Canggu, Seminyak or Uluwatu: Which Part of South Bali to Base Yourself In

These three are next to each other on the map and different enough in character that people who love one often dislike the others. All are on the south coast within ninety minutes of the airport, all have good hotels at every price, and none is a bad choice. The difference is what you walk out of the door into.

Canggu is the surf-and-cafe town: a black-sand beach with breaks for every level, a dense strip of brunch places, co-working spaces, gyms and beach clubs, and a crowd skewed young and long-stay. It is lively every night of the week and loud at weekends.

Choose it for surfing, for the food scene, and for being somewhere with energy. Avoid it if traffic infuriates you or you want a beach you can swim off.

Seminyak, twenty minutes south, is Canggu's older, more polished neighbour: wider streets, boutique shopping, a long stretch of restaurants, sunset bars on a beach that is sandier and a little more swimmable, and a crowd that is older and on shorter holidays. It is the most convenient of the three for the airport and for getting to Ubud or Uluwatu.

Choose it for restaurants, shopping and an easy first visit. It has less surf identity and less of the raw edge of Canggu.

Uluwatu is the limestone peninsula at the island's southern tip: cliffs, small white-sand coves reached by steep steps, some of the best surf in the world for those who can ride it, the clifftop temple and its sunset fire dance, and resorts spread across a large area with no single town centre. Evenings are quiet and you will drive to dinner.

Choose it for the coves and the views, for serious surf, and for a calmer stay. Avoid it if you want to walk to a choice of restaurants or if you plan a lot of day trips north; everything is an hour further from here.

First visit, a week, want a bit of everything: split it, three or four nights in Canggu or Seminyak and three in Uluwatu, with a night or two in Ubud if you can. The south coast and the interior are different islands in feel, and staying in one place for the whole trip means seeing the others in the worst possible way, from a car in the middle of the day.