Sanur Beach

Sanur was where Bali's tourism began: the Belgian painter Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur settled here in 1932 and his house is now a museum, the island's first international hotel went up on the beach in the 1960s, and a subsequent height restriction - no building taller than a coconut palm - shaped the low-rise character that survives. The beach faces east, protected by a reef offshore, so the water is shallow, flat and unsuited to surfing, which is why the demographic skews older and quieter than Kuta's; a paved promenade runs several kilometres along the sand past hotels and warung, and sunrise over the water is the local event. The fast boats to Nusa Penida, Lembongan and Lombok leave from here.

History

The Sanur stone park gathers megaliths from the middle of the Bronze Age, brought from across Bali, evidence of the island's long occupation by the Bali Aga. Building of the Bali Beach hotel began here in 1963 and it opened in 1966 as the first five-star resort on the island, and its height led the governor of Bali in 1971 to forbid new hotels taller than 15 m, about the height of a mature coconut palm (Wikipedia, Sanur, Bali).

Highlights

• A reef-sheltered flat sea - shallow water, no surf, safe swimming.
• A paved beachfront promenade - kilometres of it past hotels and warung.
• The Le Mayeur museum - the painter's house from 1932 on the sand.
• Fast boat departures - the jetties for Penida, Lembongan and Lombok.

When to go

April to October; sunrise is the moment. Two days.

Before you go

At low tide the reef flat is exposed and the water retreats a long way. Seaweed accumulates on parts of the beach seasonally. It is quiet by design - visitors wanting nightlife go elsewhere.

Nearby

Denpasar is west; Nusa Lembongan and Penida are reached from the jetties.

Key facts