Surfing Canggu

Beach Break · Best Year-round · 2-5 ft · Crowd 4/5

W/SW swell, E/SE wind

Batu Bolong breaks over a flat lava shelf in front of the temple in Canggu. It's slow and gentle, with a longer left and a shorter right, and it breaks in fairly deep water. It is one of the easiest reef waves in Bali to learn on.

It works all year and on almost any swell, from knee high to overhead in the wet season, and dry-season mornings are offshore with the E/SE trades. The lineup is packed with longboarders, learners on soft tops and everyone in between. Sit a little wide of the main peak and you'll pick up the waves others miss.

A longboard or mid-length is the right board here. You can rent one from the racks on the sand.

Beach Break · Best Year-round · 1-3 ft · Crowd 5/5

Any swell, ideal for learning

Kuta Beach is a long stretch of sand with soft, crumbly waves in front of Bali's main tourist strip. A huge number of people have learned to surf here.

There are surf schools every few metres and boards to rent on the sand, so you can be in the water within minutes of arriving. On the inside it's whitewater; out the back, on a decent swell, you get shoulder-high peaks. The water is warm and the bottom is sand. The main danger is other learners' boards.

Mornings are cleaner. After lunch it gets onshore and crowded but stays surfable. After heavy rain in the wet season the water gets dirty. Once you're riding green waves comfortably, try Batu Bolong in Canggu or Kuta Reef.

Right Reef · Best May-Sep · 3-8 ft · Crowd 3/5

SW swell, SE trades

Airport Rights breaks on the reef at the end of the runway at Ngurah Rai, so planes fly low over the lineup every few minutes. It's a long right with an easy takeoff for a Bali reef, and on a good SW swell the wall holds up for a hundred metres or more.

Mid tide is best and the reef is fairly flat. For a lot of people it's the first proper reef wave they surf in Bali after learning on the beach breaks.

You need a boat. Jukungs leave from Jimbaran and Kelan for about $10-15 return per person and wait in the channel while you surf. Having to take a boat keeps the crowd down. There is no shade out there, so bring water and sun cream.

Left Reef · Best May-Sep · 3-8 ft · Crowd 3/5

SW swell, SE trades

Airport Lefts is on the western side of the same reef as the Rights. It's a longer, slightly softer left where you can build speed between turns.

It handles more tide than most Bali reefs and makes something rideable out of messy swell, so it's a good call when the forecast looks confused. It's fun from 3ft and serious by 8ft, when the walls stretch out and the current in the channel picks up.

The same jukungs from Kelan or Jimbaran take you out, just tell the boatman which side you want. It's usually less crowded than the Rights. The inside gets shallow toward low tide. A board with a bit of length helps.

Left Reef · Best May-Sep · 2-6 ft · Crowd 3/5

SW swell, E-SE wind

Kuta Reef is a left over coral about 300 metres off Tuban beach, and it's been surfed since the 1970s. At 3-5ft on a SW swell with morning trades it's one of the best intermediate reef waves in Bali, with enough power to feel like reef surfing and enough water to forgive mistakes.

Bigger swells make it faster and the sections start to connect. At dead low the reef is exposed, so plan for mid tide, ideally on the push.

Boats go from Tuban beach for around $10 return and wait in the channel. Some people paddle out, but it's a long way. The crowd is steady and mostly polite. Any everyday shortboard will do.

Beach Break · Best Year-round · 2-6 ft · Crowd 4/5

SW swell, E-SE wind

Echo Beach is the punchiest wave in Canggu: a left off the rocky corner that can barrel, plus shifting rights along the sand. It's faster and heavier than Batu Bolong, a few hundred metres south.

It picks up any swell and works all year, and it gets serious quickly on a solid SW swell. When it's overhead it's a good wave with a crowd that means business. Mornings before the wind are the time to go; in the afternoon it's usually blown out.

The beach bars fill up every evening. Your usual shortboard works. Watch out for rocks at the takeoff of the left and rips on bigger days.

Beach Break · Best Year-round · 2-5 ft · Crowd 3/5

SW swell, E wind

Berawa is the beach break in front of Finns in Canggu, with lefts and rights that move around from season to season. It's rarely perfect, but it's usually less crowded than Batu Bolong or Echo Beach.

The banks change a lot and the tide matters more than the forecast suggests, so walk along the beach and look before you paddle out. You can often find a peak to yourself.

Mid tide with morning offshores and 2-5ft is best. Bigger swells bring rips. There are beach clubs with showers right behind the sand. It works for groups of mixed levels.