After spending a lot of time in beautiful Uluwatu, which is my favorite place in Bali, I have worked out the perfect guide with all you need to know and more! From places to stay, eat, things to do and a complete surf guide! Enjoy 🌞
A small tip would be highly appreciated if you found this guide helpful 🫶🏼
This hostel is one of my favorites. You are so close to Bingin beach, while you are super close to a lot of eating places as well! The little garden with the pool is super cute, and it is a really good place to meet other travellers. The price is including dinner every night at the rooftop!! Both the private and the dorms are super nice. It is possible to rent a scooter and do laundry there
This hostel is not perfectly located, but it is very comfortable and really cheap. If you feel comfortable driving a scooter, the location is not too bad. If you dont feel like driving, there is of course Grab!
The cutest little huts with AC only a short walk from Nyang Nyang beach. And only 26€!
Be aware that it is quite far from most of the beaches on the west side and eating places.
Tasty food and live music every night!
Every first Sunday of the month they host a market with a lot of different vendors and live music. Whats not to love!
Very very good local food. Plus - it's super cheap! You can easily get a big meal for 30-60K: Cheaper if you dont eat meat <3 You have your base of rice, and then you get to choose whatever you want beside!
The very famous beautiful beach. The beach itself is not that big, and be aware of both the monkeys and the tide.
Surf:
Padang Padang is known for its perfect barrels, it's a challenging wave but if you tame the beast, you'll have some of the bes waves of your life !
The perfect beach for sunbathing but also surfing! There are plenty of opportunities to rent a sunbed and places to eat
Surf:
Balangan can be as good as single fin on the bigger days, offering you some magnificient barrels and long sections openning up for you to make some big turns !
Enjoy the big garden surrounding Uluwatu temple and the incredible view over the ocean. You have a 180 degree view over the cliff. Be aware of the monkeys. They love to steal peoples things for then to bargain with food to give it back!
Use the 10% discount if you ate at Ours restaurant and treat yourself with a treatment here. Book a slot to be sure they have time when you show up. They also have the nicest shop!
Be aware that some places to have a minimum spend or you need to book in advance. I have linked everything you need to know, in each place. A day spend at one of Uluwatu’s beach clubs is well spend!
Where to surf will always depend on your level and on the conditions. Here is a little indicator of what to look for :
Before even looking at the waves, you need to make sure that it's not low tide ! Low tide exposes the reef and it gets really dangerous. The best moment to surf is at mid tide and preferably on a rising tide so you don't end up on dry reef !
Best time : from June to October
Best winds : anywhere from south to north east (east winds = best)
Beginner : As Uluwatu is really exposed to the south swells, it often translate by big and powerful waves. These spots don't need a big swell for them to become dangerous ; the shallowness of the water and the reef makes it dangerous if you're not familiar with it. Under 2ft of swell, you won't risk much by going to Single fin, Baby Padang, Balangan beach or even Dreamland. From 3 to 4ft, you enter in a more critical area but still manageable but make sure to study the waves before jumping in ! Above 4ft, avoid going in the water unless you know what you are doing. Your best option might be to come for more sheltered spots such as jimbaran or airports reef !
Intermediate : Under 5ft most of the spots will be really good for you ; careful though, at Single fin, the wave can get really big and scary with that kind of swell. Under 8ft, the wave is still manageable but becomes really scary at times and you might not want to experience long hold downs and scary ghost sets coming at you ! Going for Baby Padang is sometimes a good shout, sometimes balangan can be surprinsingly good as well but again, the many reefs around the airport might be a better option !
Advanced : The best spots will be Single fin (1), Padang Padang (2), Impossible (3), Bingin (4), Dreamland (5), Balangan (6).
Finally, and this applies to everywhere on the planet, make sure to check the forecast before going anywhere !
Many forecast apps exists and they have become really easy to read. An app such as Surfline for example, will break down the swell/waves for a specific spot and will tell you if surfing there is worth it or not and if so, at what time.
Single fin offers many sections to the wave but is often crowded, the waves can be consistent but never really the same. Racetracks, the last section, offers a really fast wave and sometimes barreling. Temple is also a really good peak.
The very famous beautiful beach. The beach itself is not that big, and be aware of both the monkeys and the tide.
Surf:
Padang Padang is known for its perfect barrels, it's a challenging wave but if you tame the beast, you'll have some of the bes waves of your life !
Impossible got its name from the difficulty and speed of its ride ! It's almost impossible to keep up with the wave as it's super fast. It is still one of the best waves in he world !
Short ride, barrel and rippable ! One of the best waves around when it works. Easy take off, barrel and really good sections to hit but be careful, the inside is really shallow !
The perfect beach for sunbathing but also surfing! There are plenty of opportunities to rent a sunbed and places to eat
Surf:
Balangan can be as good as single fin on the bigger days, offering you some magnificient barrels and long sections openning up for you to make some big turns !
Mellow wave and easy to catch, point break with a big channel. The reef is divided in four main peaks : Kuta reef, center, middle and airport left. The first and last peaks are often crowded but the wave is really good and easy to read. The two other peaks are more challenging and the channel isn't as clear.
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If you are traveling Bali make sure to check out my other guides as well 🫶🏼
Hello beautiful human ✨
My name is Ruby, and I am originally from Denmark, but currently based i Canggu, Bali.
With a passion for traveling, I possess knowledge on various destinations and cultures around the world. I have always enjoyed slow travel, exploring different cultures and immersing myself in nature.
With a lifetime of travel experience under my belt, helping people plan their trips comes naturally to me. From organizing itineraries to giving insider tips and tricks, I truly enjoy sharing my knowledge and passion with others.
Even though I am the youngest in my family I am always the one in head of planning our trips, because they know the trip is in safe hands with me. Actually I don't trust anyone else to take the responsibility, haha.
Right now you can find me either on my surfboard catching waves or under the palmtrees eating my way through Bali! I am living here and working for a surf camp.
I have spent almost 5 months in Bali and around indonesia, and are staying until the beginning of next year. I am absolutely in love with this country and all it has to offer.
I am a real foodie and highly prioritize a good cup of coffee. I am all in for adventures and finding hideaways!
I have spent 9 weeks in a row in Sri Lanka travelling with my backpack.
I visited almost all the cities from colombo and all the way down south to Tangalle and up in the mountains to Ella. I will publish a Sri Lanka intineraries soon!
