This is from a recent email – so its not well articulated but is useful nevertheless.
Our Bali trip was Five days: We stayed in Sanur (south side). White sand beach. Kuta or Sanur (North) are black sand. Bali is like Haryana – you shouldnt try and pack too much. Three days is decent for Bali.
In terms of tourist-friendliness, I would say Kuta >> Sanur > everything else. Kuta is like Goa – very touristy – all amenities available but traffic is as busy as chandnichowk. Here’s what we did.
Day 1 – Local sightseeing – primarily Ubud and around it. http://wikitravel.org/en/Ubud#See Goa Gajah, monkey sanctuary and then all temples around Ubud (water palace / saraswati temple etc).
Day 2 / 3 – Diving
Day 4 – Snorkeling trip to Nusa Lembongan. SUPER AWESOME! I saw more fishes in an hour than in 4 dives!! It also includes glass bottom boat for the children / senior citizens. My son and both mothers enjoyed themselves while me/wife went snorkeling.
Day 5 – Uluwatu (definitely watch the Kecak dance – very nice!) / Tanah Lot and Kuta shopping.
Things to avoid – Tirta Gangga and the other temples like Besakih. It takes a horrendous amount of time to reach (almost three hours).
Unless you are going for a week – focus only on the places around South Bali and therabouts.
We used a very good driver who is cheaper than official taxis and super reliable – Labaa Nyoman. +62-819-9929-6025 nyomanlabaa67@gmail.com. He has a Toyota Avanza (smaller Innova). Charges 150,000 Rupiah for airport pickup (+50k night charge) unlike official cabs which charge 225000 rupiah. Further he’s not a cheapskate unlike most Indian drivers – that means if my 70 year old mom is in the car (didnt visit a temple) – he kept the AC on for half an hour in the parking, did not charge us extra for toll etc. He is also super patient if you make a couple of stops during airport pickup.
Look up exchange rates before you go, and if you get a good enough rate – exchange it asap. I used to change $100/200 each day and would have to run back. Better to find a decent exchange company once (the airport guys are super competitive – I recommend them) and exchange 500-1000$ upfront. Money changers start winding up by 7:30pm so plan accordingly. Take only USD from India – INR rate is terrible.