One More Day in
MallorcaBoats, calas, beach clubsLiveIbizaBoats, beach clubs, sunsetsSoonBaliBeach clubs, waterfallsHerePhuketThailand · islands, boats, nightsLiveBeaches & sunsets
Bali is not really a beach island in the way Thailand is, with one exception: the Bukit, the limestone peninsula at the south end. That is where the white sand and the turquoise water are, and it is worth the drive from anywhere. The Canggu and Seminyak beaches are a different thing — dark volcanic sand, big surf, and a very good sunset.
Small, and reached through a gap in the rock and down a flight of steps, which is most of why people remember it. It is tiny at high tide and genuinely lovely at low, so the tide time decides whether this is a good morning or a wasted drive.
A long strip of pale sand under the cliffs with warungs along the top and a lot less of a crowd than the more famous ones a few minutes away. One of the easier Bukit beaches to spend a whole day at.
The one with the road carved down through the limestone, which is a sight on its own before you have even parked. Wide, white, and the easiest of the Bukit beaches to actually get onto — no cliff scramble, no long staircase.
A steep climb down past the warungs to a short strip of sand that appears properly at low tide. Bingin has been through a round of demolition of the buildings on the cliff, so what is standing there changes — we check before we send anyone.
The cliff buildings at Bingin have been subject to demolition orders. What is open changes month to month, so we will check it for your dates rather than guess.
Dark sand, forgiving waves, surf schools all along it and somewhere to sit the whole way up. This is the Canggu beach people mean, and it is as much a place to spend the afternoon as it is a beach.
The whole west coast faces the right way, so this is the one thing in Bali you do not have to plan or pay for. Pererenan, Batu Bolong, Nelayan, Seminyak — pick whichever is nearest and be there before the sun is.
Two things that apply to all of them. The Bukit beaches involve steps, sometimes a lot of them, and there is rarely a way round. And the tide matters more here than it does in most places — several of these are a different beach entirely six hours apart, so tell us your dates and we will build the days around the tide rather than against it.
Asked honestly, answered honestly.
The Bukit peninsula, almost without exception — Padang Padang, Balangan, Melasti and Bingin. That is where the white sand and the clear water are. Canggu and Seminyak have dark volcanic sand and much better surf and sunsets.
For the Bukit, yes. Padang Padang and Bingin are small or gone at high tide and properly good at low. We build the plan around the tide times for your dates.
On most of the Bukit beaches, yes, and at Bingin they are steep. Melasti is the exception — there is a road down and no staircase.
People do, but they are surf beaches with real current, and the sand is dark volcanic rather than white. Go to Canggu for the surf and the sunset and to the Bukit to swim.