Bali – in and around Seminyak / Kuta
Summary
Kuta and Seminyak are the places that most first time travellers to Bali spend their time looking for that idyllic beach vibe. Problem is that they are becoming super commercialised and, to be honest, the beaches can be a little underwhelming compared to others in the region mainly because of the sheer number of fellow tourists and amount of plastic waste. My tip would be to spend your time either to the south in the Uluwatu area for some truly beautiful spots and to visit UluWatu itself and Padang Padang Beach, or just to the north in Cangu, which has a similar beach to Kuta and Seminyak but is worlds apart in vibe
All that being said, Seminyak in particular is worth some day trip visits as it has some truly world class restaurants and beach bars – Potato Head is in my view the best beach bar in the world, with Kudeta not far behind. Sardines, Sarong and Mehra Putih are restaurants I’d also really recommend. And . . . if you must . . . visit Kuta if you’re on a stag do or just generally want some dirty lash
highlights
#1 The original beach Bali vibes down in the Uluwatu area
#2 That almost uniquely Bali mix of Balinese, jungle, development and tat. Shouldn't work, but does
#3 The beaches of Seminyak - busy, for sure, but some world class beach bars
#4 Grabbing yourself a spot by Padang Padang Beach and just enjoying lazing the day away
Experiences nearby
The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences
Other Great Tropical Lash Spots
Score Detail
Background - how many times have you asked someone what a travel experience was like and the response was "amazing" or "awesome"? That response is nice to know, but it makes it hard to differentiate that experience compared to others. That is exactly what these scores are trying to do - differentiate the experience by giving a score out of 10 based on 6 categories and then giving an overall experience score
This overall experience score is calculated by: take the highest of the "Culture" or "Nature" score (1-10) + "Fun factor" (1-10) + "Avoiding the crowds" (1-10) + highest of the "Unique" or "World Famous score" (1-10). Then convert into a score out of 100
Extra detail - the logic being that I find all of the 6 individual scores important, but I don't want to mark an experience down just because it doesn't cover both "Culture" and "Nature", or because it isn't both "World Famous" and "Unique". Take the examples of Safari in The Serengeti and walking through Rome - they both appeal at opposite ends of the nature / culture spectrum, and you can have a fantastic time without needing to appeal to both sides. So, their overall scores aren't penalized for their lack of one or the other, and I've done the same for "World Famous" vs "Unique". But . . . I do think that the "Fun factor" of an experience is important, irrelevant of other factors, and so is "Avoiding the Crowds" (or where there are crowds that add to the experience). So, both of these scores are standalone