Amed Bali, more then just diving...

Just like Lovina in the north, Amed Bali is not just one village but a string of smaller villages located on a 10-km long road in the Karangasem province.

It starts with the village of Amed in the north followed by Congkang, Jemeluk, Bunutan, Lipah, Selang, Banyuning and ending with Aas.

Getting around: Plus important addresses and handy phone numbers...
Things to do: Go diving or snorkeling along the coast of Amed or enjoy a trip on a traditional fishing boat...
Restaurants: There are surprisingly a number of good restaurants in the quiet villages, discover them here...
Hotels: Choose between a room at the beach or with a gorgeous wide-angle view of the azure waters...

Most travelers stay in the 4 most eastern villages as there is more choice in accommodation, restaurants and dive operators. Aas is the less visited village of them all.

But more developments are taking place along this strip so perhaps soon enough it will get more crowded with travellers who have found out about this special place.

Now Amed Bali is mostly a quiet place with a stunning ocean view. Since this area is one of the best places to go to for scuba diving in Bali, travelers mainly come here to marvel at the diverse sea life.

Besides diving and snorkeling the main activity is just relaxing far away from the crowds in the south.

As mentioned before the Amed area offers stunning ocean vistas. Headland after headland offers amazing ocean landscapes. Everywhere you go you will see crystal clear water which we can't get enough of.

Climate wise this part of East Bali is not ideally located. It is located on the dry side of the mountains Agung and Seraya resulting in minimum rain throughout the year.

Every time we go to the Amed area it is really dry and hot. It feels like the sun is setting the whole area on fire. The landscape is very arid and the slopes of the mountains all look bare.

Rice fields are out of the question and the only foods that are grown in the wet season are peanuts, soybeans and corn.

Other sources of income are salt winning and fishing which is done all year round.

Especially around the villages of Amed and Congkang you can see the salt winning activities while the other beaches are mostly covered with colourful Jukungs which are traditional fishing boats.

The more you drive towards Aas and beyond it is obvious that the area is one of the poorest in Bali and much effort is needed to obtain sufficient water.

Local people have to walk down the hill daily to collect water for cooking, washing etc.

So what makes Amed Bali special?

I guess besides the fact that it is right at the sea and its refreshing breeze, Amed is a really easy going place where you could be the only one staying in one of the hotels or restaurants.

And the locals in Amed Bali seem to mind their own business. Despite the fact that they are friendly and helpful, the Balinese in this part of the island don't seem to be standing behind you everytime you turn around.

While we are usually up and about during our trips through Bali, Amed made us just want to slow down a bit and enjoy the breathtaking setting.

So if you want to leave the crowd behind without anybody wanting something from you then Amed Bali definitely is the place to go to.