In Candidasa we stayed at the Watergarden Hotel Hotel Taman Air and loved it. We had #12 which is at the top and away from the road. Each cottage has a water garden with koi fish and lotus flowers in front of the porch. Beautiful! The staff are really nice and it was awesome. Nice pool, great food in their restaurant...breakfast was not included but was reasonable price. They bring it to your room with no extra charge if you want to eat on the deck.
We went snorkeling one day to Blue Lagoon with the boat marked Nemo...can't remember the drivers name but also a sweet guy. He actually came in snorkeling with us. His cousin drove us to Amed a couple days later...really nice man who lives in Candidasa - He picked us up again 2 days later at a set time and place.
Candidasa was quiet with few tourists. I encourage everyone to go there for a night or 2..it has its own beauty especially at night walking thru the village..When we were in Bali last time (1987) we had spent 10 days there. It is ironic as Candidasa was once a popular beach community on a quiet beach with good snorkeling, no hawkers...we spent 2 weeks just hanging out there. Then it got more and more popular so they started building more hotels for the tourists...mining the coral for cement etc. I remember seeing them doing this....what has happened is there is no beach left. There are beautiful hotels and great restaurants that sit empty. I was saddened by this.
We did go to Astri as recommended on this forum and bought a few things. There is a gentle vibe in Candidasa and I would go back as I loved the Watergarden Hotel. The snorkeling also was really nice...The area is so bagus...
On to Amed for 2 days....we stayed at Santai and were the only ones for 2 days so it was like having our own villa. The staff is so nice there. The pool is good and you are right at the beach. We ate each night there and other people came each night so it wasn't empty. We were able to get a deal for staying 2 nights...They are building a lot in Amed.
On the road we met this sweet guy in his 20's who took us snorkeling. We went to Tulamben and then to Coral Gardens in Amed. It rained one day so hard that we just sat in a warung where his wife works and played with their baby...'Warung Bucu' -her nasi goreng was one of the best...His name is Kadek Ryan -people walking with banana leaves as shelter from the rain, kids running in the water, carrying motorcyles and bicycles over the ditches that were flowing with water..the whole neighborhood came out...it was a wonderful 2 hours..then off snorkeling again.
Made the driver came to get us and we set off for Sacred Mountain Sanctuary in Sideman..more to come.