Kuta Beach:
Kuta Beach is where surfing in Bali began. Imagine an absolutely perfect, white sand beach, palm trees coming down to the water’s edge, and completely empty, roping A frames for as far as you could see. The first surfers to come to Bali were treated to an epic experience. These days a lot has changed in Kuta, and it is becoming a major tourist city. There are thousands of little restaurants, places to stay, and some of the best shopping anywhere in the world. The beach is full of people. People playing soccer, exercising, doing Tai Chi, selling everything from sarongs to sunglasses, renting surfboards or beach umbrellas, and, of course, surfing. The surf at Kuta Beach can be great. It’s no wonder legendary Kuta local boys like Rizal Tanjung, Bol Adiputra, Pepin Hendrix, Wayan Pica, or Made Switra surf as well as they do, Kuta Beach is an ultra consistent, quality beachbreak, that is ideal for learning to surf and for honing one’s skills. Kuta Beach is actually a long strip of different sand bar breaks that runs from Kuta Reef all the way down to Seminyak’s Blue Ocean beach. This stretch of white sand peaks is best at high tide when the faster sections are more makeable and offer high performance surfers the chance to link several maneuvers on each wave. Places like Halfways in front of Jalan Padma are the training grounds for some of Bali’s hottest surfers, and it’s a treat to watch some of the smoothest surfing on the planet.
Kuta Reef:
Kuta Reef is the original left hand reef break of Bali. Before surfers started venturing out to the Bukit, this was the place where surfers met the challenges of the big swells of the dry season. Kuta Reef is way out to sea and picks up quite a bit more swell than other nearby spots like airport lefts or rights or the beachbreaks. On bigger days, Kuta Reef offers up classic long walled, bowling, rippable surf, similar to some of its cousins out in the Bukit. Kuta Reef is a long paddle for anyone and it’s best to take a boat out there. Another thing about Kuta reef is that it can be wind affected and is usually best when surfed early mornings or late afternoons. As Kuta is close by, crowds can become an issue at Kuta Reef and some days it can seem like it’s just more of a hassle than it’s worth.