So much sand, so little time.
Published/Last edited or updated: 22nd July, 2018
Looking for great beaches on Bali? Head south! The Bukit peninsula, the dangly bit at the southernmost tip of Bali is home to some of the most stunning postcard-perfect beaches on the entire island.
So pack your towel, water, sunscreen and camera and discover this jewelled necklace encircling the rocky limestone bluff. Starting at the necklaces’s clasp at Jimbaran, famous for its seafood barbecue and sunsets, venture anticlockwise (maybe stopping at the Rock Bar at Ayana Resort for a tipple), to Balangan.
Balangan is one of Bali’s lesser known beaches, but is all the better for it. Glorious surf, amazingly spherical grains of sand and smallish crowds. As with many of the beaches on this side of the Bukit, the beach backs onto an imposing limestone cliff, though this is the most easily accessed, and it’s just a short walk down a steep staircase to the sands lined with a hodgepodge of shacks housing warungs and cheap homestays along the southern end of the beach and a regiment of sun lounges for hire at the northern end.
At high tide some good swimming is to be had, though bear in mind, as a surf beach, the currents can be fast and strong. At low tide a rocky base breaks the surface, making much of it crummy for swimming but ideal for pond watching, shell collecting and of course, as the tide drops, dam-building. If you start building lots of dams or sand castles, you’ll note another of Balangan’s special features. The grains of sand are, by and large, perfectly spherical. They immediately bring couscous to mind, and are apparently due to them being rolled over the stone base by the waves.
Up on the bluff, more established hotels and guest houses can be found if you wish to hang around for more than a day, but do at least linger for sunset as the sun descends more or less directly offshore and the vista is ... Travelfish members only (Full text is around 1,300 words.)
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Sally Arnold
Sally spent twelve years leading tourists around Indonesia and Malaysia where she collected a lot of stuff. She once carried a 40kg rug overland across Java. Her house has been described as a cross between a museum and a library. Fuelled by coffee, she can often be found riding her bike or petting stray cats. Sally believes travel is the key to world peace.
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