The range of classes and courses on offer in Bali is truly vast. Visitors to Bali can learn to cook, meditate, surf and scuba dive. There are classes in traditional Balinese music and dance, and visitors can hone their mountain climbing and motor cycle riding skills as well.

Heinz von Holzen wrote the book on Balinese cooking – literally. His book ‘The Food of Bali’ was an international bestseller and he operates a cooking school at the Ayana Resort and Spa in Nusa Dua. His restaurant is called Bumba Bali and diners who wish to emulate von Holzen’s skills are well advised to book in advance for his high demand courses.

Alternatively, traditional Balinese cooking classes are held in many other parts of the island and most resorts and hotels will have their own form of cooking course or school. Not all are as upscale and booked out as the von Holzen school, and a basic day class in just one or two dishes is often enough for most holiday makers. The Bali Culture and Information Centre in Kuta has a full list of cooking courses and classes.

Raya Yoga meditation classes are offered to all comers free of charge. They take place in Ubud and Denpasar and earn revenue via sale of meditation tapes and books, both of which make great souvenirs as well as aids to help the learning process continue once the holiday to Bali is over. Again, all the major resorts in Ubud and Nusa Dua will offer superb yoga and meditation classes on their premises.

Surfing courses are advertised everywhere, from the bulletin boards of five star hotels to colourful flyers nailed to street poles. Visitors can approach the groups of learner surfers and their teachers right on the beach, and usually join in on the spot. Prices vary, but there are few free learn to surf courses available in Bali. Many experiences surfers fund long stays in Bali by teaching surfing.

PADI-certified Scuba diving courses run out of all the main resorts in Nusa Dua as well as many hotels in Kuta. The tourist centres and travel agencies in Kuta will be able to co-ordinate and book scuba diving courses and most times, can arrange a starting time within 24 hours.

The Foundation of Pure Art in Ubud teaches traditional Balinese music and dance. One on one classes or group sessions are available and run from one day to two weeks or more. The Seni Klassik Museum in Klungkung offers lessons in playing the Gamelan and novices are welcome to enrol in the two-week training course.

Visitors to Bali can learn to paraglide off the Bukit Hill with an expert instructor in tandem on a flight lasting 20mins. Naturally, these lessons depend heavily on weather conditions and confirmations are subject to last-minute cancellations in conditions turn dangerous.

VIsitors can create their own Balinese souvenir at the Jenggala Paint A Pot school, where raw glaze is sold by quantity and subsequent teaching in hand sculpting and painting come free.

Learn-to-surf courses operate every day of the year in Bali and cater to all levels of experience. Novices are welcome to learn how to get their balance and catch their first wave and lessons are held over a couple of hours in the morning or after lunch. Experienced surfers will find no end of opportunities to catch waves of Bali’s fabled beaches, especially towards the west of the island.

Scuba diving can be arranged around the island but the best dive outifts are at the resort beach of Nusa Dua, where off shore excursions depart several times daily. Again, all levels of experience are catered for and lessons for absolute beginner divers are easy to book and have a relaxed and patient vibe.

Beach volleyball, jogging, beach yoga and every other sand-based activity under the sun are available all around the island. Some of Bali’s less obvious sporty attractions include a circus school where tourists can learn some impressive new tricks.

Bali’s beauty spas and wellness centres are justifiably world famous. Many of the upscale resorts are located in Ubud and Nusa Dua, but plenty of smaller places in the less upscale parts of Bali offer quality services. The beach ladies who endlessly ply their trade up and down the hot sand all day long do fine massages and excellent manicures and pedicures.

Motor cycles can be rented from any of the main tourist centres and the roads around the island are relatively safe and easy to navigate. Riders with out the confidence to take to the Bali roads on their own can just as easily hire a bike with driver for a half day, day or for the entire duration of their holiday. This is a great way to see Bali and get around from place to place and rates are very cheap.

Cooking courses come into their own in Ubud. In the hills above Bali marvelous schools operate classes in traditional Hindu cooking (avocado milkshakes and nasi goreng, for example) as well as basic tropical recipes. These classes are very popular with Europeans who return home with unexpected skills in cooking with coconuts and pineapples.

Temple lovers are well and truly in their element in Bali with thousands of temples of all shapes and sizes dotted all over the island. Bali’s rich cultural heritage as well as its status as the only Hindu province in Islamic Indonesia means that the island has a holy sense unlike anywhere else in the country. Virtually no home or business doesn’t have a small shrine out front, and no visitor needs to walk far before arriving at an interesting temple.

Outside the temples, visitors can find their own sense of inner peace at a meditation or yoga class. Some of the Raya yoga centres here offer free classes and courses and some morning sessions are held in the shadow of stunning dawn sunrises right on the beach.

Where to start with sightseeing in Bali? The fabled Hindu island of Indonesia hasn’t become one of the most popular tourist and holiday destinations in the world for nothing, and it continues to draw year-long crowds despite periods of economic downturns and politically-motivated violence.

Bali offers superb surfing, windsurfing and other sun and sand activities. Also, there’s an abundance of beautiful temples and nature reserves, as well as several mountains to explore. Hidden jewels like the hill town of Ubud are stacked with enough sightseeing attractions to be classed as separate tourist destinations of their own.

Most people head to Bali for the beach, and the main tourist beaches in Bali are around the suburbs of Kuta and adjacent Legian. Kuta Beach is long and pleasant though the seas here can get a little rough during some parts of the year. The beach stretches into Legian and then Seminyak Beach, which is a little more upmarket and offers a respite from the crowds and the endless beach hawkers offering their hair braiding and massage services.

Visitors wanting to do some real sightseeing may want to head to the Kintamani Volcano which is beyond Ubud. The town of Kintamani is 5,000ft above sea level and the views of the caldera and the countryside below are truly spectacular. Boat tours are available and excursions on the crater lake of the Kintamani Volcano are cheap and very worthwhile.

Visitors interested in more nature can head to the east coast of Bali and visit the enormous colony of tens of thousands of bats that hang upside down inside the Bat Cave of Candi Dasa. Another popular cave destination is the Elephant Cave near Tampaksiring, which is filled with remnants of Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimages dating back to the 11th century.

The largest Hindu temple in Bali – in all of Indonesia in fact – is the Mother Temple in Besakih. Dating from the 11th century, this enormous temple is worth a half-day visit to the slopes of Mount Agung. On either way to or from the temple, visitors can stop for a photo at the cascading rice terraces outside Tenganan village.

The Monkey Forest at Ubud is a must-see sight in Bali. Here, thousands of monkeys live fairly wild but are tame enough to eat bananas out of the hands of tourists. The Monkey Forest is the first place most visitors to Ubud will encounter if they are approaching Ubud from Kuta.

Anyone wanting to see Balinese arts and crafts being created can take handicraft village tours that take in Ubud but also the silver and gold centre of Celuk and the wood carving capital at Mas. The village of Batubulan is famous for its stone carvers and fantastic, if heavy, souvenirs can be picked up here.

Bali is a well-travelled place – crowds have been coming here in large numbers for decades, and so the tourist infrastructure of the island is very established. What this means for the first-time visitor is that no real trouble should be anticipated in regards to getting around, finding accommodation or seeking help when it’s needed. Local hawkers may be a bit too keen to help sell goods and services to tourists, but there are several official tourist offices that offer extensive information and friendly assistance.

Most new arrivals will enter Bali via Ngurah Rai International Airport at Denpasar, Bali’s largest and capital city. After passing customs and other particulars, the journey into Kuta, Bali’s main tourist drag, takes around thirty minutes and there are ample taxis and auto-rickshaws waiting out front of the Arrivals Hall. Prices can be negotiated with the driver as elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Bali’s Government Tourist Information Center is right in the centre of Kuta, on Jalan Bakung Sari. It is centrally located and filled with schedules, brochures and tour and trip information. The officers here will be able to call hotels, arrange courses and classes, and provide pretty much any information required. Unless visitors have everything booked in advance or are prepared to take their chances with touts, the Information Center is a great place to start a first trip to Bali.

Renting a motor cycle is the next choice for many visitors. Bikes are cheap and cheerful and fairly reliable but visitors should be mindful that many travel insurance policies don’t cover accidents on rented motor cycles. If you are injured while riding or injure someone else, you may not be covered and prices can be astronomical. Also, you are completely responsible for any damage and subsequent repair costs to the rented vehicle.

The famous Bali surf is generally safe and the beaches at Kuta and Legian are very heavily populated. Visitors should be advised, however, that no beach in Bali is patrolled by any form of life guard service and the surf can get choppy at times. During rough weather, maybe reconsider going too far out into the deep.

The party scene in Bali is wild but visitors should bear in mind that the infamous drug laws of Indonesia apply here and that many foreigners are currently languishing in Bali’s squalid jails for minor drug offenses, including possession of minor quantities of soft drugs. Also, crackdowns of fake clothes DVDs and CDs that are sold at all Bali market places mean that penalties can apply either departing Bali or on arrival at your home airport for purchasing illegally pirated merchandise.

Hotels in Bali run the gamut from ultimate six-star luxury resorts right down to tiny bungalows made of bamboo. There are even ample opportunities to camp out on the beach or in the jungle, and backpacker-style dormitories abound. Good value mid range places are the choice of many, and these avoid the high prices of the upscale hotels as well as the discomforts of some of the el-cheapo places.

Bali is a great place to take the kids. Most hotels cater to young families and a number of resorts are explicitly child friendly. As ever, kids are primarily their parents’ responsibility and few hotel pools and none of the public beaches offer any kind of lifeguard supervision.

The Balinese simply adore children and locals will happily offer to hold your babies while you shop or swim. Even local children are very friendly with foreign children and will happily include them in games and sports. Certain hotels like the Hard Rock or any of the resorts in Nusa Dua have exceptional child care facilities and even dedicated shallow water pools and playgrounds.

Hiking or surfing in Bali can be done with children and it is up to the visiting parent to decide what they may like to do in this case. There are few locations or places in Bali that are prohibitive for people visiting with their young ones and the Monkey Forest in Ubud is one of the most enduring kid-friendly attractions in all of Southeast Asia.

24 hour emergency health care clinics operate in Kuta and the main hospital in Denpasar is well-equipped to cater to any health problems encountered by parents or their children. Care should be taken is doubling kids on the back of a motorbike and visitors should use their discretion regarding seat and safety belts in taxi cabs and mini buses.

Bali is part of the largest Islamic country in the world. Indonesia has varying degrees of Islamic orthodoxy but in Bali, a Hindu island, is the least influenced by the codes and laws related to female dress in Islam. As a beach and tourist island, there has to be a certain laxity to female dress codes too.

Nude or topless bathing is sure to be frowned on and at best will attract unwanted attention. Be sure to be mindful of the fact that topless bathing is offensive and upsetting to locals who have otherwise seen it all. One piece swimsuits or bikinis are accepted but away from the beach t-shirts or scarves are expected.

Otherwise, women travel fairly easily in Bali. The influx of western tourists since the 1930s means that Bali is relatively modern and tolerant. Single women of all ages travel to Bali and in Ubud, where a number of solo women operate art galleries and museums. Many Australian women and girls travel to Bali alone or in groups. All relevant toiletries and medical supplies are readily available in all chemists in places like Kuta and Ubud as well as in Legian and in Seminyak.

Work opportunities for anyone in Bali are extremely limited. Since the tourist downturn that resulted from the terrorist attacks in Bali in 2002 and 2005, even locals who work as hawkers and beach vendors struggle to make ends meet. With tourism and agriculture the two top industries, tertiary business and other work opportunities are very thin on the ground.

Nevertheless, Bali is a magnet for expats who operate some of the art galleries and resorts in Ubud as well as in tourism, where employment in the top resorts in Nusa Dua as well as other parts of Bali are relatively abundant. Competition for expat jobs in Bali is fierce. Some travellers find employment in SCUBA diving or learn to surf courses if they have relevant qualifications and experience.

Beyond these areas however there are very few employment opportunities in Bali. If you do decide to give it a go, this is the visa and work permit information you may need:

RPTKA (Expatriate Placement Plan) – Any Indoensian business or company that intends to employ a foreigner needs to apply for an Expatriate Placement Plan, RPTKA. Regardless of the skills and qualifications of the foreigner, this permit is never guaranteed in the tight economic situation of present day Indonesia.If they are granted, the business or company pays US$100 per month per foreign employee to offset the training costs for locals.

If they have been issued a TA01 permit by the Indonesian government, visitors can enter Bali with a KITAS card which allows limited employment opportunities that are legitimate.

Fees
Visas
- Visa Kunjungan (60 day business visa): US$45
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The main danger to health and safety in Bali is the climate. Visitors who arrive here from winter or any time of the year in cooler Europe or the United Kingdom may be woefully underprepared for the heat and humidity that will greet them the second they arrive at the airport in Denpasar.

Bali is very hot and humid all through the year and though this makes for a tropical island party paradise it also brings substantial health risks. Sunscreen, hats and protective clothing need to be worn by all visitors to avoid sunburn which can happen only after a few minutes unprotected exposure to the hot, tropical sun.

Sunstroke is a real possibility too and the symptoms of this are headache, lethargy and fatigue. Dehydration can also result from excessive perspiration or alcohol consumption and cooling down in a swimming pool or the surf can be deceptive and waiting until thirst occurs is usually an indication that dehydration is already underway. Salts and plenty of water will help both sunstroke and dehydration but in severe cases medical attention should definitely be sought.

The notorious Bali Belly is encountered by many visitors due to spicy food or food that has been reheated improperly and as a result filled with bacteria. Anti-diarrohea medication should be carried by most visitors but it is available for purchase in all chemists in Bali.

Motorbike rental is popular all over Bali and many visitors enjoy putting around the island for a day or two. Accidents are very common and abrasions resulting from gravel rash or impact with dirt roads should be treated with antiseptic wipes and of course serious injuries or broken bones need medical attention.

There is a 24 hour emergency clinic in Kuta, at 100 Ngurah Rai 100 at the Kalan Bypass. Staff here speak English but the treatment is not free – travel insurance will need to cover things like motorbike accidents (most policies will not) and other such accidents.

Bali enjoys a sub-equatorial climate and is hot and wet most of the year. Cold weather is never experienced in Bali and temperatures usually exceed 30 degrees Celsius every day of the year.

There are two seasons in Bali, the Dry Season and the Wet Season. The Dry Season runs from May to September and the Wet Season runs from October through April. In the Wet Season rain can be expected daily and during the peak months of December to February torrential downpours are not uncommon.

In the hills of Bali cooler weather is encountered. Fogs and mists keep the very high Dry Season highs at bay but visitors should still expect very hot weather no matter which part of Bali they are staying in or travelling to. Mornings and evenings in the hills are cooled by breezes but midday temperatures soar.

Closer to the coast very hot weather is encountered and sea breezes are rare. Dipping into the water is one way to cool off while on the beach in Bali. The island of Bali enjoys a very similar climate to the rest of the Indonesian archipelago. Visitors to Bali should take care with their skin and wear sunscreen, hats and protective clothing.

New arrivals need to be especially careful of the weather in Bali since heat and sun related health problems are bound to occur especially for visitors arriving from winter in other parts of the world who will be shocked by the heat and humidity. Prickly heat and sunburn are common ailments.

Bali was originally settled by Indo-Chinese people from the area of present-day Taiwan in around 2000BC. Dutch explorers arrived in the area around the year 1600. The so-called Dutch East Indies included most of the Indonesian archipelago including Bali and violence flared in the early 1900s when more than one massacre took place when indigenous Balinese marched against Dutch troops.

As a result of these battles, Dutch authority in Bali was never as concrete as it was in other parts of Indonesia. In the 1930s Bali became famous as an artist colony and many painters, writers and sculptors from the United States and Europe settled in Bali for creative residencies.

Japan occupied Bali during the Second World War and after the Japanese surrender forces from The Netherlands re-occupied the island. In December 1949 Dutch authorities recognised Indonesian independence and Bali became part of the Federated Union of Indonesia at this time.

In 1963 Mount Agung exploded and killed thousands and in 1965-66 independence wars across Indonesia saw around 80,000 Balinese killed in various protests, fights and scuffles both within Bali and elsewhere across the Indonesian archipelago.

Bali’s tourist industry grew quickly from the 1970s with the island’s surf breaks, laid back Hindu lifestyle and belief systems and very low costs to visit drawing backpackers from all over the world. Tourism boomed in the 1980s and 1990s when Bali became the most popular overseas tourist destination for Australian holiday-makers after New Zealand.

Trouble returned to Bali in the 21st century with a series of deadly tourist attacks shrouding the island in gloom and fire. The Sari Club bombings of 2002 killed over 200 people and it was followed by another deadly attack in 2005. Tourist numbers to Bali shrank drastically after these events, and economic woes ensued.