Where to Stay in Bali (2026): The Best Areas, 12 Hotels and the Tourist Levy

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A Bali hotel bill is only part of what the island charges you. Every foreign visitor owes Bali’s tourist levy of IDR 150,000, once a trip, and most visitors also need a visa on arrival, IDR 500,000. Then the hotel adds a 10% regional tax in the regency that covers Seminyak, Canggu, Jimbaran, Uluwatu and Nusa Dua, and many hotels add a service charge on top. Where you stay decides the rest: Bali is an island of separate towns, and the drive between them can be the longest part of your day.

This guide covers six areas, from Seminyak to Nusa Dua, 12 hotels, the airport links, the levy and the tax. The hotels are researched picks, chosen for location, what each property publishes and consistent guest feedback, and each was checked as operating in October 2026. No hotel pays to appear here.

The short answer

Bali’s tourist levy, visa fee and hotel tax

Three charges sit on top of the room. Only the hotel tax appears on the hotel’s bill.

The tourist levy. The Bali provincial government charges IDR 150,000 to each foreign tourist, paid once while you are in Bali, before you leave Indonesia. Pay it on the official Love Bali website or in the Love Bali app, which the province strongly encourages before departure to ease arrival; there are also payment counters at the airport and port in Bali, and registered hotels, travel agents and attractions can take it while you are on the island. Payment is cashless, by Visa, Mastercard, American Express or JCB card, bank transfer, virtual account, UnionPay or QRIS, and the voucher arrives by email with a QR code. Cruise passengers pay too. Holders of diplomatic and official visas, transport crew, KITAS and KITAP residence-card holders, and family-unification, student and golden visa holders are exempt. Use only the official site, lovebali.baliprov.go.id, or the app named simply “Love Bali”.

The visa. Indonesia’s visitor visa, the e-VOA, costs IDR 500,000 for a single entry and a stay of 30 days, for tourism and a few other purposes; it is sold on the official site, evisa.imigrasi.go.id, and at the port of entry, including Ngurah Rai airport. Every traveller needs their own, children included, and your passport must be valid for at least six months from arrival. A visa on arrival can be extended at an immigration office in Bali. The official site also requires every traveller to submit an arrival card within three days before arriving, and it warns that websites offering to get you a visa for a fee are not connected to the government.

The hotel tax. Badung regency, which takes in Seminyak, Canggu, Jimbaran, Uluwatu and Nusa Dua, charges a 10% regional tax on hotel services and 10% on food and drink, under a regency regulation in force since 1 January 2024. Ubud lies in Gianyar regency and Sanur in the city of Denpasar, which set their own rates; the hotel’s bill shows the line either way.

Read how the price is quoted. Some hotels publish rates with “++” after them, as Alaya Resort Ubud does, which leaves tax and a service charge to be added. Others quote “nett” prices with nothing to add, as Puri Santrian does for its packages. Ask which before you compare two hotels.

A couple on a four-night stay in Seminyak at IDR 3,000,000 a night would pay IDR 1,200,000 in hotel tax, IDR 300,000 in levy and IDR 1,000,000 for two visas on arrival: IDR 2,500,000 on top of the room, before any service charge. That is our arithmetic, not an official figure.

Getting in from the airport, and around

• From Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS), taxis wait in the arrivals area and charge by the meter or a fixed rate, depending on the company. Agree which before you set off.
• By app, the airport says Grab and Gojek rides can be booked in their apps or at their own counters and lounges in the terminal.
• By bus, Trans Metro Dewata runs from the airport to Mengwi bus terminal, Kuta and Nusa Dua; routes are in its app.
• How far it is depends on where you sleep, and the hotels publish their own figures: Four Seasons at Jimbaran Bay counts 20 minutes from the airport, The Oberoi in Seminyak 9 kilometres and 45 minutes, Alaya Resort Ubud 35 kilometres, and COMO Canggu a 90-minute drive.
• Getting around is by car, driver or ride app. If you plan to move between areas, split the trip into two bases rather than commuting.

Seminyak: the first-trip base

Seminyak sits on the west coast north of Kuta, on a long beach where the sun sets over the sea. Its streets hold one of Bali’s densest runs of restaurants, bars and shops, and the airport is close by island standards. It is the base to choose if you want the beach and dinner on foot.

Where to stay in Seminyak

How the hotel links work: a hotel’s name goes to its own website. “Check rates” opens it on Booking.com through our partner Stay22, which pays us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you.

• The Oberoi, Bali, splurge. On Seminyak Beach, in 16 acres of gardens with direct access to 500 metres of sand, with thatched pavilion-style rooms and villas, ocean-facing dining and an open-air amphitheatre for cultural performances. By the hotel’s count the airport is 9 kilometres away. Choose it for a beachfront garden in the middle of Seminyak. Watch out: only the villas sold “with Pool” have a private pool; the Lanai rooms have a terrace instead. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Lloyd’s Inn Bali, good value. Set in a corner of Double Six Seminyak on Jalan Arjuna, 300 metres from Double Six Beach, with a pool, Opeum Bistro and The Canopy Spa. Airport pick-up is IDR 500,000 nett a car for up to four. Choose it for Seminyak’s beach and cafés at a lower price. Watch out: guests must be 18 or over, and there is no parking at the hotel.

Canggu: surf and cafés

Canggu runs up the coast from Seminyak, a district of surf beaches, among them Echo Beach and Batu Bolong, with cafés and beach clubs in between. It suits surfers and those who want a livelier, younger Bali; it is further from the airport than Seminyak.

Where to stay in Canggu

• COMO Canggu, comfortable. The former COMO Uma Canggu, on Jalan Pantai Batu Mejan at Echo Beach, with 119 rooms and suites looking over a lagoon pool or the coast, and 12 three-bedroom penthouses with rooftop pools. COMO Beach Club is its take on a surf shack, and the Play by COMO space takes children aged four to 12. Choose it for a beachfront resort with the surf at the door. Watch out: by the hotel’s own count it is a 90-minute drive from the airport. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Kos One Hostel, budget. On Jalan Pantai Batu Bolong, with mixed dorms of four and eight beds, a female-only floor of four- and eight-bed dorms, a pool bar and free morning yoga for guests on weekdays. Choose it for Canggu at the lowest price here. Watch out: there are dorms only, and the venue is strictly 17 and over. Check rates on Booking.com →

Ubud: temples, terraces and the arts

Ubud is inland Bali: a town of temples, craft villages, dance performances and rice terraces, with the Sacred Monkey Forest on its southern side. There is no beach. Stay here for culture and green valleys, and give it at least three nights, because it is a long drive from the coast.

Where to stay in Ubud

• Capella Ubud, Bali, splurge. A tented camp designed by Bill Bensley in the forest at Keliki, in Tegallalang district north of Ubud, with 22 one-bedroom tents and a two-bedroom lodge, each with its own pool; the tents have copper bathtubs and indoor and outdoor showers. Choose it for a once-in-a-trip stay in the jungle. Watch out: the Valley Tents sit on terraced ground reached by steps, and the camp is outside Ubud town. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Alaya Resort Ubud, comfortable. On Jalan Hanoman in the middle of town, with 106 rooms, gardens, the DaLa Spa and a pool bar; by the hotel’s count the Monkey Forest is 800 metres away and the Campuhan Ridge Walk 2.6 kilometres. Choose it to walk to Ubud’s sights and restaurants. Watch out: its rates are quoted “++”, so tax and service come on top. Check rates on Booking.com →

Uluwatu and Jimbaran: cliffs, surf and the bay

The Bukit is the limestone peninsula at Bali’s southern tip. Uluwatu, on its western cliffs, has the sea temple of Pura Luhur Uluwatu, some of the island’s best-known surf breaks and small beaches reached by steps. Jimbaran, where the peninsula meets the mainland, is a curved bay close to the airport, which makes it a calm first or last night.

Where to stay in Uluwatu and Jimbaran

• Uluwatu Surf Villas, splurge. Villas of reclaimed teak and ironwood on the clifftop above the Uluwatu break, with a private staircase down to the wave, saltwater pools, the restaurant Mana, a yoga studio and a concrete skate bowl. Most of the staff, the property says, grew up in Pecatu, the village that keeps the temple. Choose it for a group trip built around the surf. Watch out: the villas have two to five bedrooms, so it suits families and friends rather than couples.
• Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay, splurge. Private pool villas in a corner of Jimbaran’s 4.8-kilometre crescent of sand, with an oceanfront pool and a cooking academy using herbs from the resort’s gardens. By the resort’s count the airport is 20 minutes away and Seminyak’s nightlife 45. Choose it for a pool villa near the airport. Watch out: it is a quiet bay, not a base for nights out. Check rates on Booking.com →

Sanur: calm water and an older Bali

Sanur, on the east coast near Denpasar, was one of the first places in Bali to take in tourists. A reef shelters its lagoon, so the water stays calm, and the beach faces the sunrise. It suits families, swimmers and those who want quiet evenings.

Where to stay in Sanur

• Tandjung Sari, comfortable. A beachfront hotel that by 1962 had four small bungalows for visiting friends, built from the start with local materials and Balinese techniques. Its 16 Village Bungalows of 45 m² have thatched roofs, air conditioning and an outdoor shower in a secluded courtyard garden. Choose it for Bali’s hotel history on the beach. Watch out: the Village Bungalows look onto gardens; for the sea, book a Beachfront or Garden Seaview Bungalow. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Puri Santrian, good value. A Balinese resort on the beach at the quiet southern end of Sanur, set in a mature garden; the Santrian Deluxe rooms are 49 m² with a garden view and a terrace or balcony, and there is a new Family Suite. Choose it for space by the sea at a fair price. Watch out: the Beach Wing rooms are for adults only, with no children under 15. Check rates on Booking.com →

Nusa Dua: the resort enclave

Nusa Dua, on the Bukit’s east coast, is a planned resort area: large hotels on landscaped grounds along the beach, each with its own restaurants and pools. It suits families and anyone who would rather not plan meals, though it feels far from village Bali.

Where to stay in Nusa Dua

• The Mulia, splurge. An all-suite beachfront resort on Geger Beach, in Sawangan, Nusa Dua, facing the sunrise; it shares a compound with Mulia Resort and Mulia Villas. Choose it for a suite on the beach. Watch out: the three Mulia properties share one name on booking sites; check you have booked The Mulia. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Ayodya Resort Bali, good value. On Jalan Pantai Mengiat, with a lagoon, a main pool, the Ayodya Beach Club & Grill on a 300-metre stretch of Mengiat beach, and Classic Deluxe rooms of 48 m² with balconies. Stays of seven nights or more come with a discount and airport transfers both ways. Choose it for a family resort at a lower price. Watch out: the Classic rooms overlook the gardens, not the sea. Check rates on Booking.com →

How to book Bali

• Count the extras. Add IDR 150,000 a person for the levy, IDR 500,000 for a visa on arrival if you need one, and 10% hotel tax in Badung: for a couple on four nights at IDR 3,000,000, that is IDR 2,500,000.
• Ask “nett” or “++”. A “++” rate leaves tax and service to come; a nett rate does not. Compare like with like.
• Split long stays. A beach base and an Ubud base suit most trips better than one hotel, because the drive between them is long.
• Check who the hotel is for. Lloyd’s Inn takes guests from 18, Kos One from 17, and Puri Santrian’s Beach Wing no under-15s.
• Compare totals. Hotel booking sites compared goes through where to book, and hotel taxes around the world sets Bali beside other destinations.

All 12 at a glance

Before you go

• Plan the days with the first-timer’s guide to Bali and a 7-day Bali itinerary.
• Before you fly, sort out mobile data (the best travel eSIM), cover (the best travel insurance) and the bag (what to pack for Southeast Asia).

Frequently asked questions

Sources & further reading

• Love Bali (Bali Provincial Government): the tourist levy
• Love Bali: frequently asked questions, payment and exemptions
• Love Bali: about the levy and its regulations
• Directorate General of Immigration: the official e-Visa site
• Directorate General of Immigration: visitor visa and e-VOA information
• Ngurah Rai Immigration Office: services for foreigners, including VOA extension (in Indonesian)
• Badung Regional Revenue Agency: regional tax rates under Regulation 7 of 2023 (in Indonesian)
• BPK legal database: Badung Regulation 8 of 2025, amending Regulation 7 of 2023 (in Indonesian)
• I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport: transportation
• Official websites of each hotel named above, checked in October 2026

Prices, fees and hotel terms change. Every detail here was checked in October 2026; confirm rates, room types and cancellation terms with the hotel, and the levy and visa rules with the official sites, before you travel. These are researched picks, not reviews. This article contains affiliate links: hotel rates on Booking.com and other booking sites through Stay22, and tours, transfers and eSIMs through our partners; if you book through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. No hotel pays to be included.

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