Where to stay in Bali: the best areas and hotels

Seminyak is where Bali dresses up. Its long, wide beach faces west into some of the island's most spectacular sunsets, and behind it lie the island's best boutiques, galleries, restaurants and beach clubs. By day, people shop and lounge; by night, the cocktail bars fill up and the music goes on late.

Hotels are stylish and varied. Hotel Indigo sits on the beachfront with rooms, suites and pool villas inspired by local life; the Courtyard is a comfortable family base; and The Amala is an intimate, adults-only retreat of private villas, about 2 km from the beach. Down in the Double Six area, the Grand Mercure is a short walk from both Seminyak and Legian beaches.

A generation ago Canggu was rice paddies and a few surf shacks. Now it is Bali's most fashionable address, a laid-back sprawl of smoothie-bowl cafés, yoga studios, co-working spaces and beach bars, still punctuated by patches of green paddy. The black-sand beaches have some of the island's best surf breaks, and the ancient sea temple of Pura Batu Menjan sits on the rocks by the shore.

COMO Uma Canggu has some of the best breaks just steps from the door; Regent Bali Canggu sits right on the beach; and Swarga Suites lines up along Berawa Beach. Couples are spoilt for choice: Canggu Cabana is designed exclusively for couples, and Shore Amora is adults-only with a spa.

Kuta is Bali's original party town and still its busiest resort: a long golden beach with gentle waves that are perfect for learning to surf, backed by shops, bars and fast-food joints. It's noisy and unashamedly commercial, but the sunsets are glorious, the prices are low and the airport is about ten minutes away.

Families love the Waterbom water park and the Beachwalk shopping mall. Ramayana Suites is a short walk from the beach, the Sheraton is on Kuta's beach road, and in Tuban, just south, The Patra and The Anvaya have private beach areas and lush gardens, five minutes or so from the terminal.

Jimbaran Bay is a sweeping crescent of soft sand south of the airport, famous for its seafood restaurants, which set tables on the beach at dusk and grill the day's catch over coconut husks. Behind it rises the Bukit peninsula, where resorts sprawl across the cliff tops.

AYANA is practically a town of its own, with AYANA Villas offering private pools and butlers, and RIMBA, set in the same gardens, aimed at families. Jimbaran Puri, a Belmond hotel, is a calm, low-rise retreat by the bay. Over on the east side of the peninsula, Nusa Dua is a manicured resort enclave with calm, swimmable water; Paradisus by Meliá is there, about 12 km from the airport.

Sanur was one of the first places in Bali to welcome tourists, and it has aged gracefully. On the east coast, it faces the sunrise rather than the sunset, and an offshore reef keeps the sea calm and shallow, perfect for small children and paddleboarders. A paved path runs along the beach for kilometres, lined with cafés and warungs.

The pace is slower and the crowd a little older than in Seminyak or Canggu. Andaz Bali sits in six acres of tropical gardens a short walk from shops and cafés; Maya Sanur is right by the beach with ocean views; and Sudamala is a calm, culture-filled retreat. Fast boats to Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida leave from the beach here.

Ubud is Bali's soul. An hour or so inland from the beaches, the town is a tangle of art galleries, temples, yoga studios and cafés, with the Royal Palace and the art market at its centre and long-tailed macaques causing chaos in the Monkey Forest. Around it, rivers carve deep green gorges, and rice terraces like those at Tegallalang spill down the hillsides.

The best hotels perch on the edges of those valleys. Alila Ubud sits high above the Ayung River, Bambu Indah is on the Sayan Ridge with rice paddies and the river below, and Hanging Gardens, with its famous tiered infinity pool, overlooks the jungle. Kamandalu is set among rice terraces on the banks of the Petanu River. Most are a short drive from town, so check the shuttle.

Just off Bali's east coast, the Nusa islands feel like Bali from 30 years ago. Nusa Lembongan is small and easy-going, with little bays such as Mushroom Bay and Dream Beach, mangroves to paddle through and crystal-clear water for snorkelling. Its bigger, wilder neighbour, Nusa Penida, is all towering cliffs, with Kelingking Beach and Crystal Bay among Bali's most photographed spots, and manta rays offshore.

Accommodation is mostly small, relaxed resorts and bungalows. Ohana's sits steps from the beach at Jungut Batu; Indiana Kenanga has two pools and a spa; Dream Beach Huts is right by its namesake; and on Penida, Meket Bungalows is a few minutes from Crystal Bay.