1 week in Bali

First ive got to say its been over ten years since ive been to Bingin.

IMO Bingin is not overrated, it lines up in a picture perfect shape with an easy take off straight into a hollow easy barrel that most surfers can surf(not heavy for how hollow it is), reefs pretty flat and not to sharp, and straight offshore in trade winds, if it was anywhere even in the Mentawais it would still rate.

Downside is its short and the very end section is a tease but generally closes out on shallow reef, also because its an easy wave for how hollow it is even ten years ago it was crowded, also its a small take off area so doesn't handle more than ten guys, and even ten years ago one morning i paddled out before the sun came up and one guy was already out.

BTW. Ten years ago no one bothered to surf Impossibles (cause its generally lives up to its name) except to escape the crowd at Bingin and now i see pics of crowds out at Impossibles so Bingin must be out of control?

Also note needs a bit of swell to get in there so not the most consistent wave.

My summary: not overrated IMO one of the best waves in Bali and in the top 100 waves in Indo, but crowded hell yeah.

Hi dcoco there's an overabundance of accommodation around Bingin. We stayed at The Shack earlier this month which we found through baliretreats.com.au and they have a good range across all budgets. Apart from being a short walk from the Surf (minimal ocean views) "Shacky" offered every other luxury you would want; air-conditioned private villa, pool, bar, wi-fi, satellite TV and friendly staff. Another of the places considered was Rock n Reef which is right on the cliffs at Impossibles and if we go back would probably stay there.

and you'll get excellent quality waves when the swell is on but there is now a pretty competitive vibe there. Seems to be pretty much every nationality of surfer with varying degrees of manners to contend with unfortunately.

Sorry way to long ago, thinking about it now it was more than 10 years closer to 15, use to actually stay for free at a warung at the bottom of the cliffs (suzzys i think), just had to eat and drink there and you got a free bed on the open air balcony with mozzy net or could pay a few dollars and get a basic private room at rear.

Saw some photos looking back from the water on FB the other day and i see the whole cliff is now covered in buildings and hear there is lots of places on the top of the cliffs including some better quality places like villas, sure if you google bingin accommodation you will find them.

Hmmm i havent even hit 40 and im feeling old, thinking back about it, good memories though.

BTW. Met an old Indo veteran the other week and for some reason we ended talking about Bingin, he was onto when it was little known and said the place was heaven, then the next year bang secret was out and said it went from empty to crowded in a season.

I was gonna post in the other recent thread on Bali www.swellnet.com.au/forums/1/topics/2082 but yeah things have changed remarkably for the worse. Suzie's warung is still there but now there is no direct view of the surf as the whole cliff has been built upon. If I remember correctly when i was there in '99 the cliff below Suzie's was just covered in vegetation now all you can see is rooftops down to the water. Indo-dreaming I'm sure your Indo vet would now give this place a wide berth.

The old track into Bingin which was almost inaccessible even by bike is now gone and replaced by freshly sealed bitumen roads right up to the cliff top. There is a macking great multi storey resort on the top of the cliffs between impossibles and Padang Padang and then surrounding this a myriad of smaller villa's stretching back a few hundred metres into what was once jungle, and buried underneath all this the original warungs. I spoke to a french dude out in the water who pointed out the houses on the cliff top in the south corner of Bingin he and his mate built about 10 or so years ago. Seems everyone is getting their thumb in the pie.

If thats not bad enough try heading over to Nusa Dua. Apparently back at the end of the 90's the resort there wasn't big enough and if anyone remembers the dirt track and warungs where the boats take you out to Nusa Dua reef well you can't access it anymore because they are building another huge resort at that end. My mate and I buzzed around for a while on our scooters trying to find a way in and eventually ended up a few hundred metres further up the beach in another deserted resort.

So dcoco if you and your family are fly by the seat of your pants types you could quite easily roll into Bingin with no accommodation booked and pretty much grab something when you arrive.

Maybe you could consider waiting until later in the year. Wet season is traditionally quieter and you will still get waves and in fact a few more options open up because you get the east side right handers working so spots like Nusa Dua, Serangan and Sanur come on.

Also for anyone else I don't know how long its been happening but when you arrive they have this VISA ON ARRIVAL system where you have to line up as soon as you get off the flight and pay USD25 for your visa before you go through immigration so you will need some cash for that (gotta pay for the new airport somehow), and on the way out I think we counted 7 separate checkpoints to go through before we boarded so give yourself plenty of time.

when the surf is flat head to kuta bugar. enough said