Surfing Kuta

Kuta Surf Spots

On the Western side of Bali archipelago, the 5 km coastline from the Kuta airport in Tuban up to Seminyak in the North is a popular destination for surf trippers. The best time to surf here is during the Dry Season with consistent swell and offshore winds all day. Kuta is a good place for beginner surfers when small, but gets powerful and hollow when the swell is big. Halfway Kuta, at the bend in the beach has consistent beach breaks and crowds. Down South are a set of reef breaks. Kuta reef and Middle reef - pumping long hollow lefts and the airport reefs on either side of the runway. Tucked inside Jimbaran Bay is Toro Toro. Usually Airport Left and Middles picks up the most swell, followed by airport right then Kuta reef left, with Toro Toro always small.  North from Kuta, the waves get bigger and you can find breaks all the way up to Seminyak.

Kuta Surf Lessons / Schools

Kuta is well serviced by surf schools with quite a few large operators. You can even find schools which offer instruction in languages other than English. Beach boys at the warungs are keen to offer lessons. But quality of instruction is not guaranteed.

Kuta Surf Hire / Rentals

Kuta beach is lined with warungs where you can hire boards by the hour. It's convenient, but the quality of the boards, leashes and wax jobs vary greatly. If you want to improve your surfing, a better option is to hire a board for a couple of days from a local surf shop. Surf schools will have foam boards for beginners.

Kuta Surf Shops

Big international surf lifestyle brands like Quicksilver and Rip Curl are well represented with lots of surf shops in central Kuta, Legian and Seminyak town centres. You can also find Channel Islands, Deus Ex Machina and Chilli surfboards stores have also set up stores in the area. There are smaller local surf shops around Poppies lane like The Pit, RPM and Naruki.

The Bali Surf Outlet on the bypass highway seems to be the place for tourists to pick up discounted surf clothing.

Local Kuta Shapers

There are showrooms in the Kuta area where you can order a board from respected local and international shapers who now call Bali home.

Apres Surf

Kuta has changed a lot since the first Aussie surfers gazed up on the outer reefs. The Tuban / Kuta areas are now home to huge international hotels and the businesses which profit off the tourist trade. There are still home-stays and warungs around Poppies lane, but the days of scoring mushroom shakes are over due to Indonesia's clamp down on illicit substances. Central Kuta is the party center of Bali. Come night time, crowds gather at the LXXY and Velvet & Hypnotized, as well as at old stomping grounds like Apache Reggae bar and Bounty.

In Seminyak, Kuta's more fashionable neighbour, the choices are slightly more upmarket when it comes to dining and entertainment with beach clubs, lounges and restaurants catering to international tastes.

For more info check out our Kuta Beach Guide.