Bali Off The Beaten Path – North East Itinerary
Bali is known for its great scenery, beaches and hip cafes and bars. It has even been named the world’s top destination in its Traveller’s Choice award in 2017. There are areas that have become overcrowded in Bali, such as Kuta, Seminyak, and it might be hard to find a more quiet beach spot in popular areas. But we decided to go off the beaten path in Bali and went northeast, up to Amed Beach. Here is our detailed Bali North East itinerary and all the recommendations for your travels.
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Bali Off the Beaten Path: From Canggu to Padang Bai
We biked from Canggu to Padang Bai, and it took us a couple of hours, it usually depends on traffic. You can also rent a car but be prepared that it will take longer, probably even up to 4 hours.
We wanted to explore Bali off the beaten path and we took a shortcut that was shown on Google Maps but it was a dead end so our advice is to stick to the main roads and the main route and not go on alternative routes that might seem viable. We suggest you use Waze instead of Google Maps as that’s being more updated from what we noticed for Bali roads.
A lunch with a 360 degree view over Padang Bai
Afer a couple of hours of biking, having lunch in a restaurant with amazing food and a 360 degree view was exactly what we needed. The restaurant is Helix 64 and it’s located in the B
Blue Lagoon Eco Village, and it was almost empty when we arrived. Not many people choose to come to this side of Bali and there are not many places to have lunch or stay in, but there are some great options for those making their way here. We went down to the Blue Lagoon beach, and enjoyed it without many tourists around. It’s a very quiet beach, with a warung next to it and the view from there is beautiful. But for our North East Bali itinerary we had to continue our journey to Amed Beach.
Address: Padangbai, Manggis, Karangasem Regency, Bali 80871
Watch the full video here:
A Hidden Beach
Another spot of Bali off the beaten path is probably one of the most secluded beaches in that area of Bali, Blue Lagoon Beach is a walk away from Helix 64, and it’s called Blue Lagoon. It is sheltered by many rocks and hills and it feels like discovering a hidden gem. There is someplace for sunbathing and for some food, in case you are craving some warung food. It’s recommended as a place for snorkelling but you’d have to go through the rocky first part of the beach. This is how it looks from above.
From Padang Bai to Amed Beach
Our destination was Amed Beach so we hit the road and we got there in about half an hour. The drive was a much pleasant one than from Canggu to Padang Bai. Amed Beach is much bigger then Padang Bai and it gives you the feeling of arriving to a hidden hipster beach paradise. There are lots of warungs, restaurants, diving schools, and reggae bars, and the atmosphere is very laid back.
What to do in Amed Beach
We stayed in Amed for two days, and it was the main point of our North East Bali itinerary. But once you get to Amed Beach, you might start wondering what there is to do, as it might seem very quiet. Well, there are plenty of things to do, especially if you only come here for two days at the weekend. If you come in high season, the place will look a bit different, as this is a favourite for snorkelling and diving.
Where to stay in Amed Beach
The accommodation here is so cheap, you can get a basic double room from 5$. We stayed in a standard room with an outdoor shower, a balcony with a view to Mount Agung and breakfast included. So overall, a pretty good deal. If you want 30£ to use for free for your next accommodation, you can use this code to sign up. Or you can book via booking.com. Whether you are a backpacker or on holiday and willing to spend more, you can choose from hipster hostels to luxury hotels and private bungalows or villas on the beach. The budget per night varies from 5$ and goes up to 80$ a night.
We stayed at Rumahku Homestay and you can find it here. We paid 8$ (150.000 IDR) for a double room with a fan, and it cost an extra 2$ for AC.
Where to eat in Amed Beach
We were unsure of what warung to choose, or what restaurant we should try out, so we went with number one Trip Advisor’s recommendation and it ended up being one of the best places we ate in Bali. Galanga restaurant is a bit further away towards the other end of the beach, so you woud need to bike there or get a taxi, but it is definitely worth it. We went for dinner and the food was the best Indonesian food we’ve had. We tried two types of curry and their homemade coconut ice cream. Completely recommend this, it’s also set in a beautiful garden with chilled music.
Galanga Restaurant. Address: Jl. Raya Amed, Bunutan, Abang, Bunutan, Abang, Kabupaten Karangasem, Bali 80852
Mount Agung
One of the reasons a lot of tourists come to Amed Beach is climbing Mount Agung. However, right now, the mountain is closed for hiking because of its activity last year and it’s apparently Level 3 of alert for erruption. But you can still get great views from the sunset point in Amed.
From Amed Beach to Lempuyang Temple
For our Bali off the beaten path North East itinerary we recommend to also stop by and visit the famous Lempuyang Temple. We went for sunrise to Amed Beach, so we got to the temple at about 9 AM. There was very few people there so it’s great for photos but the clouds were blocking a bit the view of Mount Agung. So if you want to have a clear view behind you at the famous gate we recommend going at sunrise. It takes only 5 minutes to walk to the first gate, but altogether about 3 hours if you are doing all the temples there. There are in total about 2900 steps.
From Lempuyang Temple we drove back to Canggu, Bali and it took us about 2-3 hours. We loved exploring a more off the beaten path location in the North East of Bali and we really enjoyed two days of peaceful beaches.
