I adore beaches, they heal me, give me strength and bring me insurmountable amounts of tranquility. Everywhere I travel, I will be beach bound at some point. The first coastal area I explored on the island gave me a taste of what is available. Here are my best & worst beaches near Seminyak Bali.
Petitenget Beach
Starting from the uppermost area and working our way towards the airport we have Petitenget Beach. This is a wide and flat space, soft dark brown sand with a large temple at the centre. Because of this temple, there is a permanent place for cultural offerings on the beach.
Walking here in the mornings I can see the evidence of what I believe are cremation send offs that happen in this sacred area. Each day, there are remnants of offerings, small canoe shaped objects, dead birds, flowers, woven grasses and such, all belonging to the offerings that accompany ashes that are sent out into the sea as is the Balinese tradition after cremation.
This beach also has a somewhat heavy presence of garbage, particularly dirty diapers, empty snack packages, lots of styrofoam bits and junk. I have been told by an older local woman that this is the cleanest the beach ever is. During rainy season the beach gets so much garbage along this entire coast, she motioned to her knees as the level of the garbage. 😶😥
Seminyak Beach
The keystone beach in the area, this one is much like Petitenget in every physical aspect, except it has a heavy presence of tourists instead of locals. Here the garbage is being cleaned up at some point in the day, by tractors towing beach rakes.
There are many colourful and fun beach clubs, all hoping to entice tourist dollars into their space. I love how creative and colourful some of these are.
The sand is medium brown and soft, the water fairly clear and warm. On the roadside visitors will find Pizza Hut and other familiar fast food and coffee shops.
Walking along one will pass several areas where ‘dirty water’ is entering the sea. Most of these are smaller streams and the smell is unpleasant. If you do not wish to walk through the water, there is a bridge crossing up near the road at each one. Only one of these streams, the one that smelled absolutely terrible, did I see a red flag with skull and cross bones, saying do not swim.
The entire coastline here is lined with similar red flags, all saying not to swim because of the rip currents, but this was the only flag with the skull. I have to wonder at the placement, right at this stream.
Double Six Beach
Its difficult to tell where this one begins and ends. The beach space is just as wide as Seminyak however the large beach clubs have disappeared and been replaced with smaller beach bars. These are crammed side by side and each hoping to get your dollars by taking a bed and ordering drinks.
Costs of beds here were 50K each person and coke zero was 20K.
Legian Beach
A very large expanse of beach, covered in these smaller beach bars. This is not a fancy beach area, but more rustic vibe. There are not many bright, new and shiny beach chairs and umbrellas. Instead, this looks like the cast-off area. 😂 And is where I spent most of my time.
The sand is a little lighter and fluffier when dry, nice and compact for walking on near the water. The ‘dirty water’ streams do not smell here, nor do they have objects floating in the water. There is garbage, but it is raked up each day, not necessarily in the morning.
Kuta Beach
The hot spot for surfing is here at Kuta Beach. The water is absolutely full of hundreds of people hoping to catch a wave or learning the ropes.
The beach is very narrow, and at high tide, there is no beach because the water is right up against the rock wall.
Up on that rock wall is a narrow path, or esplanade, that traverses much of this whole coastal area. Here one will find all of the beach bar ‘entrances’, sellers of souvenirs, coconut water, drinks, food and anything else your heart desires. Walking here will have you being asked every 30 seconds or so if you wish to buy a sarong, need a handsome man or wish to rent a chair.
The water here is rough, which is what makes it perfect for the surfers.
Jerman Beach
Getting close to the airport now, one will find Jerman Beach. Perhaps the least busy in terms of bars, seating and people. There are a few large resorts up at the top of the sandy area and Discovery Mall, a great place to cool off if you have decided to walk the esplanade for the 1.5 hours it takes from end to end.
Jerman Beach is a mish mash of narrow parts, wide sandy areas, dirty sections, and a long stone wall. Not a lot of action down this end.
Sekeh Beach
And finally, we have Sekeh Beach or Airport Reef. Here visitors will see a massive statue built out on a precipice in the sea. I cannot image this lasting long in the monsoon weather that Bali experiences each year, so enjoy it while it still looks relatively unscathed.
The beach area here is dirty, the fullest of garbage and debris. The fishermen are down at this end, up against the wall to the airport. Their boats sit in dry dock and pulled up onto the sand and vegetation.
Careful where you walk, there is broken glass and lots of bits that could cause damage especially if you are navigating with bare feet.
Saying all of that, I was able to get some beautiful photo’s here, as this is the area with narrow beach, lightest sand and tall shade trees. The most natural of the beach areas in this section of coastline.
Against the turquoise water, it makes for beautiful shots, but don’t be fooled by these, its not the most pleasant place to enjoy.
That’s a wrap folks, chose your beach area for the day. If you don’t like it, walk to either side and try another, for you can traverse this piece of coastline all the way down and up without any breaks.
