Top 10 Things to Do in Bali

Perched on a rocky outcrop in the sea just off Bali's southwestern coast, the 16th-century Tanah Lot temple is the island's most photographed landmark — particularly dramatic at sunset when the silhouette of its tiered shrines is framed against a flaming sky. At low tide, visitors can walk across to the base of the rock.

The sophisticated strip of Seminyak beach is lined with Bali's most stylish beach clubs — Ku De Ta, Potato Head, Finns — where world-class cocktails, infinity pools, and DJs compete with the spectacle of the Indian Ocean sunset. The restaurant scene behind the beach road is equally outstanding.

Perched 70 meters above the crashing Indian Ocean on a sheer limestone clifftop at the southern tip of Bali, Pura Luhur Uluwatu is among the island's most dramatically sited sea temples. Every evening as the sun sets, a Kecak fire dance performance is staged in the open clifftop amphitheater.

The Ubud Monkey Forest is a 12-hectare nature reserve of ancient temples and dense jungle inhabited by over 700 long-tailed macaques who have developed a comfortable familiarity with human visitors. The forest's mossy temples and the ritual of being approached by a curious monkey are both genuinely extraordinary experiences.

A 45-minute fast boat from Sanur, the rugged island of Nusa Penida offers Bali's most dramatic coastal scenery — broken cliffs, hidden beaches, and the surreal natural rock arch of Kelingking Beach that appears to float above a turquoise sea. Manta ray snorkeling off Crystal Bay is world-class.

The market opposite Ubud Palace is a dense, intoxicating labyrinth of stalls selling woodcarvings, batik textiles, silver jewelry, stone sculpture, and handmade offerings — the full vocabulary of Balinese artistic tradition compressed into a single chaotic space. Bargaining is expected and entirely friendly.

The pre-dawn hike to the 1717-meter summit of the active volcano Mount Batur — led by local guides through darkness and volcanic dust — delivers one of Bali's most memorable rewards: a sunrise seen from above the clouds, with the crater lake glowing below and the Agung volcano reflected in the early light.

Balinese cuisine — built on spice pastes (bases), tropical herbs, and ceremonial cooking traditions distinct from the rest of Indonesia — is best understood through a hands-on cooking class in Ubud or Seminyak. Many begin with a guided walk through a morning market to select ingredients.

Bali's extraordinary Hindu spiritual life is visible in daily offerings (canang sari) left on every doorstep, but temple odalan (birthday) ceremonies — when worshippers dress in white and gold to present elaborately stacked offerings — are among the most visually spectacular cultural events in Southeast Asia.

Perched on a rocky outcrop in the sea just off Bali's southwestern coast, the 16th-century Tanah Lot temple is the island's most photographed landmark — particularly dramatic at sunset when the silhouette of its tiered shrines is framed against a flaming sky. At low tide, visitors can walk across to the base of the rock.

The sophisticated strip of Seminyak beach is lined with Bali's most stylish beach clubs — Ku De Ta, Potato Head, Finns — where world-class cocktails, infinity pools, and DJs compete with the spectacle of the Indian Ocean sunset. The restaurant scene behind the beach road is equally outstanding.

Perched 70 meters above the crashing Indian Ocean on a sheer limestone clifftop at the southern tip of Bali, Pura Luhur Uluwatu is among the island's most dramatically sited sea temples. Every evening as the sun sets, a Kecak fire dance performance is staged in the open clifftop amphitheater.

The Ubud Monkey Forest is a 12-hectare nature reserve of ancient temples and dense jungle inhabited by over 700 long-tailed macaques who have developed a comfortable familiarity with human visitors. The forest's mossy temples and the ritual of being approached by a curious monkey are both genuinely extraordinary experiences.

A 45-minute fast boat from Sanur, the rugged island of Nusa Penida offers Bali's most dramatic coastal scenery — broken cliffs, hidden beaches, and the surreal natural rock arch of Kelingking Beach that appears to float above a turquoise sea. Manta ray snorkeling off Crystal Bay is world-class.

The market opposite Ubud Palace is a dense, intoxicating labyrinth of stalls selling woodcarvings, batik textiles, silver jewelry, stone sculpture, and handmade offerings — the full vocabulary of Balinese artistic tradition compressed into a single chaotic space. Bargaining is expected and entirely friendly.

The pre-dawn hike to the 1717-meter summit of the active volcano Mount Batur — led by local guides through darkness and volcanic dust — delivers one of Bali's most memorable rewards: a sunrise seen from above the clouds, with the crater lake glowing below and the Agung volcano reflected in the early light.

Balinese cuisine — built on spice pastes (bases), tropical herbs, and ceremonial cooking traditions distinct from the rest of Indonesia — is best understood through a hands-on cooking class in Ubud or Seminyak. Many begin with a guided walk through a morning market to select ingredients.

Bali's extraordinary Hindu spiritual life is visible in daily offerings (canang sari) left on every doorstep, but temple odalan (birthday) ceremonies — when worshippers dress in white and gold to present elaborately stacked offerings — are among the most visually spectacular cultural events in Southeast Asia.