Where to stay on Bali

[Caine]

Hello together,

I am sorry to open another thread about Bali but I need some input to make a decision.
I am looking for the strategically right location to stay and have easy access to treliable surf. I am going to arrive End of October and stay until Mid of November. As far as I understand this period can be considered as a transition time regarding weather and surf consitions. Where the spots on the west coast still work in the morning the east coast gets more and more constant offshore winds. Being mobile would be the key, but my main problem is I have never driven a motorbike and think that I dont think that Bali is not the place to start with it. So getting anywhere on my own with a board is going to be difficult. Doesnt matter how much I think about it I have no idea where to stay. Canggu or Seminyak? Sanur or Bukit Penisula? Input is appreciated a lot.

Thanks in advance

[Big H]

Bukit would be ideal with easy access to breaks on the west south and east. But you need transportation. A lot of those br aka have surfer hotels right on the beach or nearby; you are then limited to that one break. How good are you/ what size waves do you wish to be on / kind of waves?

[beachbumuk]

I have just come back from staying in Canggu. It was nice but SUPER busy!

I heard of the breaks to the west like the long long left are less crowded and nicer to play in - but it depends on the kinds waves you're after

Seminyak etc etc are full of aussies on holiday and make for more stressful waves and heavier populations...if I went back I would be looking at the west a bit more.

Please remember how long it takes to get around the island when thinking about locations

[Caine]

Hi Big H,

I am looking for waist to head high waves not to hollow but with enough power. I switching now from a 7´6 funboard to a 7`0 shortboard /fish. The focus on this holiday is to getting used to the smaller board and to improve my surfing skills. I surf for 5 years but only in my holidays, so I am not a beginner but wouldnt call myself an advanced intermediate as well.

[Big H]

You want Canggu then....lots of places to stay from Berwa all the way up to Echo that are walking distance to the breaks....stay somewhere around Old Man's / Echo Beach and there are several peaks to choose from, rights and lefts, some that are occasionally hollowish but usually on the fatter side of things....good waves, easy to ride waves....attributes to the amount of heads in the water, but again, there is enough space and peaks to work it out so that you're able to have fun and the big plus is that it is all so close together that if you do take a taxi or ojek (motorcycle taxi) around the area, you're 10min or less away from all the breaks in the stretch mentioned and a good amount of restaurants and bars as well. Hope this helps.

[Big H]

Here's some shots from yesterday from two spots in Canggu area...

First two shots were from a bigger day a little while ago....

[Big H]

Take a day trip and come down to the bukit near where I live where I was yesterday....

[Big H]

I think the long long left to the west would be Balian or Medewi...it would be another option, mellow waves and less crowded....less action outside of the surfing as well....

http://magicseaweed.com/Medewi-Surf-Guide/1135/

Lombok would be yet another option locally....senior board member Jaffa just came back from a trip there and posted full reports and pictures....

viewtopic.php?t=24605

Cheers!

[Caine]

Thanx for the pictures and answers so far.

Balangan looks a little bite to heavy for me, at least on this pic.

Canggu looks wave-wise much better to me even though I have never fancied the area for my stay. Just a gut feeling .

What about Sanur? There are some reefs around an up north i found info about some beach breaks as well. May be I

could get there with a bemo from Sanur? Do bemos carry boards as well?

More and more I have the feeling of making a crash course in motorbiking just before departure.

[jaffa1949]

Don't do the crash course in motorbike riding, the driving conditions and the unfamiliar apparent chaos will put you at serious risk!

If you think Balangan is too heavy then have some reconsideration of East Coast surf in the time you plan to be there the can be a lot of water movement in those areas.

Try Medewi or Canggu and just get used to the waves around there.

You could go to Gerupuk on Lombok which would cover all your options for varied waves at about your level there !
Cheaper than Bali and a little less crowded , .
Gerupuk would be my best suggestion even if it gets a little bigger it is still an easier wave.

[beachbumuk]

Meduwi is the one I was thinking of one of the locals we made frineds with was from there and was keen on it as was a fair few regulars of visitors.

Like uncle Jaffa says, possibly avoid the scooters/bikes if youre not experienced. the rules you know do not apply. I ride here in the UK and have in Aus too, but it will take you at least a few days to a week to understand whats right and wrong, along with the loose gravel on the roads....make sure you have hospital cover....but I saw at least a dozen surf holidays ruined by falling off bikes!

If you're after relaxed night life as well then yeah Canggu! Yoga, organic, relaxation, longboards, beards, motorbikes, Aussies, germans, Austrians, Brits, French, many many Expats

As for Taxis, I stayed at 'The chill house' Which was quite far from the beach and it was 50-60k to get to the beach, that's about £2.50 (which is the same as hiring a scooter for the DAY) but its not exactly bank breaking.

[jaffa1949]

If anyone travels without travel insurance with repatriation to your home country, they are being foolish. Hopefully any trip is without accidents or injury. but should it happen without insurance you either end up with no treatment or whoever gets you home to first world treatment could cop a big enough bill to bankrupt them.
In Indonesia, you have to pay up front for your treatment. top class medicine will cost top dollar, and many things are beyond home remedy!

Please forget the motorbikes, bemo or taxi will get you there, often with connections to other things build a relationship with a river near where end up staying. Good Karma.

[Big H]

I underline the no motorbike advice....I have one and a car too but then again I have been driving first in Jakarta for 7 years (makes here look like country driving) and here for four....had a KZ 650 and a Ninja 600 as my primary transport for 8 years when I was younger as well....I wouldn't recommend riding here unless you are an expert; I see about 3-4 dead people in the road a year with a crowd around them following an accident....it's real....if you aren't fully convinced then the taxi ride from the airport should do the trick....it's a different world with totally different rules played at fast forward speed....

I would stay away from the east coast....like Jaffa says there is a lot of water movement....enough that if you aren't fit or if you go into an area you shouldn't (not a lot of other surfers around on the east in comparison to the west and is common to be on a break alone or nearly so making it difficult to follow other's examples of do's and don'ts) it is easy to get swept away....bigger boards are de rigeur and local knowledge is really important....more than you want to worry about.

Stay east; Seminyak up to Pererenan are good waves for what you say that you are looking for on an average swell....careful of rips all along that stretch....they spring up out of nowhere and can be quite forceful and hard to read esp. on a bigger swell.

[Caine]

Thank you guys for all the advices.
I´ve been travelling a bit already especially in SEA and in my very first beginner days as a surfer on Bali as well (Surf school, Foam Board, etc).
So I know about the traffic in Kuta, Legian and Seminyak and I have absolutely no wish to drive there. I have also seen many tourists Thailand or Indo covered in bandages because the lost controll of their rented motorbike. That is really my idea of holiday. I just thought the east coast is less busy. I feel capable of driving down a straight empty road .
And I also heard there am some beach breaks north of Sanur where japanese surfers practice a lot.

As for Lombok, that crossed my mind as well but, I would too need transport there plus the danger of catching Malaria.

I still dont now where to stay so far. But as I am around for about 2 1/2 week I may just try some places. I just need to know where to start... I will let you know how I fare