In Reply to: lovina beach posted by juliee on Tuesday, 21. February 2006 at 08:17 Bali Time:
Lovina is as safe as anywhere else in Bali. It is a nice quiet town with a few shops and restaurants and a nice place to relax for a few days away from the hustle and bustle of Kuta/Legian.
It is a 3-4 hour drive to get from Kuta to Lovina (depending on whether you take a private car or minibus).
The beach is a long stretch of black sand. I have heard a lot of people complaining about the beach here as it isn't the pristine long stretch of white sand that you find down south, but it is a nice quiet beach to relax on. The only problem that I did find were the hawkers - much more persistant than Kuta, they did tend to interupt the sunbathing!
Don't go to Lovina if you are looking for anything like Kuta. Neither is it a deserted little fishing village. There are shops and restaurants and hawkers, lots of hotels, and even a nightclub (I wouldn't recommend!) and a few bars, but it is a really quiet little place. A nice change to see a different part of Bali.