Generally south Bali is where the best beaches are, including the huge stretches of Kuta and Legian and the newer, classy resorts on the Bukit Peninsula. North Bali’s beaches are mostly black volcanic sand, cool and very quiet. East Bali’s beaches are small, calm and lack sunset excitement but tend to have fine sand and sometimes great snorkeling or diving.

West Bali is little developed and offers few beach destinations so this is the place for adventurers to find their own little paradise, time willing.

Bali’s best beaches are:

- for low-cost convenience, sun, sand and wild nightlife, Kuta.

- for low-cost convenience, sun, sand and quiet nights, Legian

- for upmarket family/romantic beach holidays with easy trips into/around Bali proper, Jimbaran.

- for get-away-from-it-all, upmarket romantic beach holidays, Nusa Dua.

- for get-away-from-it-all serious surfers, Uluwatu on the Bukit Peninsula.

- for scuba divers and quiet, low-cost snorkeling vacations, Padang Bai.

- for get-away-from-all Bali hype and development, head for the nature of neighbouring Lombok or the Gili Islands.

Kuta, the legend lives on, albeit with more traffic, crowds and concrete, less traditional style and tranquility, but still Kuta retains a certain charm, value and convenience – certainly for hard-core party people on a budget who like to slump in the sun during the day on Kuta’s 5 km stretch of sand, struggle into the surf for a cooling splash and buy bracelets from endless vendors.

If you don’t wish to buy anything don’t say a word to them except “no thank you!” as they are very hard to lose once engaged in conversation. If you have bought something you can expect every vendor on the beach to appear imminently. Kuta beach is a famous surfing destination though waves are rarely huge, but if surf’s up boards can be rented nearby and surfing courses are also available.

When swimming stay between the red and yellow flags and beware strong rip currents. Kuta is home to a great range of excellent, good-value restaurants offering all sorts of cuisine but for really cheap good food don’t hesitate to patronise beach-front stalls. Kuta is 15 minutes from the airport and the best way to get around the town/beach is walking, biking or the cheapish taxis as the streets can get very congested and parking may be a problem.

For more up-market beach life head for Jimbaran or Nusa Dua, for best surf trek to Uluwatu or for real Balinese culture head for the hills to Ubud, you won’t find it in Kuta. Sanur, on Bali’s east coast and only 15 minutes from Denpasar airport, Sanur is coated with lovely soft golden sand and washed by calm, reef-protected waters.

The beach is of modest size – a few hundred metres long, facilities are limited [mostly provided by adjacent hotels] and sadly the reef and underwater life that should be thriving there have all but disappeared, due to lack of care and pesticide run-off from nearby agriculture.

However, there is reasonable natural shade and most watersports equipment – windsurfing, kayaking, sailing – is available. Padang Bai is a pleasant fishing village with basic accommodation on Bali’s east coast, 1.5 hours from the airport and just south of Candidasa, with a couple of beaches nearby including the gorgeous, small white sand Blue Lagoon and a big reputation as a good diving and snorkeling base.

The town houses half a dozen dive shops and snorkel rental gear. Offshore the Blue Lagoon has fine snorkeling if the sea is calm but forget it if waves are sizeable as you won’t see anything and the current might just drag you across to Lombok. And on the subject of Lombok, most tourists passing through Padang Bai are en route for Lombok or the Gili Islands via the fast cat ferry – which takes about 2 hours – or the slow public ferry which takes at least 4 hours++ but departs hourly.