the palace and the cafes. The smart-value base for exploring Ubud on foot.
Check rates →Uluwatu (Bukit Peninsula)
Cliff-top pool villas on the Bukit peninsula, with a cantilevered sunset cabana above the Indian Ocean, a fifty-metre cliffside pool and architecture that set a benchmark for sustainable design. Minutes from Uluwatu Temple and the Kecak.
Check rates →Seminyak
Fifteen acres of gardens on Seminyak beach, with thatched lanai rooms and pool villas, a beachfront pool and an amphitheatre for dinners and dance. Old-school Balinese elegance in the middle of the island's most fashionable strip.
Check rates →Nusa Dua
The all-suite, butler-served heart of the Mulia complex on Geger Beach in Nusa Dua: a calm kilometre of sand, the Oasis infinity pool, nine restaurants and bars and a spa with an ice room. Big-resort glamour on Bali's gentlest water.
Check rates →Sanur
One of Bali's first boutique hotels, founded on Sanur beach in 1962 and still run by the same family: thatched bungalows with coral walls and carved doors in a coconut grove by the sea. The island as it was, steps from the Nusa Penida boats.
Check rates →Canggu (Echo Beach)
A contemporary resort on Echo Beach, one of Bali's best surf breaks, with suites, residences and a penthouse, the COMO Beach Club by the pool and COMO Shambhala wellness. Canggu energy with a calm, design-led retreat to come home to.
Check rates →Sanur
The rebuilt former Bali Hyatt on Sanur beach: 16 hectares of mature tropical gardens, calm lagoon water, a kids club, a big spa village and the Sanur beach path on the doorstep. The easiest family resort in Bali, ten minutes from the Nusa Penida boats.
Check rates →Seminyak
A design-led beach hotel on Seminyak's sand with Balinese craft woven through every corner: 289 rooms, suites and private-pool villas, a beachfront bar for sunset, a shaded garden pool and a full spa. Seminyak's shops and restaurants are a short ride away.
Check rates →Nusa Dua
A good-value family resort inside the Nusa Dua enclave, built around a huge lagoon pool with swim-up terraces and a lazy river, with a free kids club and a shuttle to its own beach club. Big-resort fun at a mid-range price.
Check rates →Ubud (Petulu)
A green, practical mid-range stay just north of central Ubud with in-room kitchens, free bikes, a jungle-view pool and a rooftop bar. Ideal for longer stays, families and anyone heading to Tegallalang or the Batur sunrise trek.
Check rates →Ubud (Pengosekan)
A friendly boutique hotel and hostel on Jalan Pengosekan in Ubud, with a pool, gardens, free daily yoga, ensuite dorms and paddy-view doubles. A genuine budget base, walkable to the Monkey Forest, ARMA and the Yoga Barn.
Check rates →Pererenan (Canggu)
Bali's first purpose-built coworking hostel, in Pererenan next to Canggu: pod-style dorms with privacy curtains, private suites, a pool, a big coworking space and rice-field views, about 500 metres from the beach. The budget pick for digital nomads.
Check rates →Uluwatu (Pecatu)
A social backpacker hostel opened in 2025 a few steps from Padang Padang beach, with a pool and cave bar, sauna, ice bath, jacuzzi, gym and nightly meet-ups. The cheapest way to stay in surf-and-sunset Uluwatu without feeling it.
Check rates →Amed (Jemeluk Beach)
Seven renovated cottages on Jemeluk Beach in Amed, east Bali, with ocean and Mount Agung views and coral reefs a few strokes from the shore. A small, peaceful base for snorkelling, diving the Tulamben wreck and slowing right down.
Check rates →Everything to sort before and after you land in 2026 — the tourist levy and e-Arrival Card, visas, temple dress and the new rules for visitors, cash and cards, drivers versus scooters, and how to plan around Bali traffic.
The base decides the trip. How the main areas differ in mood, beaches, traffic and price, which to combine on a one- or two-week trip, and the hotels we would book in each.
A first-timer itinerary that puts every headline in the right order — the Monkey Forest and terraces, Tirta Empul after the Batur sunrise, the highlands and Tanah Lot, Nusa Penida, and the Kecak at Uluwatu — with two bases and realistic drive times.
What makes Balinese food different from the rest of Indonesia, the dishes to seek out, how to eat at a warung, where cooking classes fit in, and practical tips on spice, hygiene and plastic-free eating.
The honest guide to visiting Bali in the rainy season — what the weather is really like, which sights shine and which suffer, where to base yourself, Nusa Penida and Batur in the rain, and the holidays that change everything.
Why Bali has so many temples, how a temple is laid out, the six great directional sanctuaries, what to wear and how to behave, the rules introduced for visitors in 2025, and which temples to prioritise.
