Bali, Indonesia
Ubud's rice terraces and temple mornings, Uluwatu cliff surf and beach clubs along the Seminyak sand.
A sample of the properties we quote here. Tell us your dates and we shortlist the right ones for you.
Sayan valley, near Ubud, above the Ayung River
A riverside Four Seasons in the Sayan valley near Ubud, set above the Ayung River and known for its jungle-canopy villas and lotus-pond entrance.
Ubud outskirts, along the Ayung River
A Ritz-Carlton Reserve on the edge of Ubud, set in a river valley along the Ayung amid rice terraces.
Beachfront on Seminyak beach
An all-suite beachfront hotel on Seminyak beach, one of the area's established luxury addresses.
Seminyak beachfront
A lively beachfront hotel on Seminyak beach, known for its Woobar and poolside scene.
Nusa Dua, on Geger beach
A large, opulent beachfront resort on Nusa Dua's Geger beach, known for its grand oceanfront pools.
Nusa Dua beachfront
A beachfront St. Regis on Nusa Dua, known for its saltwater lagoon villas and signature butler service.
Clifftop at Uluwatu (Pecatu)
An iconic clifftop resort perched above the ocean at Uluwatu, with a private beach reached by a cliff-side funicular.
Clifftop on the Uluwatu peninsula
A clifftop wellness resort on the Uluwatu peninsula, with panoramic ocean views and a large spa.
We quote these and many more. Prices depend on dates and board — the quote is free and there is no payment on this site.
This is the single most useful sentence on this page. Bali is an island roughly the size of a small European province, with a road network of two-lane lanes, scooters and no motorway worth the name across the tourist south. Average driving speed in the busy areas is around 20 to 30 kilometres per hour. Ubud, Seminyak and Uluwatu are the three names people arrive with, and they are an hour or more apart in every combination.
Guests who book one hotel and plan to "see Bali" from it spend the holiday in a car. Guests who split their stay - a few nights inland, the rest on the coast - come home saying it was the best trip of their lives. The difference is not the hotel. It is the map.
Seminyak is the polished beach strip: restaurants, boutiques, beach clubs and sunsets. The sand is grey-gold volcanic, the surf is strong and there are rip currents; it is a beach for walking and for sundowners, not for a five-year-old to swim in. Good if you want to eat well and walk somewhere in the evening.
Canggu, further north, is the younger, scruffier, café-and-surf version with rice fields between the lanes. Charming and creative. Also the worst traffic on the island, because a great many people funnel through very narrow roads.
Kuta and Legian are the cheap, loud, backpacker-era originals. Bright nightlife, tired streets, the closest beaches to the airport.
Sanur, on the east coast, is the one many families end up wishing they had chosen first. A reef sits offshore, so the water is shallow, calm and clear, there is a long flat cycle path along the sea, the crowd is quieter and older, and the fast boats to Nusa Penida and Lembongan leave from here. Sunrise rather than sunset.
Nusa Dua is a gated resort enclave: manicured, safe, calm reef-protected swimming, big international hotels, and essentially no local street life at all. It works very well for people who want a resort holiday and not much friction.
Uluwatu and the Bukit peninsula are clifftops and white-sand coves reached down long staircases. The best surf on the island, dramatic views, expensive taxis and nothing within walking distance of anything.
Ubud is inland, in the hills, an hour or more from any beach. Rice terraces, temples, yoga, art markets, the monkey forest, and cooler nights. Green and beautiful, humid, and completely without a coastline. Two to four nights here is the standard recommendation, not a whole trip.
Jimbaran sits near the airport with a calm bay and the grilled-seafood beach restaurants, a good short first or last stop.
For seven to ten nights, the pattern that works almost every time is three or four nights in Ubud followed by the rest on the coast in Sanur, Seminyak, Nusa Dua or the Bukit, depending on whether you want calm water, restaurants, a resort or surf. Book the two hotels rather than commuting daily from one.
Do not try to add Nusa Penida, the Gili islands and a volcano sunrise onto a five-night trip. Each of those is a very long day: the Penida boat is 30 to 45 minutes from Sanur but the island's roads are poor, and the classic viewpoint involves a hard climb.
The anchor here is from EUR 55 per person per night, and in Bali that genuinely buys something good: a comfortable 4 star with breakfast and a pool in Sanur, Seminyak or Ubud. This is a destination where the money goes further than almost anywhere else we quote.
The signature product is the private pool villa. One-bedroom villas with their own pool typically start around EUR 60 to 120 per night for the villa, and staffed multi-bedroom villas make excellent sense for families or two couples. Two honest warnings: many villas sit down an unlit lane, so check the walk to the main road; and villa housekeeping standards vary far more than hotel ones.
All-inclusive is available in Nusa Dua but is usually the wrong purchase here. A meal in a local warung is around EUR 2 to 4, a good restaurant main EUR 8 to 15, a beach club main EUR 10 to 18. Paying for a package that locks you inside one property means missing the thing Bali does best.
You fly into Ngurah Rai International (DPS), just south of Kuta. From there it is 20 to 35 minutes to Nusa Dua, 30 to 45 to Sanur, 30 to 50 to Seminyak, 45 to 75 to Uluwatu, 45 to 90 to Canggu and 60 to 120 to Ubud. Those upper figures are not pessimism; they are what happens between 16:00 and 19:00.
There is no non-stop service from most European cities, so expect one connection through the Gulf or South-East Asia and something in the order of 16 to 20 hours door to door. From Istanbul the usual routing is one stop.
Please be clear that our own vehicles and drivers operate in Turkey only. In Bali we quote accommodation through our partner agencies. The airport transfer is arranged locally, normally by the hotel, and this is worth pre-booking because the arrivals hall is busy and the fare is fixed in advance.
On the ground, ride-hailing apps work but are blocked or discouraged in several areas by local transport co-operatives, so you will sometimes be told to use a local driver instead. A car with a driver for a full day costs roughly EUR 35 to 55 including fuel and is the sane way to see the island. Scooters are cheap and are also how most tourists get injured here; a proper licence and a helmet are required and police do check.
Most nationalities buy a visa on arrival, and there is a separate Bali tourist levy payable online before or on arrival. Rules change, so verify your own case shortly before you fly.
May to October is the dry season and is what the catalogue months reflect. May, June and September are the sweet spot: dry, less crowded and cheaper than the peak. July and August are dry but are also the busiest and most expensive weeks of the year, with the worst traffic.
November to March is the wet season. That means heavy afternoon downpours rather than all-day rain, high humidity, more mosquitoes, and - during the January and February peak - river runoff that carries plastic and debris onto the west-coast beaches. Hotels are noticeably cheaper and mornings are frequently clear.
Now the thing the brochures leave out: the seaweed. Through much of the dry season, roughly from around April or May into September or October, the south-west monsoon pushes drifts of brown seaweed onto the west and south beaches - Kuta, Legian, Seminyak, Jimbaran and sometimes Nusa Dua. Hotels rake it at dawn, but it can return by afternoon and it does smell. It is not every day and not every year to the same degree, but it is real, and it coincides exactly with the months everyone recommends. If clean swimming water is the priority, the east coast at Sanur and the Nusa islands are the more reliable choice, and we will say so when we quote.
The south-west beaches have real currents and rips. Swim between the flags where they exist, and take local advice seriously.
Temples require a sarong and sash, usually lent at the entrance. Bali is Hindu and the ceremonial calendar is busy; on Nyepi, the day of silence in March, the entire island shuts down for 24 hours including the airport, and you must stay inside your hotel. Check that date if you are travelling in March.
Rupiah is the currency, cards work in hotels and mid-range restaurants, warungs are cash. Bottled water everywhere.
Skip it if you want calm turquoise swimming water at every beach, if you cannot tolerate traffic, if you have five nights and a long list, if you need step-free pavements and easy accessibility, or if you want a short-haul beach week - this is a long flight to make for a week.
Tell us your dates, how many nights you have, whether you want to split between inland and coast, and whether you are after a hotel or a private pool villa. A consultant prices it with our partner agencies and comes back, normally within one working day, with a specific plan including realistic driving times between the two hotels. The quote is free, no payment is taken on this website, and nothing is booked until you confirm.
Both, split. Ubud is inland and an hour or more from any coast, so it cannot be a base for beach days. The pattern that works is three or four nights in Ubud and the rest on the coast. Commuting daily between the two means spending your holiday in a car on two-lane roads.
From Ngurah Rai (DPS) allow 20 to 35 minutes to Nusa Dua, 30 to 45 to Sanur, 30 to 50 to Seminyak, 45 to 75 to Uluwatu, 45 to 90 to Canggu and 60 to 120 to Ubud. The higher figures apply between about 16:00 and 19:00, when the southern roads are at their worst.
Through much of the dry season, roughly April or May into September or October, the monsoon pushes brown seaweed onto the west and south beaches including Kuta, Seminyak and Jimbaran. Hotels clear it early but it can return by afternoon and it smells. Sanur and the east coast are far less affected.
Sanur, followed by Nusa Dua. Both sit behind a reef, so the water is shallow, calm and clear. The south-west coast at Seminyak, Legian and Kuta has strong surf and rip currents and is not a swimming beach for a young child, however good the hotel is.
It exists mainly in Nusa Dua and is usually the wrong choice here. Eating out is one of the best things about Bali and it is cheap: a warung meal is around EUR 2 to 4, a good restaurant main EUR 8 to 15. Room-only or bed and breakfast leaves you free and normally costs less overall.
A car with a driver for a full day costs roughly EUR 35 to 55 including fuel and is the sensible option. Ride-hailing apps work but are blocked in several areas by local transport co-operatives. Scooters are cheap and are also how most injured tourists get injured; a correct licence and helmet are required.
November to March, peaking in January and February. Expect heavy afternoon downpours rather than all-day rain, high humidity, more mosquitoes and debris washing onto the west-coast beaches. Prices drop noticeably and mornings are often clear, so for an Ubud-focused trip it can work well.
Send the dates, the number of nights and whether you want a hotel or a private pool villa. A consultant prices it with our partner agencies and replies, normally within one working day, with a concrete two-centre plan and honest driving times. The quote is free, no payment is taken on this site, and nothing is booked until you confirm.
Rates here move a lot between low and high season, so we quote each request individually rather than publish a number that would be wrong most of the year.
Free, non-binding, answered by a person.
