Rubydo

Hi all, looking at going to Bali in August for 10 nights. Thinking of staying in Seminyak and hiring a villa rather than staying in a hotel. Any recommendations on areas to stay and what to do and see, places to eat etc....
TIA

DXBtoDOH

Seminyak and Kuta are pretty bad although Seminyak is marginally better. Kuta is Australia trash paradise.

Ubud had the best food. Nowhere will you find great beaches.

I'd go to the Gili islands instead. Then again it's highly unlikely I'll ever return to Bali.

iggle

I have never been Bali, but I heard similar thoughts as DXB. Gone once but never again. Though I am not a fan of Asia in general

Rubydo

Not really looking for beaches as have enough of them here, just looking to chill out by a pool and then going out on an evening. Some trashy nights are in order whilst there.

Maybe split the time between Seminyak and Gili Islands

Rubydo

Not a great start to my morning searching for a holiday in Bali then ha

co durham boy

Seminyak is quite nice , some cool bars and great places to eat . Bali can be a bit trashy but the same goes for most places nowadays .

Bali is worth a punt , i'd go back .

Rubydo

Thanks, it does look rather cool and I loved Thailand for the street food and bars and not having to get dressed up so thinking Bali could be similar

co durham boy

You'll like Seminyak if that's your thing . There's some pretty cool things happening down there in nightlife terms the last time i was there a few years ago.

A lot of people don't like S.E Asia as it's got a brutality about it in parts and attracts a certain type as they say but to be honest most places always fall away or become uncool to some.

Marbella was cool 20 years ago and now it's like Brentwood , full of coked up roided protein shake drinking wankpots.

You'll find a few in Kuta as well

Rubydo

Haha yeah I get u, suppose everywhere has them! They have to prance around somewhere
The villas are pretty cheap to rent for 10nights so going to go with that in Seminyak and see what's what. Thanks

DXBtoDOH

Another ditzy blonde in Seminyak. You'll have a blast

Rubydo

That's an old photo ha I'm now a sophisticated brunette :-p

Standanista

All the suburbs at that southern end run into one long conurbation pretty much and nowhere is far away by taxi so I'd go by which villa you most fancy for a bit of walled poolside seclusion, then take it from there. You're always close to party central and Aussies in AFL singlets. Other options to break up the trip: the north of the island (Lovina etc), although quieter, has some nice places to stay, though the beaches are black sand. You could hire a car and driver and spend a day getting there, calling at Kintamani/Gunung Batur (volcano) and a few other places on the way, have a couple of days then head back south. Ubud is okay although I would say overrated these days; it's become very developed, which defeats the object when it always used to be a bit of respite from Kuta. It's still worth a look for the dance and culture side but most of the rice paddies in town have been turned into guest houses. West Bali is off the tourist trail and a bit dull from a tourist perspective; quite a bit of Javanese (Muslim) influence, so low on bars, so best avoided unless you're catching the ferry to Java.

Rubydo

Wow thanks for the info, sounds great. There's lots of lovely villas coming up for seminyak and also Ubud but think I'll opt for Seminyak. Want to go to potato head too :-)

IKnowNothing

Jimbran Bay is decent too, easy to walk from your place, Nusa Dua is too clinical for me - like being in Dubai, but the streets around Jimbran bay are fun. Easy for the airport, decent beaches too.

Go to the Water Palace on the right hand side of the island, one of the most tranquil places I've ever been.

Rubydo

Need to google all this as never heard of the places ha, thanks for the recommendations it's a great help.
I hate thinking of going somewhere and missing out on things to do/see

I've seen like a raised up pool bar type club on pics where and what could this be? Think it's in seminyak