Bali the famed Island of the Gods, with its varied landscape of hills and mountains, rugged coastlines and sandy beaches, rice terraces and barren volcanic hillsides ,very spiritual and unique culture and a large Volcano , Mount Batur .
With world-class surfing and diving, a large number of cultural, historical and archaeological attractions, and an enormous range of accommodations, this is one of the world’s most popular island destinations and one which consistently wins travel awards.
Bali has something to offer a very broad market of visitors from young back-packers right through to the super-rich.Bali has amazing home furnishing shops with very unique pieces .
Best Time To Go
The rainy season lasts from October until March, with monsoon-level downpours, and is not the best time for tourism. The high season, which is Easter week and Chinese New Year, generally has higher hotel rates. The best time to find deals for Bali travel is between September and December, and the best time to visit is during the dry season, April through October.
I stayed in Nusa Dua at the Grand Mirage Resort and Thalasso Bali Hotel.
Nusa Dua one of the quieter Bali Towns with a long beach and a small road behind the hotels with lots of restaurants and bars .There was a great Resturant called Cardamon,very nice food and cheap. The private pristine beaches are not white white as they are volcanic sand and get very hot to walk on .Nusa Dua is ideal for honeymooners or people looking out for a private and relaxing getaway. It is a good Beach to walk or cycle along stopping for refreshment at different hotels.
I spent a marvellous three and half hour treatment in the spa. First I went into a Jacuzzi pool and then for a massage. Then I had a scrub followed by an all over application of a yogurt type mixture and finally a petal bath This is all complementary with your stay .
On the beach near our hotel were a beach massage shack where little old ladies massage you an hour for about £10 .
There are plenty of sport activities .We went sailing on the Hobby Cat around harbour and on a canoe , and hired bikes and cycled along the beach front .
Just around the bay is the St Regis Hotel , we had an outstanding meal in this gorgeous restaurant .I would love to stay here if I came back ( Best Toilets ever )
We had a driver that would take us any where we wanted to go day or night . It is very reasonable to do this and they wait for you while you eat etc .
Some nights we would go to Seminyak and to Ku da Ta at the Oberoi Hotel , a great trendy venue to people watch and listen to music while sitting on big beds drinking cocktails with big waves crashing on to the beach. A very busy and good Italian is Ultimos and Zappers bar to listen to live band.
We went to Metis a posh restaurant inland near Kuta overlooking a lotus pond and rice fields.
Another great place to go is the Kandara Hotel and restaurant Di Mare which is perched like a stately ship on the cliff. It is a member of the “small leading hotel in the world”. The meal was delicious with an very inventive Chef including fish with fennel in a beautiful sauce .
The Bulgari Hotel in Kuta Selatan is a marvellous hotel and the food fantastic but the only down side was it is a very dark hotel and not a lot around it .
At Jimbaran Bay, you may walk down along the beach and find it dotted with candle-lit tables .Here you can dine on prawns, squids and fishes fresh from the sea onto your table, almost literally. Best time to go is as the sun sets over the horizon makes this authentic setting much more atmospheric.
One day the driver took us to Pura Tanah Lot Temple in the sea that was built in 13th century. (This is next door to the Nirwina Golf Club. )Another majestic rock formation lays as a foundation of a popular pilgrimage temple .It is most popular for its serenity and cultural significance as it is associated with 
the Balinese mythology as one of the seven temples that form a ring in the southwest of Bali. A travel tip is to visit the place during the low tide so that you can “walk across the water” to the temple for the full experience.
Kuta is the most popular beach in Bali, which means you can be sure to find the life and party scene here.Head here if you are looking to socialize, party and have a good time. You can be sure to find a range of places for different atmosphere and budget, ranging from Hard Rock cafe to your neighbourhood cafe and pubs .This is a popular backpacker area and extremely busy with hundreds of bars. We went to Legend Bar and sang karaoke.
Seminyak is a surfer’s beach we went during the day but did stay long as the water is rough with a strong rip.
Our next stop was Padang Padang beach with a lot of steps down to beach with monkeys. This is where they filmed Eat Play and Love starring Julia Roberts.
Our last stop was very special at Kandara Hotel and looking at the spectacular view to sea. There were over 350 steps down to Nammos Beach Club so got the vernicular Train. We sat on luxurious sun beds drinking cocktails and listening to music.
Another day we organised our cooler box with beers and the beach man took us by speed boat to Surlang Surlang beach only 10 minutes away. It was lovely clear water but strong current so hard to get off the boat. There were Surfers out on the reef but no one on the beach only a few shacks and lovely sand. Then a TV crew arrived and posh Balinese family with boy who is world record holder for memorising binary numbers. They were filming the boy releasing one month old turtles. It was so wonderful to them all rushing down the sand into the water . Then like a couple of film stars our speed boat collected us and we jetted off back .
I would love to go back to Bali as there is so much to see and do .My next visit I will include Ubud is known as a centre for Yoga and healing .It is surrounded by rainforest and terraced rice paddies, dotted with Hindu temples and shrines.Many of Bali best hotels are here .
I would also visit Lombok to go to the Komodo National Park ,the Pink Beach and the GiliTrawangan and Gili Islands .
I flew Birmingham to Doha ( 6.5 hours ) then to Bali (9.5 hours ) or Birmingham to Dubai (7 hours ) and then to Bali (9 hours )
GMT 8 plus