GENERAL
Bali is the "Island of 1000 Temples" and a perfect tropical surf paradise. Bali has given a magical gift to the global surfing community. That gift is surf! Like a magnet, Bali's surf has attracted the world's best surfers to ride and discover Indonesia's best-kept secret.

The Kuta region is overwhelmingly Bali´s most touristic resort, or as an Australian Surfer put it: "Bali? That´s a great place near Kuta, and Kuta is a big-fucking Aussie-city!"....
In the area around Kuta and Legian Beach there are about 15 great surfable spots (besides Kuta Beach there are Medewi, Turtle Island, Playgrounds, Nusa Dua, Nusa Lembongan, Impossibles and more....)
The Kuta beach breaks can get very good; the best spots are Halfway, Padma and Double Six. The Beaches are wonderful and there are plenty of good and cheap places to stay as well as to eat drink and be entertained. If you have a taste for a busy beach scene, shopping and nightlife, you will probably have a great time - if you want a quiet, unspoilt, tropical hideaway go somewhere else. Or, combine both, start with a week in Kuta and then go and explore the other quiter places and islands.

SAFETY
The political situation in Indonesia is very unstable and recently 60 people were injured when a bomb went off in Jakarta. There have also been Anti-American demonstrations in Jakarta in the aftermath of the September 11th events. However, Bali is believed to be safe. In a October 14th Interview California photographer Dustin Humphries said "Bali is as mellow as ever. Business and fun as usual."

Nevertheless the Department of State warns U.S. citizens to defer travel to Indonesia. Read the full text here. Bali is also safer than neighbouring G-Land (where Malaria and Sharks could be a hazard)
Don´t leave valuables at the beach or in the car when you are in the water and not in the hotel room either. Use the hotel safe.

SPOT RATING: 4****
(1- not so okay, 2-okay, 3-cool, 4-very cool, 5-the ultimate spot)
Bali is surfer's heaven. Kuta is a great place to start exploring Bali Surf Disagree ? Go to the forum and rate this spot

HOW TO GET THERE
Take a flight to Denpasar. Rental Cars and Motorcyles are very cheap to rent if you don´t want to use public transportation. (A Suzuki 4WD jeep costs about 10$ per day, if you rent on a weekly basis, this includes full insurance, but sometimes the rental agent tries to sell additional unnecessary insurances and very high prices)

WAVES
Kuta beachbreak has its moments. Best on a 1m swell and usually mid to high tide but with so many coral reefs around here it is the option only if you are beginning surfing or have no transport or got up late and missed the right tide for the other breaks. In other words its good but in this paradise for waves its certainly not the best. The water is extremely warm - don´t event think about a wetsuit, but reef booties can make sense in Bali.

Water Temperature in (northern hemisphere) Summer: 24°C
Water Temparature in (northern hemisphere) Winter: 28°C
Click here to convert temperature from °C into °F

CROWDS
The locals demand respect, but it´s a very long strech of a beach, so you should always find a place that is not too crowded.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Travel light ! For 2 weeks in Bali you only need a small bag with stuff, but you might want to pack a big one which is almost empty.....Kuta is surfer`s and shoppers paradise, you will find everything you need (like shorts, shirts, shoes) there at extremely low prices. The Kuta area has the highest concentration of surf shops anywhere in the world. The newer, larger shops compare more than favorably with the best surf shops in the USA, Europe, Japan or Australia. All the major surf brands are represented, Quicksilver, Billabong, Rip Curl, Spyderbilt, Volcom, Stussy, Rusty and many more. If purchased from surf shops they are all genuine products but be careful in the warungs where they are usually copies, which put nothing back into the Balinese surfing. The genuine product is still a bargain compared to the Japanese, USA or Australian prices so enjoy your shopping !

RECOMMENDED SURF SHOPS:

Have any more ? Suggest your favourite place 2 hang here.

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