Swimming safely in Bali: currents, reefs and the calmest beaches

Swimming in Bali is safe when you know the ocean you are swimming in. The water here is warm and inviting, yet a strong current can form even where the surface looks calm, and a wave that seems harmless from the beach can knock an adult off their feet. Lifeguards do not watch every beach. A few simple habits go a long way, and they are easy to learn before your first swim.

Below is what our guests ask us most often: how to recognise a rip current and get out of one, what the flags on the beach mean, where the water is calm enough for children, and what to keep in mind on reefs, on a surfboard and at sea.

The short answer

• Is it safe to swim in Bali? Yes, on the right beach, between the flags and at the right tide.

• Calmest water: Sanur, Nusa Dua and Jimbaran, where a reef or a bay softens the waves.

• For watching rather than swimming: Dreamland, Kuta, Canggu, Keramas and the reef beaches of the Bukit.

• Caught in a rip: do not swim against it. Float, raise one arm, then swim parallel to the shore.

• On a boat: wear the life jacket, and check the wave forecast the day before.

Rip currents in Bali: what they are and how to get out

A rip current is a narrow, fast channel of water flowing away from the shore. From the beach it often looks like the calmest spot: a darker strip with fewer breaking waves, sometimes with foam or sand drifting out to sea. Rips are the main reason a swimmer suddenly finds themselves dozens of metres out and unable to get back. A rip pulls you out to sea, not under. The danger lies in the reaction: most people try to swim straight back against it, tire within minutes and start to panic.

If you feel the water carrying you out, stop fighting it. Lifesaving organisations in Australia, the UK and the United States recommend the same options:

• Float. Lie on your back, breathe slowly and save your strength. A rip often loses force beyond the breaking waves or carries you back towards a sandbank.

• Signal. Raise one arm and wave it. Over the sound of the surf a shout rarely carries, and a raised arm is understood by lifeguards everywhere.

• Swim parallel to the shore, or towards the waves breaking on either side of the channel, until you feel the pull ease. Then return to the beach at an angle.

If one option is not working, change to another. Rips are common on open beaches such as Dreamland, where the calm-looking gaps between breaking waves often turn out to be rip channels.

If a wave knocks you over

Even a gently sloping beach can surprise you. As a wave draws back it can pull hard for a moment, and a larger one can roll you over. When that happens, curl up, cover your head with your arms and let the wave pass. Come up slowly, with one arm above your head, and look for the shore before you move. Never dive head-first into shallow water; if you duck under a wave, keep your arms stretched out in front of your head.

Flags and lifeguards

Bali's lifeguards are the Balawista teams. They patrol the busy west coast from Kuta to Canggu, keep posts along Sanur and have a team at Dreamland. Where they are on duty, two red-and-yellow flags mark the stretch of water they watch. Swim between them. A red flag means no swimming while it is flying, however calm the sea may look.

Many beaches in Bali have no lifeguards at all. On those, the choice of beach matters more than anything else. Indonesia's meteorological agency, BMKG, issues high-wave warnings for the south coast, most often in the dry season; your curator follows those warnings and plans beach days and boat days around them.

Where the water is calm

If you are not a confident swimmer, or you are travelling with children, choose a beach with natural protection: a lagoon, a bay or a reef that breaks the waves offshore.

• Sanur and Segara Ayu. A long east-coast beach behind an outer reef, with a promenade and calm, shallow water. At low tide the reef flat is exposed and too shallow to swim, so plan for mid to high tide. In most years, roughly July to September, the wind brings bluebottle jellyfish to the shore; when they are there, stay out of the water.

• Nusa Dua and Mengiat. Wide, well-kept beaches in front of the resort area, with sun loungers, showers and gentle water behind the reef. The same rule about the tide applies.

• Jimbaran. A broad bay with soft waves most of the time, seafood grills on the sand and a sunset over the water. With a strong wind or a big swell it becomes rougher.

• Pandawa. A long white beach reached by a road cut through limestone cliffs. The water is usually calm, but check the flags and the tide before swimming.

For families, we usually suggest a hotel on one of these stretches of coast, so that the calm water is a few steps from the room.

Where to watch the surf

On the open coast, the waves can be unpredictable even on a clear day: Uluwatu, Balangan, Keramas, Canggu, Dreamland, and Kuta when the swell is up. These are wonderful beaches for a walk, a surf lesson with an instructor or a sunset, but not for a casual swim. If you do go in, stay where you can stand, between the flags where there are any, and keep the beach in sight.

Reefs and tides

On many Bali beaches there is more than sand under the water. Coral reef and rock lie close to the surface, and at low tide they show as dark patches. One wave is enough to push you onto them. Cuts and grazes on the feet are common, and sea urchins live in the same places.

Balangan, Bingin, Padang Padang, Impossibles and Uluwatu all have a reef bottom. At low tide you may have to walk across exposed coral to reach the water. Wear reef shoes wherever you do not know the bottom, and ask about the tide before you go in: the same beach can be a pool in the morning and a reef in the afternoon.

Surfing: with an instructor, not by guesswork

Beginners often choose a spot by a photograph, without knowing how to paddle out and come back in, where the reef lies, or how the wave will behave at that hour. An instructor reads all of this quickly: the size of the sets, the bottom, the direction of the current. Even if you already stand on the board with confidence, a place you do not know can hurt you.

We arrange lessons with a private instructor who chooses the spot each day for your level and the conditions. For experienced surfers, Nusa Dua's reef breaks are at their best in the wet season, roughly November to March, when the wind blows offshore on that side of the island.

At sea: boats to the islands

Many days in Bali include time on the water: Nusa Penida, Lembongan, a day on a yacht. The ocean between the islands can change within hours. In recent years small boats have capsized in rough seas off Nusa Penida and at the entrance to Sanur harbour, and on at least one of them some passengers were not wearing their life jackets.

A few rules keep a day at sea calm. Travel with a crew you trust, with life jackets for every passenger and a briefing before departure. Keep it on for the whole crossing. Check the wave forecast, and move the trip if a warning is out. This is why we arrange sea days on private boats and yachts with their own crew, and why we sometimes suggest another date. More in our Journal piece on a private yacht in Bali.

Bali beaches at a glance

Questions we are often asked

Soulscape designs private journeys in Bali and across Indonesia, including family trips, with hotels on calm stretches of coast and sea days planned around the forecast. Tell us who is travelling, and your curator will choose the beaches with you. See Family holidays in Indonesia.