Kuta is the best known tourist area on the island of Bali in Indonesia and offers a decent surfing beach, despite being chronically overdeveloped. Visitors who feel overwhelmed by aggressive hawkers, American fast food and traffic jams should base themselves further along the coast towards nearby Seminyak. Kuta is still a fun destination for a big night of bar and club-hopping along several dozen low-end nightclubs and 50+ dive bars within walking distance of the main strip.

Towering 3,033 metres above sea level, Mount Agung is the highest mountain on the island of Bali and the fifth highest volcano in the whole of Indonesia. Mount Agung has huge spiritual significance to the people of the island, and is home to the 'Mother Temple' of Besakih. It forms part of a chain of volcanos that make up the back bone of Bali. Balinese legend has it that Agung was created when the Hindu God Pasupati split Mount Meru (the spiritual axis of the universe) and formed Mount Agung with a fragment.

The next town north of Legian, Seminyak is more upmarket. The atmosphere is much more laid-back than Kuta, and the beach in particular is quieter during the day. Seminyak is also the spa and boutique shopping capital of Bali. It is hard to imagine that only ten years ago this was a distinctly separate village, and something of a backwater. Development has occurred at an astonishing pace, and as well as absorbing all green space which formerly separated Seminyak from Legian, it is now almost impossible to determine where Seminyak ends and the nearby villages of Petitenget, Umalas and Kerobokan begin. This certainly has its downside, and the whole district has become very congested.

Jimbaran is a small town in South Bali.It is just south of the airport and Kuta. This was formerly a real backwater of south Bali, just a tiny fishing village with a daily market. That all started to change in the 1980s and Jimbaran is now home to several world class 5 star beach resorts, plus a few more moderate mid-market hotels. There is, however, little in the way of budget accommodation and there are also many high-end villas in this area, particularly on the ridges of high ground above Jimbaran Bay. This has resulted in monikers such as the "Beverly Hills of Bali" or "Millionaire's Row".