Wakagangga

WakaGangga is a boutique resort of 21 villas on the black-sand beach at Yeh Gangga, on Tabanan's southwest coast, with rice fields behind it. We stayed here. It suits you if you want a quiet few days by the sea and don't mind being well away from the restaurants and bars of the south.

Fifteen of the villas have a private pool. The categories run from a Villa Garden View with no pool, through pool villas facing the garden or ocean, up to Deluxe and Grand two-bedroom villas, the Grand ones right on the oceanfront. Villas have a 24 m² garden bathroom with indoor and outdoor showers. The grounds cover about two hectares, with a main pool, a beachfront lawn, a gym and a library lounge.

Waka Bar & Restaurant is the one place to eat on site. It does Western and Indonesian food and looks over the beach. There's also Waka Spa.

Now the catch. The sea here is usually too strong for swimming, so the pools do that job. Tanah Lot is about 20 minutes by car, Seminyak about 45, and the airport roughly an hour. You won't be popping out for dinner.