www.surfingbali.com Surfing Bali and Indonesia
Bali is part of the Indonesian archipelago of 18,700 islands and lies approximately 8°C south of the equator. The majority of the population of Bali are (Balinese) Hindu, a unique mixture of Hinduism & Buddhism. The unique religion and culture of the Balinese people is one of the reasons the island remained an oasis of peace and calm throughout the chaotic times in Indonesia since the fall of the Suharto dictatorship in 1999 and has helped sustain the spirit of the island during the last few years as Bali and the Balinese people have suffered their own turbulent times of unbelievable sorrow and the resulting economic hardships.
Quick Overview of Bali
Country: Indonesia
Area: 5620 sq km (2192 sq miles)
Population: 3 million
Capital: Denpasar (pop 370,000)
People: Balinese with a minority Javanese population
Language: Bahasa Indonesian (official language of Indonesia), Bahasa Balinese, limited English spoken in tourist areas
Religion: Balinese Hindu, Muslim and Christian minority
Time Difference: Indonesia covers three time zones. Bali is eight hours ahead of GMT.
Bali is blessed by nature with a short, hot wet season and a longer, cooler, dry season and tourists flock here all year round. Many tourists choose to arrive in the dry season - which nowadays appears to cover a longer period from April to late November. The busiest period is during the holiday season of August, which is also the coolest month on this Island of the Gods.
Contrary to popular belief, Bali's waves were being surfed by both visiting and local surfers as early as the late 1930s and not, as popular surfing legend has it, that the island of Bali was first discovered as a great surfing destination by a group of Australian surfers. Although, when these first Australian surfers began arriving on the island of Bali in 1967 they introduced the island to the first serious surfing equipment.
While Bali may no longer be a "frontier" surf destination, it still lies at the heart of the Indonesian surfing experience and is a mandatory stopover for anyone on their first surfing trip to Indonesia. Bali is also the first and last stop for most of the surfers traveling on to some of the legendary breaks in G-Land, Lombok or Sumbawa, or the more distant areas of East Nusa Tenggara, Mentawais and North Sumatra.
Bali has traditionally been the starting point for nearly all Indonesian surfing tours. Bali boasts over 20 top quality breaks on the southwest and southeast coasts of the island and around the Bukit (Uluwatu) Peninsula. Some of these, like Padang Padang & Uluwatu, are world class barreling reef-breaks. Others range from fun waves on the beach-breaks around Kuta and Sanur to serious heavy, sucking waves.
Having so many surf options available within such a short distance to the Kuta and Legian beach area means that after your surf you can return to a plush hotel and enjoy a long, lazy meal, lounge by the pool, take a nap in an air conditioned room and watch satellite TV. Alternatively you can party at the discos each night, enjoy some of the local brew, all of which has definite appeal after spending one or two weeks on a surf charter boat, or in a very basic surf camp on Java or Sumatra. The peak of the surf season for Bali is April - October when solid swells are produced by the roaring 40's and can be surfed on the reefs around Kuta, Uluwatu, and Nusa Dua. Unlike most other areas of Indonesia where it is all heavy reef breaks, Bali also has a lot of beach-breaks on offer which are less likely to cause a surfer of novice or intermediate ability to get injured as can happen on the larger waves on the reef-breaks.
The surf in Bali is generally not huge, but most often in the 2-6 foot range (shoulder-high to double overhead). Larger waves can occur on some of the exposed reefs, but a mellower surf break can always be found in Bali by anyone who wishes to avoid life-threatening conditions. Bali has surf breaks both the west-facing and east-facing coastlines and, because of this an offshore wind can be found somewhere on the island on any given day. Because of the number of surf breaks and the quality and consistency of the waves in Bali, it is still possible to find a many places to surf with only a small to moderate crowd.
The surf is always up on the Island of the God's! and regardless of what country you hail from you will feel the mystique of surfing Bali's beaches ...with so many exotic locations available on the island you can choose from white sands, black sands, amazing scenery, traditional fisherman and fishing villages which all add to the unique experience that comes with Surfing Bali.