Lake Batur

The Batur volcano climb is a Bali classic, with stunning views of the sun rising over the twin sacred mountains, Bali’s Agung, and Lombok’s Rinjani. The night before, stay on Lake Batur, looking out at the volcano and the hillside farms of Kintamani.

After the early start and muscle-toning climb, recover with massage and swimming at the pretty hot springs on the lakeside.

We like to stay at:
Lakeside Cottages, with simple rooms and a pool right on the lake. Kids can go fishing in their carp pond. From 400k.

Bedugul

Sitting by an open fire in the evening and picking your own strawberries in the morning is not what most people associate with Bali holidays. Which is precisely why you should consider the hill town of Bedugul.

The botanical gardens and lakeside temples can’t fail to please, while Bali Treetop, an aerial assault course with Tarzan swings and flying foxes, is a must-visit for kids – or your inner child. More things to do in Bali with kids here).

We like to stay at:
Strawberry Hill. Sweet brick bungalows (from 700k) have bathrooms with tubs, an open fire in the restaurant, dazzling views, and you can pick your own strawberries from their patch: it’s a little overprice due to the TripAdvisor effect but still the best option in the area. Or stay in the Botanic Gardens proper, which have rooms at a range of price points.

Balian

Surfing beach? Check. Rural tranquility? Check. Yoga retreats? Check. The little town of Balian on Bali’s west coast is one of the island’s less discovered gems, with a good range of accommodation too.

We like to stay at:
Shankari’s. Stylish bamboo bungalows, with balcony daybeds, in spacious grounds dotted with small swimming pools. Juices are great, there’s internet and daily yoga, plus courses and retreats, and discounts can be amazing when they’re not running retreats.

Amed

The USS Liberty wreck at Tulamben makes the area around Amed a diving mecca – and EuroDive in Lipah is a great place to learn. There’s plenty of snorkelling off the beaches here – the Japanese shipwreck is famous – while outside Tulamben proper, fishermen’s jukung still line the shore, while cattle graze in the coconut groves.

We like to stay at:
Coral View Villas, in landscaped gardens leading up to the waterfront, has substantial bungalows, some with gorgeous outdoor gardens and was the original set of villas in Lipah: it shares an owner with EuroDive. Villa Coral has slick two-storey cottages right on a black sand beach with good snorkelling, that sleep up to five people (from 750k).

Pemuteran

Your jumpoff point for beautiful diving around Menjangan island, and a great base for excursions to see the deer and wilderness of West Bali National Park, this little north coast strip is very sweet. Beaches are grey and the coral’s not impressive, but there is a turtle hatchery to explore, some wire frame structures to snorkel, while the mood is lovely.

We like to stay at:
Arjuna, with pretty gardens, a pool, a great dive centre and fantastic French food. From 400k. If you’re in funds, Puri Ganesha, the original top-end place in Pemuteran, remains worth a look.

Ubud

Whether or not you’ve read Eat, Pray, Love, Ubud is an essential stop on most people’s Bali holidays and one of our favourite places to stay in Bali. The town has fantastic restaurants, a great library, several museums, dazzling temples and palaces, rice fields a few metres from many main roads, more yoga courses than anyone can reasonably imagine, and traditional dances nightly.

We like to stay at:
There are so many great places to stay in Ubud that I’ve written an entire post on where to stay in Ubud, from the indulgent Como Shambhala and Hanging Gardens through comfortable bungalows like Sri Ratih and Sri to affordable options like Taman Indrakila and Tu Eka.

*This post was last updated on 25 January 2015.

The post The Sunday Six: Places to Stay in Bali that Aren’t Kuta appeared first on EscapeArtistes.