Independent guide to Bali
Where to stay,how many nights,on what budget.
Bali’s regions, drive times, seasons and prices, each with its source. Enough to decide before you book.
Your route stage by stage, with nights and accommodation budget
For anyone torn between regions: answer one question and the route appears straight away.
- 8 regions covered
- 4 itineraries from 7 to 21 days
- tourist levy: IDR 150,000 per person
Reference rate €1 ≈ IDR 20,000 (rounded, mid-October 2026)Tourist levy IDR 150,000 per person, official rateHow the information is checked
Where to start
Four questions, in the order they come up: where to go, when to go, how to link the stages, where to sleep.
Destinations
I’m choosing where to go
8 regions described: time from the airport, recommended stay, who each suits.
Where to stay
I’m booking my base
8 regions: neighborhoods, types of accommodation and observed nightly prices.
Pick two or three bases
Bali looks small on the map, but the roads are slow. Pick two or three bases and stay a few nights in each. Every page gives the recommended stay and the drive 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 part of the island: traffic, building sites, crowded beaches. Canggu suits surfers and remote workers, Kuta suits beginner surfers. Handy for a last night, under an hour from the airport.
When to go to Bali, month by month
Rain, crowds, prices and festivals for every month. The right month depends on what you come for.
- RainyJanuary388.4 mm · 30.9 °C
- RainyFebruary298.7 mm · 30.9 °C
- TransitionMarch213.9 mm · 31 °C
- CompromiseApril114.5 mm · 31 °C
- BalancedMay72.8 mm · 30.5 °C
- DryJune50.8 mm · 29.8 °C
- CrowdedJuly29.7 mm · 29 °C
- CrowdedAugust16.1 mm · 29.1 °C
- DrySeptember40.7 mm · 30 °C
- FavorableOctober67.9 mm · 31 °C
- TransitionNovember149.4 mm · 31.6 °C
- RainyDecember299.3 mm · 30.8 °C
Four sample routes, from 7 days to 3 weeks
Each stop shows the drive time by car with a driver, in daylight. In the south, rush-hour traffic can double a journey.
10 days
First trip
Three bases: culture, rice fields, then the sea. Short drives between them.
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
North and east, at an easy pace
A slow 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
Visa, budget, transport: the answer first
23 in-depth guides, sorted by topic. Each one opens with the answer, then explains it. The tools do the math and show their assumptions.
Run the numbers before you go
See the 4 tools
Tool
Budget calculator
An estimate of the stay in IDR and euros, item by item, built on assumptions you adjust.
Find the regions, then choose where to stay
Spot the regions on the map, then the base that suits you. 8 pages cover neighborhoods, observed prices 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 rangeTransfers, festivals, paperwork
Each topic has its own page: transfers, festivals, comparisons and paperwork.
Transfers · 30 routes
Transfers, base to base
Drive time, the best way to travel and what to watch out for on the road.
- 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
This year’s festivals
Nyepi, Galungan, the arts festival, kites: the published dates for the year.
Read the page “This year’s festivals”Compare · 3 destinations
Bali against other destinations
The same grid for every comparison, and a verdict for each traveler profile.
Read the page “Bali against other destinations”Before you leave
Budget and paperwork
Daily budget, formalities, health, temple etiquette and short answers.
Read the page “Budget and paperwork”
