Kuta, Bali, is where the Bali Denpasar International Airport is, DPS, and it has a bad reputation. But is it really so bad? There is a long sandy beach, surfing, and a lot of development. It was the site of the Bali bombing back in 2002. Most people turn their noses up at Kuta, but we’ve stayed there on layovers multiple times in the last few years, most recently in 2025, we’re there again early in 2026. This is because we have very limited flights out of Australia, making Bali our usual escape route to Vietnam, Bangkok, or even London. Kuta isn’t so bad. In this blog post, we’ll tell you about staying in Kuta, the positives and the negatives.
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Kuta Bali
Here are out thought on staying in Kuta Bali, for a layover between flights, or for a week or more.
Our Best Kuta Bali Hotel
The hotel we use in Kuta is nice, it’s tucked away off the busy streets, next to St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, close to the airport with free transfers (check, in case they change this), mid-range, price-wise, and we’ve booked connecting rooms when we’ve been staying as a family of 3 or 4.
We have tried 2 other places near the airport and didn’t like them. This hotel is the best, for us.
We can give The Vira Bali Boutique Hotel and Suite a very good reviews from our personal experiences. Find it on Booking here, or on Agoda here.
It’s not on Kuta Beach, but it’s within walking distance. There is a restaurant, breakfast is good, and our rooms have always had balconies, which are useful for drying wet clothes. Pack a plastic coat hanger to help with this.
There are plenty of restaurants and convenience stores nearby, even a supermarket over the road. Waterbom Bali water park is also within walking distance, your kids might love this. I have to admit, we’ve never been.
I can give you two good places to eat nearby, both are cheap and we think they’re good.
- Vietnamese Minnie Warung (on the map here)
- Johnnie Tacos Kuta (here) This place even had wine. If you didn’t know, imported wine is very expensive in Bali.
If you’re looking for a resort hotel in Kuta, on the beach front, there are plenty in this area. In the mid-section of Kuta Beach, the busy road is directly behind the beach, so there aren’t any sea-front hotels there.
For a beachfront hotel, look at Bintang Bali Resort (in our photo), The Anvaya Beach Resort, or Bali Dynasty Resort.
Kuta Is Worth Visiting If
If you’re in Bali for a layover, spend a couple of days in Kuta. Why not? You’re going to have to pay the “Bali Tax” anyway if your flights are marked “self transfer”.
We do, and it’s always nice to be back.
We have a particular hotel that we like to use, this one. There is a nice warung just up the road selling Vietnamese and Indonesian food, and we can go for a stroll along the beach or go shopping. Some of the best shops in Bali are in Kuta at various modern malls.
There is H&M and M&S, 2 shops that we don’t have in our corner of Far North Queensland, we miss them.
If you prefer, there are plenty of resort hotels along the beach, they look pretty nice.
The airport isn’t far away, and one of the reasons we use this particular hotel is that it offers free airport transfers. Getting a taxi or Grab at the airport can be quite annoying with all the touts pestering you.
If you’re wondering if you should stay in Kuta or in a nicer part of Bali, I’ll just remind you that Bali traffic is terrible. You could be stuck in traffic for hours.
The other south coast destinations, Legian, Seminyak, as far as Canggu, really aren’t much different to Kuta and you’re just adding hours in the car, particularly Canggu! We wrote about our experiences of Canggu here.
If you’re hoping to see the best sights in Bali, you can do it from Kuta, there are plenty of tours available. You’re also in a great spot to catch the ferry to Nusa Penida for the manta ray snorkelling.
If you’re visiting Bali with kids, some of the best kids’ “things to do” are in or near Kuta, including the Watebom Bali water park. It’s within walking distance of the hotel we stay at.
If you plan to spend a lot of time pool-side in your hotel, you may as well do it in Kuta as anywhere else and save yourself the long airport transport.
I can’t comment on nightlife, we’re not interested in anything more than a drink with dinner. We avoid nightlife, and we’re up at dawn. We’ve not seen much evidence of clubs or bars anywhere in Bali, but we haven’t looked.
Ubud remains our favourite place to be in Bali, and we’ve been everywhere except the north coast beach towns. Everyone says there’s nothing to see or do up there. One day, we’ll check that out for ourselves.
Ubud remains our favourite spot in Bali. You do need to know where to go in Ubud, if you just experience the hectic main street, it’s not too dissimilar to Kuta. You need to walk and get out into the countryside. This post on Ubud will tell you more.
Things To Do in Kuta
There’s not much to do in Kuta other than visit the waterpark or learn to surf, but most of the best things to do in Bali can be done from Kuta. For instance, all of the following activities.
- Take a one day tour of the island from Kuta, including the Instagram hotspot of Lempuyang Temple, Tirta Ganga Water Palace (which is lovely, but busy) and waterfalls.
- Visit Ubud, including the famous rice terraces, and monkey forest, from Kuta. This is a private tour with driver, and customisable.
- Book tickets to the waterpark.
- Take surfing lessons in Kuta.
- Swim with manta rays off Nusa Penida. We have done this, and it was amazing, with our kids.
Why Kuta Has a Bad Reputation, Negatives
Honestly, Kuta is little different to almost anywhere in Bali today. All of the tourist destinations are very developed, the traffic is bad, there are wall-to-wall souvenir shops and a lot of tackiness.
Kuta Beach is famously dirty, we’ve seen it with a lot of trash, and with not much. It seems to depend on tides and flooding. We don’t go to the beach other than to walk or run on the footpath that runs its length.
A beach is a beach to us, we’re not really interested. I don’t think the other beaches around Bali’s coastline are more or less polluted with plastic trash.
You may associate Kuta with “bogans” and nylon Bintang vests, yes, there is that, but it’s everywhere. At least Kuta isn’t full of influencers.
Bintang is a most excellent beer, by the way.
But we still love Bali, we know where to go to find the old, and it’s not to be found anywhere there is a Bali swing. They are my pet peeve.
In Kuta, we were approached to buy illicit substances on the street, we’ve not seen that anywhere else in Bali. We experienced cat-calling, mostly aimed at my son, from men. One particular individual was extremely persistent. He stopped when my son’s Dad arrived.
There were tiny ponies pulling huge tourists in carts through horrific traffic on our last stay. This is new, and horrible. It’s probably the thing I dislike most intensely in Kuta.
There’s not much of Bali in Kuta. But I remember the Bali of 20 years ago, when Kuta was very different to other parts of Bali. Today, that’s not really the case.
Staying in Kuta on a Layover
If you book “self-transfer” flights via Bali DPS, you will have to complete all of the normal entry procedures, clear immigration and customs, and pay the “Bali tax”. You then need to re-enter the airport departures area.
Most of the procedures are now automated and/or online. Check how much of your electronic data is actually required if you’d rather not give it away.
It’s not much hassle and generally doesn’t take long, I’d allow half an hour maybe, plus a few hours for your required early check-in for your next flight.
If you choose to, spend a night or two in Kuta or near the airport and have some Bali fun. You can see a lot of Bali in just 1 or 2 days, from Kuta.
Is Kuta Good, or Bad?
If you have been to Kuta, tell us what you think in the comments? Should people go, or stay away? We have left social media, so this travel blog is now our discussion forum, owned by real people. Over to you.
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