Kuta & Ubud: Temples and Craft Villages, 6 Nights

A short drive from Ngurah Rai to the hotel in Kuta. The rest of the day is for settling in: a swim, and the beach at sunset, when the sand fills with families, surfers and vendors selling cold coconuts. Bali is only two and a half hours ahead of India, so there is little jet lag to worry about, and even an afternoon arrival leaves time for the beach.

Water sports at Tanjung Benoa in the calm of the morning, with a banana-boat ride and a jet-ski session included. After a break, continue south to the Bukit peninsula and Uluwatu, whose temple stands at the very edge of a sheer cliff. In the amphitheatre beside it the Kecak is performed at sunset: a circle of dozens of men chanting in rhythm, telling a story from the Ramayana, which Indian visitors will recognise. Tickets are bought at the gate.

A late start, and the west. Taman Ayun, built in the seventeenth century as the state temple of the Mengwi kingdom, is ringed by a moat, and its tiered meru towers rise within lawned courtyards. It is part of Bali's World Heritage listing. Continue to the coast for Tanah Lot, a temple on a rock in the sea, with time to watch the tide and walk the clifftops before the sunset turns it into a silhouette.

Check out and drive inland through the villages that supply Bali's crafts. Batik is waxed and dyed by hand in the workshops of Tohpati; Celuk is a village of silversmiths; Mas, the woodcarvers' village, has workshops where you can watch a mask or figure take shape. Then up to Kintamani on the crater rim, for lunch looking over Mount Batur and its lake. The road drops down to Ubud for the evening.

A free day in Ubud. The Sacred Monkey Forest is at the bottom of town, three temples in a ravine of banyans; keep bags zipped. Ubud Palace and the art market sit at the crossroads in the centre. In the evening, the palace courtyard hosts Legong or Barong dance most nights, with a gamelan orchestra, and tickets are sold on the street during the day. We send notes on what is on.

A second free day, with the best of the countryside close by. Tegallalang rice terraces are fifteen minutes north and at their best early. Tirta Empul, a little further, is a spring temple where Balinese bathe under a row of carved spouts to purify themselves, and visitors may join with a sarong. Goa Gajah, the elephant cave with its carved demon entrance, is south of town. A driver can be arranged for the day.

Breakfast and check-out, then the drive down to the airport, which can take ninety minutes or more, so the driver leaves early. With a late flight, the morning can go on the Campuhan ridge walk, which starts near the centre of town and is at its coolest before nine.