We are looking to go at the end of may start of June.

Would really like opinions of people who have been and some ideas for things to do.

i spent a few weeks ther ableit a few years ago now and did not really like the place.

You were constantly harassed if you ventured onto beach or streets.

Staying in complex's was pretty boaring to.

We did hire a 4 by 4 and venture out round the island to some pretty beauty spots and on a number of occasions felt pretty threatened.

I think there economy relied heavily on tourism which declined quite a bit after the bombings.

Surfing there is amazing though.

Thanks BM. We are looking to go for 3 weeks and will prob only book the flights + the first night. We want to travel around a bit to get a good view of the island. Quite fancy some diving, 4x4ing and some bike tours.

We've been about 7 times between 1990 and Dec last year. Absolutely love the place. We always do the same as you, get a flight out, book 1 nights accom in a "posh" hotel and then just travel around the island, theres so much to see and do and the locals are really friendly.

A flame of old went there a while back – lovely prawns and sunshine.

We went a few years ago and loved it so much we almost moved there. We were offered the chance to invest in a diving business; the owner wanted to expand but needed some capital to do so. Then the Bali Bombing happened and tourism ceased almost overnight.

We still wonder if we should have gone. We're still in touch with the dive centre; they found another investor and have gone from strength to strength. Really chuffed for them.

The only experience we had of beach hawkers was in Kuta, and to be honest, it's the least pleasant place on the island – Indonesia's Blackpool for the Aussies – or so it seemed.

Oh, forgot to mention that we did the independent travel thing too. Booked a couple of nights in the Swastika Hotel (I think) in Sanur, then a week's dive tour and then travelled all over the place. Fab place, really good food and lovely people.

EDIT: Found it: http://swastika-bungalows.com/

Yep, I loved it. Stayed in Sanur. Way quieter than Kuta, which agreed is a bit grotty and a bit of a hole. If you can cope with the street hawkers etc then its one of the most chilled and beautiful places I have ever been. OK people always moan about the street salesmen etc, but lets face it, have you ever been to the Costa del Sol within the last 5 years, its no better at all, you cant have a meal in any coastal town in Southern Spain or spend 15 minutes on the beach without being perstered to buy hooky DVD's, watches, handbags etc.
Get a taxi to take you to the outdoor Hindu temples and the rice paddys in the north of the Island, absolutely stunning.
Food is great, ans so cheap as is the beer, provided you dont eat and drink in the big hotels, beach bars and small private restauraunts in the towns like Sanur are the places to eat and drink. Cant wait to go back

Traveled through on a trip around the world a few years back. Absolutely beautiful place, lovely beaches, lovely people…….

It's worth trying to get away from the main centres and exploring a bit, the rural side of Bali is amazing and you tend to lose the hawkers. Avoid Kuta as it's the main tourist area and is not a good representation of the rest of the country.

There are some lush black volcanic sand beaches to the north east that are worth checking out, sunset time is the best when the whole town come down to the beach to chill out and watch the sun dip over the sea.

If you get time pop over to Java, much less touristy and a real taste of Indonesia. Gunung Bromo is worth seeing and not to far from the coast of Java/Bali side. A volcano within a 2 mile wide volcano with it's own Buddist monestry. quite amazing…..

Good food all over and great parties, just explore, it's the best way to find the gems of the island 😀

Thanks for all responses so far – we are getting excited just reading them

Why would you go to Bali other than to surf? June is the start of the dry season, with good swells and offshore winds on the Bukit. Though the water, and Kuta, will be crowded with Aussies. Even if you don't surf, get yourself down to Ulu Watu to see one of the world's best waves in action. Some good warungs (cafes) on the cliff top there, doing great nasi goreng (noodles) and cold Bintang beer.

Ubud is the inland destination of choice, the cultural centre, with 100s of places to buy the distinctive Balinese art. Some lovely boutique hotels up there. Candidasa is a bit more of mellow beach feel than the bustle of Kuta. There is diving there too. The volcano and lakes in the centre of the island are worth a visit, as are the various water temples (Bali has a unique governance system for its myriad irrigation channels, based around affiliation to the temples). Tanah Lot, the sea temple, is also good.

Kuta is busy, but some great bars (and the Waterbomb water park is a good'un). There is also the Jalan 66 night club, which has a tower for midnight bungy jumps after people have had a skin full! Next up the strip is Legian, which is a bit more laid back. Then you get to Seminyak, which is ultra-Euro-chic; v expensive restaurants and night clubs; good for a posh night out. Avoid Denpasar; Nusa Dua is also avoidable – an enclave of 5 star hotels + golf. You could be adventurous and do a boat trip to Lembongan or Lombok.

All sorts of other cultural, sight-seeing and hedonistic pursuits. Lovely laid back people, wonderful food, fascinating culture (Balinese Hindu in a muslim nation), cheap. Accommodation: huge variety on offer across a range of budget – some great losmans (homestays), some gorgeous boutique hotels and villas, and some big 'name' hotels – take your choice. However, when we were last there 2 years ago, traffic had got quite bad, so not so easy to get around.

HTH

another vote for sanur unless you love cosying up with all nighting aussie surfers

very beautiful – we hired a boat and went out snorkelling very relaxing

just make sure sort price in advance

also hired bikes (of sorts) and rode and that was exciting as traffic is busy and wild
as above lots&lots street traders but on the whole polite

Ubud was nice…(the 'theatre' thing?)
Consider heading over to Lombok and then off to the islands on the west coast (can't remember names)…it was (12 years ago!!) all beach huts …eat, drink, sleep, snorkelling….repeat..it was just what I needed for a week at the time.

I back packed around Bali 20yrs ago. Stayed in Legian / Kuta, Ubud and up on the northern coast line which is / was quite and relaxed.
I think Lombok has opened it's doors to travel and tourism since then althogh I did stay on Gili Air and Gili Trawangen whch I think is now quite developed (?) – which is only a guess as they were so beautiful!

Why not go over to the Thorn Tree on the Lonely Planet web site for some more ideas? Heading east into Nusa Tengarra revealed a completely different looking people and a shift in culture too, quieter and more "traveller" friendly, including Komodo, Flores & some others.

I liked Indonesia, but Bali is the tourist hub of the islands, so choose well and move about a bit – that's half the enjoyment of travel, the freedom to do what you fancy most (within limits!).

Went about 10 years ago- stayed in Sanur- loved it and liked the people too.
Kuta was ok but a bit in your face- thought the mountains were brilliant (can't remember the name)
Only problem was got food poisoning the day before by very long flight home- I made sure I got the seat next to the wc but it felt like a very long trip!!

I stayed there for a few weeks 10 years back,liked it a lot.I thought Ubud was a real nice place and I agree with what's been said about Kuta.
If you've got the time Java is well worth seeing,
Mt Bromo/Yogyakarta/Borobodur(sp)?

I went back packing round bali for 10 days a couple of years ago. It was ace. Don't just stay in Kuta, wonder out in the interior, hire a 4×4 and don't be afraid to haggle! Get one of the locals to take you out to the off shore islands in their boat (don't get the ferry it'll cost x10 as much)

Went there and left a week before the bombing….
Kuta IS a fun place for a few days – granted it's pretty western, but fun none the less.
I wouldn't bother pre booking anywhere – if you cannot find a cheap, suitable place to stay on Poppies 1 or 2 within 10 minutes, I will personally come and build you a hut!

We went to many places, but can't really remember the names – kinda hired a driver for a few days (it just happened – these things do!).
Somewhere in the centre of the island with a monkey forest – well worth a visit to the 'stilt cafe' in the centre of it!
And another great thing to do is to climb the volcano in the centre – you actually stay IN the crater of a bigger volcano – crazy!

It's a lovely place – I agree you get a LOT more hastle from traders than Thailand, but just don't be too obvious about looking at stuff and they don't bother!

DrP

I can recommend mountain biking with

http://www.bali-trailblazers.com/

Run by a British lady, she uses local guides and drivers to explore the island on plenty of singletrack. Highlight is the crater rim ride.

Bookings are flexible and she can do 1 day up to 1 week trips including bike hire or not. When I visited no-one else was running such trips.

Gili Air Hotel the most relaxing place Ive ever been. We went in December and practically had the place to ourselves. There is a direct boat from Bali (Padang Bai, or Benoa) only takes 1 hour (ish) and costs about £40.

I went in 1990 and again two years ago. Ubud in the mountains is lovely with some fantastic restaurants and great hotels. People on the whole are very friendly. If you get hassled by drivers wanting to take you places just smile and say "Jalan Jalan" which sort of translates as "I'm just going for a stroll" and they understand.

Gili Trawangan island was fantastic in 1990 but its probably very developed now.

I would recommend hiring a driver for a few days though, we got one to take us to some amazing snorkelling places, he was a great bloke and came in snorkelling with us.

Ubud is worth a visit for a day, as is Tanah Lot in the evening for sunset.
There will be lots of Aussie surfers there as its prime surf time there (but weather will be best). Worth a trip to Ululwatu if theres some waves to watch it.
We travelled up the west coast a bit and stayed at some lovely places meeting lots of locals away from the hassle of Kuta.

You should definitely get over the Lombok and the Gili Islands if you have time – no cars on the Gillis when I was there, just pristine beaches and horse carts. We did a boat to Flores and Komodo which was absolutely stunning and I expect it was great diving. We climbed Rinjani volcano on Lombok which was great, but took a few days.

Oh, and there are great fish restaurants on the beach (tamarind?!) to the south of Kuta near to the airport.

You could spend a night in a posh Kuta hotel, head to Lombok and the Gillis for a week and fly to Flores and see the dragons. Maybe end on Bali by doing some trips to Ubud and Tanah Lot.

I was in Bali with my girlfriend (now wife) after a year travelling around Australia, and we both loved Bali.
As pretty much everyone says Kuta is for the Aussie p*ssheads. We went north up to Lovina which has a amazing black volcanic ash beach, you can also snorkel and take a local boat out to see the dolphins.