BALI - INDONESIA
Bali is nothing short of a surfer’s paradise. The island is home to some of the worlds best waves and offers a variety of options for first timers and experts alike.
Getting to the waves: Flights to Denpasar depart from most major cities. Check out our flight finder for the cheapest fares.
Seasons: There are two distinct seasons in Bali. The dry season typically runs from April to September. During this period South East trade winds fan offshore conditions at the Bukit Peninsula and much of the West Coast. The wet season generally runs from October to March. During this period West to North Westerly winds are common, bringing offshore conditions to the East coast.
No matter what the season, the water is balmy year round. Leave the wetsuit at home.
We strongly agree with Billabongs statement that “life is better in boardshorts’.
BUKIT PENINSULA
ULUWATU
Direction: Left hander
Experience: Intermediate to expert
Bali Bible Rating: *****
Uluwatu is made up of a number of sections starting at temples (top section), the peak (middle section), and race tracks (bottom section). On bigger swells outside corner will turn on presenting long rides with plenty of barrel opportunities. Uluwatu is one of the most consistent breaks in Bali and whilst it is often crowded, patience will often be rewarded with a handful of epic long rides.
PADANG PADANG
Direction: Left hander
Experience: Expert
Bali Bible Rating: *****
Padang Padang is one of the premier waves on the Island of Bali. A long barrel presents from the take off, tearing its way down the line across a shallow end section into the relative safety of the channel. A mistake will likely result in an intimate encounter with the razor sharp reef, followed by days of waking up, bloodied back, stuck to the bed sheets.
IMPOSSIBLES
Direction: Left Hander
Experience: Intermediate to Expert
Bali Bible Rating: ***
Impossibles breaks along a kilometer long stretch of reef and is one of the most photogenic waves in Bali. On the right swell, it throws down long rides with barrel sections and big walls for carving. The problem is making the section is often difficult (hence the name, ‘impossibles’). Still, it offers a less hectic option to its crowd heavy neighbors of Bingin and Padang Padang.
BINGIN
Direction: Left hander
Experience: Expert
Bali Bible Rating: *****
The perfect, mechanical barrel of Bingin sits at the bottom of Impossibles. The word “perfect” best describes the long barrel that is Bingin. Its reputation as a mechanical left handed barrel draws crowds from all over the island. Grab a seat in one of the many warungs overlooking the break and wait for your window to pounce during a lull in the crowd.
DREAMLAND
Direction: Lefts and rights
Experience: Beginner to intermediate
Bali Bible Rating: ***
Dreamland is one of the more mellow breaks along the Bukit Peninsula. Moving peaks present fun rides for competent beginners through to experts looking for a fun less critical ride.
GREEN BALLS
Direction: Right hand reef break
Experience: Intermediate to expert
Season: Dry Season & Wet Season (early mornings)
Bali Bible Rating: ***1/2
Green Balls sits right at the Southern tip of the Bukit Peninsula and cops the full brunt of any swell and as such is hardly ever flat. The wave offers fast, powerful rippable sections, breaking best on the mid tide. There is occasionally a left hander which breaks on the opposite side of the bay.
BALANGAN
Direction: Left reef break
Experience: Beginner to intermediate
Season: Dry season
Bali Bible Rating: **
On its day Balangan offers a long fast left hand ride, however unless the swell direction is perfect, the wave tends to section out a little. The beach warungs provide cheap and tasty food and generally the vibe is friendly with holiday makers soaking up some fun in the sun. Balangan provides a fun wave with a mellow crowd for beginners on smaller swells.
NYANG NYANG
Direction: Left reef break
Experience: Intermediate
Season: Dry season
Bali Bible Rating: ***
Nyang Nyang is located just East of Uluwatu on the Bukit Peninsula, and like Green Balls receives the full extent the Indian Ocean swell. It is very rare to find Nyang Nyang flat. Worth an early morning check on a small to medium swell when Uluwatu is small, or for those looking to escape the crowds.
NUSA DUA
Direction: Mostly peaky right and occasional left hand reef break
Experience: Intermediate to expert
Season: Wet season
Bali Bible Rating: ****
The waves of Nusa Dua offer a consistent quality option for surfers during the wet season. The reef site nearly 1km offshore and can be accessed by boat for around rp50,000. Alternatively a long walk/paddle around the reef will take around half an hour to reach the break. Long rippable walls with barrel sections are on offer and up to 6 ft the waves can be a lot of fun. The reef holds waves well above 6 ft, however without the safety of a deep channel to paddle too, the bomb sets can quickly end a session pushing punters back over the reef with little hope of paddling back out.
SRI LANKA
Direction: Right hand reef break
Experience: Beginner to expert (dependent on size)
Season: Wet Season
Bali Bible Rating: **
Sri Lanka occasionally turns on when the bigger swells hit. Located in front of the Nusa Dua Club Med Resort, the break is rarely crowded. When Nusa Dua is pumping (6 - 8ft +) Sri Lanka will provide a steep 4 ft wall with plenty of barrel opportunities. In small swells it is more suited to competent beginners.
WEST COAST
CANGGU (ECHO BEACH)
Direction: Mixture of left and right hand beach and reef breaks
Experience: Beginner to expert
Season: Dry season & wet season (early mornings)
Bali Bible Rating: ****
The skate park like waves of Canggu offer a session for all levels and abilities. Echo Beach offers numerous breaks along its shores including a fun left hand reef break, peaky sand bottom beachies and a fun right hand reef/sand bottom wave at the river mouth. The local warungs offer cheap tasty food and a good place to hang out while you work around the crowds and tides. Don’t be put off by the crowds, the waves here are seriously fun!
KUTA REEF
Direction: Left hand reef break
Experience: Beginner to intermediate
Season: Dry season
Bali Bible Rating: ***
Kuta Reef offers a fun option within easy access of the bustling hub of Kuta. Long walls with the occasional cover up are to be had once the swell hits 4 ft. Being located well over 1 km offshore, the reef is best accessed by one of the many boat operators which can be found at the beach. Smaller swells are perfect for beginners and on bigger swells, more competent surfers will find fun wackable sections with the opportunity for the odd cover up.
AIRPORT LEFTS
Direction: Left hand reef break
Experience: Beginner to intermediate
Season: Dry season.
Bali Bible Rating: ***
Airport Lefts provides a fun left hand wave which turns on once the other world class waves of the Bukit Peninsula start breaking above 6 ft. The break can be reached by boat from Jimbaran.
AIRPORT RIGHTS
Direction: Right reef break
Experience: Beginner to intermediate
Season: Dry season
Bali Bible Rating: ***
In smaller swells airport rights offers an option for beginners to test their ability in mellow reef break waves. In bigger swells Airport rights will throw down powerfull walls with sneaky tube sections. Being one of the few rights in the area the break offers a good alternative for natural footers.
KUTA, LEGIAN, SEMINYAK
Direction: Peaky rights and lefts
Experience: Beginner to intermediate
Season: Dry Season
Bali Bible Rating: **
The stretch of beach sweeping from Kuta to Seminyak offers beginners (and those too lazy/hung over to commute to the more high performance areas) a fun mostly uncrowded option. Depending on the banks, fun waves can be found year round.
EAST COAST
KERAMAS
Direction: Right hand reef break
Experience: Competent intermediate to expert.
Season: Wet season and dry season (early mornings).
Bali Bible Rating: *****
Keramas is a perfect, powerful right hand barrel with a rippable end section best at 4- 6 ft. Gone are the days when an early drive North East to Keramas would provide an uncrowded right hand barrels. The secret is out and the line-up is often full of locals and internationals alike displaying a very high standard of surfing. Komune Resort provides a great place to hang out for partners or those wanting to work around crowds and tides. The barrels on offer are worth the hustle.
SANUR
Direction: Right hand reef break
Experience: Intermediate to expert
Season: Wet season
Bali Bible Rating: ***1/2
In bigger swells Sanur Reef offers a fast wally right hand wave with hollow sections, and is one of the better right hand waves on the East Coast. Whilst a drive further North to Keramas will provide a higher quality wave, Sanur will often be a little less crowded and still provides a quality option for competent surfers.
SERANGAN (TURTLE ISLAND)
Direction: Right and left hand reef break
Experience: Beginner to intermediate
Season: Wet Season
Bali Bible Rating: ***
Serangan, also known as Turtle Island has something for everyone. The waves are relatively mellow, yet still thrown down some rippable sections for the more competent surfer. In smaller swells the lineup will be swarming with beginners making the most of the fun conditions. In bigger swells nice long rides provide surfers with open faces perfect for carving.
NORTH WEST COAST
MEDEWI
Direction: Left hand reef break
Experience: Beginner to intermediate
Season: Dry season & wet season (early mornings)
Bali Bible Rating: **1/2
Medewi provides a long easy left hand wall, perfect for beginners, yet still fun for intermediate surfers looking for open clean faces to practice turns. The local Warungs provide excellent cheap Indonesian food and drinks and are a great place to hang out as you work around the crowds and tide.
BALIAN
Direction: Sand bottom A frame (Long left & Short Right)
Experience: Beginner to intermediate
Season: Dry season & wet Season (early mornings)
Bali Bible Rating:***
Balian throws up an easy A frame peak. In smaller swells the wave is perfect for beginner to intermediate level surfers. In bigger swells the wave provides a rippable wall for all abilities.