Amed

Amed is not a village but a run of small fishing settlements strung along Bali's north-east coast, below the dry eastern flank of Mount Agung. It is about 95 km from the airport and a realistic two and a half to three and a half hours by car, or 76 km and two and a half hours from Ubud. A private transfer from the airport runs roughly IDR 600,000 to 800,000. The drive is the thing people underestimate about Amed.

The beaches are dark volcanic sand and gravel, and the jukung outrigger fishing boats are drawn up on them in rows. Amed is a working coast first and a holiday one second, with no strip, no club and very little to do after dark.

You can snorkel and dive straight off the beach, which is the point of the place. Jemeluk Bay is free, with parking at IDR 2,000 to 5,000, and the submerged statues people call the underwater temple sit 20 to 30 metres out, marked by a white buoy, in about three to five metres of water. That is shallow enough to snorkel, and the reef drops away from the same beach. Mask and snorkel rent for IDR 50,000 to 100,000 a day, and the water is clearest from seven to nine, before the boats stir it up. A shared jukung trip over three spots, usually Jemeluk, Lipah and a small Japanese wreck, takes two to three hours and costs about IDR 200,000 to 300,000 a person.

The bigger wreck is the USAT Liberty at Tulamben, about 25 minutes up the coast. It lies 5 to 30 metres deep, starting about 30 metres out from a steep beach of loose black gravel, so you walk in rather than take a boat. Porters carry a tank and BCD down for about IDR 50,000 a set. Snorkellers see the upper sections at 5 to 10 metres; the wreck itself needs scuba. Day-trippers arrive from about ten, so divers who want it quiet are in the water before six. The hull is deteriorating, so stay out of the swim-throughs.

Dive prices vary widely. Two guided dives around Amed run from about IDR 870,000 to IDR 1,400,000 depending on shop and site, and two-tank Tulamben trips have been quoted as high as IDR 1,800,000. Ask for the total before you commit.

The water is best from about May to October. Visibility runs 15 to 25 metres in the dry season and drops to 10 to 15 from November to March, when run-off carries sediment in. East Bali is the driest corner of the island, at roughly 80 to 150 mm of rain a month even in the wet season against 300 to 400 in the northern highlands.

Three or four nights suits Amed if you are diving. If you are not, one night is enough, and you may spend the drive home wondering why you came. We would not build a first trip around Amed unless the diving is the trip.