What to see and what to do in Bali?

What are some good places to see in Bali?

• I haven't been to Bali before and was looking for good places to go and see. I will be going there next week and will be staying for 5 days. I'll unfortunately be arriving at night and the hotel is located in legian so I would also like to know some good places to eat.

• Answer:

  Bali is a fascinating island with many things to offer to visitors, and with five days you can visit the most outstanding places. From South to North I'll try to explain what is best after our experience of many years around the island. The first glimpse every tourist has of Bali should be Kuta beach. This is a beautiful long beach in a very tourist area. In Kuta (In fact nowadays Tuban, Kuta, Legian and Seminyak is just a compact area stretching from the airport to northwest direction) you'll find plenty of restaurants, shops, nightclubs, and everything you can expect in a very tourist area. Be careful with the waves and currents, in Kuta beach are quite strong and sometimes dangerous. About finding a restaurant near your hotel when you arrive don't worry. There are lots of restaurants in this area. At the southernmost part of Bali lies Bukit peninsula (view more information in our web site http://www.maxgramper.webs.com ) where there are some of the most beautiful beaches in Bali, like Balangan, Padang Padang or Jimbaran beach, a white sandy beach without the waves or currents there are in Kuta. If one day you want to stay there we have nice houses for rent. North of Kuta, about one hour by car there's Ubud, the "cultural capital" of Bali. Here you'll find a nice village surrounded by beautiful rice paddy fields and many archaeological and tourist places to visit like Goa Gajah (Elephant's cave) Monkey Forest (a forest with a temple full of sacred monkeys) and many others. Just a few kilometers north of Ubud you can visit Pura Tirta Empul in Tampaksiring. A temple in the forest with sacred springs where Balinese take holy baths. Just near there's Gunung Kawi, maybe the most rewarding visit in the area. There are a series of very ancient stone tombs carved in the rocks. Be aware there are 300 hundred steps or more leading down to the area... and after you have to climb back... Towards the east side of Bali you'll find Amed beaches. A succession of beautiful unspoilt beaches far away from everything (relax assured) where you can do snorkeling or diving if you wish. Also in central part of Bali there's Besakih temple, the holiest temple in Bali. Visitors should take a local guide to be allowed to visit the temple. And maybe the most famous spot in Bali is Tanah Lot, on the south west coast. A small but incredibly picturesque temple in the sea, perched on a rocky island. Tourists often come here for its magnificent sunsets, but if you prefer staying with a more peaceful atmosphere I would recommend visiting early in the morning when package tours haven't still arrived. On the way north to the not so tourist beaches of Lovina (Near Singaraja) you'll pass Bratan Lake, a beautiful cool spot in the mountains with a pretty small temple in a small island in the lake. Note that because of Bali size you can visit almost all above places in several one day excursions from your hotel. Have a very pleasant stay in Bali