Keramas surfing is one of the jewels of the Bali east coast. No longer a secret by any stretch of the word, this right-hand rivermouth draws huge crowds when it fires in the wet season. If you can navigate the locals, then there are barreling kegs and airs up for grabs.
An introduction to Keramas surfing
Keramas is one of the best-performing wet season breaks in Bali. It’s located on the east coast, which is where the SE and E swells will filter through come November to March. The wave is a pounding bomb of a right hander. It’s a touch fickle, needing decent offshores or dips in wind to really work. But when it gets going – maybe 15-20 times per season – it’s an overhead barrel to grace the cover of magazines. At other times, between 3 and 8 foot, it’s a bit more of an everyman wave that’s still loads of fun.
The killer here is the crowds. To be honest, that’s the plague of the Isle of the Gods period. There’s never a time when you’ll cruise through Keramas kegs on your own and the days of the lonely rice paddy montage from the shore are all but gone. Strangely, we actually think the localism here is a bit worse than it is over in Ulus and Bingin, which is saying something. Come with a thick skin and don’t drop in.
Today, a couple of very good surf camps and surf schools beckon intermediate and up riders in the wet season over in Keramas. They’ll keep going throughout the summer dry season but mainly cater to beginner crowds then because the big-swell action switches to the other side of Bali and Bukit.
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Keramas at a glance
Wave type: Rivermouth // Level: Advanced to expert // Season: Wet season (December to March)
The good…
The bad…
What’s in this guide to Keramas surfing?
Where is Keramas??
Keramas is on the east coast of Bali. The wave that everyone talks about is actually a sort of point break that curls from outside to inside from Keramas beach over to Betuas Beach, just a touch to the north. For better or for worse, there’s now a new run of coast road that’s made it a whole load easier to drive in or get a transfer over. That’s shortened travel times to around 45 minutes from Bali’s international airport and about the same from Kuta.
A guide to Kerama surf spots
Keramas is the main break here. We’ll look at that in detail here, along with a couple of other spots that always draw the eye to the north and south of Keramas proper, especially when it’s busy.
Lebih Beach
Very rarely surfed, largely on account of just how fickle and tide dependant it is, Lebih Beach is also known as Black Magic Point. There’s a very shallow ledge of submerged lava reef at its southwest end that can become a barrel factory on the biggest swells. It’s a daring thing, though, since there’s no deeper channel to help you manoeuvre back to the take-off. Avoid high tide totally as it’s a head-smushing close out.
Cucukan Beach
Just north of Keramas itself, there’s a mini version of the famous wave on the southern end of Cucukan Beach. This one’s growing in popularity and takes a lot of the crowd overflow from Keramas, but it’s still never as busy or competitive as its compadre. Another rare right-hander point, it works best on S or SE wet season swells, when it rips out a narrow barrel and steep turn section. Wait for a fuller tide to surf as the sand-rock bottom needs some depth.
Keramas
Keramas is technically a rivermouth wave that forms up on a bend in the east Bali coastline. There’s a bulge in the volcanic beach that’s covered in silt and black stones, the product of many decades of deposits from the stream. That’s the engine room of the breaks, which harnesses any SE, S swell sets into those plump shoulders that you’ve seen in the surf mags.
When its firing at its finest (light winds, 8foot+, and long periods), there are multiple sections. The first is a steep take off into a near-vertical bowl that quickly hollows out to offer short and often backdoor barrel sections. You get spit out after that onto what we like to call the reward section – a long, fat shoulder that can be cut up whichever way you like. As it thins out a touch, the reef gets uneven beneath the water and you can get some unpredictable bowls to finish with. They’re often a ticket to some of the best airs and performance manoeuvrers in Bali.
Most will tell you that Keramas fires on all tides but really it’s not that simple. We’d say wait until at least an hour past low to get enough depth in the water to keep the jagged reef away. Let it come up a little more and the barrel section slows just an inch, making the whole thing more palatable.
Keramas is NOT a wave to be sniffed at. This bad boy breaks bones and uses up a lot of the iodine solution in Balinese surf clinics if you know what we mean. Still, we’d say the ripper crew that mans it morning until night is the biggest threat. They are not a nice bunch at all. What’s happened to Bali, eh?
Pantai Saba
There is a little bit of reef that can make waves when the swell (S mainly) is bigger than usual in the wet season. It’s never great here – expect a couple of mushy left-righters that’s really prone to the wind. There are a few nice hotels in the vicinity though, all within good striking distance of Keramas proper.
Sanur
Sanur is one of the old-time resorts of the Bali east coast. We mention it here not because it’s a decent alternative to Keramas. It’s not really. It’s actually something like 40 minutes away and the breaks are very different. Still, it’s worth knowing about because it’s the other of the big east-coast spots that can fire in the wet season. There are two breaks in the area, the Tandjung Reef and Sanur Reef. Both should be accessed with help from local boats.
Where to stay for Keramas surfing?
One of the great things about choosing Keramas for your Balinese surf trip is that you can stay closer to the wave than anywhere else on the island. Perhaps only Bingin beach can match the proximity of top-quality hotels to the spot itself.
Keramas Surf Camp
If you want to surf in Keramas, then book into the Keramas Surf Camp. It’s as simple as that. This is a proper surf lodge with top rental choices (a quiver suited to the right-hand barrel). The break is just down the road and the rooms are downright stunning – think traditional Balinese cabanas nestled in the rice paddies.
Hotel Komune and Beach Club Bali
The Hotel Komune and Beach Club Bali has front-row seats over Keramas. It’s kinda’ the unofficial meeting point for the crew who surf it every single day. It’s also unbeatable on the location front, as you’ll be staying steps from the paddle out, which is amazing for beating the crowds. The hotel itself is also fricking lush, with a oceanside pool and yoga platform
Keramas Surf Hostel
Keramas Surf Hostel is the only place that can rival Komune when it comes to location. It’s snuck itself a spot right next to the larger hotel, only offers simple dorm and private rooms for just a fraction of the price.
Step-by-step guide to planning your Keramas surfing trip right now
Step one: Book flights to the Keramas surfing…Lately, we like Omio for searching flights. It’s a nice interface and has lots of airline options. We also use Skyscanner because that sometimes offers deals that even beat going direct to the carrier!
Step two: Book your surf camp. Book Surf Camps is the numero uno online booking platform for fully-fledged surf-stay packages on the internet right now. Then there’s Booking.com. That has consistently unbeatable rates for hotels and a nifty map feature that lets you check EXACTLY how close your hotel is to a surf break.
Step three: Rent a car. If you’re surf camping then you might not need wheels. If you’re not then we’ll just say this: We’ve never been on a surf trip that wasn’t improved by having our own car. Use RentalCars – they’re the best.
Step four: Enjoy!
When to surf in Keramas?
Keramas is a wet-season break. That means it works best during the Bali low season, which runs from December to March. It’s a time that sees the predominant swells switch from the SW to a bit more of a SE direction. As the Bukit breaks of Ulus and Bingin turn off, it lets the reefs on this less-trodden side of Bali come into action, from Green Bowl all the way to Keramas. Sadly, that will bring crowds as all the performance surfers chase the more powerful swells and switch shorelines. Summer still works occasionally but it’s often small and better for intermediates looking to make the hop to reef breaks.
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!
