10 Incredible Surf Camps in Bali For All Levels [2025]

• Location: Padang-Padang

We name CARI as our best newcomer in our guide to the best surf camps in the whole of Indo. But we think it deserves first place here because it’s got basically EXACTLY what you’re after if you’re coming to the island as a beginner/improver (as most surf campers are).

The 8-day package is quintessential Bali surf stuff. First off, there are 2x surf lessons each day, which adds up to over four hours in the water every day. That’s twice what you get in the more mainstream surf camps. On top of that, every session is bolstered by video analysis and there’s an in-house photographer to help snap shots of you ripping it up.

There are multiple yoga classes that you’re free to join throughout the week, two family dinners to help the crew mingle and make friends, plus one traditional Indonesian BBQ evening.

Then there’s the accommodation. This one’s no rundown hostel. It’s a chic, stylish set of Balinese cabanas on the Bukit Peninsular, anchored on a palm-shaded garden with its own pool. You’ll wake to the sounds of tropical birds, dine on homemade acai bowls and healthy breakfasts (which are included in the price) and chill with a cold Bintang on your private patio come the evening.

If we were going to do a surf camp in Bali this year, we’d jostle to book CARI. It’s, simply, wonderful.

• Location: Kedungu

Keen to dodge the infamous crowds that are now a daily happening on the main breaks of south Bali? Check out Seaside Tribe. This has to be one of our top-pick newcomers for the 24/25′ season.

We simply love the look of the offering at the boutique camp, which is perfectly located amid the undulating rice paddies and lush pockets of palms of western Bali. Yea okay, so it’s about twice as far from the airport as Canggu. But that extra hour in the car is SSOOOOO worth it.

You’ll wake to the sounds of tweeting munia birds instead of growling scooters. You’ll get visions of wild black-sand beaches with uber-consistent surf and much smaller line ups than Kuta, Canggu, and Ulus.

At over $1,000 per person for eight days, this isn’t a budget surf camp by any stretch. But your money goes a long, long way…

Just check out the surf tuition. It’s proper hands on, with a maximum ratio of 2:1 student to teachers – that essentially means you get a whole private lesson each day of the stay! Each surf lesson is also fully filmed and photographed so that you get in-depth analysis afterwards. It’s impressive stuff.

Then there’s the accommodation. It’s small enough to feel like a real home away from home, with just a few rooms angled towards a lovely splash pool and grassy gardens. The price includes breakfasts, lunches, and some dinners, all of which are fantastic, great for vegans and veggies, and all locally sourced.

The spots around Seaside Tribe are great for all levels, and we’d rank this as a fine surf camp for just about anyone bar the young backpacker partier. Come here if you’re serious about improving your surfing and have a bit more dollar in the travel fund. It’s worth it!

• Location: Green Bowl, Bukit

Rapture is a name that’s got a good pedigree in the world of surf camps. They’ve got an outlet in the Surfing Reserve of Ericeira back in Portugal, another in Padang Padang, and then this award-winning spot just above Green Bowl.

We like it not just because it comes with the same quality that you’d expect from the established Rapture brand but also precisely because of the location, which is by one of the Bukit’s less fought-over breaks, where intermediate improvers can enjoy more latitude and space in the lineup. Also, Green Bowl is one of the few all-season spots on the island, working on SE swells in wet season and SW swells in dry. AKA – it’s consistent.

The reason we think this one shines through for more non-beginner surfers is that the 8-day packages take care of pretty much everything without being overbearing or too nannyish. There are three dedicated surf lessons spread throughout the week, but there’s a guided surf session each day. That means less of the mollycoddling and more time to experiment and enjoy the wealth of spots that dot south Bali. It’s an intermediate dream.

You’ll be staying in a fantastic surf lodge, too. Mixing traditional Javanese architecture with a bit of sleek modernism, the pad has a large outdoor pool that has sweeping views of the jungles and thatch-topped buildings with dorm and private suites (which cost a little extra). The price also includes free airport pickup, which can be a real blessing in Bali, where taxi touts will fight over anyone who emerges from arrivals.

• Location: Medewi

Just as the name implies, the Green Wave package from Brown Sugar Surf Camp is a doozy for beginners eager to graduate from the mush to the better stuff out back. The real focus with this course is on getting your off the massive foamies you’ve been riding in the Canaries and Newquay main beach and onto some fiberglass out with the lineup.

The closest spot – and it’s literally steps off the camp grounds – is the Medewi left. That’s the longest left in Bali but it hasn’t got the teeth of say, Ulus, so don’t you worry about 20-second hold downs. This is a cruisy shoulder of a wave that can run for 100 meters plus on good dry-season days, and there’s an even easier beach break to get you warmed up for sessions to boot.

You’ll be surfing daily alongside English-speaking surf guides, have photo analysis, and free photography to take home with you – you know, to prove you’re on the greenies these days! The lodge itself ticks all the Bali boxes. It’s built in traditional Indonesian styles, set across a number of luxury villas, has a central pool, and loads of neat chill-out places.

• Location: Uluwatu

It’s hard to think of a surf camp in Bali that can match the Padang Padang Surf Camp when it comes to quality of teaching. These guys have a team of international and local teachers that really know how to push the performance levels across the course of a two-week intensive down on the Bukit Peninsula.

The camp itself is armed with a fantastic surf workshop space that has dry practice places and surfskate equipment, along with a large TV for in-depth video feedback sessions, which happen after basically every single surf.

Over two weeks, you’ll do 14 surf lessons, though it’s actually more like 28 sessions, since days are split into morning outings and evening outings. Mainly, it’s the Bukit Peninsula that’s the focus, but the guys here know when to hunt waves on the East Coast or further afield if swells or winds aren’t quite lining up.

The accommodation is a good one, with a lovely pool and yoga shala and interiors that are very modern and stylish.

• Location: Canggu

Most travelers (US, EU and UK) can score a 30-day visa to Bali upon entry. That means you can do a long-term surf camp here that lasts up to a month if you wanna’. For that, we don’t think there’s any better option than the Pelan Pelan retreat in Canggu.

It’s a sure-fire bet for a solid all-round camp with great tuition, located just north of the big hustle and bustle of downtown Canggu in a much more relaxed part of the south coast, surrounded by rice paddies and green fields.

They run a 29-day package that’s packed to bursting with enticing features. Guests get 12 massages, 16 yoga sessions, 4x meditation classes, and a fully-fledged half-day tour of the island that helps you see the wonders of Bali’s Hindu Temples and highland waterfalls.

The surfing becomes routine. It takes place every single weekday during your stay with the in-house surf school. Usually, you’ll be hitting the varied spots of Canggu. They’re good for all levels but can be a touch busy, though we like the variation of lefts, rights, sandbars, and reefs.

Another upside: Canggu itself. This is Bali’s hippest quarter. You won’t be short of nighttime bars and eateries, cool beach shacks, and places to watch the sunset.

• Location: Kuta

We wouldn’t normally recommend a surf camp in Kuta. The beach is a prime example of overdevelopment and how good waves can bring mega crowds.

Still, the fact remains that it’s unquestionably one of the very best learner spots on the Isle of the Gods – nay, in the whole of Southeast Asia. Plus, it’s among the most accessible breaks on the island.

That’s why we’d say the 2-day package from Stoked Surf Bali is perfect for beginner surfers who aren’t totally sure they want to commit to a full-on week package on one of the island’s bigger breaks.

It’s a simple, short hit that involves one night’s accommodation and two surf lessons with seasoned local instructors, plus all the necessaries: Board rental, rash vest, sunscreen. Oh, and it will set you back less than 200 USD.

• Location: Dalung, Kuta Utara

Surf’n’Yoga Bali joins a growing number of spots from this breakout brand – they now have outlets on both coasts of Sri Lanka, and two here in the Isle of the Gods. As the name implies, the focus is very much on both yoga practice and surfing, but really it’s the relaxing nature of the accommodation and the Zen vibes that we love.

Take the lodge itself. It whisks you away from the traffic-clogged lanes of Canggu and Kuta up to the rice paddies and jungles of south-central Bali. That means you’ll need to travel just a little longer to make it to the waves each morning, but does promise plenty of peace and quiet.

The lodge itself has a stunning on-site yoga shala made from bamboo wood. It’s the perfect place to find your inner quiet, which you’ll certainly do since the 6-day surf-yoga package they run has 2x daily yoga classes in Yin, Kirtan, and Dynamic Flow to name just three disciplines. You’ll also do classes in mindfulness and meditation.

The surfing is set over the course of 3x semi-private classes. They’re pretty darn good, with an enviable ratio of just 2:1 students to teachers.

• Location: Canggu

Kudos to the team at In Da Surf for consistently providing top-notch surf lessons.

Their 8-day surf package is intensely focused on improving your surfing skills. Participants receive seven lessons, one each day except for the arrival day, lasting two hours or more. The lessons maintain a maximum instructor-to-student ratio of 2:1, offering a level of personalized instruction and feedback that surpasses most other surf camps on the island.

Two key factors contribute to the rapid improvement of participants: a surf theory session at the beginning of the program, which is incredibly beneficial for complete beginners, and the expertise of local guides. They really really know how to selecct surf spots that match the skill levels of participants and possess an intimate knowledge of Canggu.

As for accommodations, participants will stay in a modern surf house located just north of Canggu’s vibrant center. The house features its own pool and chilling spaces. The cost also includes airport transfers to make things simple.

• Location: Padang Padang, Bukit

Make no bones about it – the Dreamsea Surf Camp is ridiculously awesome.

To be honest, you’ve probably seen it before somewhere on some surf mag cover or something. The lodge actually clings to the sides of the sheer-cut Uluwatu cliffs down on the sunset-kissed ridges of the Bukit Peninsula. The rooms are a picture of luxury on the inside and emerge onto driftwood-built balconies with 180-degree panoramas of the Indian Ocean. So, so nice.

Truth be told, Dreamsea isn’t really your conventional type of camp. The surfers who come here aren’t usually looking for planned daily lessons and foamy rentals. They are looking for one thing and one thing only: Front-row access to the epic reef breaks of Padang Padang. That’s arguably the finest and cleanest of the Bukit breaks during the dry-season and you can paddle out right from below the rooms.

This one’s probably the best choice on the whole island for relatively highly skilled surfing couples who want a taste of the high life and access to one of the finest breaks around.