Kuta

Kuta is the best known tourist area on the island of Bali in Indonesia and offers a decent surfing beach. It is a fun destination for a big night of bar and club-hopping along several dozen low-end nightclubs and many dive bars within walking distance of the main strip.

The five km long sandy stretch of Kuta is the best beach front in Bali. The beach is safe, partially clean, well-maintained, although the beach vendors remain annoying pushing massages, hair braiding, cigarettes and surf boards. The long wide stretch of sand is often full of sunbathers and plenty of surfers around at most times of the year, and especially so during peak season. As you move north along the beach to first Legian and then Seminyak and Petitenget it becomes progressively quieter and less frenetic.

Kuta is a main area for scuba divers to base themselves for diving courses and day trips around Bali. There are lots of world class dive sites within driving distance or a short boat ride. Some of the more famous sites are the USAT Liberty WW2 shipwreck, the manta rays & mola mola (giant sunfish) of Nusa Penida and The Jetty or Blue Lagoon at Padang Bai.

Kuta is a major transport hub and is well connected to the rest of island via a bemo and shuttle bus network. Legian and Seminyak are both within walking distance. A car journey to the cultural heart of Bali in Ubud will take about 45 min. The Gili Islands can be reached in two and a half hours. Tanah Lot can be reached in 45 minutes by taxi.

Jalan Pantai Kuta, the street that runs parallel the Beach, has restaurants of all types. The alleys of Poppies I and II hold many excellent budget restaurants, and the many bars, where a cold Bintang beer is often already served in the morning hours.