Tyler, Bali being a rather compact island has a wide variety of beaches and beach resort areas. You will get as many opinions about which is the best as there are resorts and price ranges. I'm an American that lives in Jakarta and I go to Bali quite frequently. I spend out half the time and the beach and half inland. Both are wonderful -- but quite different --experiences.

My current favorites are the Legian Hotel in Seminak and the Alila in Ubud. They are both lovely properties with good service and a nice balance of seclusion and action. Take a look at their websites and see if this is what you're seeking. www.ghmhotels.com/thelegian/index.asp
www.alilahotels.com/Ubud/

On the beach competition, I'd say that Thailand has the best beach and water, but Bali has the best combination of beach and culture.

The beaches in the far North are black sand and are relatively undeveloped. This is where the best diving is found, but otherwise, I'd not recommend it. Same goes for Candi Dasa in the East. It has a loyal following, but it's a bit rundown. The Conrad is brand new and is a lovely property but is also a bit out of the center of things.

There are several areas in the South:
Nusa Dua -- This is the a separate resort area. The beach is long and sandy, but very, very shallow at low tide. There's a lot to do because the area was developed especially for toursim. Some people love it for that reason, some hate it.

Sanur -- this is one of the oldest resort areas. Sandy beach with gentle surf. I think this is the best swimming beach in Bali but the resorts tend to be a little the worse for the wear. (In my opinion, in the tropics, new is better.)

Jimbaran -- a small bay with a good swimming beach but not much for sand. There are several high profile resorts here -- including the Four Seasons -- which are really nice but somewhat isolated.

Kuta -- this is the big, brash surfer beach. A beautiful sandy stretch which goes on for miles and miles. Unfortunately, this is also where you get the most honky-tonk part of Bali. Many, many people love it for that reason, but others are put off by the vendors and riff-raff.

Seminyak -- this the northern most part of Kuta, also wide sandy beaches with fairly aggressive surf. This is currently the most trendy part of South Bali, where the new upscale restaurants and shops are located.

The weather in Bali will be wonderful in August/September and you will experience incomparable hospitality.






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Tyler, Bali being a rather compact island has a wide variety of beaches and beach resort areas. You will get as many opinions about which is the best as there are resorts and price ranges. I'm an American that lives in Jakarta and I go to Bali quite frequently. I spend out half the time and the beach and half inland. Both are wonderful -- but quite different --experiences.

My current favorites are the Legian Hotel in Seminak and the Alila in Ubud. They are both lovely properties with good service, elegant design, good food and beautiful pools. They have a nice balance of seclusion and activity. Take a look at their websites and see if this is what you're seeking. www.ghmhotels.com/thelegian/index.asp
www.alilahotels.com/Ubud/

On the beach competition, I'd say that Thailand has the best beach and water, but Bali has the best combination of beach and culture.

The beaches in the far North are black sand and are relatively undeveloped. This is where the best diving is found, but otherwise, I'd not recommend it. Same goes for Candi Dasa in the East. It has a loyal following, but it's a bit rundown. The Conrad is brand new and is a lovely property but is also a bit out of the center of things.

There are several areas in the South:
Nusa Dua -- This is the a separate resort area. The beach is long and sandy, but very, very shallow at low tide. There's a lot to do because the area was developed especially for toursim. Some people love it for that reason, some hate it.

Sanur -- this is one of the oldest resort areas. Sandy beach with gentle surf. I think this is the best swimming beach in Bali but the resorts tend to be a little the worse for the wear. (In my opinion, in the tropics, new is better.)

Jimbaran -- a small bay with a good swimming beach but not much for sand. There are several high profile resorts here -- including the Four Seasons -- which are really nice but somewhat isolated.

Kuta -- this is the big, brash surfer beach. A beautiful sandy stretch which goes on for miles and miles. Unfortunately, this is also where you get the most honky-tonk part of Bali. Many, many people love it for that reason, but others are put off by the vendors and riff-raff.

Seminyak -- this the northern most part of Kuta, also wide sandy beaches with fairly aggressive surf. This is currently the most trendy part of South Bali, where the new upscale restaurants and shops are located.

The weather in Bali will be wonderful in August/September and you will experience incomparable hospitality.

Thanks for all the great info Marmot - i will check these places out and let you know if I have any questions.

Tyler,

Sounds like we are interested in the same type of trip. Where did you end up going on your honeymoon? Can you give me more details on your trip? was it what you were looking for?

Hi chele - having just clicked on tyler's name, it doesn't look like he/she posts very frequently on the Asia board any more. You may want to post your question to the board generally :)
BB

ooops - have you seen that you already have! ignore me!

tyler; You have received many good suggestions but based on our 2 visits to Bali, last one in 2004, The Four Seasons-Sayan in Ubad while a little more expensive than a few mentioned, I think, is just lovely in a deluxe room backing up on a stream (no need for a suite), and would be ideal for 4 days. A private guide and driver, not through the hotel, can be sourced for $12-$14USD/hr. in a comfortable well air conditioned car/mini-van.
The food was excellent at the FS. The only thing missing is a beach but 5-6 days at another location, like the Marriott, would not be nearly as lovely but would give you the beach, pool and decent food but access to other places to eat. ENJOY!
Just don't stay at the Aman resort in Ubad. We did. It is over-rated an even with limited tourism to Bali their rates are out-of-line.

Stan - tyler's original post is nearly 2 years old and his honeymoon last year :)