In Reply to: Lovina posted by Paul Pfluger on Tuesday, 17. August 1999 at 10:19 Bali Time:
I would suggest Nirwana which is in Kalibukbuk (the centre of the Lovina beach strip). The cheapest rooms are 55,000rps per night and the more expensive are about 125,000rps. It has a beautiful swimming pool, is right on the beach and is close to enough other restaurants etc. Kakatua restaurant (near Nirwana entrance) has good food and has cheap breakfasts (Nirwana does include a small breakfast - fruit salad and tea/coffee). If you catch a shuttle bus there, check where you will be dropped off! On a couple of occasions when catching a shuttle bus, I have been dropped off nearly a kilometer away at the shuttle bus 'office' eg. hotel where they get commission!
You can't snorkel off the beach at this point, but snorkelling is at most 15,000rps per person to be taken out in a boat. Just be aware that at some times of year, there are a lot of small stingers in the water which can make it unpleasant to snorkel for very long. The water is also murkier in the wet season and the beach gets a bit carved up as well. Lovina is affected more by the wet than the rest of Bali, it tends to rain a lot and quite heavily during the wet.
Other things to do in the area: you can go out to see the dolphins (a bit mad but quite good), there is a Buddist Monastry, some hot springs, cold springs, very good temple carving along the North coast (eg. the ones with airplanes in dogfights and bicycles with lotus flowers for wheels!), some waterfalls, Singaraja. It is also not a long drive into the mountains to see Bedugal etc. Singaraja does have ATMs but there aren't any along the beach strip. There are plenty of bemos around on the road or you can get the usual shuttles/traaansport!