Sanur: the east coast at its calmest

Sanur is where Bali learned tourism. It had the island's first hotel, the first paved road to the beach, and a generation of Australian and European visitors who came for the reef-protected water and kept coming back. The resort strip that grew along it is low-rise and middle-aged, and that is the point.

The beach faces east, so the sun comes up over the water and the afternoons are shaded and breezy. A 5.5-kilometre path runs the length of the coast, used by joggers at six and families at five. Behind it are lanes of guesthouses, warungs and shops that still feel like a town rather than a resort.

The reef, the tide and swimming

Sanur sits behind a fringing reef, which means there is almost no surf and the water inside the reef is shallow and flat. At high tide you can swim anywhere along the beach; at low tide the reef flat is exposed and you have to walk out a long way to find depth. The tide tables matter here more than the weather forecast.

The calm water is why families and older travellers choose Sanur over Kuta. It is also why the snorkelling is mediocre inside the reef — the reef is mostly dead flat and the fish are few. For real snorkelling, take a boat out to Lembongan or Nusa Penida, or drive north to Amed.

Sunrise, the beach path and the morning ritual

The sun rises over the water between six and six-thirty, and the beach path fills with people who have come to watch it: joggers, yoga classes, fishermen pulling in nets, and a few people who have clearly not been to bed. The light is best in the first twenty minutes, and the mountains of East Java are visible on clear days.

Walk the path north from Mertasari and you pass the old-style hotels with their gardens running down to the sand, then the fishing boats at the north end. It takes about an hour at an easy pace, and there are warungs and benches the whole way. Bicycles can be rented for Rp 50,000 a day; the path is flat and shaded for most of its length.

Boats to the islands

Sanur is the main departure point for fast boats to Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Penida and the Gili Islands. The harbour is at the north end, and the boats are fast, crowded and weather-dependent: the crossing to Lembongan takes about 30 minutes, to Penida 45, and to the Gilis two hours.

Book through your hotel or a reputable operator rather than a street tout, and check the sea conditions in the wet season. The boats do not run in bad weather, and the refund policies vary. If you are prone to seasickness, sit at the back and take something before you board.

Eating, and the market

Sanur eats well and without fuss. The warungs along Jalan Danau Tamblingan and the beach path serve nasi campur, grilled fish and the Balinese roast pork that the whole island argues about. For dinner, the fish restaurants on the sand at Mertasari are the local choice: pick your fish, they grill it, and you eat with your feet in the sand.

Pasar Sindhu, the morning market, is worth a visit before eight: fruit, flowers for offerings, coffee and a few stalls selling the palm-leaf baskets that every household uses. It is a working market, not a tourist one, and the price of mangoes is the price of mangoes.

Where to stay

The beachfront is lined with low-rise resorts from the 1980s and 1990s, most with gardens, pools and direct access to the path. They are not fashionable, but they are spacious and good value: Rp 900,000 to 2,000,000 a night for a room that would cost twice as much in Seminyak. The lanes behind have guesthouses from Rp 400,000.

The best area for a first visit is between Mertasari and the main beach entrance, where you can walk to restaurants and the path. The north end, near the harbour, is convenient for boats but busier and less pleasant. Sanur is also the best base in Bali for families with small children, because the water is calm and the path is flat. In July, August and the Christmas period the beachfront hotels fill up months ahead; outside those weeks you can usually turn up and negotiate.

Getting there and a two-day plan

The airport is 15 km away, 25 to 40 minutes by car; a taxi is Rp 200,000 to 300,000. Sanur is 20 minutes from Denpasar and 30 from Ubud, which makes it a practical base for day trips. There is no train, and the local buses are slow, so plan on a car and driver for anything beyond the beach.

Give Sanur two nights, more if you are using it as a base. The pleasure is in the routine: sunrise, breakfast, a walk, a swim at high tide, an afternoon doing very little. It is the opposite of a sightseeing destination, and that is what people come back for.

• Day 1: sunrise on the beach path, breakfast at a warung, swim at high tide, dinner at Mertasari.
• Day 2: morning market at Sindhu, boat trip to Lembongan or a day in Ubud.
• Check the tide table before planning a swim; low tide leaves the reef flat exposed for hours.
• Book fast boats a day ahead in high season and confirm the weather the night before.

Questions people actually ask

Is Sanur good for swimming?

Yes at mid to high tide, inside the reef. At low tide the reef flat is exposed and you have to walk a long way out. There is no surf, which makes it the safest beach in Bali for children.

Sanur or Nusa Dua for a family?

Sanur if you want a town, a beach path and cheaper food. Nusa Dua if you want a resort compound with everything inside it. Sanur is calmer and less polished; Nusa Dua is more expensive and more self-contained.

Can I get a boat to the Gili Islands from Sanur?

Yes. Fast boats leave the harbour at the north end of Sanur in the morning and take about two hours to Gili Trawangan, weather permitting. Book a day ahead and confirm the departure the night before.

Is Sanur walkable?

Very. The beach path runs the length of the coast, and Jalan Danau Tamblingan behind it has most of the restaurants and shops. It is the most walkable beach town in Bali.