Asia · Indonesia
Bali
Rice terraces, temple gates, surf and the busiest remote-work scene in the tropics.
Bali is a Hindu island in a Muslim country, a volcano with rice terraces on its flanks, and a coastline that runs from cliff surf to calm lagoon. It is crowded in places and silent in others, and it has more shrines than houses. The palms are part of the offering: every morning a woman lays a coconut leaf basket of flowers on the step. Go in the dry season, rent a scooter and leave the traffic behind.
The palm: Coconut palm
Coconuts are offerings, food, oil and roofing here, and the sugar palm gives the dark gula Bali that sweetens everything. Lontar palm leaves were the paper of the old kingdoms. Between the rice terraces the palms stand in rows, planted along the water channels of the subak irrigation system.
When to go
Sights
Ubud and the rice terraces
Tegallalang and Jatiluwih terraces, the monkey forest and the art villages around Ubud.
Uluwatu temple
A temple on a 70 metre cliff with a kecak fire dance at sunset.
Mount Batur sunrise
A two hour night climb to watch the sun come up over the crater lake.
Nusa Penida
The island off the east coast with the Kelingking cliff and manta rays.
Beaches
Bingin and Padang Padang
Cliff-backed coves on the Bukit peninsula with world-class surf and warungs on the sand.
Sanur
A calm, shallow lagoon with a paved beach path and sunrise views.
Balangan
A long beach below the cliffs with a wave and a row of bamboo bars.
Events
- Mar
Nyepi
The Balinese day of silence: no lights, no traffic, no flights, after a night of ogoh-ogoh monster parades.
- Jun
Galungan
Bamboo penjor poles arch over every road for ten days; dates move with the Balinese calendar.
- Jul
Bali Kite Festival
Giant traditional kites over Sanur in the windy months.
For remote workers
A comfortable month: about €1,300
Canggu is the loudest remote-work town on earth, with coworkings, gyms, cafés and traffic to match. Ubud is calmer and greener, Uluwatu has the cliffs and the surf. Indonesia introduced a remote worker visa for employees of foreign companies, alongside the visa on arrival that can be extended once. Rent a villa by the month and a scooter by the day.
Compare as a baseFor families
The west coast beaches are surf beaches with currents; Sanur and Nusa Dua have calm lagoons for children. The rest of the island is the attraction: rice terraces, monkey forest, waterfalls, a water palace and pools everywhere. International clinics in Denpasar and Kuta handle most things.
Rank for your familyThree things to know
- Stay in one area at a time; an hour of traffic separates Canggu from Ubud and Uluwatu.
- May to September is dry and the surf is best on the west coast; December to February brings daily afternoon rain.
- Learn a few words of Indonesian and dress for temples with a sarong; every temple lends them.
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