Bali

Bali arrives with a reputation, half of it from surf films and half from Instagram. The island underneath is more interesting than either. Every morning, small trays of palm leaf, flowers and rice are set on doorsteps, car dashboards and shop counters. Villages rehearse gamelan in open pavilions after dark. And ten minutes from the busiest road in Ubud, ducks are still working their way through a flooded rice field.

The catch is the south. It's built up, and the traffic between Canggu, Seminyak and Ubud can swallow half a day. Plan around that: choose two bases, give each a few nights, and hire a driver for the long days out. Our Bali travel guide covers the rest of the practical side.

Nearly every visitor lands at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS), on the narrow neck of land south of Kuta. There's no railway on the island, so everything after that happens by road or by boat. Transfers, entry paperwork and ferries are all in our getting there guide.

In Bali, your choice of base decides how much of the trip you spend in a car. Ubud suits culture and walks, Uluwatu cliffs and surf, Sanur and Nusa Dua calm swimming, Seminyak and Canggu food and nightlife. Our area-by-area guide weighs them up.

Sea temples, rice terraces, a volcano at sunrise and a long coastline. Start with our things to do list, then read our guides to Ubud, Bali's temples and the beaches before you plan your days.

The warung, a small family kitchen with dishes laid out behind glass, is where Bali eats. Order nasi campur, rice with a spoonful of several things, and point at what looks good. Babi guling (spit-roasted suckling pig) sells out by early afternoon, and bebek betutu is duck slow-cooked in spice paste inside banana leaves. Stick to filtered or bottled water.

Bali is the only Hindu-majority province in Indonesia, and religion here is daily routine rather than a Sunday event. Every family compound has its own shrine, every village keeps several temples, and the calendar is full of ceremonies you'll see from the roadside: processions, women carrying towers of fruit on their heads, streets lined with bamboo poles. Walk around the offerings on the pavement, not over them.