Amed is a long coastal strip of fishing villages in East Bali

Amed is a long coastal strip of fishing villages in East Bali

Amed refers to a long stretch of coast running from the village of Cucik about 14 km eastwards incorporating the seven villages ofAmed, Jemeluk, Bunutan, Lipah, Selang, Banyuning andAas. The pace of life here is slow and the coastal scenery quite stunning making Amed the perfect place for a relaxed holiday in Bali.


Amed is the most recent tourist development area in Bali. It was only in 2000 that tarmac was laid on the roads. Telephone lines were installed in 2003 and it took until 2007 for a bridge to be built over a section of the main road that regularly washed away during the rainy season.

This is the most commonly used base for visitors wishing to dive the USS Liberty wreck at Tulamben There are other good dive sites close at hand and a thriving dive industry has developed all the way along the coast here.

Amed's inhabitants live from fishing, salt-making and tourism. The lack of tourism-based revenue, its remote nature and the generally harsh environment for farming, meant that this area was very much one of the poorer areas in Bali. Amongst others, the East Bali Poverty Project drew attention to the plight of the local villagers in this area and that, together with recent tourist development, has gone a long way to improving general standards of living, health and education.Amed lies on the north-eastern tip of Bali, about three hours drive from the Ngurah Rai International Airport. A taxi service to Amed is available at the airport for about Rp 400,000.

Amed is accessed by turning east at the village of Culik which lies on the main east coast road from Karangasem to Singaraja.
Shuttle buses regularly serve the destination from Candidasa and Lovina and now that the road has been greatly improved, they take you all the way into Amed
The easiest way into Amed though is to hire your own transport with a driver. Be aware that the Amed district is stretched out over more than 10 km. Transport by local drivers is widely available in Amed. 

If you are coming from the islands to the east, Amed Sea Express offers pick-up in Lombok, Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air with twice daily service to Amed arriving at 9:15AM & 1:15PMMost people come to Amed as a getaway, including expats from other parts of the island. It is a favourite honeymoon destination for tourists and is very popular with divers and snorkelers. Day trips to local places of interest such as the water palace at Tirta Gangga and Bali's most sacred temple, Besakih, can easily be arranged. Mount Agung with lots of trekking options just 30-40 minutes from Amed.

Traditional outrigger boats are available for fishing charters from the main beaches in the Amed area. This normally involves early morning trolling for mackeral.

Have a traditional massage on the beach. Women from the local villages are always on hand for an invigorating massage, speciality so at Lipah Beach.

Enjoy nature and go with the wind on a traditional sailing boat for diving, fishing, exploration, dolphin watching, snorkelling or just swimming and relaxing.

Go Stand up paddleboarding (SUP) in Jemeluk bay beside Apneista freediving school, this is a beautiful way to explore the coast and stay in shape, there are amazing views of Mount Agung.

You can get your visa extended here for Rp 500,000, which takes a week. That's generally cheaper than doing so in south Bali. Dive Concepts can tell you where to go for that and probably other dive centres too.