Kuta, Legian, Seminyak, Tuban

Kuta Bay
Including the two beach sites of Kuta and Legian, this area is a major drawcard for travellers, offering cheap accommodation, western food, great shopping, surf, sunsets and riotous nightlife. Although it's fashionable to disparage Kuta for its rampant development, low-brow nightlife and crass commercialism, the cosmopolitan mixture of beach-party hedonism and entrepreneurial energy can be exciting. It's a tourist gold-rush town with a get-rich-quick mentality and a planning horizon to match.

Kuta is not pretty but it's not dull either, and the amazing growth is evidence that a lot of people still find something to like in Kuta. It's still the best beach on Bali, with the only surf which breaks over sand instead of coral. Lots of cheap accommodation is available and there's a huge choice of places to eat. Shops and hawkers offer everything from fake flimflammery - laid out in boxes which open like jaws as you approach - to genuine antiques offered with a considerably softer sell. Even the tourists themselves have become a tourist attraction, with visitors coming from Java to ogle the topless bathers, and from other resorts to tut-tut at the tackiness of it all. And despite all the excesses, away from the traffic clogged streets Kuta is still a village: a place of quiet compounds and narrow alleys, where devotional offerings are placed in front of houses and neighbours emerge in the coolness of the evening to gossip in the street.

Behind the beaches, labyrinthine roads and alleys lead back to the most amazing clutch of hotels, restaurants, bars, food stalls and shops. The renowned Poppies Gang, running directly back from Kuta Beach, is where most of the quieter, inexpensive hostels and restaurants are located. Cheap beachfront accommodation is available in Legian; the lanes running parallel to the beach are the best places to start trawling for a decent bed.

Kuta Bay is in the south of Bali, about 10km (6mi) southwest of Denpasar. Nearby to the north is Sanur, an the upmarket alternative to Kuta; Nusa Dua, to the south, is an upmarket alternative to Sanur. Ulu Watu, on the southern tip of Bali, is the island's most famous surfing spot.

Located on the northern tip of Legian, Seminyak offers visitors a wealth of accommodation and things to see. Continually developing as a Bali destination in its own right, Seminyak combines all the ingredients of a fun Bali holiday - a surf beach, shops and restaurants as well as the traditional lifestyle of the nearby Bali countryside.

Bali has such a mild and agreeable climate the whole year round. The sunny days within dry season between May and September are warm and pleasent, while the rainy season is between October and April, tropical showers will alternate with clear sky and sunshine. The average temperature of the day in coastal areas varies from about 28ºC (82ºF) during May, June, July to about 30ºC (86ºF) in March and October.

It is approximately one and half hours drive to the highland where temperature varies from 16ºC to 26ºC and it is known to drop about 8ºC during the night. The humidity is high (from a minimum of 70% to a maximum of 96%). The weather is most pleasent between May to September.