Tanjung Benoa

Once solely the preserve of coconut groves and fishermen, the scenic five-kilometre-long peninsula of Tanjung Benoa has over the years been transformed into a charming resort area. Converging in the small harbour at its tip, the peninsula is connected by a narrow, meandering road populated by luxury hotels, private villas, fine restaurants, open-air cafes, and a plethora of water-sport facilities.


The relaxed rhythm of the businesses that line the long snake-like road is more Costa Brava or Mallorca in character than the other southern Balinese resorts of Kuta, Legian and Seminyak. In fact, Tanjung Benoa exudes a worldly air with the hotels, upscale shops, innovative restaurants and dive centres of the peninsula affording guests no shortage of quality recreational, shopping and dining options.


Acclaimed for its seafood restaurants with unimpeded views of the Nusa Penida cliffs across the Badung Strait, the whole coastal strip is dotted with premier hotels offering deluxe ocean-view suites and convention and meeting facilities complete with audio-visual function rooms.


Unique to the area is photographer Heinz von Holtzen’s award-winning Bumbu Bali which serves the finest Balinese cuisine, while down the road his Rumah Bali - an exquisite restaurant, museum and cooking school bundled into one.

Those into marine sports will delight in the dozens of dive stores which offer dive-trips and sell and rent equipment. Visitors can also try their hand at windsurfing, water-skiing, jet-skiing and reef fishing, as well as experiencing exciting glass-bottom boat, power-boat and banana-boat rides. Only 10 minutes away in Nusa Dua is the Bali Golf & Country Club , one of Asia’s premier golf courses.
On the peninsula’s tip, the quiet port of Tanjung Benoa retains a remarkable village-like atmosphere. Distinctly multi-cultural, it is fascinating to explore the lively alleyways of a real Bugis village, peer into the smoky confines of a large, scarlet-red and gold Chinese Buddhist temple, or stroll along the beach southeast of Benoa past rows of brightly painted Balinese outriggers pulled up on shore.

In Benoa harbour, yachts, fishing boats and traditional jukung bob at anchor. Whilst offshore in the distance is Serangan, commonly known as Turtle Island - the site of a sacred Sakenan temple dating back to the 16th century. The reef, lying 200 metres off the peninsula’s northeast tip, is easy to reach and has a gentle current and is home to a surprising variety of colourful, tropical fish.

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