Between Candidasa and Amlapura you'll find a beautiful bay with white sand. The surf's great and there's no coral which makes it easy for swimming. At the beach you find a few so-called Rumaha Makan's (small restaurants) that also rent sun beds (10,000 Rp) and sun umbrellas. You can reach this bay by boat from Villa Dasarata (return trip costs approx. 250,000 Rp for 3 people) or by taxi, both take about 15 minutes.
Blue Lagoon Bay
Just outside Padangbai, about 20 minutes from Candi Dasa, you'll find Blue Lagoon Bay. This is another very pretty bay with white sandy beaches and a few Rumah Makans with sun beds for rent. This bay is a perfect place to go snorkeling. The coral starts directly off the beach so be careful when swimming.
Just outside Candi Dasa you'll find the village of Tenganan. Tenganan is the last remaining authentic Balinese village. Inhabitants of Tenganan are only allowed to keep on living in the village when they marry someone else from the village. If they marry someone outside of Tenganan, they will be exiled.
The market in Amlapura is partially covered and partially outdoors. It's a real traditional market for the locals. You can buy anything here: ranging from gold and silver to clothing, meat, fish, vegetables, herbs and live cattle. Here you can smell the Balinese kitchen in all its ways. It's a fantastic experience and you won't see many tourists here. If you wish to be a real part of Balinese life you will have to take the Bemo to go there. The ride in this traditional kind of minibus taxi takes about 30 minutes.
Amlapura has always been a very important city in the east of Bali. When the volcano erupted in the 60's the city got disconnected from the rest of the island for a long time and lost a fair share of its importance on Bali. What remains is a rich history, including the two waterpalaces, and is definitely worth visiting.
The Ujung water palace is close to the city and slightly run down. The other water palace, called Tirtgangga lies in the mountains, about 6 kilometers outside the city.Due to its location it's nice and cool and offers stunning views on the gardens and fountains while you're enjoying a cool drink or a traditional lunch.
The Goa Lawah bat cave is situated on the road to Klung Kung, about a 25 minutes drive from Villa Dasarata. It's a combination of a temple and a cave. The cave is inhabited by many bats and smells quite a bit. This is a fantastic place to visit, just be careful of the droppings from the bats overhead.
