Indonesia Travel Guide

Sanur - Bali Travel Guide

Highlights * Sanur Village Festival * Dive operators * Golf * Hotels * Restaurants

Bali Travel Guide

Places of Interest in Bali

• Kuta

• Legian

• Seminyak

• Sanur

• Tuban

• Jimbaran Bay

• Nusa Dua

• Nusa Lembongan

• Ubud

• Lovina

• Pulau Menjangan

• Denpasar

• East Bali

• West Bali

• Uluwatu

Other Indonesian locations

• Bali

• Flores

• Gili Islands

• Java

• Kalimantan

• Komodo

• Lombok

• Maluku

• Sulawesi

• Sumatra

• Riau Islands

• West Papua

• West Timor

Sanur was the location for the first beach resorts in Bali. The first international hotels were built in the late 1960s. Today it is packed with various hotels and restaurants to choose from to fit every budget. The 5kms of white sandy beach of Sanur is the perfect location for watching the sunrise.

Sanur lacks the nightlife like the loud bars and nightclubs that are found in Kuta so more a peaceful place for relaxing. There are still plenty of restaurant-bars to choose from so you do not have to travel out of Sanur. Many of these bars/restaurants over look the beach.

Sanur is located 18kms, 25 minutes by taxi from Denpasar airport. There is a fixed price of 95,000Rp for the trip. A taxi back from Sanur to the airport will only cost around 70,000Rp. Pernama Travel run shuttle buses from the airport to Sanur for 25,000Rp per person.www.peramatour.com

Sanur has a great selection of water sports to choose from. Sanur gets some good surf breaks between September and March. Other options are windsurfing, parasailing, water-skiing, jet skiing, kayaking, snorkelling as well as various fishing trips.

Sanur is one of the last remaining brahman kuasa villages with some impressive processions with the colourful costumes, music and dancing.

There are a number of nice hindu temples scattered throughout Sanur including Pura Blanjong, Pura Mertasari, Pura Buruan and Pura Dalam Semawang.

In the south of Sanur is the Prasasti Blanjong which is the oldest stone inscription found on Bali. Dating to AD 913 it is now located within the temple at Blanjong village. The inscriptions on the stone tell of the Javanese King who settled in Sanur to begin the Mahayana Buddhist government though the text has diminished over the years.. For such a significant historical item it is tucked away down a lane way with just a small sign on the main road reading Pura Blanjong.

Museum Le Mayeur has been established in the house of Adrien Jean Le Mayeur de Merpes, a Belgian artist who resided in Bali until his death in 1958. Many of his paitings, carcoal and crayon sketches are on display.

At the northern end of Sanur is the ferry ports with regular ferries to Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and the Serangan Island.

Goa Lawah Bat Cave Temple

Around 30 - 40 minutes drive north of Sanur is the Goa Lawah Bat Cave Hindu temple. This temple is located on the main road traveling along the coast of Bali. The temple is a small cave with hundreds of small bats living in the cave. At the main shrine you can see all the bats hanging from the roof of the cave. See more pics and read more about Goa Lawah Bat Cave.

Shopping in Sanur

There are a heap of speciality stores along Jalan Tamblingan in Sanur selling a range of clothing, surf gear, jewellery and some stores selling good leather products like handbags as well as tailored leather jackets.

For leather goods check out Barito Leather Goods that make to order a range of leather clothing and leather accessories like handbags.

Leather Goods Made to Order in Sanur

For casual clothings there are 2 stores on Jalan Tamblingan selling Bali Rock Art t-shirts which are locally designed and made clothing. The prices in the stores are fixed so there is no bargaining through the quality of the clothes are excellent and really nice designs you will not find in the usual markets of Bali. Also on Jalan Tamblingan is a Rip Curl store selling a range of surf wear, board shorts, bikinis, tshirts.

For some good quality men's fashion there is a Polo Store selling shirts, trousers and jackets at around 30% or 40% cheaper than you will find back home. For women's fashion check out the shop Uluwatu which sells good quality handmade Balinese lace products.

Massage Spas in Sanur

There are plenty of small massage and beauty spas in Sanur offering a range of massages, foot massage, facials, manicures, pedicures, body scubs and hair cuts. In the smaller places expect to pay the following for massage and beauty services - 1 hour body massage 50,000Rp, 1 hour foot massage 40,000Rp, body scrub 55,000Rp, facial 55,000Rp, Manicure 40,000Rp, hair cut 40,000Rp, waxing from 35,000rp. There are also a number of luxury spa facilities in the high end hotels and beach resorts throughout Sanur, the prices will be much higher through the surroundings and service much better. Check out these luxury spas:

The Spa at Bali Hyatt
Aroma Spa Retreat Sanur
The Spa at Puri Santrian Resort

Money Exchange and ATMS in Sanur

There are plenty of places to exchange money in Sanur. The exchange rate is around the same as you will find in Kuta. There are also of plenty of ATMs with withdrawing cash. The ATMs in Sanur accept Visa, Mastercard, Cirrus and ALTO.

Sanur Village Festival

The Sanur Village Festival is held each year around August. There are many activities planned all up and down Sanur beach including kite flying, fishing boat parade, windsurfing championship and the releasing of baby sea turtles.

Bars in Sanur

Sanur doesn't have the wild nightlife like Kuta though there are still plenty of relaxed bars which stay open late. Many of these have live music at night and also show live sports like Australian football AFL, Rugby League, Rugby Union and English Premiership Football games. Check out Barb's Sports Bar and Restaurant which is a small bar in the heart of Sanur on Jalan Tamblingan. Barb's Sports Bar shows all live Australian sports and football games. Also at the southern end of Jalan Tamblingan is Rocket Bar which also shows all live sports as well as having a pool table down the back of the bar. Both of these bars sells a range of food to go with your bloody cold beer.

Restaurants in Sanur

Sanur has some fantastic restaurants with great decor and delicious food. It's very easy to sit back and relax and enjoy the great food.

See a full list of Restaurants in Sanur

Ryoshi Japanese Restaurant (1 review) is located on Jalan Danau Tamblingan at the southern end of Sanur. Serving a great range of Japanese cuisine including sushi, sashimi, tempura, tonkatsu. With free WiFi internet access. For more photos and restaurant reviews for Ryoshi Japanese Restaurant click here.

Napoli Pizza Pasta Italian Restaurant is probably one of the best Italian restaurants in all of Bali. The pizza is amazing, as close to real Roman pizza as you'll find anywhere in the world. With great decor and friendly staff. The restaurant has free WiFi internet access. Located at Jl Danau Toba No 7 Sanur. Ph: 0817 471 0421 or 0812 391 2552

The Village Cucina Italian Restaurant and Bar is a trendy restaurant with DJ serving great Italian food and seafood as well as food fired pizza. Located at the southern end of Sanur right next door to the Griya Satrian Hotel on Jln Danau.

Lotus Pond Restaurant located on Jl Danau Tamblingan Ph: (+62 361) 289 398 has a great selection of Asian food including Indonesian, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and Malaysian. With free WiFi internet access. Appertizers start from 25,000Rp soups from 35,000Rp, main meals from 45,000Rp and desserts from 15,000Rp.www.lotus-restaurants.com

Sakura Japanese Restaurant and Bar is located on Jalan Danau Tamblingan. Ph: 289 543. With free WiFi internet access.

There are also a number of other international cuisine restaurants including Japanese and Indian.See more restaurants in Sanur

Dive operators in Sanur

There is a coral reef about 1km off the beach of Sanur which is popular for scuba divers and snorkeling. There are many boat trips that you can take out to the reef including glass bottom boats if you don't want to get wet.

There are numerous PADI qualified scuba diving operators located along the main roads of Sanur, Jalan Danau Tamblingan and Jalan By Pass Ngurah Rai.

Surfing in Sanur

There is a bit of surfing to be done in Sanur. At the northern end of Sanur you can get some small 3 - 4 foot waves over the reef a few hundred meters from the beach. Generally late afternoon you'll get the best waves.

Golf courses and driving range

The Grand Bali Beach Golf Course is located at the northern end of Sanur. It is a 9 hole championship course with night time driving range. For course fees check out their website Grand Bali Beach Golf Course.

The Udayana Golf Driving Range is just down the road from the Grand Bali Beach Golf Course.

Bali Safari and Marine Park

Located just north of Sanur, at Lebih Beach is the Bali Safari and Marine Park which was opened in 2007. On display is a variety of animals from all over the world and Indonesia including Sumatran tigers, elephants, bears, monkeys, orangutan and a rare white Bengal Tiger.www.balisafarimarinepark.com

Getting around Bali from Sanur

It is not hard to get to other parts of Bali from Sanur. There are a number of travel companies organizing shuttle buses to the airport or to Ubud, Lovina, Candidasa or Padang Bai. Perama Travel is one of the largest operators organising shuttle buses to various locations. www.peramatour.com

Last updated 13th January 2016