Now onto my third coastal destination while visiting this Indonesian island this year. Previously I have explored the Seminyak and Canggu areas. The beautiful golden sand beaches in Sanur Bali are surprisingly busy, mostly with locals enjoying the sea.
Sindhu Beach
This is a gorgeous gold sand beach just south of Segara & Sanur. Here is where I have spent about half of my time for various reasons. Firstly, this is the spot where tourists will find small beach bars, the places that have a few sun beds they rent out for the day.
Secondly, the sand here, while coarse, is just soft enough to walk on with bare feet and not feel pain. The more you head towards Sanur, the coarser the sand becomes until it is completely large chunks of coral.
Thirdly, the water. At Sindhu the water is mostly clear and the warmest I have ever encountered anywhere in my life. Usually, I will be the person inching my way into any body of water, 🫣, I feel the cold and instantly need to move at a snail’s pace. But here at Sindhu, I can and do, waltz right into the ocean, its that warm!
Of all the beaches in this area, I see the most tourists here and at Segara. There is a path up at the top of the beach that parallel’s the water line. Find small eateries, restaurants, souvenir shops here, but not crowded and congested like in Seminyak. Visitors will be hassled less, for purchasing massage, sarongs, bracelets, surf lessons, beer and handsome men. 😂
Segara Beach
The next area heading north towards Sanur is Segara Beach. Here the sand is golden but more coarse. The farther I walk up the beach, the less I can walk barefoot. At one point, like I mentioned above, there are only large chunks of grey coral and no sand.
One very unique and small area, just before the coral, has sand the shape of tiny circular balls! I have never seen this before. It is quite treacherous up at the path, where when underfoot on the smooth pavement, makes for a quick lesson in skating. 😂
I did spend a fair amount of time at the end with the finest sand. Here tourists will find humble beach bars with chairs for rental and places to eat. The water is clear and clean and the beach is by no means full.
Segara has a large and wide expanse of bare sand, with a few trees near the path. There are virtually no loungers here, but instead numerous volley balls nets. I do see locals resting under the shade of the trees, but very few swimming in the water.
The most interesting for me at Segara are the fishermen and their painted wooden craft. These old boats, the traditional ones, are absolutely beautiful. Some contain a stylized face at one end, complete with eyes on either side and a snout on the upper rail!
Sanur Beach
Completely surprised by this beach. Being the ‘flagship’ of the town, I thought it was going to be a stunner. Well, it isn’t. In fact, most of the coastline has been heavily constructed and now consists of a long, man-made rock wall, ugly piers and the newish tourist port. Beyond that is the industrial port.
At the southern end of Sanur, closest to Segara Beach is a small patch of sand. Here are almost 100% local families, coming to swim and enjoy the seaside. I did not see a single western tourist swimming or sunbathing here.
The path is lined with local food, street food, bike rentals and inflatable swim ring rentals. This is the most crowded and busiest patch of sand in the area.
The vibe of the beaches on this side of the island of Bali is completely different that the opposite coastline. Here there are far fewer tourists, less hawkers, no large beach clubs except for those massive fancy resorts whose pool areas can be seen from the esplanade. Sanur is a unique area of Bali, rich with local flair and a chance to immerse yourself into the realness of Balinese people and culture.
Saying that, Sanur is on the verge of being irrevocably changed forever and not in a good way. A huge new mall is on the brink of opening day, as well as a massive house development, both right on the beach. This saddens me more than I can say.
