COCONUT BEACH BUNGALOWs & WARUNG

This was our second time staying in the simple Bangalow at Coconut Beach, and we’ll be back. Sari and Douglas are wonderful hosts who make you feel like part of a family. Sari’s food is fantastic, and the whole team is so welcoming. It really feels like a Bali experience.

The black-sand beach is small, with deep water just offshore, and fishing, snorkelling, and diving are the main draws here. You can arrange all of that through the Warung Coconut Beach, which is also only a short walk away in your slippers. The warung serves excellent food, including a delicious fish-based Nasi Campur that reflects Amed’s main product. The $1 coffees and $3 breakfasts stood out too. The villas are lovely, clean, genuinely right on the beach, and have comfortable beds. The rooms are spacious, with very large bathrooms.

There’s a happy family running the place, and the beach right outside has an amazing spot for diving and snorkelling. You can get a massage on the beach, relax on the sun loungers, and enjoy the fresh food and wide menu. Ask Papa Ketut about a sunrise or sunset cruise and fishing. He knows the area well, and this is his birthplace.

We’d been living in Bali for six months, then moved to Amed for a month thinking we’d found our regular spot. The fish was the best we’d eaten in Bali, and we enjoyed the drinks and food enough to plan to come back the next day. But when my girlfriend paid, the young woman charged us far too much. I knew what the bill should be because we travel full time and budget carefully. I’ve been here long enough to think it wasn’t a mistake. When we questioned it, she immediately handed some money back and said we’d given her too much, but she wouldn’t show us the bill. A really disappointing experience. If you go, check the amount you’re paying very carefully.