Eating, drinking and enjoying the nightlife in Bali

Eating

Eating outside of the hotels is very cheap, especially if you’re choosing local food, which is available at myriad restaurants in the towns and villages. There are also many US chain restaurants such as Pizza Hut and McDonalds, but these will often have local-influenced menus. Interestingly, however, genuine Balinese cuisine is often quite difficult to come by. While the local influences are there, the majority of local restaurants serve Chinese or pan-Indonesian food rather than that which is unique to Bali.

Drinking

While Indonesia is a strongly Muslim country, Bali is mainly Hindu and as such there is not the same cultural taboo surrounding alcohol. Many beers are produced here, including the popular Bintang and Bali Hai.

Nightlife

Bali’s centre for nightlife is Kuta. There are plenty of clubs and bars here offering very reasonable prices. Legian and Seminyak are more up market and more laid back. Lots of relaxed bars also frequent resorts such as Sanur and Nusa Dua. Ubud is very quiet in the evenings though there will usually be some cultural shows on offer. Here are our top choices.

1.Sky Garden is part of the 61 Legian Entertainment Complex, and actually the whole site is a nightlife destination with multiple clubs inside. The rooftop lounge has become a favourite for its all-you-can-eat buffets including free-flow Bintang, and the the clubbing continues down at Sky Dome, with lasers and world-class DJs feeding the beats.

2. Mirror Bali Lounge and Club welcomes night owls to its hip lounge and party venue on Seminyak’s main Petitenget route, which comes with a difference. The venue’s interiors and overall design is akin to a Gothic cathedral, but with glittery mosaic-like wall décor, stained glass windows and towering ceilings that are matched with futuristic laser lighting systems to give you one of the coolest and most immersive spaces to dance your late evenings away to industrial, deep bass, to house and hip-hop.

3. Koh Bali. Enter this island’s main hotspot, inspired by the underground Berlin clubbing scene. At Koh, you can dance your long nights away to regular house, techno house and deep house.

4. La Favela. A different set up with a fabulous dining scene during the day and an eclectic dance scene at night. Whether you come to dine, drink or dance, La Favela is one of Seminyak’s oases where you will be able to relax with an international crowd. Look out for their weekly late night house party agendas on Facebook, featuring international guest DJs from 22:30 through to the wee hours.

Nyepi Day – 17 March 2018

On the 17 March, Bali will be celebrating Nyepi Day, an important Hindu celebration that marks the Balinese New Year. Meaning ‘Day of Silence’, any activity that may prevent this day of self-reflection and silence will be prohibited – including working, entertainment, travelling or lighting fires. Instead, the day is spent fasting and meditating from 6am until 6am the next morning.

Tourists can do whatever they wish inside their hotels, but the beaches, streets and even the airport are closed for the entire day – and the hotel staff is limited. You will not be allowed to leave the hotel premises until 6am the next day.