Best Places To Stay in Bali Indonesia 2024

What's going on everybody. This is Island Hopper TV coming to you from Bali, Indonesia. Let's do it. That's right, everybody. We're going to show you around the best places to stay while visiting Bali here in Indonesia. There will be timestamps below, taking you around to the nine areas we recommend. Also in the description below are other Bali videos that we made while visiting here. All right. What do you guys say? We get this list started. We're heading to the South part of Bali. This is Uluwatu originally uncovered as a popular surf destination in 1972. This is actually the area that really put Bali on the map known for its towering clifftops and world-class surf breaks down on the far Southern point of the Island. They've also got great accommodation for backpackers and people who are looking for a luxury travel experience. They have these hip cafes, boutique shops, lots of yoga studios and it's popular with people who are digital nomads and of course surfers. They have some of the best beaches down here in Uluwatu and I think the best sunsets can be found here. This is a look at the Uluwatu temple where the sea cliffs are. You can see just how dramatic the views are on this side of the Island and there are many monkeys down here on this side as well. As you'll see here at the Uluwatu temple, plenty of monkeys, just don't get too close. That's the best advice I can give. A very relaxing place but also a very amazing place for people who are into yoga. Really. They want more of that beach without the party. Some of the best beaches down here are going to be Padang Padang. Also you're going to have Pantai and Pandawa as well as regular old Uluwatu beach. So we're on Jalan Lijiang. This is one of the main drags out here in the village known as Lijiang. It's right next to Kuta but you'll see beautiful shops and pathway right here. And when you're out here in Lijiang, you will realize this is where most of the partying goes down. They also have some of the best malls in all of Bali. So great shopping. Also some of the best resorts here. You're not going to get so much of that nature experience right in this area, but you will get more of that nightlife kind of atmosphere, good restaurants and all of that that goes along with modern malls. Also, it's a very affordable area for accommodation. I found now some of the downsides to staying in a place like this, the beach gets driftwood. So the beach isn't the best. Also you're going to have a lot of crowds and those crowds may keep you up at night while you're sleeping. So keep that in mind when picking an accommodation, but you can pretty much get anything you want down here in Lijiang. Everything from a moped right on down the road to whatever you could possibly want for shopping and relaxation. So some of the benefits of making Lijiang your base camp, you're within close proximity to the airport. So it does take a long time to get around Bali because of the traffic, but it can also play a negative side. If you want to go to the North side of the Island, kind of getting out of Denpasar area really takes some time from Lijiang. Whereas once you're out there in another place, it's easier to get around the Island. Here is a look at the beach. Remember you have Kuta beach and you also have Jim Buran right below that. Those are other areas you can stay that are very similar to Lijiang. The benefits of being here and not there is that you're going to have more vibrance in the community than I would say you got in Kuta. Plus the beach gets a little bit better than those other two. Jim Buran is known for its seafood, whereas Kuta is more known for its surfing along with Lijiang. And as we continue to show you around the best areas to stay in Bali, I would like to remind you guys that we did do a full travel guide of Bali that was over 40 minutes long. We also did a top things to do in Bali. So you would definitely want to check those after the video, but those links are going to be in the description below. The surfing here with the waves is very small, but you can see right there's the driftwood and the sea debris that kind of comes up into this little corner of the Island. Next up, we're headed to Canggu. Now Canggu is going to be popular with the beach clubs and the other night clubs. They have many different ones around here. Some of them include Finn's beach club, which is this amazing pool area where a lot of young people go. So you're going to see more of those uni students down there than you would anywhere else. I would say they also have 707, they have gimme shelter, the lawn, VU beach club, old man's, so many different areas to go around Canggu. A lot of people, if you ask them, they will say that this is probably the best place on Bali for nightlife. But most of these beach clubs in the afternoon, people are out there swimming in the pool. The thing I will say is being out there in that pool, getting that heat exposure while drinking. Just keep that in mind. You want to stay hydrated and try to cover up if you can every once in a while because Canggu is so far up the coast, it is easier to get around to other parts of Bali. So going on to the next spot would be Tana lot. This area around here is going to have a lot of rice fields. It's obviously famous for its temple known as the Tana lot temple. But the big thing out here is getting away from the crowds. If you can find accommodation up here, they're, they're few and far between, but if you can get out here, you're not going to have to deal with the partying and the loud noises and you still get that sunset views. Also, the beaches up here have less driftwood so that some of the benefits of being up here all the way towards Tana lot. The most crowded place you'll come across around here is going to be the actual temple, which you can see here. The reason it's really popular to go here is because it's this Island. When the high tide comes up, it becomes more of an Island, but you can cross the water pretty easily, but you can see this is why it's very popular. This little temple, you won't have as many food options here, but you will get these beautiful sunsets. As you can see over this rice field here, really a nice sunset. Look at that Sherbert sky. By the way, they say the best months to come to Bali and stay are going to be May, June, and September. That's when the conditions are probably best with more sun and not as much rain. I didn't mind the rain in Bali though. Speaking of rain, we're headed to Ubud. This here is an inland paradise. It's higher elevation, definitely further away from the coast. I would say you're an hour in each direction away from the ocean. So if you're looking for beaches, this isn't going to be the place you want to go. But if you're looking for more of that jungle experience in the rainforest, this is exactly where you want to go. They have the monkey forest here. Also, they have probably the most shopping here in any inland village that you'll find on Bali. So if the jungle experience with some of the accommodation and the benefits of being in a larger village or town is something you're looking for, then come out here. Also, it's close to a rice field known as Talal and gone, which is really a nice one. When coming to Bali, what I actually recommend is keeping your plans for where you're booking flexible. For example, stay maybe two or three nights in Lijiang Kuta area and then stay three nights up in Ubud and then maybe stay flexible. Go to Canggu or go to Nusa Dua or go to Uluwatu for the other three days. So 10 days in Bali, you can stay in three or four different areas because what I noticed ends up happening is people will book say seven days in Ubud and they'll be like, that was too much. I should have just done two or three and that was good. Although I will say the one thing I really do enjoy about Ubud is its centrality to the Island. It's real easy to get to the North to places like Agung volcano or some of the other volcanoes in the North to maybe even the Northeast side. That's the great thing about base camping in Ubud. So maybe three days makes sense. If you intend to go out into the Northern part of the Island and don't want to have to drive through traffic to get from Lijiang or Canggu all the way up to the North. So that's a benefit of Ubud for sure. Aside from just really relaxing in the jungle. All right guys, we have arrived to Sanur beach. This is one of the most popular beaches in all of Bali. Sanur tends to attract the older crowd. It's not quite as expensive as Nusa Dua, which we will be showing you a little later on. That's where the mega resorts are where they also do the G20 or the G7 summits. But here in Sanur it's more affordable and it's got the laid back vibe that attracts the older crowds. Not so much partying, definitely more relaxing. Also around here is how you get to other Islands with the ferry port. You can get to Nusa Penida or you can go all the way over to Lombok, some of the other Islands like Gili. Also the beach is going to be a bit better for swimming over here. There's going to be less driftwood and calmer waters. So I like that. The beach umbrellas you can see laid out everywhere are also better. Just overall better experience. They have a nice boardwalk that's built up unlike Kuta and Lijiang, which is always seeming to be under construction because of the erosion of the high tides. But you can see they've got these infinity pools right here on the water with the bungalows. Very relaxing, nice experience. My very first time I actually came to Bali. This is where I ended up staying for the first time and then I ended up moving over towards Kuta beach area. I would say that I was looking more for the nightlife and the action because I was a lot younger. But now that I'm older, I would definitely come over here for working like being a digital nomad. I think staying at one of these hotel bungalows on the water right next to a nice restaurant. They also have nice restaurants at almost all of the hotels. So that was good food for sure on this side of the Island in Sanur. Do take that into consideration. It's just a solid relaxing spot. We have a few more places we're going to show you, but we'll just kind of show you a little bit more around the peaceful, relaxing side of Sanur. All right. So after hanging out in Sanur doing the peaceful beach situation, if you wanted to find real serenity, go all the way North to Bali. Now you can get some accommodation. They have these sanctuaries up here. You can look them up online, maybe an Airbnb or two. But really this is where you're going to get those beautiful views of the volcanoes. And it's much less built up. This is more of the villagers out here. There's not going to be so much of the tourists in North Bali out this way. They do have better waterfalls. They also have a hot springs with the Air Panas, Banhar hot springs area. You can bathe there. Also you're going to have mountain trekking at sunrise up Mount Batur, sunrise dolphin watching, and so much more can be done up here. But remember it's going to be far away from the parties. You're not going to get that. If you're going to look for a pub or a bar, it's just going to be really low key, not too much excitement. So keep that in mind, depending on what you're looking for when you come to Bali, you're either going to get way too much partying, which is what you could be looking for, or you're going to get way too much relaxation, which also could be what you're looking for. So that's why it's kind of good to find these middle ground areas. And if you really are looking for a middle ground area, I would say at the end of the video, I'll tell you my top two up here in North Bali. Though you do got to watch out for rain because the rain just shows up and sometimes it doesn't stop all day and it can go many days. So that's one of the things you get up here when you're around the volcanoes up in the mountains, just a lot of moisture. It can be raining torrential rain up here and then down in Lijian be completely sunny to different worlds right on the same Island. This is actually a look at the Bali Handara gate. The interesting thing is you can't go beyond the gate unless you're with somebody who's qualified to go past there. So you really just come here and take a picture. That's all there is to do. So not necessarily the greatest place to go if you're looking for a lot of excitement, but if you just want to take a picture, go there. Also Ulan Danu now that's the Baratan temple right there on the lake. Beautiful place right here. One of the most photographed areas in all of Bali, actually way up here in the North. This waterfall you see us walk around here. It's called Bani Umala. There's several up here. There's Oling Oling and then there's second pool, which also has a rice terraces area headed back down South. Now we are actually headed to Nusa Dua. Anytime you see the word Nusa, that basically means Island. Now this is going to be more of the ritzy area. Although Ubu does have some really expensive resorts and so does Uluwatu. Most of the expensive resorts are going to be here in Nusa Dua. This is also probably the safest part on Bali Island. It is facing towards the East towards Nusa Peneta. One of those resorts you're going to find out here are going to be the Conrad. They've also got Novotel Bali, the Grand Mirage Resort, Sofitel Bali, Nusa Dua. Even when I was out here, I also saw the Grand Hyatt Bali, the St. Regis Bali resorts over here. Now it is in between Uluwatu and Sanur, but also kind of on the edge of Denpasar, close enough to the airport. This is popular with honeymoon couples or just regular couples in general coming out here looking for relaxation on the beach. A little bit more expensive than Sanur though. So keep that in mind. Like I said, Sanur is going to be that more affordable option. Probably one fourth the price really, but we'll just kind of show you around the nice setting here and then we'll head to our next one in a few moments. Here we are in Seminyak. Seminyak is a beach resort area also with luxury hotels, many beach clubs, some sleek bars, clubs, all that stuff. Sunset activities. This is in between Lijian and Canggu. So it is popular with young people, but it's a mixed crowd out here. Still very busy. Lots of people partying, having fun. It's not going to be that relaxing vibe so much as the party scene right here. A few things to consider about pros and cons of staying in Seminyak. You're definitely going to be closer to the nightclubs, but you're going to be farther away from the airport. So you're going to have to leave one to two hours before you're required to be at the airport because that's how long it can take with all this traffic to get there, back down to the airport area in Denpasar. But you are far enough away to where it doesn't take much to get out into North Bali and explore the rest of the island. It can be a great base camp area, but I'm going to stick with my original comments about how to do the scheduling here. So when you arrive, try to do two nights booked at one hotel and stay there for two nights and then decide where you want to go next. If you want to stay at that hotel, it should be pretty easy to extend or even stay in that area. Or if you want to change locations and go from say Seminyak to Ubud and then from Ubud to Sanur or to North Bali and then back down towards Uluwatu and then fly out of there. That's one way to do this out here. Now my two favorite areas to stay while here would probably be somewhere around Seminyak, Canggu and then also staying in Sanur beach. But I would say you're also going to want to stay two nights in Ubud. That's how I would consider doing the trip. But the reason I like Sanur and I also like Canggu, that area of Seminyak is because you can do both while on Bali. So if you're there for 10 days, I think 10 days is a perfect amount of time in Bali. But some people stay longer. Thanks for watching this one. If you wanted to see those other Bali videos, I'll put the things to do in Bali as well as the travel guide right here. You could click on either one of those right now and please do consider subscribing to the channel and check the links below in the description.