Bali — how to plan the trip
Bali is only a few hours of driving across, yet every region keeps its own rhythm. The south means beaches, clubs and surf schools; the middle of the island — Ubud — lives slower, among rice terraces and craft workshops. The north and the east are for diving and volcanoes.
The easiest way to plan is two or three stops: a few days by the ocean, a few inland and optionally a hop to neighbouring Nusa Penida or Lombok. Transfers between regions take one to three hours, so it pays to spread them out instead of returning to the same hotel every evening.
Prices are one reason Bali keeps coming back to long-haul shortlists: a good hotel with a pool costs a fraction of Western Europe, and a meal in a local warung is a few euros. The flight stays the biggest item in the budget.