Balangan in the south of Bali down towards Uluwatu. It’s one of the best surf spots in the area and also will made such a change if you’ve been hanging out around all the beach clubs and nights out around Seminyak and Canggu.

All there is at Balangan beach is the beach, local warungs and waves. It’s glorious.

 

Balangan Beach Bali

Beach | Surf | Warungs & Restaurants | Accommodation | Getting There | Where Next

 

Balangan Beach

The beach itself (Pantai Balangan in Indonesian) is beautiful but the sea is reef so it’s a bit of a rough ride getting in and out for a dip to cool off. Worth it though and you can hire deck chairs for the day there too.

If navigating getting in and out of the sea gets too much for you though there is now a swimming pool on Balangan beach you can chill out in (more on that below)

 

Surfing Balangan

Balangan is an advanced surf break but still can be surfed by beginners and intermediates.

The main peak is over on the left by the rock when facing the water but it breaks right the way along as well which means there are several take-off points to go from. You’ll, therefore, get a good chance at getting a wave no matter your level.

Managed to get this one all the way from the main peak to the shore, was pretty chuffed with myself for that!

Fair warning though the wave in Balangan is fast and it can get really big there (pics above are from a small day).

You can still give it a go as a beginner too as there’s a solid strip of white water but the reef is shallow if you fall.

If you want a fatter slower wave than you’re best of heading to Thomas Beach where it’s much smaller.

Best to surf it at mid to high tide. Full high tide will be too much water and make it a struggle to even get in and out with the water coming right up to the warungs on the beach.

Since it is very shallow reef you really don’t want to surf it dead low tide.

That’s how I tore open my back before. And no one needs that. Getting massive cuts only means you can’t make use of any of the Bali surf for weeks afterwards.

The wave is quite similar to that at Echo Beach but with the potential for longer rides as, if you get on at the peak and make it past the sections, you can actually ride the wave right into the shore (😍)

 

Warungs on the Beach / Restaurants in Balangan

Balangan Wave

This is where I always spend my time when at Balangan beach. Balangan Wave does cheap good food, fresh coconuts and provides a good lookout point to watch the waves from before jumping in.

They have rattan baskets at the back you can safely leave your belongings in and it’s one of the places on the beach that has photographers there so if you got some good waves, it’s worth checking in with them afterwards to see if they managed to capture you.

The first picture I ever got of me surfing, 6 months into learning, courtesy of Balangan Wave

You can book surf lessons through them as well.

Balangan Wave is the second warung as you walk along the beach from the car park.

The phone reception is really bad down on the beach and Balangan Wave doesn’t have WiFi so if you’re meeting people there make sure you’ve agreed where to meet them first.

There is a warung about halfway along that has WiFi if you can’t bear to be disconnected from the world for that long but personally, I quite like it.

 

Lucky Wins

Almost at the end of the beach is Lucky Wins and it’s the only place at the beach that has a pool. Perfect if one of you likes surfing and the other would rather have a relaxing time chilling on a deck chair with their book.

 

Cafe La Pasion

If you want a cafe a little while back from the beach on Jalan Pantai Balangan is Cafe La Pasion which has some of the best pizza in the Uluwatu.

 

Balangan Accommodation

Budget Accommodation

Balangan Paradise Hostel and restaurant isn’t the nicest looking of buildings but the rooms are fine enough and it’s just by the beach so good if you want quick access to the surf each day.

Further up the Balangan road is Balangan Garden Bungalow where you can get a basic room for 250,000 IDR or you can stay in a hostel like Balangan Inn Uluwatu for 80,000 a night in a dorm but it’s quite a lot further back from the beach.

 

Mid-Range Accommodation

Balangan Seaview Bungalow is wonderful. The accommodation has cute bungalows for about 400,000 a night and a nice pool and restaurant area. But the thing I love the most about it is if you go out the back of the hotel a grassy area opens up right to the edge of Balangan cliff.

From there you can look down and see the waves. Perfect for a morning surf check and even better to watch the sunset from.

Another great place to stay in Balangan is just on the beach. In the last building (the other end from the car park) is The Point Beachfront Balangan. What nicer way to wake up than being able to see the waves out of your window? The only drawback is that the quickest route in and out of there by scooter is a very bumpy dirt track so it leaves you feeling a little stuck down there at night. If you stay there, you’ll therefore only really have the option of eating at The Point or next door at Lucky Wins in the evenings.

Fine if you want a quiet relaxing time away, getting early nights as you’re not moving anywhere.

 

Luxury Accommodation

La Joya is also up on the cliff right next to Balangan Seaview Bungalow, so again it’s the perfect spot from which to do a pre-surf wave check and to watch sunset. La Joya also has bungalows, they’re just fancier bungalows. The owners are really friendly and invite people to go out for dinner together if around too.

Further away from the beach but absolutely gorgeous so still worth it depending on your priorities, set halfway back along Jalan Pantai Balangan, is Mandala Village.

There are actually 2 hotels within it. The first has industrial style decorated rooms with a cute little pool to share with the other ones in the block and amazing views for sunset out over the horizon.

The other side at Sunhouse Mandala Village, there’s a similar setup but they also have private and shared villas.

They’re more expensive accommodation there is a shared villa right at the top (read lots of stairs). This villa has 3 rooms (but you might luck out and get it all to yourself as we did for 2 days) and is incredible.

It’s so beautiful and peaceful up there you’re never going to want to leave. We didn’t when we were there, just spending our timing messing around in the pool, lounging in the hammocks and eating and drinking.

 

Getting There

To get to Balangan from Kuta, Seminyak or Canggu you can drive a scooter down easy enough or you can get a taxi. The first time we went we got a taxi down but then that made life hard when we wanted to go down to Padang Padang beach afterwards as to get taxis in the local area is expensive and grab doesn’t work there.

If you’re going to want to move from place to place and do a few different things but aren’t comfortable renting a scooter in Bali, it’s best to hire a car for the day to take you around. That will cost you about 600,000 which isn’t bad a private chauffeur for the day really. That way you can easily travel around and experience all the things you’d like to without any stress. when we were down there we also went to Uluwatu temple for Sunset and that was hard to get back from without a car.

 

Where Next

From Balangan, you are right next to Dreamland beach, Bingin, Padang Padang Beach, Thomas Beach (one of the most beautiful beaches on the whole island) and not far from Green bowl, Pandawa and Uluwatu. You could therefore easily drive to any of those next or even head across the island to the East Coast to Nusa Dua as the island is narrower there so it doesn’t take that long to drive across.

 

What are your favorite things to do at Balangan Beach? Let me know in the comments below.