Beaches in Bali

One island with four coasts that are not interchangeable, which is the single most useful thing to know before choosing where to stay. The south-west, from Seminyak through Canggu, is grey volcanic sand facing open ocean: the surf, the sunset clubs and most of the visitors are here, and so are the rip currents. The Bukit peninsula in the south turns to white sand in coves under limestone cliff, reached down stairs cut into the rock, with the reef breaks that made the island's surfing reputation. The east is black sand, quiet and reef-fringed, with Amed and Candidasa and the wreck at Tulamben a short swim off the shingle. The north has the calmest water and the least development of any of them. Marine debris arrives on the western beaches through the wet season in quantities that make international news, carried by currents from across the Java Sea, and is cleared daily through the dry. The island is Hindu in a Muslim-majority country, and the calendar shows on the sand: offerings are laid at the water each morning, and on Nyepi the whole island stops for a day, beaches included, with no travel and no flights. Practically: traffic in the south is severe and journey times are unpredictable enough that two beaches in a day is optimistic, temple and village dress codes apply the moment you leave the sand, and the surf beaches carry currents that drown people every year with limited lifeguard cover outside the patrolled sections. The dry season runs April to October.

They spread across three beach worlds, the largest group being two grand resort beaches. Together they account for 7.3 km of shore. · computed from the 4 records below