A friend & I are travelling from U.S. to Australia in late June/July and would like to also spend a week in Bali. We'll be travelling from Australia with a couple of our fellow "middle aged, but young at heart" friends and their teen who live near Sydney. Want to spend most of our time in Ubud, but would also like a couple of days near the beach (not in crowded Kuta).
Questions: Any good airfare deals from Australia? Have heard to stay away from Garuda for safety reasons. Can depart from Sydney or Darwin. Reasonable, but nice places to stay in Ubud? Which beach area would you recommend? Places to stay? Not interested in hotel chains. Thanks.