My Bali and Gili Trawangan holiday! Part 1: Kuta and Seminyak

Hello Wanderers!

My Bali holiday was something I really looked forward to and I planned it with enthusiasm for months, reading posts from all my favourite travel bloggers and shaping up my personal itinerary. Here you can find my experience, tips and suggestions for Kuta and Seminyak, where it all started for me!

Kuta days (and nights)

The strip of Kuta Beach is the closest area to Denpasar Airport and it's often mistreated and overlooked because it tends to be chaotic and busy: it's one of the favourite areas for youngsters, full of bars, clubs and discos, with locals offering you taxi rides and all kinds of goods (legal and not) and traffic jams every day at peek times. Said that, you can still enjoy some time in Kuta, maybe a couple of days, if you like places with a buzzy nightlife. For your accommodation I will suggest you three different options for three different budgets: if you want to treat yourself to a luxury room, beautiful Balinese decor and a breakfast buffet that looks like a wedding banquet then take a look at The Anvaya Beach Resort : with its wide choice of suites, rooms and villas, an elegant cocktail bar and all the facilities you can imagine (even for families with kids), this resort will pamper you good. The Anvaya organises tours, excursions and activities for their guests, you just have to book yourself in 24 hours before. The boutique hotel The Vira is another chic and beautiful option in the area, or, if you are on a tighter budget but still want a quality stay with swimming pool and spa services, The Rani will make you happy. All three hotels are on Jl. Kartika Plaza, the main street of Kuta Beach.

I briefly mentioned earlier about excursions and activities you can do in Kuta and in Bali in general. There are lots. Snorkeling, surfing, diving, island hopping, boat cruises, cooking classes focused on Indonesian cuisine… Scattered around Kuta are many kiosks where you can book the activities you like, just remember to step up your best haggling game (although Bali is generally quite cheap and affordable, it’s always good when you can knock a few pennies off the prices and vendors in Bali are usually flexible in this sense). If you want to be able to book your activities with a click on your smartphone I suggest you the great app called GetYourGuide , which allows you to source and book activities by location, anywhere in the world (I will tell you more about some clever use you can do of it in my post about Ubud). When in Kuta, don’t forget to check the Art market for local crafted creations, organic products and wall art to buy at very affordable prices. Kuta has big “western style” shopping malls as well, to satisfy your shopping spree urges for popular brands: you can head to Beachwalk , Discovery or Mal Bali Galeria, to name a few.

Dinner time! Speaking of food and beverages you can start your night at Bamboo Bar & Grill, where you can enjoy a wide choice of cocktails and bites, resting your feet on the sand-covered floor and listening to a live band playing (very often they give you the chance to jump on stage and sing, so prepare your best performance and have a couple of drinks to warm up!). Another good fun place is Aribar , delicious Mexican restaurant where Sangrias and Margaritas keep you happy and the friendly staff entertain you with impromptu dances… If you are a fan of Indian food you need to check Queen’s Of India, possibly the best Indian food I ever had in my life! You will not be disappointed.

Seminyak sunsets and pools

Only 25 minutes taxi ride (if you don’t get stuck in traffic!) from Kuta and you are in lovely Seminyak! The most “westernized” part of Bali, the perfect area to have a gradual immersion into the Balinese spirit and wear off your jet lag (believe me, if you fly from London you will need a couple of days to adjust!) enjoying beautiful beach resorts, poolside cocktails, a perfect combination of relax and luxury and some of the best sunset spots!

For my days in Seminyak I really wanted to pamper myself accomodation-wise, and what a stunning surprise was my stay at De Vins Sky Hotel! I stumbled upon this gorgeous hotel while browsing on Agoda and I’m so happy that it didn’t only match the expectations but it exceeded them in all aspects of the experience. I suggest you to check on Agoda if De Vins Sky Hotel has special deals on their Whirlpool Suites and book one like I did! The room is absolutely stunning and you will have your own private Jacuzzi on the veranda, where you can relax to the sound of the cicadas before getting ready for your night out. The hotel has a lovely spa, a gym, a rooftop pool with bar and a restaurant (I spent literally hours floating on pool mattresses with a Rosella Mojito in my hand, getting my best tan) and the most friendly and smiley staff. Once a week the hotel hosts an event called Balinese Cultural Night, where you can taste an amazing Indonesian buffet and watch a Balinese dance show for the equivalent of just 10£ (yes, that’s another reason to love Bali)!

In terms of sightseeing, the Petitenget Temple is worth a visit and it’s right there in the area, near Seminyak beach and nightlife spots (perfect location!). But make sure that during your stay in Seminyak you save a late afternoon to take a taxi and go and see the sunset on Tanah Lot Temple, because it’s one of the best views you’ll see. I made the mistake to visit the temple in the morning and the sun was high and incredibly hot, so definitely go just before sunset for your own safety! You may want to pair the visit to the Tanah Lot Temple with a day trip to Canggu, another nice area of Bali famous for surfing spots, amazing organic food bowls, art markets and places with a trendy-hipster edge: go there in the early morning, have a beach day, an afternoon of strolling and exploring and finish watching the sunset on Tanah Lot Temple. Sounds very good to me!

Speaking of sunsets, Seminyak offers some of the best clubs, rooftop pools and lounge bars you can possibly have, to enjoy this magical moment of the day. Potato Head Beach Club has the perfect combination for me: hip and artistic edge, infinity pool right before the beach, people getting together on the lawn, cocktails flowing and chill out music… Oh, what a great vibe! You definitely can’t skip it. Other similar places I can suggest are Ku De Ta (very similar setting to Potato Head, less hippy, more “western”, very popular and busy!), Mrs. Sippy (awesome cocktail bar with a huuuge saltwater pool) and La Plancha (spanish tapas bar and restaurant with a colourful explosion of beach umbrellas and bean bags, totally instagrammable!). Dinner time? If you fancy some delicious Italian fine dining you must go to La Lucciola: astonishing candle-lit restaurant on the beach, a bit more expensive than the usual Bali prices but totally, totally worth it! If you want to try a more local cuisine, check Made’s Warung, which has a wide choice of cuisines, from the authentic Indonesian to Thai and American too, great if you are a party of people with different tastes!

Because of their proximity to the Denpasar Airport, Kuta and Seminyak are a good starting point for a Bali holiday, to immerse gradually into the Balinese atmosphere and not be thrown into the jungle straight away! Although Kuta was kind of a handy location for me (I had just disembarked from my contract on a ship in Benoa and Kuta is nearby), net of the night life it's objectively not the cutest place in Bali. You might consider choosing the near areas of Jimbaran or Uluwatu (a bit more south of Kuta), or even Canggu, as an alternative. But I absolutely loved Seminyak and I'm sure you will love it too!

Wanna know how my holiday continued? With monkeys, butterflies, rice fields, swings, nests and waterfalls? Read My Bali and Gili Trawangan holiday! Part 2: exploring Ubud!

:)