Amed, North East Bali.

Is Amed worth a stay when you are in Bali?

Absolutely, it is a wonderful place to stay and a favourite of Expats living here in Bali. A lot more tranquil and quieter than the most well know tourist destinations on the island. People often come here for a day or two and end up staying a lot longer than they intended.

Amed refers to a long stretch of coast running from the village of Culik about 14 km eastwards incorporating the seven villages of Amed, Jemeluk, Bunutan, Lipah, Selang, Banyuning and Aas. The pace of life here is slow and the coastal scenery quite stunning making Amed the perfect place for a relaxed holiday in Bali.

There is vibrant marine life close offshore in clear seas for snorkeling, Diving, Freediving with several professional dive operations where you can also learn to dive and get your dive certificate

Snorkelling

Amed has some good snorkelling within metres of the shore. A reef follows the majority of the coastline and is quite close in. Due to the limited number of visitors to the area and a growing conservation awareness among the locals, the sea life is healthy and abundant.

There is a small wooden wreck in only 1.5 m of water off Lipah Beach. There is a Japanese shipwreck a few kilometres further east along the coast, in the village of Banyuning and is great for diving and snorkelling with abundant coral and fish life – this dive site is locally known among the dive operators as the “Japanese Wreck” and is clearly signposted with ample car parking and snorkel equipment rental on location.

Best places for snorkelling are:

  • Japanese Shipwreck in Banyuning, small ship directly under the surface (max. deep 8 meters) just 20 meters from the beach, awesome corals with tons of fish to the west (left) from the wreck
  • Jemeluk, an absolute highlight with beautiful coral formations and loads of fish.
  • in front of Pondok Vienna Beach in Lipah. A highlight, beautiful corals and lots of fish. Waters can be very rough here (as they can be at all the beaches when the wind is strong – going in the morning is best to avoid this).
  • small wooden shipwreck at Lipah beach
  • Bunutan beach, very good stretch between Bedulu Resort and Hotel Santai (eel garden, beautiful coral, not so many fish)
  • Selang beach, in front of Good Karma Bungalows (visibility isn’t always good because of strong currents)
  • Deep Blue – little bit strong current (start on Selang beach and continue to east – left – and continue until Ibus beach – end in front of Amed Dream – or until the Japanese Shipwreck) in front of Selang Resort – Deep Blue Dive. Lot of schooling fishes, many bumperhead parrotfishes, sea turtles, sweatlips, …
  • in front of Amed Cafe
  • The Pyramids artificial reef in front of Camessa Hotel
  • Liberty shipwreck at Tulamben, some of which is in water shallow enough to allow snorkelling.

 

Enjoy nature and go with the wind on a traditional sailing boat for diving, fishing, exploration, dolphin watching, snorkelling or just swimming and relaxing.

Mount Agung with lots of trekking options just 30-40 minutes from Amed and there are other options for this too close by.

Have a traditional massage on the beach. Women from the local villages are always on hand for an invigorating massage, especially at Lipah Beach.

Enjoy some amazing sunrises and sunsets. For sunsets one of the most famous place to watch the sun go down is SUNSET POINT which does get crowded at time. If you like it quieter there are other options too.

Eat & Drink

The Amed coast has many options for food. Most warungs (restaurants) in Amed cater only for tourists.  authentic food. There are plenty of budget and mid-range options with some very good splurge more fine dining options where the restaurant will pick you up and drop you off from your hotel.

There are several cafes/beach front bars as well as some entertainment with some live music with reggae, rock and acoustic options on an irregular basis and there are sometimes free Balinese dance performances in some of the restaurants. Generally Amed is quiet at night and it is certainly not a late night drinking spot (although there are a few parties that crop up from time to time).