An introduction
Enigmatic Bali is the proverbial jewel in the crown of Indonesian tourism. The Hindu enclave has long entranced foreigners, from artists and writers in the 19th century through to surfers in the 20th century and these days, well, pretty much everyone from budget-conscious backpackers through to well-heeled luxury travellers from around the world come to Bali.
There’s a reason the crowds come and it’s this: Bali pretty much offers anything a traveller might want. It’s beautiful, the culture is rich and fascinating, it’s cheap (or at least consistently excellent value for money), the geography is stunning, the shopping eclectic, cuisine wide-ranging and delicious, and the people friendly. In short, Bali is really what other destinations try to conjure themselves up to be when seeking to entice tourists.
The challenge of a holiday in Bali is not to find something to do or hunt down a fabulous place to hang your backpack/kaftan/Louis Vuitton luggage: it’s successfully whittling down the enormous list of possibilities to a few manageable items.
Let’s begin with the beaches. Kuta, a long arch of sand that stretches into Legian and Seminyak beaches, was the original beach of choice for surfers who first started straggling into Bali in the 1960s. These days Kuta still attracts beginner surfers, with its gentle breaks and array of surf schools vying for the attention ... Travelfish members only (Full text is around 1,000 words.)
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Find out more29 other destinations in Bali
Some great diving
Don’t go, it’s awful!
Good swell, swell vibes
Ubud without the hordes
Sleepy Sanur
Bay after bay after bay
Beaches and more beaches
Eat Pray Traffic
Mountain getaway
Surf and snorkelling
Welcome to Bali!
Old school beach resorts
Explore rice fields and water palaces
Dive a wreck
Black sand beach town
Infamous
Big sunglasses, good bars
Great beach BBQ
Villas and ricefields
A popular climb
Go now
We love this joint
Beach bums
Cool weather, succulent strawberries
Fancy pants resorts
The capital
West as Bali gets