i'm in singapore for work and am totally winging this, so any advice would be a big help. probably staying in kuta, but still haven't booked the room. anything come to mind? and does the land of lefts have any rights? thanks SR community!
I used to go to Bali a lot when I lived in japan and I found a fun right in front of the Tandjung Sari resort in Sanur. The rooms ain't cheap, so you could probably stay somewhere else if you like. Here's the URL for the hotel: http://tandjungsari.com/ and another URL for their map: http://www.tandjungsarihotel.com/locmap.html I used to surf in the a.m. and get back to the hotel to eat the black rice coconut porridge along with a balinese strong coffee. Heaven.
Sanur had some guys just down the beach that would ferry me out to the break on a jet ski for a little cash. I would then arrange for them to pick me up a couple hours later since the paddle in was very, very long. Anyway, if my memory serves me well, the right there was a fun reef break without too much power, i.e. it's not Uluwatu but there are barrels to be had.
Whether you get surf depends on the time of year since Bali was best for me in the summer as the southern swells pumped.... If you are going during the northern winter timeframe, you'll need to find a place on the north side of the island...
Enjoy and good luck.
keramas, nusa dua, serangan are a few of the spots on the east coast to check out during the wet season.
i've been to bali a couple of times and would definitely recommend picking up a copy of indo surf and lingo - http://www.indosurf.com.au/ it's a pretty exhaustive guide. the best way to go is to rent a scooter with a surf rack so you can spend your time surfing rather than sitting in traffic. Even if it's not clean offshore, paddling out through the cave at Ulu's is a trip, and spots like Bingin and Dreamland will probably still be pretty fun. On the east side, definitely some really fun rights in Sanur and Keramas (though I've only surfed Sanur reef), and if you have time, take a boat ride over to Nusa Lembongan for a couple of days to surf Lacerations and snorkel in the pristine water.
As far as places to stay, if it's your first time, you'll definitely want to stay near the action, I'd recommend somewhere affordable in Legian, just north of the Kuta craziness, and walking distance to the waves. From there you can do day trips to explore most of the rest of the spots on the Bukit and the east side fairly easily. If you're bent on just scoring the best waves possible, you might want to consider staying on the east side of the island in Sanur or near Keramas, though there's not as much nightlife and stuff to do there.
thanks guys. my meetings have wrapped and i'm off to the airport to catch the day's last flight to bali.
really wish i'd had more time to research this one (decent rental equipment near kuta?) which is what makes the ever growing SR community invaluable. thanks so much to the above posters for giving me a good head start. hope i'm able to return the favor to someone in my position in the future.
here it, here it go.
