Pemuteran Beach — Attraction in Bali

The beach at Pemuteran is a large bay. it is a serene sandy beach, with volcanic (grey) sand. The sea is calm and free of strong currents and waves - perfect for swimming and snorkelling. It has rocks at either end of the bay, which are exposed at low tide (beware of the sea urchins). It is unique in that it has coral reefs within 50m of the shore. The reefs are protected no-fishing zones, and full of friendly curious colourful fish. It is also home to the Biorock project, the largest reef restoration in the world.

There are a couple of beach warungs but generally there are only a few people on the beach no hawkers or massage huts unlike beaches in the south of Bali. There is also very little rubbish in the water or on the beach, which makes a rarity for swimming and walking...

I live in Jember on Java Island. A city in the middle between Surabaya the Capitol of East Java and Denpasar the capital of Bali. I would like to share my trip to explore West Bali; Pemuteran and Pulaki in Buleleng. If you come from different parts of places it is easy from Gilimanuk Port as starting point.

I took Pandanwangi train from Jember train station at 5 am to Ketapang port in Banyuwangi for 8k IDR. It took 3 hours and by 8am I reached the harbour. I crossed the sea by Ferry for 7k IDR. The next transportation is bus from Gilimanuk Bus station to Pemuteran. It costs me 20k IDR. It was so easy by noon I got to the homestay and wandering around by motorbike I rent from the owner of...

Disappointing. After walking the beach yesterday, my shoes and pants were caked/smeared with an amalgam of beach tar and sand. Floating trash visible from shore, including dead rat.

Despite this, I went for a swim (with mask and snorkel) just after sun-up next morning in nearly calm seas. After getting out past the 10-metre band of turbidity and flotsam close to shore, the water clears up a bit, but is still cloudy with what appears to be suspended dust. Yes, the coral is growing, and yes, plenty of fish were present.

While I encountered no obvious jellies, I felt plenty of "stingers" so I recommend a rash guard, along with mask and snorkel, to minimize direct contact of seawater...