Where to stay in peak season Bali (advanced beginner)

[Quintessence]

Hello everyone,

Just discovered this forum while googling. Several threads had helpful information but I thought I would ask more specific questions relating to my case.

So, my wife and I will be staying a week in Bali in early June. This is just a stopover on a larger trip so we are not flexible on the destination or dates.
During this week, I would ideally like to spend a few days close to an appropriate surfing spot.

We are what I see called "avanced beginners": we started a few years ago, we have been surfing real waves for a while (what we call "blue waves" in French, I don't know if it's the same in English, as opposed to whitewater), but inconsistent frequency has impeded our progress (as well as starting around age 30 of course). We just moved from soft boards to hard top boards 2 years ago (still big boards though, 7 to 7'6, and around 50L in volume). We pop up, go down the line, and are starting to learn to turn efficiently.

So we should be looking to keep improving, but: my wife broke her ankle very severly a few months ago.
She's now recovering, starting to run etc, but of course very carefully, and the process has been frustrating. So when we go surfing we are not in a "hard work" mental place. These days we only go out in gentle conditions, and on beach breaks so she doesn't risk twisting her ankle in rocks.
Our ideal wave height these days is 1 metre (before that we surfed up to 1.5, even 1.8 a few times). But the waves can be rough here (Atlantic coast), so I'm guessing in more stable environments we may go up a little bit?
My wife has only been surfing a few times since her accident, she still can't be in the perfect position, etc. so she can fall or miss waves where that wouldn't have happened before. For instance, she takes time to pop up since her ankle isn't fully flexible yet, so she can't be fast enough to pop up on steep waves.

Can anyone tell me if any place in Bali comes to mind with at least a few of the following criteria?
- No reef break (ideally beach break)
- Gentle waves where my wife can take her time popping up, surfable around 1 metre height (I know it can change, I'm just talking about the most probable setting considering location and time)
- In a nice environment (we try to avoid highly urbanised areas)
- Not excessively crowded (I know it will be peak season, a little crowd is okay)

When I talk about crowds, let's take this video as a reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvBuAodrBMM
It is very crowded, but feels manageable to me. I have already surfed in similar conditions at home during peak school holidays, so if that's the most crowded while matching other criteria, so be it. If peak season means it will be even worse… then I'd favour somewhere else. Or barring any other option, I would reduce the surfing portion of the trip to a few sessions, and spend more days exploring Bali, snorkeling, etc.

I've read about Medewi, does that sound good? It checks most of the criteria (out of the way, easily accessible beach), I'm just not sure about the most important part: the surf! I know it's not completely beach but boulder but it seems manageable on pictures…

If we are too demanding, I'm okay with just staying 2 or 3 days in the classic, crowded and less beautiful beginner spots, and then moving on.

Thanks to anyone who may take the time to read and answer!

[jaffa1949]

Medewi is a good option, a softer wave longboard friendly still crowded but less than the Kuta legion stretch, you will need to arrange transport there, 3 hour drive, some of the accommodation has transport links.
June is really peak season so crowds across the entire Indonesian Archipelago are reality , don‘t just chance accommodation, have it booked ahead.
Warning the swell can pick up amazingly when it arrives from the bottom of the Indian Ocean often without warning so have your surf survival skills in order wherever you are, there is no regular lifeguard service.
But good surf is there

[Geezer]

So……..my kneejerk reaction is to tell you to not surf bali in June. Outside of a couple sandy beach breaks, nothing really meets your desired criteria. Canggu, Medewi and possibly Balian probably come the closest with considerably less crowds north of canggu, but the main issue as I see it is that June is peak season, meaning the swell is usually pumping and the smallest days even at Kuta beach are overhead on sets. Wave periods are longer than where you are from, meaning waves are bigger, faster, steeper, quicker jacking and more powerful than you are used to. Fitness is a real consideration when assessing safety. Last discouraging bit is that on the off chance that there is a small day during your window, surf schools turn out in droves along with hundreds of advanced beginners just like you who have been waiting for a day that they can handle. But if you are going to be here anyway, Id say Kuta woukd be the go. Medewi and Balian will most likely be beyond your ability to handle safely, Canggu you will not get a wave because only the top 10-20% can pick one out of the crowds. Kuta is also suoer crowded but has several peaks scattered which eases things……and most importantly they have lifeguards. Be safe. FWIW my daughter, who I’ve been teaching fir a couple years now. has no allusions and clearly understands that she is a beginner, just a beginner on the Bali scale. She surfs a longboard and so far has been able to cope well with up to double overhead conditions, catching more than she missed. She can hit the brakes and pull off a paddle in if someone deeper gets in, understands currents, rips, hiw to identify them and what to do if if in one including how to use it to get out back and can swim much further than she’d ever need to to chase down a board ir get back to shore. My point with all of this is that June is no joke here and seems like every bug swell there are unfortunate accidents; be honest with your self assessment of your ability and err on the side of caution.

[Quintessence]

Thank you both for your very helpful and, let's say, complementary advice

I looked at accommodation in Kuta and what's left kind of sucks, in my price range at least. While Medewi still has a few nice places available, beachfront and all.

So I think I'll just book a shorter stay in Medewi, something like 3 nights so we have 2 full days there: enough to catch a few waves if conditions are right, and if they are not for us, we'll spend the couple of days enjoying the nice accommodation.

And we'll switch the rest of the trip to snorkeling etc. We already wanted to go to Pemuteran and Medewi is kind of on the way there.

Too bad if it turns out we can't surf at all but in the end, we're not in a physical or mental place where it's worth chasing waves that we are not sure we can get!

FWIW my daughter, who I’ve been teaching fir a couple years now. has no allusions and clearly understands that she is a beginner, just a beginner on the Bali scale. She surfs a longboard and so far has been able to cope well with up to double overhead conditions, catching more than she missed. She can hit the brakes and pull off a paddle in if someone deeper gets in, understands currents, rips, hiw to identify them and what to do if if in one including how to use it to get out back and can swim much further than she’d ever need to to chase down a board ir get back to shore. My point with all of this is that June is no joke here and seems like every bug swell there are unfortunate accidents; be honest with your self assessment of your ability and err on the side of caution.

We're fit and good swimmers but we are aware (and sad!) that starting younger is something you can't really ever get back.

[Geezer]

Sounds sensible: id you will be in the area anyway you might as well have a look at trying medewi. To pad your margins I’d recommend hiring somebody off the beach to guide your sessions. He will in the least be there to help i. Case something goes wrong.

Snorkeling and diving are great in that NW corner. I recommend visiting Menjangan Island; reefs there are protected and are healthier than most areas around.

[Quintessence]

Sounds sensible: id you will be in the area anyway you might as well have a look at trying medewi. To pad your margins I’d recommend hiring somebody off the beach to guide your sessions. He will in the least be there to help i. Case something goes wrong.

Should be easy, most of the accommodation I see offers surfing lessons as well!

Snorkeling and diving are great in that NW corner. I recommend visiting Menjangan Island; reefs there are protected and are healthier than most areas around.

Definitely the plan