Bali Holiday Guide: What Bali Is Famous For, Where to Stay, Legian, and Java and Bali

Bali is far more than a beach island. It’s a Hindu island in a mostly Muslim country, with a temple in every village, offerings on every doorstep, volcanoes, emerald rice terraces and some of the best surf in Asia. This guide answers what Bali is famous for, explains which area to stay in, from Legian and Seminyak to Ubud and Uluwatu, and shows how to combine Java and Bali.

What is Bali famous for?

• Temples: sea temples such as Tanah Lot and Uluwatu, the mother temple of Besakih, and the “Gates of Heaven” at Lempuyang.
• Rice terraces: Tegallalang near Ubud and the UNESCO-listed terraces of Jatiluwih, watered by the ancient subak irrigation system.
• Beaches and surf: from the long sunset beach of Kuta, Legian and Seminyak to the surf breaks of Uluwatu and Canggu.
• Balinese Hindu culture: daily offerings, colourful ceremonies, Kecak and Legong dances, and Nyepi, the island’s day of silence.
• Volcanoes: sunrise hikes up Mount Batur, and Mount Agung, Bali’s highest and most sacred mountain.
• Wellness: yoga, spas and Balinese massage, especially around Ubud.
• Food: nasi campur, satay, babi guling and seafood grilled on the beach at Jimbaran Bay.

Where to stay in Bali

Choosing the right area matters more in Bali than almost anywhere else. Traffic is slow, so most people split their stay between the coast and Ubud. Here’s how the main areas compare:

Seminyak and Canggu

• 3 to 4 nights
• Beach clubs, food, surf

North of Legian, Seminyak is known for its restaurants, boutiques and sunset beach bars. Further up the coast, Canggu is the relaxed home of surfers, cafés and rice fields between the villas.

Uluwatu, Jimbaran and Nusa Dua

• 3 to 4 nights
• Cliffs, coves, calm bays

The southern Bukit peninsula has Uluwatu’s clifftop temple and its sunset Kecak dance, hidden coves and world-class surf. Jimbaran Bay is famous for seafood dinners on the sand, and Nusa Dua has calm water and a long beach path.

Sanur

• 2 to 4 nights
• Calm sea, cycling

A gentle, old-fashioned resort on the east coast, with a reef-protected beach and a seafront path for walking and cycling. Boats leave here for Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida.

Ubud

• 3 to 4 nights
• Culture, rice terraces, wellness

Bali’s cultural heart, in the hills. See dance performances at the palace, walk through the rice fields and the Sacred Monkey Forest, and visit Tegallalang, Tirta Empul’s holy spring and the craft villages nearby.

East Bali: Amed and Sidemen

• 2 to 3 nights
• Diving, valleys, temples

Black-sand beaches and fishing boats at Amed, with snorkelling and diving on the Tulamben wreck. Inland, the Sidemen valley has rice terraces in the shadow of Mount Agung, and the water palace of Tirta Gangga is close by.

North Bali and the volcanoes

• 1 to 3 nights
• Waterfalls, lakes, sunrise hikes

Climb Mount Batur for sunrise, see the lakeside temple of Ulun Danu Beratan, and stay in the cool hills of Munduk among waterfalls and clove plantations.

Legian, Bali

Where is Legian? On Bali’s south-west coast, between Kuta to the south and Seminyak to the north, about 20 minutes from the airport without traffic. All three share one long, sandy beach facing west, so sunsets are spectacular.

Why stay in Legian? It’s livelier than Seminyak but calmer than Kuta, with lots of places to stay and eat, surf schools on the beach and an easy walk along the sand to both neighbours. It suits families, first-time visitors and groups of friends.

Good to know: the waves are strong, so swim only between the flags where lifeguards are on duty. The Bali bombing memorial on Jalan Legian remembers the victims of the 2002 attacks.

Pictured: sunset at Kuta Beach, which runs north into Legian.

Java and Bali

Java, Bali’s much bigger neighbour, makes a great start to a Bali holiday. It has some of the most impressive sights in Southeast Asia:

Yogyakarta: the cultural capital of Java, with its sultan’s palace, batik and the temples of Borobudur, the world’s largest Buddhist temple, and Hindu Prambanan, both UNESCO-listed.

The volcanoes of East Java: sunrise over Mount Bromo and its sea of sand, and the turquoise crater lake of Ijen.

Getting to Bali: fly from Yogyakarta to Bali in about an hour and a half, or travel overland from East Java and take the short ferry across the Bali Strait.

When to go to Bali

Bali is warm all year, around 27 to 29°C on the coast. The dry season, from April to October, is the best time to go, with sunny days and lower humidity; July and August are busiest. The wet season, from November to March, brings heavy tropical downpours, usually in the afternoon, and lush green scenery. Ubud and the hills are a few degrees cooler and wetter than the coast.

10-year ERA5 data. Nyepi, the Balinese New Year, falls in March or April: for 24 hours the whole island, including the airport, shuts down and visitors must stay in their hotels.

Classic routes

Ways to see Bali with us

Bali, Lombok and the Gilis: hike, bike, raft and snorkel12 days · active

Bali family adventure with teenagers8 days · families

Walking in Bali and Lombok10 days · walking

Bali and Komodo: sacred and wild isles9 days · luxury

Practical tips

• Entry: British citizens need a visa, either a visa on arrival or an e-visa applied for online, and must pay the Bali tourist levy, online or on arrival. Check the FCDO Indonesia advice.
• Temples: wear a sarong and sash (usually lent at the entrance) and cover your shoulders.
• Monkeys and dogs: rabies is present. Don’t feed or touch the monkeys at temples, and get medical help at once if you’re bitten or scratched.
• Drinks: stick to sealed drinks and reputable bars; there have been cases of methanol poisoning from counterfeit spirits.
• Traffic: journeys take longer than the map suggests, so hire a driver rather than a scooter.
• Volcanoes: follow local advice on exclusion zones if Mount Agung or Mount Batur is active.

Frequently asked questions

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