Bali Cheapest Tours

Legian Beach in Bali

Legian Beach is one of the famous tourist places in Bali Island after Kuta Beach featured by the big powerful wave that is ideally for surfing, and best in Bali for viewing the sunset. The beaches stretches for 2 km, starting from the northernmost point of Kuta Beach, where the Jalan Pantai Kuta beach road also ends. The beach scene is similar to Kuta in terms of the usual beach offerings, ranging from parasol-shaded sun loungers and impromptu ‘beach bars’ selling cold drinks and Bintang, to roaming beach masseuses and peddlers selling knick-knacks and knock-off fashion items.

The Legian Beach does offer slight differences, though. The narrow beach road that separates the beach from the hotels, restaurants and bars of Legian is inaccessible by public traffic, meaning that it’s great for pedestrians and is less chaotic than its southern sister. To the north, there’s Double Six Beach, aka Blue Ocean Beach, a half-kilometre stretch of sand dominated by beach restaurants with colourful beanbags on the sand, shared with neighbouring Seminyak.

About Legian Beach

Legian Beach is much like Kuta in the distant past, Legian was just another Balinese fishing village on the island’s southwestern coast, with empty seaside coconut groves and traditional fishing outriggers lining the sand. Now, it is home to some of the island’s best five-star luxury resorts, with adjoining beach clubs and luxurious amenities making good use of the quieter coast, rolling surf and dramatic sunsets.

This is a small area fronting the beach which stretches from Jalan Melasti (where Kuta ends on a map. Note Legian, Seminyak are actually subdivisions of Kuta), north to Jalan Arjuna (better known as Jalan Double Six) where Seminyak begins. Most of the popular Legian hotels are on or close to the beach. The whole of Legian is no bigger than a few blocks in a large city, but despite its small size, this area has a very high profile with visitors due to the lovely beach frontage, and proliferation of mid-market hotels.

The most popular stretch of Legian Beach is at the bottom of Jalan Padma, and is sometimes called Padma Beach. It is more relaxed than Kuta, has a better and less crowded surf break, and is home to many nice vendors selling beers under umbrellas. There is easy parking here for IDR 2,000 per motorbike, or 5,000 per car.

There is a long north-south road between the beachfront hotels and the beach, which is only open for authorised vehicles when there is a ceremony being held. Otherwise it is a well paved footpath, and makes for an excellent walking route, allowing users an easy beach-side stroll along to restaurants, bars and nightclubs on Double Six Beach.

Best time to visit Legian Beach ?

Dry season (from April to August) offers the most favourable swells at Legian thanks to the westerly winds. It’s also when the water is generally temperate and free from flotsam. The swells at Padma feature occasional strong undercurrents, particularly around June through October. There are Balawista lifeguard posts here, as well as in front of the Jayakarta Hotel and Double Six Beach. Red-and-yellow flags mean it’s safe to swim or surf, while solid red flags mean “beware of dangerous currents”.

Legian Beach Activities

Aside from the obvious (the gorgeous beach!), there is not a great deal to see in Legian. It is a place where visitors stay, shop, eat, drink and go to the beach. Legian Beach is one of the best in Bali for viewing the sunset.

A more leisurely beach pursuit is to situate yourself, cocktail in hand, at one of the many beach front cafes on this stretch, and watch one of the world's great sunsets. Be in position by about 5.30PM. Alternatively, sit on the beach itself, and buy a beer for Rp20,000 and soft drinks for Rp10,000 and buy nasi goreng or mie goreng from the outdoor waryungs for Rp15,000 each. The waryungs close around sunset.

If you just want to relax on the beach, you can hire sunbeds for about Rp50,000 per day, but take care to avoid sun exposure as many tourists get badly burnt. The locals wisely visit the beach late afternoon.

How to get Legian Beach ?

From Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport, also known as Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS), it is approximately a 20-minute drive to Legian Beach. This area is well connected to the main road network of the island.