The really amazing ones are waiting in remote corners of the island, or hiding at the bottom of rocky cliffs, so you have to track them down and find them with some effort, but that’s all part of the fun.
The majority of Bali’s most spectacular beaches are in the Uluwatu area (far south coast) or on Nusa Penida, a small island that’s considered part of Bali and can be reached pretty easily on your own or even on a day trip.
Here’s my complete Bali beach guide and map, with a list of some of the very best beaches in Bali and surrounding islands like Nusa Penida!
Uluwatu Hotels
East Bali Beaches
1. Amed Beach
The main beach at Amed, on the far northeastern tip of Bali, has a mix of fine black sand (from the volcano) and smooth rocks.
It’s a quiet beach lined with fishing boats and small hotels, and the sunsets over the volcano every night are awe inspiring.
Read More: Amed Beach
2. Jemeluk Beach
This scenic bay is the main snorkeling site in Amed, with good corals on both sides of the bay.
There’s also a popular viewpoint near the road where you can watch the sunset over the bay.
Jemeluk has lots of good restaurant and hotel options, and you can walk here from Amed Beach in about 10 minutes.
Read More: Amed Beach
‘Jukung’ traditional fishing boats at Jemeluk Beach
West Bali Beaches
3. Yeh Leh Beach
This is one of the best sunset beaches in Bali, but it’s not very well known since it’s hiding in West Bali (GPS here).
The coast at Yeh Leh Beach is covered with smooth boulders and tide pools, so it’s great for sunset photos.
It’s approximately 1.5 hours from Canggu or Ubud if you drive.
Yeh Leh Beach Sunset
4. Balian Beach
Balian is a secluded beach on the west side with plenty of accommodation and restaurants nearby. It’s a 1.5 hour drive from Canggu or Ubud.
This is a great spot for sunsets and intermediate surfing. The beach has mostly soft black sand, with a few patches of smooth volcanic rocks.
Compared to the touristy areas in south Bali, this beach is less busy and much more quiet. It’s actually pretty similar to Amed in terms of the scenery and overall vibe, although it’s even less touristy, which is great!
If you want to be directly on the beach with ocean views, your best bet is the Pondok Pitaya Balian Hotel or Balian Surf Villas.
Moody black sand at Balian Beach
South Bali Beaches
5. Kuta Beach
This is Bali’s original beach! It’s a classic, so I had to mention it.
You won’t find peace and quiet here, but it’s still worth a visit. Shop at the Beachwalk Mall, go surfing, or watch the sunset with a Bintang.
Sunset at Kuta Beach
6. Sanur Beach
Sanur beach is pretty average in most respects, but where it really shines (no pun intended) is at sunrise. This beach is one of the best sunrise viewing spots on the entire island.
Calm sea waves and shallow water make it an ideal place for kids to swim, and there’s a fantastic breeze in the summer months (May through August).
Read More: Best Things To Do In Sanur Beach
7. Tegal Wangi Beach
Tegal Wangi is a pretty small beach, but it’s still a secret to most Bali tourists, so it’s never crowded.
This beach has two sea caves. The first one is pretty small, but if you keep walking further down the beach there’s a second bigger cave. At low tide, there are also natural pools you can sit and soak in while enjoying the views.
We came here at sunrise, but actually the best time to visit is at sunset. Since the beach is facing west, you’ll have a great view of the sunset from inside the caves!
UPDATE: Tegal Wangi is currently closed to visitors, but hopefully they reopen it soon.
8. Dreamland Beach
Dreamland has a nice long stretch of white sand lined with sunbeds you can rent. Sadly this beach has gone a bit downhill in recent years because of trash washing up from the ocean, but hopefully things improve again.
9. Bingin Beach
Bingin is a photogenic beach with exotic boulders and seaweed covered rocks. It’s great for photos or surfing, and it’s less crowded than some of the other beaches in the area.
There’s a bit of trash and rubble lately from hotel construction, but some high quality accommodation and restaurants are starting to spring up here.
Bingin Beach
10. Pemutih Beach
Pantai Pemutih is a popular surfing spot with some cliffside hotels and a small (but nice) white sand beach.
Not too many people seem to know about this beach, which makes it that much better. If you want to stay directly on the beach, check out Rock N Reef Hotel Uluwatu!
11. Padang Padang Beach
This is a neat little hidden beach tucked into the cliffs in south Bali. It’s a popular spot for surfing, or you can just sip a fresh coconut and hang out on the white sand with the monkeys.
Padang Padang Beach
12. Thomas Beach
This is one of the nicest beaches in south Bali. It has a long strip of white sand scattered with boulders, and not too many people.
13. Melasti Beach
Melasti is a highly developed beach in southern Bali with a road carved into the tall limestone cliffs, giving it a stunning background.
This beach has a long strip of white sand, clean turquoise water, plenty of parking space, and a bunch of different fancy clubs lining the beachfront: Cattamaran, Minoo, and Palmilla. You can also reach Karma Beach Club from here by walking.
Normally I’m not a big fan of seeing once-empty beaches get so developed like this, but I think Melasti was actually done pretty well. There’s sometimes a little bit of trash, but overall it’s surprisingly clean and nice.
Melasti Beach
14. Balangan Beach
This is a nice free beach with white sand and blue waves. Like many beaches in Uluwatu, it’s a great spot for sunset.
Balangan Beach is also popular for prewedding photoshoots because of the cliff above the beach, where you can get amazing views of the ocean scenery and the whole coastline.
It’s still fairly quiet here and not too commercial. You can access the beach by going down some stairs, and there are two parking areas — one for the beach, and one on the cliff above it.
15. Suluban Beach
Suluban is a secluded beach with some caves and huge rocks to explore, plus surfable waves, but my favorite thing is the restaurant view. This little warung on top of the cliffs has amazing views of the coastline.
We pulled up a chair here and enjoyed some drinks with the scenery, and even got visited by a monitor lizard sneaking around on the cliffs! It’s an epic place to grab breakfast while exploring southern Bali.
16. Nunggalan Beach
This is one of the longest white sand beaches in southern Bali. The walk down and back up is a bit of a killer, but you’re rewarded with a huge private beach and a cool wooden shipwreck for pictures!
The photogenic shipwreck at Nunggalan Beach
17. Green Bowl Beach
Green Bowl is one of my favorite hidden beaches in south Bali.
It may not be a very big beach, and the steep walk down is tiring, but it’s a nice white sand beach with good sunset views.
Surfers come to Green Bowl for the waves, and there are two caves to explore on the beach as well. This can be a nice place to hide if the sun gets too strong.
Drone pic of Green Bowl Beach
18. Gunung Payung Beach
This beach is overlooked by cliffs and a quiet Hindu temple. If you walk along the coast, there’s even a big sea cave.
Nusa Penida Beaches
19. Kelingking Beach
The Kelingking Cliff is the most famous view in Nusa Penida, and probably one of the most famous views in all of Bali.
This is an incredible ‘T-Rex’ shaped rock sticking out over the ocean, with perfect turquoise water splashing around it. The first time you look over the edge of the cliff and see this view, it really is breathtaking!
After you’re done admiring the scenery at the Kelingking Cliff, there’s also a path to go down to the white sand beach at the bottom.
The hike down to the beach is a major workout, a bit scary, and takes at least two hours roundtrip, but you’re rewarded with one of the best white sand beaches in Bali.
Read More: Kelingking Beach
20. Crystal Bay
This beach on Nusa Penida is a great place to relax and watch the sunset with your toes in the sand. It has a bunch of little food and drink shacks, or you can rent a sun chair or bean bag to sit on.
Read More: Crystal Bay
21. Suwehan Beach
Looking for a hidden beach with perfect white sand and turquoise waves? Suwehan is one of the best hidden beaches in Penida.
The hike down to the beach takes about 30 minutes and it’s exhausting, but very worthwhile. This is one of my favorite places in Penida. There’s even a cool pointy rock that looks like a Christmas tree.
This beach is a hidden gem that still isn’t included in most Nusa Penida island tour packages, but you can get there with a scooter or car charter. Careful, because the road is quite rough.
Read More: Suwehan Beach
22. Nyanyad Beach
This is a mostly unknown beach on the south end of Nusa Penida, with a small temple and giant hills on both sides of the beach.
The hike to Nyanyad only takes 15 minutes, with concrete steps all the way, and the beach has perfect white sand!
Read More: Nyanyad Beach
23. Atuh Beach
This is one of the nicest beaches on the south end of Penida island. Unlike Suwehan Beach, Atuh is not a secret and there are sunbeds, beanbags, and a couple of nice food and drink shacks here.
The highlight of Atuh Beach is probably the big elephant shaped rock in the ocean (locals say it looks like a stiletto), and the big variety of sea life that can be seen trapped in the rocks at low tide.
Read More: Atuh Beach
24. Diamond Beach
Diamond Beach, named after the pointy diamond shaped rock on the beach, is another utterly incredible “cliff beach” on the southeastern coast of Nusa Penida island.
It’s accessible since late 2018, when a path down to the beach was carved into the side of the cliffs. I’ve even seen some wildlife occasionally, from monitor lizards to dolphins and manta rays.
This place is also becoming popular thanks to the scenic swing, where you can take pictures while swinging between two palm trees over the beach.
Read More: Diamond Beach
25. Tembeling Beach
The Tembeling beach and forest is a hidden spot tucked away in the cliffs on Nusa Penida’s west coast, with a natural pool and small waterfall to enjoy.
My favorite feature of this beach is the awesome sea cave that opens up to a view of the huge cliffs on the coast, but this place is also becoming popular for the Tembeling natural pool, which you can take a dip in and relax.
The access to this beach is a bit tricky, but it’s one of our favorite spots in Bali!
Read More: Tembeling Beach
26. Puyung Beach
This is one of the nicest white sand beaches in Bali, and it’s still almost completely unknown to tourists, even though it’s just a short distance from the popular Crystal Bay.
When I went to Puyung Beach I was literally the only person there!
Read More: Puyung Beach
Bali Beach Map
Here’s a map of the best beaches in Bali you can use to plan your own trip. You can click the icons to get more info and directions for each point of interest, but keep in mind some of the locations on this map may be approximate.
For more detailed information on how to get to the Bali beaches on this map, you can check out my individual travel guides for each location.
Bali Beach Clubs
The beaches and cliffs around Bali are just perfect for clubs, so naturally it has quite a few of them.
The way these clubs usually work is that you pay an entrance fee (anywhere from 100k to 500k Rupiah), and then you get to use that as a food and beverage credit, plus you get access to a lounge with a pool, sunbeds, and WiFi.
Depending on the club, your view from the lounge could be a nice beachfront, or an infinity pool — or both! Sipping drinks by an infinity pool is a great way to watch the Bali sunset.
Some good Bali clubs to check out are Ulu Cliffhouse, Palmilla, El Kabron, Azul Beach Club, and Potato Head Beach Club.
Our absolute favorite Bali club for sunset is the Oneeighty cliff pool at The Edge! The pool has a glass bottom and amazing views of the Uluwatu cliffs.
Bali beach clubs
Is There A Pink Sand Beach In Bali?
No, there isn’t any pink sand beach in Bali, unfortunately.
There are oodles of nice white sand beaches and black sand beaches in Bali and the Nusa islands, and there’s also a pink sand beach in Lombok.
However, if you really want to see the best pink sand beach in Indonesia, then you have to go to the one in Komodo National Park. Getting to the Komodo islands from Bali is easier than ever now that there are cheap daily flights.
Read More: Pink Beach Komodo
More Bali Beach Guides
I hope you were helped by this list of some of the best beaches in Bali, Indonesia.
Don’t forget to check out my full Bali Travel Guide with free tips, info, photos, and more!
Bali Private Driver & Motorbike Rental
If you want to explore Bali in the comfort and safety of a private car with an English speaking driver, my top recommendation would be GetYourGuide.
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If you’d rather travel by motorbike, they have that too. Their scooter rentals start at 140k Rupiah (~$9) and include a helmet, rain coat, and free delivery in the south Bali area.
We’ve used GetYourGuide for lots of tours and activities around the world, and they’re great! Highly recommended.
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