Now let's move down south.
This is where you find the beach towns with cute souvenir shops, chic boho-themed boutiques on every corner, uniquely themed restaurants to choose from, and tons of beach clubs. Beach clubs were probably my highlight of this place. If you are looking to have a good time parting, dining, shopping, surfing, hanging out by the beach, or just being a vacation bum then the South is where you need to be! The atmosphere here is very vibrant and life seems to be easygoing. The beach town vibe is what I call it. The only downside is how insane traffic can get but that is no big deal.
Popular towns in the south of Bali include Seminyak, Canggu, Sanur, Kuta, and Uluwatu. Seminyak, Canggu, and Kuta are very close to each other, so staying in either of them makes it easy to explore the others. I stayed in Seminyak but if given another chance, I would love to stay in Kuta. I just fell in love with the beachfront area in Kuta, it was spacious and clean with a huge mall, cute restaurants and cafes, boutiques, souvenir beach stalls, and of course the beach, it felt so vibrant and relaxing to me. However, most of the popular beach clubs and restaurants are located in Canggu, and Seminyak. Uluwatu is a bit far from the 3 towns but it has the best beach options.
Activities to do in the south
Visit Beach clubs
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Like I said, this was the highlight of my time here. If you are into the partying scene, make sure to visit them and you will have the time of your life! You can choose to spend an entire day at a beach club cabana and just relax. All the beach clubs have pools, restaurants, bars, and direct access to the beach. My favorite beach club was hands down Atlas Beach Club, this is the biggest beach club in the world. It was huge, spacious, and clean and the amenities were top-notch. They had several separate swimming pools so the pools didn’t feel crowded. The cabanas were well situated next to the pools overlooking the ocean. My favorite part was that you could have a masseuse come to your cabana. Aside from that they have a glow-the-dark Balinese dance, tarot readers, stilt walkers, fire jugglers, fire dancers, magicians, and paramototrists. I felt like I was in an amusement park but for adults. For sunset lovers, there is a sun deck to spot the most beautiful sunset over the ocean. It was truly remarkable. Other beach clubs I can recommend that I visit are Finns Beach Club and Potato Head Beach Club. There are many more beach clubs to try out.
Go Shopping
When you are around this area, take advantage of the many affordable shops and boutiques around and shop till you drop. If you are good at negotiating you will get really good prices. The sellers here can be a bit persistent which can get overwhelming, so be prepared for that.
Sample Restaurants
There are a ton of really nice restaurants in this part of Bali. You can get a wide variety of different cuisines from authentic Balinese dishes to Western and popular Asian dishes. Some of my favorite restaurants were Penny Lane, La Brisa, and Koral Restaurant. I could name a dozen more restaurants, so if you have enough time you are spoilt for choice. The theme and ambiance for most of the restaurants here are so cute and unique. Koral Restaurant was my highlight because it was an aquarium restaurant.
Hang out by the beach
Well, this one is pretty obvious. Seminyak, Canggu, Kuta, Uluwatu and Sanur all have beaches. I got to visit Seminyak, Canggu, and Kuta Beach and I can say they looked pretty decent. They were clean and at the times I was there they were not crowded. The beaches here extend over a long distance so it doesn’t get crowded. At the time I was there, in late August, the water had very strong waves and it was too cold to swim in, I’m not sure if this is how the water usually is. However, it seemed like the perfect place to go surfing. I was also happy that there were no sellers on the beach trying to make me buy something. I was told that the best beach in Bali is found in Uluwatu, but sadly because of my limited time there, I wasn’t able to visit Uluwatu which was a big bummer. This should tell you that if you want to properly explore Bali, you need a little more than two weeks otherwise you will be running around a lot. For the best sunset views in Bali, I recommend going to the beach. I witnessed the most beautiful sunset on Canggu Beach.
Go Surfing
Surfing is very popular around these towns, especially on Kuta Beach. There are so many places offering surfing lessons from beginner levels. If you have never surfed before and just want to know how it feels like, there is a one-lesson package for that.
Release Turtles
There is a turtle sanctuary right on Kuta beach. On most days at 4 p.m., they conduct turtle release sessions where people line up and get the chance to release baby turtles into the ocean. If you know about turtles, you will know that many of the hatched baby turtles don’t make it to the ocean from the beach because of dangers like birds attacking them. You don’t require tickets to do this, it is free of charge, maybe just a little donation to support the turtle sanctuary.
Visit Nusa Penida
Nusa Penida is an Island about 40 minutes from mainland Bali. To get there, you take a ferry from Sanur town. Make sure to get to Sanur as early as possible to beat the traffic and crowds. I got there at 7 am and everything went smoothly. At Nusa Penida, the first activity we did was snorkeling. We snorkeled at 4 different spots, that is, Manta Bay, Crystal Bay, Gamat Bay, and The Wall. At Manta Bay we snorkeled with some huge Manta Rays. Along the way, there were some dolphins and one was free to snorkel with them. We also spotted a lot of divers around this area. The marine life here seems to be bustling. If you are keen on taking diving lessons, Bali is a good option.
After snorkeling we headed over to the iconic Kelingking beach. Note that this place tends to get crowded since it is the most popular spot on this island. Kelingking Beach is located down a cliff and most people will just enjoy the view of the beach from the top of the cliff. This is because going down the cliff to access the beach is one brutal trek down. When I say brutal, I mean BRUTAL!! You have to go down a winding path along the cliff. Yeah, you heard right, some parts require you to sort of rock climb.
At the beginning of the trek down, there are well-laid-out stairs and rails on the side so it feels easy, but as you progress down, the rails turn into sticks and the stairs turn to rocks. As you go further down, the sticks on the side turn into ropes and the rocks are so far apart you have to sort of rock climb downwards, this is where things get sticky. I almost gave up twice midway but decided to do my best. It was one tough hike but I made it!! The scorching sun made it twice as hard because there was no shade along the trek. The path is also so narrow so there was a lot of traffic on the path. You would think that such a difficult trek would deter people from going down there but no, there was massive traffic on the little path! It took me nearly 45 minutes to go down. The beach however is spectacular! The water is crystal blue and the sand is so soft. The waves are however strong so you need to be careful when swimming because there are no lifeguards on site. There are people selling refreshments down there as well. It feels like an exclusive club once you get down there. The views make the gruesome trek down all the worthwhile.
There are several other places to visit in Nusa Penida like the Broken Beach, Diamond Beach, etc but because of the limited time I had, I wasn’t able to do all that. Most of these places tend to be spread out far apart, so the best way to properly explore this island is to spend a couple of days here.
Here is a little budget estimation for this part of Bali
• Accommodation is very affordable in this part of Bali as well. Probably even cheaper compared to the north side of Bali. As I said before, there is something for everyone depending on your budget. Hostels can range from as low as $1 per night, Airbnb’s and Hotels typically start from as low as $30 per night.
• Transport is cheap just like in the northern part of Bali. Expect to pay from as low as $2 on your Grab or Gojek rides.
• Food is cheap especially if you visit the local Warungs. At a mid-restaurant expect a plate to be between $8-$15. High-end establishments will of course be pricey.
• Alcohol is cheap but be careful where you drink because I have heard stories of tourists getting methanol poisoning. Like I said in the previous article, stick to reputable restaurants or order drinks like beer that haven’t been opened.
• Beach Clubs can get pretty expensive. Some of them like Atlas Beach Club charge around $320 to spend a full day at a Cabana.
• Activities like the day trip to Nusa Penida cost around $75 per person where everything was included. From the hotel pickup to the ferry ride, snorkeling, visiting Kelingking Beach, lunch and hotel drop off.
