Bali is surrounded by ocean and by waves. Either on the south or the north coast there are a lot of surf spots. Here are some of the most famous:
The world’s best beachie? Maybe. Ultra-consistent lefts and rights spread over a huge beach. There’s ‘the left’, ‘the right’, ‘the sandbar’, ‘that other one’, and plenty more. Always on, every morning. Closes out over 6ft.
Distance from Surf Berbere Bali: 50 mins north
Around 2 hours north of Kuta, the longest left in Bali lies at the end of the some of the craziest traffic you can imagine. If you thought Kuta was bad, wait ‘til you see this! White shirts will be black by the time you get to Medewi. But it’s all worth it kids, because Medewi is FUN. Long, playful lefts that peel for miles and the drive keeps the crowds down- GAME ON!
Doesn’t hold much size and blows out easily, get here early!
Distance from Surf Berbere Bali: 2hr drive to the North
Kuta reef is about 800 meters off the shore in front of the Sandi Phala Motel. The quickest and easiest way out is with a local fisherman or boat operator, chuck the guy a few dollars and let him know the signal when you want to get back in! Again this spot works best on a S-SW swell. Wait for the mid to high tides to come out and have a play on this reef.
Just because of how central the spot is, the reef can get pretty busy. If it’s pumping, tell your boat guy to never pick you up or, at the very least, to take a nap.
Distance from Surf Berbere Bali: 20 mins drive up the coast
Airport left is, as the names suggests, right in front of the airport runway in Tuban. The reef is just a tad farther south than Kuta Reef and about 1000m off the shore. Once again, the go is to hire a local boat to get yourself out there, that way you can save your energy for your surfing.
The Japanese surfer’s love this spot even though it’s not particularly hollow, and the rides are pretty short. The wave doesn’t hold anything much bigger than about 6ft, after that you just get a big close out! Fun on smaller days on mid tide.
Distance from Surf Berbere Bali: 20 mins drive up the coast
Airport Right is situated on the southern side of the airport runway, and the best bit is you can’t see this wave from Kuta, so the crowds find this a bit harder to find. The only way out here is by hiring a boat and you have to expect to pay a little bit extra as its a lot further out than the rest of the reefs in this area.
The reef works with a Southerly swell and holds a bit more than the Airport Left. You can get classic long rides up to over a hundred metres and because it is further away you are not going to get the mass of drop ins that you will get on the Left.
Distance from Surf Berbere Bali: 20 mins drive up the coast + short boat ride
Balangan is located is down on the south side of Bali. Years ago it used to be a hard place to find but now there is a decent road that will just about take you all the way to the beach and only a short paddle out is required.
Before the road was finished, crowds were not a problem as finding Balangan was pretty tricky. Now with the road the crowds have arrived. Still, at higher tides on bigger swells, Balangan is a great wave and one of the longest in Bali. Also, because the beach here is so pretty, it’s a great place to take your chick! We like: Suzuki warung, great jaffles!
Distance from Surf Berbere Bali: 5km North from the Surf Camp
Bingin is the next reef to the South of Balangan. To get there, head south from Kuta all the way down Jalan Uluwatu and make a right on Jalan Pantai Bingin and shoot down the newly paved road. Once you’ve navigated past the evil gate lady and made it down the stairs, the reef is just a short paddle out.
The wave is a short but beautiful left barrel. On smaller days and higher tides you might get a turn or two in, but when it’s on it’s a barrel the whole way through. Because of the extremely small take-off zone, this wave gets ridiculously crowded. Watch where people are kicking out so you don’t get snagged by ‘Greedies’, the end section where you’ll be leaving some skin if you go for that extra turn.
Distance from Surf Berbere Bali: 10 minutes north
Impossibles is a mere stone’s throw from our Padang Padang surf camp. An epic lefthander that often stacks to the horizon with big blue Indian ocean lines, Impossibles is a fast and rather fickle wave. You can scratch around for hours and never get a good one then see the guy that just paddled out get a 10 second barrel. Go figure.
Best when it’s big.
Distance from Surf Berbere Bali: 10 minutes north
Padang Padang only comes to life when the swell is pumping. Check it from the bridge and paddle out through the channel.
Arguably one of the best waves on the planet; to say it’s crowded would be an understatement. Padang Padang is the absolutely heaving Indo-blue barrel you dream of your whole life. Best on lower tides and HUGE swell.
Distance from Surf Berbere Bali: 5 mins north
Sanur is made up of two main reefs, Sanur itself and Tandjung. Getting there is simple, just follow the main bye pass road to Sanur and take a right at either of the traffic lights when you are in Sanur.
For the reefs to be working there needs to be a big swell coming through. That being said if Nusa Dua is too big for you, then this is a bit more sheltered and manageable. When the waves are small the local guys will be taking everything, get stuck into the pack and see what you can get out of it!
Distance from Surf Berbere Bali: 30 minutes east
After it was surfed for the first time in the classic film “Morning of the Earth”, Uluwatu injected itself into the minds of surfers everywhere. The view from the Ulu cliffs is one of the most iconic in surfing and on it’s day can be a jaw-dropping vision. Everything about this place is Indo surfing personified. Big blue barrels, angry Brazilian pros, cheap banana pancakes, topless swedes, chop hops, more photographers than you can shake a stick at, Uluwatu has it all.
Uluwatu consists of four different sections. From the south, Temples breaks on a higher tide and requires more of a paddle so is less crowded. The Peak, right out in front of the cave, works pretty much all the time. Racetracks farther inside is the spot on low tide. When the swell is pumping all of those will be un-surfable because Outside Corner will be huge and dreamy looking way out the back.
Distance from Surf Berbere Bali: 10 minutes south
Follow the same road up to Sanur, but as you get about halfway there you have to take a right hand turn down a non-tarmac road opposite the Makro superstore. This road will take you all the way down to the waves.
Serangan gets pretty crowded these days, especially with the Japanese guys. Still, it’s a fun, peaky reef that has a lot on offer. Rock up, grab a banana pancake and enjoy the show.
Distance from Surf Berbere Bali: 30 mins east
Getting to Nusa Dua involves driving into the town itself and weaving your way South a little bit. Just go exploring really, there are so many little spots in this area that it is worth just jumping in where you can see a decent wave breaking and not too large a crowd.
Given the fact that it is about a 500 yard paddle out and the reef stretches for miles there are normally a couple of decent take off points without the big crowds. This is never a certainty, but particularly in the wet season this is a pretty good spot to be going to!
Distance from Surf Berbere Bali:
Green Balls is just below the Bali Cliff resort and so by following signs to the resort you will get to the spot pretty easily. The descent to the spot involves trailing down about 500 steps (all different sized) to get to the paddle out.
Getting out is not the problem, climbing back up after a surf session is the tough part! Crowds don’t really bother with this spot which is an added bonus!
Distance from Surf Berbere Bali: 30 mins south
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