Kuta Reef is located about 800 mtrs offshore, infront of the Sandi Phala Motel. The best way to get out there is by paying one of the local boat operators a few dollars to run you out and then to come and pick you back up when your finished having fun.
Wet/Dry Season
Dry Season – April/October
Best Swell Direction
South
Best Size
4-5ft is the optimum size on the mid to high tide
Best Winds
SE Tradewinds
Crowd Factor
Due to Kuta Reefs central location it can get very crowded, sometimes up 60 surfers in the water. But, there are all types of different levels of surfer, so there’s always a few waves to be had. Kuta Reef, when the conditions are right is a world class lefthander! With waves winding out for up to 200 mtrs and a couple of good hollow barrel sections as well.
Surf Session
Location
just got back from my fifth trip to bali,surfed kuta reef nearly everyday with 2 mates from newy,always show respect to the locals,but one day some of the boys that run the boats out there hassled the fuck out of us.calling their rich japanese onto waves when we were clearly on the inside,one balo even took off on the outside of one of my mates and went RIGHT !!!!!!! come on boys …. be fairdinkum you make your living off people like us,we dont want every wave or special treatmeant,.like the japs [ we dont need it] just a bit of respect……. who knows you might end up surfing in newy one day….. payback ??? me ?????? NEVA !!!!!!!!!! if anyone is heading over there use the boats out the front of kartika plaza they were good blokes and shared the fruits of kuta reef
My bro’s who have their boats right out the front of the Pantai Restaurant (Tuban) won’t hesitate to drop in on either Aussie or Japanese… LOL
Slim,
u made urself look like a gago, balos dont drop in if you respect us…we are all cool if you be cool with us. Be careful what you write your still a guest in OUR county.
Note from Slim;
Just letting you know that the person responsible for these nasty posts is not a Balinese but some idiot who thinks he is an expat and has the sole rights for the waves in Bali. All these comments are coming from the same PC under false email accounts. We are working on having him reported as I type.
hey,
reallyyyy excited about bali going in sept im only 13 from the sunshine coast wondering.. does the swell ever get under 3ft and is it ever surfable 3ft –?
thanks/
Hey kale !
Glad to hear your coming over mate, your going to be stoked !
Yeah unfortunately it does get under 3ft and yeah there’s still plenty of waves when it does. Perfect size for 13yr olds !!
Hello there..just a comment on shoulder hoppers..the people that drop in on others are all kooks where ever they live..no one owns the ocean..after the 4 trips I’ve made to Indo ,it doesnt matter how much respect you give the locals , they still take off on people if they think they are owed waves because of their inability to travel and experience other cultures..they want to make their living from visitors but you can’t get respect if you don’t give respect..Respect isn’t something that owed ,it’s something that earned from being a gracious person with good manors..on my last visit to bali I spent a week surfing bingin and other than a few Brazilians, the Indo’s were the ones dropping in on everyone..and don’t give me that crap about them living there and deserving waves for that reason..the ocean is a gift from Heaven isn’t it ? My 40 years of waveriding has taught me to show respect for the people whose county I’m visiting and hope the locals give a reason to deserve that respect
You guys are all freaking me out! I’m from Surfers Paradise and only a beginner surfer travelling to Bali on Saturday to learn more. I hope there are a couple of beginner spots with no agro surfers. Could you suggest some?
Sweet! just from you slim i’m more excited. yeah, its not like im a beginner, been surfing since i was 5. but yeah, do you guys recommend anything for me because i don’t want to be getting owned at ulu’s cave or on the reef. haha, thanks for getting back to me
🙂
Hey Kristy, don’t worry bout all the hype on agro surfers, you usually only find agro if you give agro 🙂
You’ll be fine and I bet you make lots of local friends !!
I will be bringing 2 boards along 5’2 and 5’7 i don’t no what i should bring because i’m not sure if the 5’2 is going to be so good for me as i will be surfing 4-5 medewi, should i bring the 5’7 and 5’8 or should i bring the 5’2 along too.
Thanks
slimbo,you always mention the crew. who are they? I want to know about the crew. name, rank and serial numbers please. yours sincerely, colonel Klink.
Hey CK,
“I know nothink” They are just the “crew” hanging out with me on the weekly basis.
Hi, i wanna ask a question, if i am a newly that wish like to surfing, which area is suitable for me?
Due to on October 2010, i will drop Bali.
And i seem that you all quite enjoyful that place.
Friends, may give me some advise please?
Hi, Im coming back over mid july staying at Uluwatu again just love it. Would like to know some if on other areas out of the way form the hussel and bussell of the most common brakes and are there going to be any surf comps on at that time.
Regards
Boagsy
stick to Ulu’s Boagsy………
Thanks Jarrod I will but it would be nice to get sum waves on my forhand while im there.
just got back from my fourth trip to Bali and will not be returning. After being dropped in on consistently by balinese surfers (this happens to everyone) my frustrations peaked at kuta reef where a local dropped in and did a chop-hop (which appears to be the height of performance surfing in bali), lost control of his board and consequently dinged the bottom of mine! he then came up all agressive and told me to go in!!!!!! (which of course i had to as i had a gaping hole in the bottom of my board). definitely better off going to other destinations where locals dont think they have exclusive rights to the waves.
that said, the rest of the trip was awesome, and scored good waves elsewhere. maybe just dont surf around kuta!
@over bali
I agree re bali. It’s probably not the premier destination anymore. Its just very close an cheap.
Go to the philipines for land camps, or fiji and maldives for boat trips. Once you take out the Bali taxes, police bribes and overcharging of westerners, it works out about the same anyway.
Maybe all westerners should stay away for a year and see how the balinese economy fares.
I will be back in Bali for my 17th trip in August,first time was 1979 my advice to you all is to paddle out and say hello to everyone near you and have a chat, find out a little about them and tell them a bit about you, sometimes if they notice that you haven’t dropped in on anyone and haven’t had a wave for a while they will tell you to go for it, maybe I’m old school but surfing is for fun, Hi to Slim will bring you over some multigrain late August
Have been around 8 times previously. Arriving for a week early August with small group of competent 50 year + surfers. First surfed at Canggu before became popular in early 80’s. Can anyone confirm best conditions ?
I’m arriving in Bali on the 2nd November 2010 and leaving on the 24th November. I’m worried that I wont get waves as all my mates are telling me its flat during the off season and onshore. It will be my first time in Bali.Is this true.
yeah jay, cancel your ticket bro, never waves in the off season 🙂
Hey i’m one of the regular local at kuta reef…
the only times when i drop in is when someone shows ignorance and attitude
but i do admit that i snake. but hey, what can i do, i get paid to surf, i gotta get as many waves as i can to practice
🙂 slim is the man!
Yuki doesn’t need to drop in….. he’s always deep on the inside
coming to bali in a couple days wondering what the swells doing
noobssssssssssssss
take a look http://www.stormsurfing.com
I remember when Kuta Reef was uncrowded. Now think… If you were at your hometown and you used to surf with a few guys and now there is 50 guys in the water from everywere, including the ones that dont even know how to paddle…, Kuta Reef became a Zoo … I think that the locals are not that bad compared to other places in the World, the problem is that it became almost impossible to catch a wave in Kuta Reef and of course the locals catch the better ones. Respect is important but priority too. I am not a local and I do understand them. Thanks for having us.
hey anyone know the best beach for a beginner ?
yeaa you should try to surf at ubud beach,
waves are small, hollow, but poweful (relatively save for a beginner like you dude) but you gotta be careful with monkey sharks, there are alot there
yeah i even heard there is a new surf school up there 🙂
classic
Hey Trev ( 6/23/10) …, I like your style.
I find greedy tourists more of a problem , The ones that will snake and try to drop in etc are usually the ones that will not give eye contact or say gday . The locals put up with a lot of bozo,s day in day out , that wouldnt be tolerated back at your local break …
Good attitude Trev.
Agree with Davo too.I know how the locals feel, lived in Noosa all my life and when the swell is on we are over run with people on all sorts of water craft with all sorts of attitudes.
Thanks to all the Balinese for putting up with us!
I’ll be back every year not just for the surf but the people too.
Bali is Bagus sekali!
HEY HEADING TO INDO, STAYING AT LEGIAN, WHERE IS THE GOOD SURF FROM HERE, HOW MUCH DO THEY CHARGE FOR THE BOATS TO THE REEF, AND WHERE AND WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE SURF, I LOVE BIG BARRELLING SURF!!! GOLDIE BASED.
Very interesting reading everyone’s points of view. I do respect all your opinions (pros and cons) but admit the local factor is a must. Be freindly, say hello, wait your turn, works at most breaks here in South Australia and on the west coast(s). Know your place before being put in your place I say.
I’m looking at heading over to Bali in January (1st time) looking at some words of wisdom from someone regarding what size board(s) should I be looking at. I have anything from a 5’10” right up to 9’2″. My normal stick(s) are a Firewire Dominator 6’2″ or 6’6″. any suggestions would be appreciated.
Cheers. JB
The only agro ive seen in the last seven years has been from the Brasilians. Some of the most rudest people i have met in the water & out seem to be always burning people!!
Hi All.. Heading out to Kuta for the first time this April.
Any recommendations as to where i should stay? I’ve got quite a decent budget so would like to stay at a nice place, close to th beach!
Can you guys help out?
Thanks
D
What are they charging for the trip out to the reefs these days?? Anyone know?
My crew down in front of Middle Reef are charging Rp50,000 for the return trip Steve.
Hey folks, will be hitting bali tmr for 10 gd days of surf trip and hopping to surf some open breaks. can anyone give me some contact that can guide me to surfs or even getting a cheap used board? 🙁 hope to make the best out of these 10 days in Bali.
Just got back from first trip to Bali, surfed Legian & Kuta.
Yep locals rip and don’t give anything away and always droped in and didn’t pull out.I didn’t like to hoot and yell out , I just put up with it.
Got some decent waves but not as good as my local break Cronulla on a good day or South coast Mistics or the Farm etc.
Probably wont go back again , I’ll look at the Philippines next time.
I’m sure Shark Island gets better than the legian beach breaks bro……. BTW how are the locals down there ? caring and sharing folk ?
I’m going in *Aug 11-17 2011.I’m gonna have a nice time!surf,checking all things,learning about tha culture!yeah can’t wait!Faf from South-Africa!
Heading to Kuta early september! hopeing the Wave a large ! that usualy sorts out the crowds ! , As for respect in the surf ! everywhere i surf there are always idiot who paddle out straight past everyone and assume priority , I never paddle out like this and i always sit at the bottem of the line up and wait my turn , If some one hassles me to much i’ll have a quiet word to em and it usualy good after that ! oh and this local tag is a joke ! learn to line up rules and you should be fine !
Surfing in bali is the bomb. !! Barraling everyday just amazing .. 🙂
I agree to always respect the locals in and out the water but that does not mean tolerate continuous dropping in from them. The ocean is not owned by anyone, no one is responsible for generating the waves.
I was surfing today and having loads of fun until i took off on a wave, bottom turned and saw a local paddeling for the wave. I just said “im on it” but that didnt stop him. He took off and inevitebly crashed right into me and we both fell. As soon as i got my head out the water i said “come on man”. the guy paddled up to me with a smile on his face, i thought he was going to shake my hand to appologise or something but instead he says “whats rong with that?? huh? you dont like that? so you wanna fight? huh? huh?” I looked at him shocked and said “no man we all here to have fun but its not fun when people drop in on you like that” he then told me that it is his beach which made me laugh because that is just pathetic and then next thing the guy swings at me while we sitting on our boards in the water. It was absolutely rediculous. He missed and another set was coming so he had to paddle out and duck dive but at the back he continued to try and instigate a fight with me, with all of his friends around laughing. No matter what anyone says, I cannot respect that. I have been surfing for 12 years in more than 15 countries and never have i encountered someone like that in the water.
yeah I agree with you Lee and alot of the other comments. As much as I love bali I no longer go there because of the locals and the crowds. Crowds cant really be helped, I know! its just the way surfing is these days, so thats not really a point to winge about…
But the attitude of (some) locals has been enough to turn me off the place for good. I have had exactly the same situation happen to me a few times with stupid locals who are dropping in, snaking up the inside and just general smart ass attitude over and over then trying to start fights if anything is said…..and its not just one or two breaks…. most of them infact.
I would consider myself to be one of the most patient surfers you could find in the water. I have surfed hundreds of waves all through out indo over many years. I dont stress about anything and used to love calling the local crew into wave after wave…. but its really sad when this attitude is in the water bacause they clearly have no idea the impact it has.
Bali is not the only country with good waves, so along with alot of people ive met over the years I’ll be spending my hard earned money else where next time.
You should try an spread the word SLIM that this is a big problem over there and its turning alot of us away… take its easy guys!
Hi Slim…cool website. Taking the family over to bali next Feb for the first time. Looking for the best place to stay and take my two youngest surfing, 12 & 10, without too many hassles…any suggestions as I want them to enjoy every minute so I get them hooked.
Cheers, Snowy.
yo, planning on coming over w three girls from caribean, safe place over there? is it really that crowded that people are fighting over waves? where are more quiet spots? STOKED!
The only problem I’ve ever had in Kuta was with east coast Aussies! Pissed as Aussies and bogan Aussies! Yes I’m Australian! Some of the shit I see other Australians do in kuta!! Shits me! The locals are sweet as if your nice to em!! Other wise you get what you deserve!!
The locals sound like they can be jerks but I have to tell you: You haven’t seen anything in terms of localism until you’ve surfed Hawaii.
Are us dick draggers (bodyboarders) able to surf over there? or will we just get hassled the f*ck out of? Because i’m not gonna go over there just to get dropped in on all the time. And if this is the case i’ll think of turning myself towards Tahiti(might give chops a crack haha!) or just go over to WA probably margaret river as my uncle has a holiday house ’round there.
Nice one K-Dog : )
Theres heaps of better waves around Bali . Kuta reef is no good . Always too crowded and it tends to close out . I highly recommend to look elsewhere. Just not worth the effort.
yeah way better at Samuri Reef and 1mile Reef
Only good thing bout kuta reef is ya can get barrelled with ya ciga still burning.
couldnt agree more Dave.. and Im from the east coast.. ugly aussies have turned kuta into boganville !!
You guys are los’s keep yr bro’s waves lol treat how you be treated
I see yuki still got the deep and meaningful relationship happening with K.R .. Great shots slim.
Lived right on Kuta beach for 6 months in 2000, cut my teeth learning to surf in Bali and the biggest problem I had was with the Fairdinkums thinking they owned every wave. As I was just learning when I got a wave I took it; much to the dismay of many a surfer. Man I could not say how many times got challenged or threatened. As a guy that is 6’5 and built like a line backer it rarely went very far… But after not surfing for 9 years I find myself setting up to come back full time. It will be interesting to see the dynamic now.
Nice you learnt to surf in 2000 kjp it was in the 70’s for me.
You’ll find that things have changed and now it’s the Euro’s who think they own every wave 🙂 kinda ironic isn’t it ?
Glad to hear your coming back bro !
Could I get an update on what boats are charging to Kuta and Middles please.
there is localism everywhere; in my experience California is clearly the worst. In Bali I’m not sure its localism. Having lived here for 6 months, Ive found that even a nice old lady turns into an aggro psycho as soon as she hops on a motorbike. Have you experienced how crazy the Balinese are when they drive??? I reckon the surf mentality is just the same. Its every man for themselves; there are no rules for a Balinese on a moving vehicle, bike or board other than go go go. I once dropped in accidentally on this thick Hawaiian guy at Shipwrecks and after pulling out, I paddled over to him to apologize and he was like “Fuck it brah, this is Bali”
all this talk about bali nese people being aggro bla bla bla etc.. is kind of depressing. you have nice and bad folk everywhere in this earth, the choice that everyone has is how you roll with it. life and surfing are the same- smile often hey even laugh if anything ‘goes down’ – a bit of local lingo can be all it takes to make a paddle into a good session
I am heading over to Bali eary March. Is it easy to buy or rent a surfboard in Bali? cheers
My advice is to go to Bali, but I guess I should keep my advice to myself until somebody actually asks for it, right ?
Coming to bali in July yeww I’m wondering where a good side of the island is to surf and I’m not to scared of some of the bigger stuff don’t mind up to about 7ft face I’m goofy and love long lefts 🙂
heading to bali on 2nd of august. would like to get a guide
to take me surfing who knows the breaks. dont want to spend
a fortune. Thanks lex
Just had my first trip to Bali. Got up early and had a mean surf at middle reef. Only 3 other surfers out (well there were 6 but 3 weren’t really catching waves). Plenty of waves good vibe best surf ever. Uluwatu on the other hand was crowded and angry
Oh yeah, the agro I came across at Ulu’s was mostly from skippy the kangaroo’s.
I first surfed Kuta Reef in June 1975, I had to paddle out on my 6’10’ Barry K McCoy single fin as the local boats were only used for fishing. Just me out as at 10am I was a bit late and the other 2 guys paddled in as I was paddling out. As we crossed in the channel they told me it was 8 foot but the sets were starting to step-ladder. Had it at 8 to 10 feet for an hour and a half until 12 foot sets started to roll in and I started to shit myself. Second time was the next day with the 3 of us out as the thumping swell had woken me up a bit earlier. Couldn’t believe what a fantastic wave it was. I have never been back. There are 18,306 islands in Indonesia, only 8,844 have names and 900 or so are settled :-)I’ve read some whiny stuff in this forum, if you look a bit harder you may find your own reef and if you don’t like sharing, you may not need to.
Hi all,
I’m an intermediate surfer (6”2 guy from the Netherlands) and I’ll be visiting Bali coming September. As I mostly surfed the European beach breaks, I know how to handle myself on waves going up to 6’5. Going to Bali, me and my girl will mostly looking for relaxed breaks, but we don’t know exactly where to go. We here Kuta is nice, but crowded. Many of the spots in the South are way above my level. So if anyone has a good suggestion where to go, if possible with deeper instead of shallow reefs, it would be great to hear about it.
Cheers!
Been to Bali/Indonesia many times and to be honest I have not seen this type of dropping in from local surfers, but then I have not surfed Kuta Reef as I have only heard its prone to leaners with no manners and its a real hassle type wave. Surfed airport rights today at 5-7′ and there was no locals doing this but then there were no good locals in the line up or they would have been on the inside for sure and deserve to be there.
Yesterday watched Padang Padang at triple overhead + and going off and it seemed like there were 2 people on every wave. Professionals currently in the world top 12 were being dropped in on by locals as were everyone else. These are AWESOME surfers still being routinely dropped in on based on some sort of right it seems.
I don’t care where you are in the world, you do not own the waves. The best surfers usually get the best waves because of sheer talent and knowing where to sit, not due to some perceived ‘better than you’ attitude.
The best locals shouldn’t have to drop in although I guess if there are enough awesome other country surfers, its the laziest and rudest option available.
is it suitable for someone who’s pretty new to surfing ? cause i’d like to surf as well as film the people there . i’ll be going to bali next week on the 5th Nov . was wondering if i’d could rent a board and try surfing over there . any tips on the reef bottom floor ? do i need any protections say like feet guard ? do reply . thanks ! Jumpa di bali ya!
Hi Raja, don’t try to surf on the reefs until you can surf, try learning to surf on the beach breaks with one of the many surf schools along Kuta beach
Have fun
Hey just wondering what’s it like for bodyboarders out there
Like do the locals get angry an give us no waves
Guys, there’s interesting fact about localism on Bali: all shit and broblems on the spots are came from other islands guys, especially from sumatra. In Kuta, Seminyak and Canggu you can see it mostly. For them we are white trash, it’s not just localism it’s a racism. And you have to separate balinese people from others, they are totally different because of many factors froms religion ,education and culture to salaries on Bali and other Indonesian islands. Also 99% of crime on island came from javanese and sumatran people. It’s the fact. Peace and good luck
I’ve been bodyboarding for more than 20 years always with a nice attitude respecting and being respected by people in the water until i came to Uluwatu bali. with more than 50 people in the water surfing a perfect reef break and being constantly dropped in by surfers in any wave i was paddling to, i finally got a good one, went for it and listen a surfer screaming just behind me. i push to the lip and got out of the wave.. right after this surfer starts to ask me to go close to him and when i was paddling in his direction excusing myself for getting on his way he pick a large wood stick from under water saying, this one is for your head! i continue paddling to him and when i got close i’ve got violently attacked inside the water with a wooden stick for a agro balinese surfer full of hate.. i couldn’t believe it.. i wonder if this is what surf is about in Bali.. really sad for his attitude because i will never get close to Uluwatu again and thinking to don’t come to Bali anymore.. sure is plenty of better breaks in the world where someone can surf share waves with everybody and having fun.. until now i was sure that surf was about having a good time in the water and not being target of hate or violence from agro locals in the water.. im now super disappointed with bali just waiting for my return flight back to Portugal. will not recommend this spot to anyone willing to have a good time surfing.. specially if you bodyboard think twice before you going inside Uluwatu reef break.
Sorry to hear this Johnny but I can tell you that no way was it a real Uluwatu local as those guys are not aggro at all, [probably the most tolerant Balinese surfers on the island.
I’ve seen it. The Balos are starting to get a bit carried away
Hey slim,
You still around bro I’m lobbing to Bali June 8 2019 . Love to meet up and get the rules of the place mate 🙂
Hello CG, I’m here :-), where you going to be located
Staying at hard rock cafe just want to surf kuta reef are there boats nearby and how much these days,surfed bali early nineties loved uncrowded bingin was beautiful then,on average over 20 million come to bali every year must be crowded everywhere.