Medewi, on Bali’s north west coast has never achieved celebrity status on the surf maps of Indo. Despite its non-recognition by the surfing hierarchy it offers longboarders one of the best waves suited to their equipment they are ever likely to find. 

With limited tourist–aimed distractions Medewi is the perfect place (especially for the right foot forward brigade) to maximise water time and refine skills on the long uncrowded walls.

One Medewi wave  can often provide as much board time as several lengthy sessions at many of our home breaks.

take off, turn left, select cruise control

Leaving behind the many breaks at the Kuta end of Bali for a two-and-half hour drive on one of the chaotic major connecting roads to Java might not seem like the best idea, but the benefits of the drive to Medewi become apparent as the intensity of tourist focused Kuta fades to be replaced by the passing parade of Balinese rural and village life.
Our drive took us through classic Balinese vistas of manicured rice terraces, with farm workers carrying out the back-breaking work of planting next season’s rice crop and kites of all sizes filling the sky with colour, flying at heights that might be of concern to air traffic controllers.  In the visual chaos flashing past on the roadside, was the delightful image of immaculately groomed children in their brown and white uniforms, walking to school with pride and enthusiasm.  The local roadside shops form an almost endless stream, crammed full of the every day essentials of Balinese life and providing the sensory overload that only Asia at its most intense can.

For the distance travelled, the geographical terrain of the journey is quite diverse, with steep sided river ravines covered by jungle like vegetation, hillside rice terraces, coastal flats fringed with coconut palms and black sand beaches, all providing a welcome distraction from the mayhem on the road.

Medewi has never been regarded as one of the must do breaks of Bali, but for many years has had something of a cult following amongst longboarders and more senior shortboard surfers.  Conversations in the water and around the Medewi Beach Cottages over a sunset Bintang, quickly reveal that many of the surfers have visited three or more times.  Steve from Sydney has visited for a six week stay for 12 consecutive years.

The Medewi wave is a point break sweeping into a wide volcanic rock based bay. The rock bottom delivers a very good consistency in wave shape but provides a bit of a challenge to entry and exit as the jet black river stones seem to be placed by mother nature in an arrangement specially designed to roll ankles or trap feet. Added to their careful placement, the stones are covered in very sharp little creatures, making the wearing of protective surf boots a must.

It is easy to spot someone who has not surfed Medewi before; the urge to enter the water at the base of the hotel steps is very tempting but rarely rewarding.  About a third of the way up the bay there is a keyhole in the rocks that is easily visible on the lower tides. Take this option to enter the water, remembering that the higher the tide the easier it is to enter.  After a session in the water, don’t be tempted to exit at the clearly visible hotel steps.   The rule is - take the long way home, down into the bay where the local fishing boats are heaved-to on the beach.  The walk back to the hotel may seem a fair distance but it beats the likely possibility of numerous cuts and scratches to the feet and legs from the river stones.  Remember that at Medewi shortcuts are usually not the best choice.

The paddle out from the keyhole is assisted by a strong cross-break current.  In most conditions a quick sprint into this will take you to the outside of the break without too much time or energy being sapped from being caught inside.  Once you have negotiated your entry and are beyond the break line, the first thing that becomes apparent is the distance, as the surfers at the take-off zone appear as mere specks.  By any standard, it is a long paddle out but this does have its rewards - a long ride back is the obvious one and another is the chance to watch and enjoy other surfers cruise by. 
A Medewi swell has its own idiosyncratic elements. The pick-up and take-off is not what you’d expect. A good sized wall of water approaches and you expect a few hard strokes will be sufficient to propel you onto the face, but the walls are quite fat and it does take a good sprint to force the board onto the wave.

Once on board a Medewi wall the effort of getting there all makes sense - this is cruise city. The waves are very predictable, with the face holding up and, in most conditions, sections will not close down in front of you. The length and rounded shape of the walls allow for numerous sweeping turns, cut-backs, lots of trimming, walks to the nose and just the joy of gliding across the face - and that’s just the first 300 metres!

Depending upon tide and swell variations, the waves tend to go flat and fat about where the entry keyhole is. This is a flick-out cue for those fearing a lactic acid build-up by an even longer paddle back to the take-off zone.    The other option here is to fade back to the white water, stall the board and watch as the wave reforms in front of your eyes - trim and hang on for a Medewi skateboard express! This inside section can be an extra 100 metres of lightening fun.   As the end of this section approaches it is advisable not to let the greed factor take over and hang on for that extra second or two before retreating over the back of the wave. The black volcanic stones are just below the surface and are ever ready to test out their strength against that of the fibreglass of a modern Malibu.

In the afternoons, once the Trade Winds have swung around to blow across the face of the outer part of the wave, this protected inside section becomes the favoured domain of the shortboard riding locals and juniors. They rip into this fast hollow section with great skill and no apparent concern for impalement on the rocks. These displays provide very satisfying viewing for longboarders who have left the water and taken up a position at the excellent vantage point on the refreshment deck of the hotel.

Glassy morning sessions before the breeze are a Medewi speciality. The water temp is such that a 7.15 am start is a board shorts and rashie affair.  As anywhere, tides play a major factor. The swell seems to build on the incoming tide but, unlike coral reef breaks, with the exercise of some care of its rock and sand bottom, Medewi is surfable on the lower end of the tide without the fear of acquiring a collection of abrasions.

Medewi has never had the reputation of other Bali breaks but a good quality wave consistently delivers between March and August. Though not renowned for producing waves of substantial size, Medewi’s big swell pushing up from the Indian Ocean can be an impressive sight, one that keeps people in the car park viewing and debating rather than out surfing. The point faces south and so the same Indian Ocean winter swell that makes Ulluwatu and other such breaks work, also makes Medewi happen.  On most occasions this break is not the type to produce a sense of apprehension or unease. The larger sets that do come marching through hold up and leave you with an escape route via a quick sprint to the deeper water further across the bay.

The term ‘accommodation options’ is not exactly applicable to Medewi as there is really only one place that offers the standard of facilities that most of us now expect - Medewi Beach Cottages. 

Medewi Beach Cottages is a small development, right at the base of the point. Built 15 years ago, it consists of freestanding villas scattered throughout a garden setting, each containing four units. The style of the buildings is not the traditional Balinese usually associated with this region but Chinese/Malay, with clay tiled roofs, black lacquer woodwork, gloss white ceramic floors and, just to give it that Hong Kong touch, fittings of faux gold with the odd splash of hot pink spun silk in the soft furnishings.  The units are air-conditioned but the ceiling fans are all that is required at most times during the surf season.

There are six ocean-facing units and 14 others facing the pool, garden and relaxation area. The units are generous in size and can be configured as twin share or to accommodate a couple.  Each unit has a comfortable sitting and TV area, but only limited TV programming is on offer.   The bathrooms are typical of the tropical resort style, open to the sky but totally private, apart from the resident geckos surveying all but with no intrusion to comfort or safety.  All units are entered via a small verandah set with table and chairs. With the beach facing units, this is a prime spot to keep an eye on the surf, the sunsets and general state of play.  Many a guest can be seen using this spot to consume large helpings of room service food after a long morning session in the water. 

The Medewi Beach Cottages’ gardens are lush with pebble pathways lined with hedges of vibrant tropical foliage giving more the feeling of a plantation home than an accommodation complex.  Coconut palms supply shade and the gardeners don’t need much convincing to shimmy up them to produce a source of refreshment for guests.  However, this lush tropical vegetation does have one drawback - beware the falling coconuts that have been known to cause large dings to surfboards left beneath the palms overnight.

In the general vicinity of the Medewi Beach Cottages, there is very cheap (for good reason) single-room accommodation that is usually frequented by unsuspecting European backpackers and a step up from this, away from the beach and back toward the main road, a better standard of single rooms is available above the Medewi Beach Surf Cafe.

Some southeast coast Australian surfers who make a semi-permanent stay at Medewi over the cold Australian winter months have managed to source long-term accommodation and motor bike hire at very low prices in the main Medewi Village, which is a five-minute ride to the beach.  This option is best sourced after a short stay at the Cottages to get your bearings and sort out what is on offer.  

Balian, approximately 20 kilometres back towards Kuta, is another surf location with some interesting accommodation facilities and we at longbreak intend to fully explore these at a later date. 

Another important factor in any surf trip is food and Medewi offers limited alternatives, though this should not reduce the enjoyment of the eating and dining component of your trip.  The Medewi Beach Cottages’ own restaurant offers the usual range of westernised Indonesian fare and some genuine Indonesian dishes.  One is a local mackerel type fresh fish simply grilled and served with rice and a slice of lime.  The taste is sensational and the cost about five Australian dollars.

About six minutes walk up the hill away from the hotel is the Medewi Beach Cafe, a family run restaurant with all the attributes of the classic Indo surf culture cafe; large screen TVs beaming out repetitive images of shortboarders doing three-sixties to questionable music.  The food is good and it must be said that there are some very interesting combinations of meals on offer. The place presents an acceptable standard, is extremely cheap and offers nutritional food.  It has a great vibe and is a fun place to enjoy a few Medewi meals.
This region of Bali has remained out of the reach of the major tourist infrastructure developers and the few distractions provide a wonderful opportunity to observe and participate in the everyday life of the local people; the evening launch of fishing boats from a rocky beach through a Medewi shore break; the hand willowing of rice, a practice unchanged for hundreds of years; the gleeful driving of ducks along a country road to a pond with better prospects.  All of this can be experienced only minutes away from the Medewi Beach Cottages.

Slightly further afield, at Negara, the bull racing is an event worth inspection.  Set in open farmland with no hint of corporate tents, sponsors’ logos or safety barriers, a thousand or so locals of all ages gather to race their prized bulls, socialise and have a great day out.
Harnessed to small carts, the bulls are pushed to full throttle on the sand track surrounding the field, by over zealous drivers wielding large sticks embedded with small nails. The track is narrow with right-angled corners and this makes overtaking out of the question, so the competitors are started line astern with the following driver needing only to catch up or the leading driver to maintain his position to win.

Getting there
From the west coast of Australia there is an unofficial competition amongst surfers heading to Medewi to see who can be first into the water on the day of travel.  longbreak’s effort was 2.30pm, helped considerably by Garuda’s new double daily flight scheduling from Perth, with morning flights having you on the ground in Bali by mid-morning.  

Garuda’s flight scheduling also provides plenty of good travel options from Melbourne and Sydney with a range of departure times (see Garuda’s website for detailed flight schedules).


The  two-and-half hour road journey from Denpasar to Medewi was negotiated with a local driver prior to leaving Oz, so it was simply a case of strapping on the boards, changing into tropical attire and heading off. 

The drive took us on major regional roads with heavy traffic and less than ideal road surfaces. Care should be taken when selecting car and driver for the trip.  If help is required for this aspect of your travel arrangements, Insearch Travel can put together transport and accommodation packages to Medewi.