Independent guide to Bali
The Island of Gods,understood beforeyou set foot there.
Verifiable information to plan Bali, with no made-up reviews.
- 8 regions described
- 3 itineraries from 10 to 21 days
- IDR 150,000 tourist levy
Reference rate €1 ≈ IDR 20,000 (rounded, mid-October 2026)Tourist levy IDR 150,000 per person, official rateHow the information is checked
Seven bases, seven ways to see Bali
Bali is small on the map but slow on the road: from these seven bases, you pick two or three and stay there, rather than trying to see everything. Each page gives the recommended length of stay and the drive time from the airport.
Center
Ubud
For a first trip focused on culture: evening dances, temples, workshops, and a practical base for day trips.
East
Sidemen
For those who want the rice fields without the crowds: a farming valley at the foot of Agung, walks between the fields, little to “do”.
Bukit Peninsula
Uluwatu
For the sea and surfing: limestone cliffs, coves reached by stairs, spots for experienced surfers and kecak dance at sunset.
Island to the southeast
Nusa Penida
For the most spectacular scenery and diving with manta rays, as long as you accept badly damaged roads. Better to sleep there than to go and come back in a day.
East coast
Amed
For diving and snorkeling from the beach: fishing villages, the Tulamben wreck, quiet evenings. Black pebble beaches, no white sand.
Southeast coast
Sanur
For a calm sea behind the reef and the harbor for boats to Nusa Penida: the quiet resort of the south, a little dated, easy with children.
Northern highlands
Munduk
For cool air and walking: waterfalls, coffee and clove plantations, the Bratan and Tamblingan lakes. The nights are cool, bring a sweater.
Southwest, near the airport
Canggu, Seminyak, Kuta: worth knowing
The most built-up area of the island: traffic jams, construction sites, busy beaches. Canggu caters to surfers and remote workers, Kuta to beginner surfers; a last night less than an hour from the airport.
Three routes, with real drive times
Indicative times by car with a driver, in daytime. In the south (Denpasar, Canggu, Kuta), traffic jams can double a journey at rush hour.
10 days
First trip
Only three bases: culture, rice fields, the sea. Little driving, no wasted days.
D1–4
Ubud, drive:1 h 15 to 2 h from the airport
D5–6
Sidemen, drive:1 h 15 to 1 h 30 from Ubud
D7–10
Uluwatu, drive:2 h to 2 h 30 from Sidemen, then 30 min to 1 h to the airport
2 weeks
The full loop
The center, the cool north, the rural east, an island, then the south coast to finish near the airport.
D1–4
Ubud, drive:1 h 15 to 2 h from the airport
D5–7
Munduk, drive:2 h to 2 h 30 from Ubud
D8–9
Sidemen, drive:3 h to 3 h 30 from Munduk
D10–11
Nusa Penida, drive:1 h 30 to Sanur harbor, then about 45 min by fast boat
D12–14
Uluwatu, drive:Boat back, then 1 h to 1 h 30 from Sanur
3 weeks
Slow, north and east
The pace that leaves time for village ceremonies, walks and rainy days.
D1–4
Ubud, drive:1 h 15 to 2 h from the airport
D5–8
Munduk, drive:2 h to 2 h 30 from Ubud
D9–11
Pemuteran, drive:1 h 30 from Munduk
D12–15
Amed, drive:3 h 30 to 4 h along the north coast
D16–18
Sidemen, drive:1 h 30 from Amed
D19–21
Sanur, drive:1 h to 1 h 30 from Sidemen, then 30 min to the airport
Guides and tools
23 in-depth guides: visa, budget, transport, culture, activities, traveler profiles. Each one answers the question first, then explains it. The tools do the math, with their assumptions shown.
The tools: calculate instead of guessing
The 4 tools
Tool
Budget calculator
An estimate of the stay in IDR and euros, item by item, built on assumptions you adjust.
The map of the island, and where to stay
The island is small on the map, but travel times decide everything. Locate the regions, then choose your base: 8 pages with neighborhoods, real price ranges and addresses.
A simplified drawing to locate the regions, not a road map: travel times matter more than distances.
Where to stay, base by base
double room per night, budget then comfort rangeWhen to go to Bali: the 12 months compared
Rainfall, crowds, price level and events, month by month, with the best months for what you are coming to do.
- RainyJanuary☔ 388.4 mm · 🌡 30.9 °C
- RainyFebruary☔ 298.7 mm · 🌡 30.9 °C
- TransitionMarch☔ 213.9 mm · 🌡 31 °C
- CompromiseApril☔ 114.5 mm · 🌡 31 °C
- BalancedMay☔ 72.8 mm · 🌡 30.5 °C
- DryJune☔ 50.8 mm · 🌡 29.8 °C
- CrowdedJuly☔ 29.7 mm · 🌡 29 °C
- CrowdedAugust☔ 16.1 mm · 🌡 29.1 °C
- DrySeptember☔ 40.7 mm · 🌡 30 °C
- FavorableOctober☔ 67.9 mm · 🌡 31 °C
- TransitionNovember☔ 149.4 mm · 🌡 31.6 °C
- RainyDecember☔ 299.3 mm · 🌡 30.8 °C
Going further
The detail lives on dedicated pages: transfers, festivals, comparisons and everything to sort out before you leave.
Transfers · 12 routes
Transfers, with real durations
Drive time, recommended mode and road pitfalls, from base to base.
- Denpasar airport → UbudAbout 1 h 15 to 1 h 45
- Denpasar airport → Canggu or SeminyakAbout 45 to 75 min
- Denpasar airport → Uluwatu and the BukitAbout 45 to 60 min
Culture · 12 dates
The festival calendar
Nyepi, Galungan, the arts festival, kites: the dates of the year, with no invented date.
See the page “The festival calendar”Compare · 3 destinations
Bali, or somewhere else?
The same grid for every comparison, and a verdict for each traveler profile.
See the page “Bali, or somewhere else?”Before you leave
Plan your trip
Daily budget, formalities, health, temple etiquette and short answers.
See the page “Plan your trip”
