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Boutique hotels

Bali Activities

Worth getting out of bed for...

Viewpoint
Even if you’re not getting married – and especially if you are – the glass Tirtha Chapel on the Uluwatu clifftops in southern Bali offers the most astonishing views of the Indian Ocean (www.tirthabridal.com).

Arts and culture
Fifty half-naked sweaty men dancing around a bonfire may not sound like your ideal evening but the Cak Rina dance is the most dramatic and complex of all the Balinese dances. Catch performances every full and new moon at the Arma Museum (+62 (0)361 975 742). At the other end of the spectrum, there’s Ubud’s Blanco Renaissance Museum, which showcases the (generally nude) works of flamboyant artist Antonio Blanco (+62 (0)361 975502). Serious collectors will find one of the finest selections of Balinese and Indonesian art at the Neka Museum in Ubud (+62 (0)361 975074).

Something for nothing
If Ubud is Bali’s cultural heart, then the gangs (alleys) are its veins and art is its lifeblood. You can lose a day just wandering around the town, pootling between art galleries and craftsmen’s workshops. Bali’s growing generation of female painters exhibit at the Seniwati gallery (+62 (0)361 975 485), which you can stroll around for free.

Shopping
Seminyak is the best option for decent, tout-free shopping. Check out G&V (+62 (0)361 731916) where you’ll find unique silver jewellery and beautiful antiques. St Isidor can custom-make Asian silk and cotton bed linen in 24 hours (+61 (0)361 738 836). There are bargains to be bagged in Ubud too: jewellery designer John Hardy (www.johnhardy.com) does a fine line in Balinese bling, as does Jean François Fichot, with a fantastic range of handmade silver sparklies (+62 (0)361 974 601). Both men export the majority of their work but you can make appointments to tour their studios and see their exquisite (and appropriately expensive) products.

Daytripper
Easily accessible from Kuta and Ubud, the made-for-postcards beautiful Lake Bratan area, with its lush vegetation, dormant volcanoes and placid lakes, is well worth an ogle. Wild strawberries grow wild in this gorgeous part of Bali; you can buy them fresh or in various preparations. On the shores of the lake is the Pura Ulun Danau Bratan, a 17th-century Hindu-Buddhist temple with 11 roofs. Canoes can be rented (IRP100,000 for half a day).

Best beach
The little coconut-line stretch of Pasir Putih beach in Candidasa is idyllic. It’s not a tourist-magnet, so you’re guaranteed a slice of serenity. Dreamland on Bukit Peninsula is the polar opposite; an ever-busy party beach where throngs of hip expats turn out for the surf, the sand and the sunset.

Activities
White-water rafting is big in Bali. Get wet on the rapids on the Ayung river with Bali Adventure Tours (+62 0361 721480). For a less moist, more sedate distraction, Casa Luna’s cooking classes in Ubud include an early morning market visit, hands-on cooking demos and a sumptuous shared meal at the end of the lesson (+61 0361 973283). Blue Water Safaris operate dolphin spotting tours to the Gili Islands, where you can watch Spinner Dolphins living up to their name, and enjoy a spot of fishing on the way (+62 (0)361 723479)

And
Bali’s manifold spas range from the basic to the ludicrously indulgent, and the business of achieving total relaxation can get very intense. Alila Spa’s open-to-nature spa villas in Alila Ubud allow serious pampering in rustic luxury while those seeking something flashier might find Prana Spa’s (+62 0361 730840) Ayurvedic treatments in faux-palatial environs more their style.

Diary

June The month-long Bali Arts Festival in Denpasar is definitely worth planning your visit around. Considered to be the cultural event of the year, it showcases modern and traditional dance, handicrafts and music (www.baliartsfestival.com). June–October Held at an unspecified point during the third quarter, the Kuta Karnival offers nine days of beach-based festivity, with skating, surfing, dancing and parades. Check out www.kutalkarnival.com for details. September–October The Ubud Writers & Readers Festival has become one of the largest events of its kind in Southeast Asia (www.ubudwritersfestival.com).

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