Kuta

Waves break over sand rather than reef, so almost every first surf lesson on the island happens here. Boards rent hourly right on the sand. When the west wind blows from December to March, some days rubbish washed in from the sea covers the sand.

A restaurant opened in the 1970s gave the lane its name. Guesthouses and shops crowd both edges of the slim way between beach and main road. Cars cannot get in but scooters pass nonstop, so keep to the wall when walking.

Souvenir stalls packed into a maze just behind the beach, selling sarongs, woodcarvings and silver. Opening prices run high, and haggling usually starts below half. Traders say the custom is to sell cheap to the first customer of the morning.

A water park of slides and a lazy river set in a tropical garden in the middle of Kuta. The slide whose floor drops away almost vertically draws the most riders. Weekends and school holidays mean long queues, so enter at opening on a weekday.

A temple on a sea cliff at the Bukit's southwest tip, where the Kecak dance plays at sunset on a round stage beside the drop. Monkeys snatch sunglasses and phones to trade back for food, so keep them in a bag. The entrance lends sarongs.

Jimbaran Bay's fish market sits at its northern tip, and boats coming in at dawn unload onto the sand. Hand your purchase to a grill stall alongside and they cook it over coals for a small fee. Far cheaper than beach restaurants; wet floors call for sandals.

A giant statue of the god Vishnu riding the Garuda bird, finished in 2018 after long years of building. You look up at it from plazas between cut limestone cliffs. The grounds are wide to walk, so late afternoon is easier than midday.

Narrow steps down through a crack in the rock come out at a small sandy cove. The left-hander breaking over the offshore reef is for experienced surfers only, and big swells bring contests. The cove is small, so the sand fills fast by afternoon.

A road cut right through the limestone cliff lets cars drive down to the white sand below. The descent between high walls on both sides is itself the photo spot. Rock pools appear when the tide drops, so aim to arrive then.

Mangrove forest survives on the mudflats between Kuta and Benoa, crossed by a timber boardwalk. The runway is close, so landing planes pass low overhead. When the tide drops, crabs and mudskippers can be seen moving on the mud.

A bow-shaped bay south of the airport. As the sun drops, seafood restaurants carry tables onto the sand and light candles. Fish and prawns picked from tanks are priced by weight and grilled over coconut-husk coals. Mornings, fishing boats rest on that sand.

On the Nusa Dua peninsula’s tip, waves surge into a limestone crack and burst up in white columns. On big-swell days the spray clears the viewing rail. Rocks past the barrier can be swept by waves, so watch from inside it.

A thin cape running north of Nusa Dua, its beach lined with operators for parasailing, banana boats and jet skis. Inside the reef the water is calm, which suits first-timers. Mornings beat the afternoon, when the wind picks up.

A small beach with homestays and cafes stacked down the cliff; steep stairs go a long way down to the sand. Over the reef offshore a left-hand wave breaks and surfers gather. At low tide rock pools appear that you can wander between.

A patch of sand under the Uluwatu cliffs, reached through a narrow cave gap in the rocks. Surfers carry boards out that way and paddle to the Uluwatu break. High tide covers the sand, so go down at low water; cliff cafes above look over the waves.

The road down is cut through a limestone hill, and niches carved in the cliff hold statues of the Pandawa brothers from the Mahabharata. On the shallow reef offshore villagers farm seaweed. Canoes can be rented on the sand to paddle the calm inner water.

A long curve of white sand beneath the cliffs on the Bukit's west side. Warungs on bamboo stilts stand where the sand ends, and surfers eat there while watching the waves. The sea opens to the west, so it is busiest when the sky reddens at sunset.