The Small But Beautiful Fishing Town Of Amed, Bali
19th March 2017
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Typically if you say to someone "I'm going to Bali" they'll immediately ask if it's Seminyak or Ubud you're staying in. While I do love both, there's so much more that this beautiful island has to offer.
People don't realise how big Bali is. It's approximately 7 times bigger than Singapore and there are plenty of pockets of joy to discover. I'd heard about Amed because my brother had spent a bit of time there and it looked amazing, particularly the snorkelling. Amed is in the North Eastern part of the island and the entire town skirts around the volcano, meaning the beaches are black sand! It does take a while to get there, about 2.5-3 hours from the airport, but we'd stopped for a nice lunch at Candidasa on the way up.
One great thing about Amed is how CHEAP it is. We stayed at the Coral View Villas and had a beach front chalet for about S$90 a night, including breakfast. This was actually the most expensive property, you can have a room a bit further back for S$45!
We ate across the road at a small warung most nights and didn't spend more than S$10 on our meal. The fish is so unbelievably fresh as the majority of local men work in either hospitality or fishing. It's a very small village so don't expect many luxury comforts.
The main reason we'd chosen Amed is because of the snorkelling which was excellent. But as the sand is black, if there's too much activity you won't be able to see much. We took a small fishing boat out and snorkelled around this famous Japanese wreck.
One of the most magical things about Amed is the drive up. You get to see raw, beautiful Bali away from the tourist traps of Seminyak, Kuta, Nusa Dua etc. We saw some of the most stunning scenery on our drive there and our driver was more than happy to stop at every corner!
Of course if you are in to mountain trekking, Amed is a good spot to stay for that as it's nearby Mount Agung. Or you can always take a driver out and explore more of Karangasem, home to Pura Besakih - also known as 'The Mother Temple'. But if you're happy living out your island life dream for a few days, Amed is a great place to holiday where your most stressful decision will be what type of fish to have for dinner.
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