The Best Bali Beaches No One Talks About — From Someone Who Lived There for Four Years

I lived in Bali for almost four years. Four years of two-wheeled adventures down bumpy tracks, of getting lost in rice paddies, of following handwritten signs to temples that weren’t on any map. 

And in that time, the one thing I noticed more than anything else was this: most visitors to the island spend their entire trip on the same five beaches they saw on TikTok. Canggu. Seminyak. Nusa Dua. Uluwatu. Maybe Kuta if they’re feeling adventurous. Don’t get me wrong—some of those places are great. 

But Bali has hundreds of kilometres of coastline, a wildly varied geography, and an endless supply of hidden coves, secret bays, and deserted stretches of sand that most tourists will never see. I spent four years finding them. Here are the ones I’m willing to share.

Most people who make it to Padangbai only come for the ferry to Lombok. That’s their loss. A short 10-minute hike over a rocky headland from the main port brings you to Bias Tugel, a crescent of white sand so pristine it feels like a secret the locals have been carefully guarding. 

The water is an impossible shade of turquoise, calm enough for swimming most of the year, and the only sounds you’ll hear are waves and the occasional rustle of a passing Javan kingfisher. 

There’s one small warung selling cold Bintangs and fresh coconuts, which is really all you need. 

My top tip: go on a weekday morning, before 9am. The handful of travellers who do know about it tend to arrive after lunch. Get there early and you might have the whole place to yourself.

Everyone knows Uluwatu for Padang Padang and Bingin. Far fewer people know that if you’re willing to trek down 500 steep steps and a bumpy dirt track, Nyang Nyang rewards you with over two kilometres of completely deserted white sand. 

I walked the full length of it on a Sunday afternoon and counted eight people. The waves here are powerful and the currents can be strong, so it’s more of a walk-and-stare beach than a swimming one, but the dramatic clifftop backdrop and rolling surf make it one of the most cinematic spots on the island. 

Bring your own snacks and plenty of water as there are no warungs down here. The trek back up is tough, but every step is worth it! 

Hidden beneath towering limestone cliffs at the southern tip of Bali, Green Bowl is one of those beaches you only find if you’re actively looking for it. A steep staircase of around 300 steps winds down through scrub and monkey territory to a sheltered bay with brilliant white sand and a sea cave you can actually swim into. 

The cave is the star of the show. During low tide, you can wade right inside and find yourself in a cathedral of ancient rock. The snorkelling around the reef is excellent too, with healthy coral and plenty of reef fish. Be aware: those steps are punishing on the way back up. 

I’d recommend wearing proper shoes and going early morning before the heat kicks in. The monkeys at the top have sticky fingers, so keep your bag zipped.

Another cliff-bottom gem in the south, Gunung Payung sits just a few kilometres from the tourist honeypot of Karma Kandara, yet it feels like it belongs to a completely different world. 

You’ll need to park at the top and negotiate a long staircase carved into the cliff face, but once you hit the sand you’re greeted by calm, clean water ideal for snorkelling and a jaw-dropping view back up at the rocky headland above. 

The beach itself has a slightly wild, untouched feel (there’s minimal development here, just a couple of small locals selling drinks). I stumbled across it when my scooter GPS led me completely astray one afternoon, and I’ve been grateful for that wrong turn ever since. 

It’s best visited between May and September when the swell is gentler.

Despite technically having a name—locals call it Pasir Putih, meaning “white sand”—this beach near Candidasa on Bali’s east coast manages to fly completely under the radar. 

Unlike the dark volcanic sands common in east Bali, Pasir Putih is lined with soft, light-coloured sand fringed by coconut palms straight out of a screensaver. A handful of simple warungs serve cold drinks and fresh grilled fish, but it never gets crowded. 

The snorkelling just offshore is some of the best I experienced in four years on the island: colourful coral gardens, sea turtles, and almost zero boat traffic. To get there, follow the signs off the main coastal road and then take a short boat ride or a dusty track through a local village. The slightly awkward access is precisely what keeps it quiet.

Everyone who makes it to Amed visits the main black sand beach. Almost nobody ventures further along the coastal road to find the tiny unnamed coves tucked between fishing villages. 

I used to rent a bicycle and just pedal east until the tarmac ran out, discovering little pockets of sheltered shoreline with crystal-clear water and traditional jukung fishing boats pulled up on the sand. 

The diving and snorkelling around the Japanese shipwreck just offshore is world-class, but what I loved most was simply sitting on one of these quiet patches of beach with a cup of Balinese coffee, watching fishermen mend their nets. 

If you ask any local in Amed to take you to “the little beach past the temple,” they’ll know exactly where you mean. It’s a Bali that most visitors never get to see.

Medewi is known among surfers as a long left-hand point break, and the surf crowd that does make it out here tends to stay clustered around the main break. Walk north along the coast for about 20 minutes and you’ll reach Pantai Belong, a wide, dark sand beach flanked by rice fields that slope almost down to the shoreline. 

It’s extraordinarily peaceful. No sunbed vendors, no touts, no Instagram photographers doing sunset shoots. Just you, the sound of the sea, and probably a few local kids playing cricket in the shallows. 

The sunsets here are among the best I witnessed anywhere in Bali, partly because there are no buildings or power lines obstructing the horizon.

My tip: time your visit for low tide, when a wide platform of rock pools is exposed and you can spot small crabs and colourful sea creatures for hours.

Soka sits in Tabanan regency, Bali’s agricultural heartland, which means most travellers pass through the area without stopping. Big mistake. This long stretch of dramatic black sand is backed by soaring cliffs draped in jungle, with a small temple perched at the end of the beach that adds an almost surreal beauty to the scene. 

The waves are too rough for swimming here, but that’s almost beside the point—Soka is about the atmosphere. Mist rolling in from the Indian Ocean, incense smoke drifting from the temple, the occasional procession of locals in traditional dress walking down to make offerings. 

I visited on an overcast Tuesday and had the entire 500-metre stretch of beach to myself. There’s one simple warung at the top of the steps where you can get nasi campur for a couple of dollars. Eat it with a view.

Just along the coast from the famous bat cave temple of the same name, Pantai Goa Lawah is a relaxed black sand beach that most visitors drive straight past after photographing the temple. 

The water here is calm and sheltered, making it a lot more swimmable (pretty unusual for east Bali’s exposed coastline). Local families come here at weekends for picnics and a splash around, giving it an authentic, lived-in feel rather than anything touristy. 

Small outrigger boats bob offshore and the smell of grilled corn and satay from beachside vendors drifts across the sand. It’s not the most dramatic beach on this list, but it’s one of the most ‘properly’ Balinese. Go on a weekday morning and it’s largely empty. 

My tip: combine it with a visit to the temple at dawn, when the bats are still active and the light is golden and extraordinary.

Every tourist who goes to Nusa Penida photographs Broken Beach from the clifftop. Not all of them notice the tiny secret cove accessible via a steep, unsigned scramble down the cliffside just 200 metres to the east. 

It takes about 15 minutes to get down and requires a bit of confidence on rocky terrain, but the reward is a hidden pocket of white sand completely enclosed by towering cliffs, reachable only by this trail or by sea. 

The water is an electric blue-green and the snorkelling on the outer edge of the cove—where it opens to the ocean—is just breathtaking. Manta rays are occasionally spotted just offshore. 

Jemeluk is technically part of the Amed coastal strip, but it deserves its own entry because the bay here is unlike anywhere else in Bali. 

Flanked by dark volcanic hills that tumble into a glassy bay, the beach itself is a mix of pebbles and black sand, and the water is so clear you can see the bottom even at depth. It’s one of the best shore-diving spots on the island. You can simply wade in and within minutes be floating over a vibrant coral garden. 

What makes Jemeluk secret is the sunrise ritual: local fishermen launch their jukungs in the pre-dawn darkness, and if you show up at 5:30am you’ll catch the most beautiful morning light on the water with the entire bay to yourself. 

Grab breakfast at one of the small family warungs above the beach. The freshly caught grilled fish with rice will cost you less than two dollars and tastes better than anything in Seminyak.