Bali

There you are sipping a coffee at a cafe in, say, Kuta or Ubud, when there's a crash of the gamelan and traffic screeches to a halt as a crowd of elegantly dressed people comes flying by bearing pyramids of fruit, tasselled parasols and a furred, masked Barong (mythical lion-dog creature) or two. It's a temple procession, disappearing as suddenly as it appeared, leaving no more than a fleeting sparkle of gold-and-white silk and hibiscus petals in its wake. Dozens occur daily across Bali.

A little plume of white sand rises out of the blue Indian Ocean and fills a cove below limestone cliffs clad in deep green tropical beauty. It sounds idyllic, and it is. The west coast of the Bukit Peninsula in south Bali is dotted with these very beaches, such as Balangan Beach, Bingin and Padang Padang. Families run surfer bars built on bamboo stilts over the tide, where the only views are the breaks, just metres away. Grab a lounger and be lulled by the waves.

Whether it's a total fix for the mind, body and spirit, or simply the desire for a bit of serenity, visitors to Bali spend many happy hours (sometimes days) being massaged, scrubbed, perfumed, pampered, bathed and blissed out. Sometimes all this attention to your well-being happens on the beach or in a garden – think Ubud's Taksu Spa – other times it's in stylish, even lavish, surroundings. The Balinese massage techniques of stretching, long strokes, skin rolling and palm-and-thumb pressure result in an all-over feeling of calm; it's the perfect holiday prescription.

On an island that honours art and serenity, is it any wonder you'll find some of the world's finest hotels and resorts? From blissful retreats such as Katamama on south Bali's beautiful beach in Kerobokan to perches on cliffs above the dazzling white sands that dot the Bukit Peninsula, these stylish hotels are as lovely outside as they are luxurious inside. Further resorts by vaunted architects can be found in Ubud's river valleys and in remote idyllic coastal locations right round the island.

Legendary Pulau Menjangan thrills, one tank after another. It offers multiple types of diving around a protected island renowned for its coral walls. And that's just one of Bali's great dive sites. Under the waves at Nusa Penida, you can feel small as a manta ray blocks out the sun's glow overhead, its fluid movement causing barely a disturbance in the surrounding waters as it glides past. And just when you think your dive can't get more dramatic, you turn to find a 2.5m sunfish motionlessly hovering, checking you out.

The artistic heart of Bali exudes a compelling spiritual appeal. The streets are lined with galleries where artists, both humble and great, create. Beautiful performances showcasing the island's rich culture grace a dozen stages nightly. Museums honour the works of those who have been inspired here over the years, while people walk the rice fields to find the perfect spot to sit in lotus position and ponder life's endless possibilities. Ubud is a state of mind and a beautiful state of being.

It starts with stylish cafes and bars in Seminyak, open-air places where everything seems just that bit more beautiful amid the post-sunset glow and pulsing house beats. Maybe you move down to action at Double Six beach. Later, the legendary clubs of Kuta draw you in, with international DJs spinning their legendary sets to packed dance floors. Some time before dawn, Kuta's harder, rawer clubs such as Sky Garden Lounge suck you in like black holes, spitting you out hours later into an unsteady daylight, shattered but happy.

Canggu is more of an idea and really less of a distinct place, given that the area was all rice fields just a few years ago. But now it's a label that denotes sandy fun and frolic on beaches such as Batu Bolong, pounding surf offshore and nights you hope will never end at a fast-expanding collection of creative cafes and superb restaurants. Find your own faves and make Canggu your Canggu. See what cool new place opens just as you turn your back.

If it's a month containing the letter 'r', go east; during other months, go west to fabled breaks like Padang Padang. Simplicity itself. On Bali you have dozens of great breaks in each direction. This was the first place in Asia where surfing took off and, like the perfect set, it shows no signs of calming down. Surfers buzz around the island on motorbikes with board racks, looking for the next great break. Waves blown out? Another spot is just five minutes away. Don't miss classic surfer hang-out Balian Beach.

Tourism on Bali began here, and is there any question why? A sweeping arc of sand curves from Kuta into the misty horizon northwest to Echo Beach. Surf that started far out in the Indian Ocean crashes to shore in long symmetrical breaks. You can stroll the 12km of sand, enjoying a foot massage and cold beer with thousands of your new best friends in the south, or find a hip hang-out or even a plot of sand to call your own up north.

People wander around Seminyak and ask themselves if they are even in Bali. Of course! On an island that values creativity like few other places, the capital of glitz is where you'll find inventive boutiques run by local designers, the most eclectic and interesting collection of restaurants, and little boutique hotels that break with the island clichés. Expats, locals and visitors alike idle away the hours in its cafes, at ease with the world and secure in their enjoyment of life's pleasures.

The antithesis of Balinese mellow is Balinese dance, a discipline that demands methodical precision. A performer of the Legong, the most beautiful dance, spends years learning minutely choreographed movements from her eyeballs to her toes. Each movement has a meaning and the language flows with a grace that is hypnotic. Clad in silk and ikat, the dancers tell stories rich with the very essence of Balinese Hindu beliefs and lore. Performances occur regularly at temples like Pura Dalem Ubud and Pura Taman Saraswati.

'Oh goody!' It's virtually impossible not to say this when you step into a classic warung (food stall) for lunch to find dozens of freshly made dishes on the counter awaiting you. It shouldn't surprise that this fertile island provides a profusion of ingredients that combine to create fresh and aromatic dishes. Local specialities such as babi guling (roast suckling pig that's been marinated for hours in spices) will have you lining up again and again. Try lunch at one of the excellent Balinese cafes in Denpasar like Warung Lembongan.

Enormous fresh prawns marinated in lime and garlic and grilled over coconut husks. Tick. A hint of post-sunset pink on the horizon. Tick. Stars twinkling overhead. Tick. A comfy teak chair on the beach while your toes play in the sand. Tick. An ice-cold beer. Tick. A strolling band playing the Macarena. OK, maybe not a tick. But the beachside seafood grills such as Warung Ramayana in Jimbaran are a don't-miss evening out, with platters of seafood that arrived fresh that morning to the market just up the beach.

Just watch out for the monkeys. One of Bali's holiest temples, Pura Luhur Ulu Watu is perched on tall cliffs in the southwest corner of the island. In the 11th century a Javanese priest first prayed here and the site has only become holier since. Shrines and sacred sites are strung along the edge of the limestone precipice. Gaze across an ocean rippled by swells that arrive with metronomic precision. Sunset dance performances delight while those monkeys patiently await a banana – or maybe your sunglasses.

Bali has oodles of places where you can slip on fins and a mask and enter another beautiful world. Swim a short distance from shore and see the eerie ghost of a sunken freighter at Tulamben or hover a few metres over the marine life around the beautiful reef wall at Pulau Menjangan. The mangroves of Nusa Lembongan lure a rainbow of fish that gather in profusion. Or simply make your way into the calm waters off a beach, such as Sanur, and see what darts off into the distance.