Kintamani

A trip to Kintamani is 3 hours, one way from Kuta. Some people like to do that on day trip, but others prefer to stay in the area and have a chance to relax, look around and try to escape the mad tourist rush during the day.

Penelokan, the crater-rim village to the south of Kintamani has a decent hotel, the Lakeview Hotel (0366) 51394. Rooms overlook the crater, and the hotel has decent rooms, with hot water. Mid-range pricing.

I don’t personally care for the Penelokan / Kintamani villages. If you look at a physical map of Bali, you’ll see a line of mountains going east-west across the central northern part of the island. Stroms come in from the south and clouds always form on the southern side of the mountains. Penelokan and Kintamani, being the top corner where the clouds tend to hang. If you go through Kintamani and round the northern rim of the Batur crater, you’ll be amazed. The north coast is immediately in view and the skies clear.