Surfing Guide in Bali

Part of the Bali travel guide — see every topic in All Bali Guides.

Bali is the reason surf tourism exists in Asia. The island sits side-on to the Indian Ocean swell, has reef on one coast and sand on the other, and offers a genuine progression from a first standing-up lesson to waves that professionals travel for — all inside an hour's drive. The single most useful thing to understand is the seasonal flip: from roughly April to October the dry-season trade winds blow offshore on the west coast, and from November to March they swing and the east coast turns on instead.

Learning to surf

Kuta, Legian and Batu Bolong in Canggu are the three beginner beaches, all sand-bottomed, all with waves that break a long way out and reform repeatedly on the way in. A group lesson runs about 350,000–500,000 rupiah for two hours including a soft-top board and a rash vest; private lessons roughly double that. Board hire alone is 50,000–100,000 rupiah a day from the racks on the beach. Mornings are almost always better — the wind gets on the water from about ten and the crowd builds through the afternoon. Batu Bolong is the prettiest but is now genuinely crowded; Kuta is less scenic and much easier to get a wave.

The Bukit reef breaks

Uluwatu is the famous one: a left-hander that peels along the reef below the cliff, entered and exited through a cave that only works at certain tides. Padang Padang next door is a short, hollow, shallow barrel and is genuinely expert-only when it is on. Bingin and Impossibles sit between them; Balangan is longer and more forgiving. Dreamland and Nyang Nyang are the softer end of the peninsula. All of these are reef, all of them break in shallow water, and all of them require you to read a tide chart before you paddle out — low tide over dry reef is how people get hurt here.

Wet-season surfing

From November the wind swings and the east coast lights up. Nusa Dua has a big, long right-hander over reef, reached by boat from the beach; Sanur has a fast right that works on a bigger swell; Serangan and Keramas both hold quality waves, and Keramas is the one that hosts professional events, lit for night surfing. This is the quieter season with cheaper accommodation and a fraction of the line-up, at the cost of afternoon rain and murkier water. Locals surf year-round by simply changing coast, which is worth copying.

Practical detail

Bring or buy reef booties if you are surfing the Bukit; the cliff-face staircases at Bingin and Uluwatu are steep and warm, and the warungs at the top will store a board for a small fee. Board hire on the Bukit is 100,000–150,000 rupiah a day. A ding repair costs about the same. Surf insurance is worth having — reef cuts infect quickly in the tropics and need proper cleaning, not just a rinse. The line-ups at Uluwatu and Padang Padang have real localism at dawn; sit wide, wait your turn, and do not drop in.

Surfing Guide at a glance

More in Bali

All 72 Bali guides·Where to stay in Bali·Indonesia tourist maps

Featured Videos