Candidasa

Villa Talia Vashti is less than 5 minutes drive away from Candidasa - the gateway to East Bali. Candi (pronounced "Chandi") is only one and a quarter hours away from the heavily developed Kuta/Sanur area of Bali, but it can at times feel like stepping back in time to a more relaxed and less hectic time.

In recent years however while development has come to Candidasa, it retains its relaxed easy going charm. There is now however a good variety of different hotels and restaurants in Candi and the shops provide most tourist services such as good restaurants, internet access, tours and trips, diving and car hire. Candidasa is however still thankfully entirely free of the hard sell that you find in the Kuta/Sanur/Nusa Dua/Legian developments or increasingly in Ubud.

Basically Candidasa is a place to do a bit of shopping and then sit in a restaurant, order some good food in pleasant surroundings and take in the view across the ocean to Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida or across the rice paddies to Gunung Agung looming in the distance. We like it which is one of the reasons of course why Villa Talia Vashti is where it is.

If however you want happy hours in packed bars and then to party until late into the night, or if you want streets of designer clothing shops full of western goods then to be honest you are best getting out of Candi and taking a taxi to Kuta/Legian for the day, which is easy enough.

Candidasa Restaurants

In recent years eating out in Candidasa has become more and more varied with increasing numbers of great restaurants, far too many to list here. While you will find the food at Villa Talia Vashti the match of most any restaurant here, if you fancy a change of scenery one night then there many options that you can try in and around Candidasa.

Toke - Atmospheric and popular water garden restaurant on the main road with the same owners as Vincents. Highly recommended, particularly if you have a craving for a proper Indian curry.

Lotus Garden - Sea front restaurant on the main road just as you enter Candidasa. Good views, laid back atmosphere and fresh lobster. Good place to wile away a long lunch. http://www.balieats.com/full.cfm?id=157

Dewata Agung - Typical traditional Indonesian and Balinese cuisine, with nice views out across the Candidasa lagoon. A good place to be as the sun sets. Free Balinese Legong dance shows every evening.

Water Garden - Good western run restaurant. Although a bit close to the road, the food is always reliably good and the ponds are very relaxing and absolutely full of massive Koi carp.

Vincents - More westernised bar/restaurant towards the eastern end of Candidasa on the landward side. Fitted out with modern art and laid back jazz music playing in the background and with a wide selection of wines and beers. One of our favourites.

Kubu Bali - Although nicely laid out, and fine for a drink when out shopping in Candidasa, the food was very disappointing when we last tried and every dish reminded us of the sort of MSG sodden gloop that you get down a cheap Chinese restaurant in a highstreet in the UK. Not recommended.

Lotus Bungalows Italian Restaurant - Relaxing but normally empty place on the main road some way before you reach Candidasa. Does the best Pizzas around, (although with limited competition) and will deliver to Villa Talia Vashti.

Alila Sea Salt Restaurant - A typical huge 5* luxury hotel, but the restaurant is surrounded by a relaxing lotus garden and is a great place for an expensive splurge, with interesting Balinese dishes, and fabulous ice creams (we recommend the Dark Chocolate Sorbet and the Honeycomb ice cream). The Alila can be reached by a pleasant 30-40 minute walk west along the little road from Villa Talia Vashti, or is a 5 minute drive. http://www.alilahotels.com/manggis/dining.asp

Aman Kila - If money is no object then try out the "super luxury" hotel Aman Kila. Given the prices however the food is disappointingly unimaginative and unimpressive. Alila is far better in our view. This hotel however is meant to be the secret get-away for royalty and film stars, and last time we were there the King of Morrocco had block booked the entire place. Pierce Brosnan is also meant to be a regular visitor. Enjoys exactly the same views as Villa Talia Vashti, but does not have a white sand beach.

Garpu at the Rama Hotel - Ku-de-Ta comes to Candidasa! Well almost...... Modern and stylish minimalist decor, and direct seafront location mean Garpu has a lot going for it. Unfortunately the prices were so eye-wateringly expensive that after we had had a couple of beers at prices that made the swanky Seminyak icon that is Ku-De-Ta look like a cheap warung, we decided not to splash out between US$16 and US$26 for a main course meal to sit in an almost empty dining room except for the few hotel guests that hadn't summoned up the initiative to go out and hunt for a better value location. Still this is a welcome addition to Candidasa, and with a live band at weekends as well, Garpu could well be a more modern alternative to the Alila Sea Salt restaurant for an expensive splurge directly on the seafront.

Rendezvous at Alam Asmara Dive Resort - Another new beachfront restaurant, with a contempory theme and feel. Quite different to the Garpu though, with very reasonable prices and food that turned out to be surprisingly good and well presented. Definitely a good place for a leisurely lunch or a romantic dinner. Joins our list of favourite restaurants in Candidasa.

Pondok Bambu - Another hidden restaurant in a villa complex on Candidasa's main street. Wind your way past the ponds and rooms, and eventually you will find a traditional looking restaurant directly on the sea-front, with a separate bale for larger parties. Prices are reasonable, but service is best described as relaxed, and the food is really just your normal Balinese restaurant type-fare i.e. good solid fried rice and fried noodles, but the Western dishes are all a bit odd and straight from the freezer. Still this is a good place to grab a cool drink and take in the sea breezes if you are out shopping in Candidasa.