The Beauty of Balangan Beach

Since Dreamland Beach or the “New Kuta” Beach has been monopolized by the greedy contractor/developer to become a club, the surfers who “lost their dream” will keep discover another spot to enjoy their hobby. Balangan Beach is one of their discoveries. This beach is located near the Dreamland and Uluwatu beach and it is undoubtedly beautiful yet nerve-wrecking for the surfers.

Balangan Beach features gorgeous shimmery white sand which framed with a tall cliff and a reef with one of the longest left-hander breaks on the island. This beach is clearly a surfing paradise for the wave riders around the world. Who enjoys wave-surfing in Bali, must have known that this beach is lined together with Dreamland, Impossibles, Padang Padang, Suluban and Uluwatu further south.

From my friend’s home which located in downtown of Kuta, we reached the Balangan Beach for approximately 45 minutes by a car. I specifically rent a car from Nemob which provides the best deal options that available among rent car services in Bali. The steps of reservation are also so easy and fast. Once I booked the car, I could ride it on the next day. Thankfully, it is already easy to get to the Balangan Beach. The beach is only a dozen steps down from the cliff, but it’s a good idea to head up the hills beforehand and take a peek from the vantage point for great panoramic angles.

The beach is not too crowded, there is no garbage whenever I stroll around the beach. Please keep in mind that this beach is surfer’s playground, so the wave might be big enough to creep you out to not swim. I, myself, not a good surfer. I don’t want to embarrass myself, so I’d rather chillin’ on the shore. However, you can enjoy the view of this beach by lying down on a beach bed with a parasol, or you can simply bask under the sun, and bury yourself in the soft sand. On the period of low tide, the seaweed-covered reef is visible and it will be a good photo object, no?

There are also several cottage or bungalow that offers beach-view accomodation, in case you want to stay long in here. But I’d rather enjoy my beach with a serving of Indomie goreng from traditional food stall (warung) because I’m hella Indonesian. (Well, I witnessed an Australian surfer ‘refuel’ themselves with the the same serving of Indomie like me).

It’s a real, real, real great place.