With Bali becoming so overcrowded since the Pandemic, visitors are finding it a lot harder to get the idyllic beachside experience of only a few short years ago. It’s no secret that a Bali holiday is not what it once was, and the more savvy traveler is seeking alternatives around Indonesia. Recently, I had the chance to head beyond Bali, and the beaches I found were incredible!
Now, when I say I traveled beyond Bali, I’m not talking about 5 hours flying, changing planes twice and getting on an overnight ferry to some remote island. No – these places are all on neighboring islands, and while some may seem a little remote, a bit of a drive or ferry is worth it to check them out. Personally, I was blown away that I hadn’t heard of some of them before, and highly recommend seeking them out if you are interested in discovering what life is like way beyond Bali beaches.
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Table of Contents
- Gunung Kidul
- Pulau Merah (Red Island)
- Gili Trawangan
- Malang
- Karimunjawa Islands
- Gili Gede
- Thousand Islands
- Lombok
- Summary
Gunung Kidul
Gunung Kidul really took me by surprise. To get there, you will have to come from Yogyakarta in Central Java. Many travelers to Indonesia, particularly backpackers will have heard of Yogyakarta (Jogja), but there are millions of Bali visitors that haven’t.
While most visitors to the city will go there for the culture, including such world wonders as Borobudur and Prambanan Temples, it is a couple of hours drive south that you will find the beaches.
And what incredible beaches they are!
On my first visit it was to go to the Pantai Timang Gondola. I’d heard about this hand operated gondola and just had to see it for myself. Operated by ropes and pulleys and about 6 local guys hauling on ropes, you get transported across a roaring chasm of crashing surf to a nearby island.
While that was an amazing experience, it was what came afterward that really caught my eye. Pantai Timang is about as far south as you will go for beaches from Jogja. Stretching along the coastline to the north, there are dozens of other beautiful beaches that need to be seen to be believed.
We stopped in at several of them and spent the rest of the day enjoying coconuts in quiet warungs overlooking the most incredibly blue waters. Beach sand that was as golden as I’ve seen in Indonesia (even better than Nusa Penida) stretched for miles along the coast, and little islands sat offshore, breaking up the view beautifully.
To get there, we had to ride our scooters from Jogja, but you can easily hire a car and driver for a daytrip. Otherwise, there are tours available to Pantai Timang which is right nearby.
Pulau Merah (Red Island)
Aah, Pulau Merah.
I’ve heard people reminisce dreamily about what Bali was like 30 years ago. Well, I think that Pulau Merah (Red Island) would come close.
This place is located really close to Bali, only a couple of hours from Banyuwangi on the East Coast of Java. To get there from Bali, all I had to do was ride my scooter! I jumped on the ferry at Gilimanuk across to Java, and continued riding the rest of the way.
The beach here is miles long, glowing golden sand with beautiful green islands offshore. The surfing is as good as Bali, and a busy day sees about 5 people in the water. The beach head is dotted with little warungs selling basic Indo food, cold beer and coconuts, and accommodation is simple, 3 star homestays.
If you like to get away from it all, kick back somewhere beyond Bali and have a really cheap Indonesian beachside experience, then this is truly the little hidden gem to do it at.
As a little extra, if you are willing to go out of your way, there are actually hidden beaches near Red Island that you will truly have all to yourself. Places such as Pantai Wedi Ireng are only really known to locals, but certainly won’t be for very long!
Gili Trawangan
Ok, so this one may not really be a big secret, but I don’t think the majority of Bali visitors really know that much about it.
The first time I visited Gili T, I had only heard that it was a huge party island. While at night time that can be true, during the day it is a sleepy, quiet and relaxing escape. If you are looking beyond Bali for somewhere relatively close by to relax on the beach, then this is it.
The Gili Islands (there are 3 in total) have no motorized transport, with the only methods of getting around being by bicycle, horse and cart or walking. They are small, have very few large resorts, and make you feel right at home as soon as you arrive.
The thing I really loved about Gili T was taking a pushbike ride around the island, finding a secluded strip of sand, laying in a hammock between two palm trees and sipping on an ice cold beer. It doesn’t come much better than that, and on the Gili’s you can do it.
Also, the islands here are not expensive. We stayed in homestays on all of our visits to Gili T, and paid much the same as we would have in cheaper areas of Bali. At night, we ate in the night markets in the village, and during the day visited free beaches and drank cheap beer.
Pretty good!
Malang
Malang is not exactly the first place that you would think about when searching for beaches beyond Bali. More famous for being the gateway to the incredible Mount Bromo, or locally for theme parks and waterfalls, it’s the wider Malang regency that boasts a beautiful stretch of coastline.
To reach it, you have to drive a couple hours south of Malang. Similar in a way to Gunung Kidul, the coastline here has a couple of dozen beaches consisting of sweeping golden sands, azure waters and absolutely no one around! The only time that you might meet some semblance of a “crowd” is during the domestic tourist season, or particularly busy weekends.
These beaches are NOT known on the international tourism radar. YET.
Being very low on tourism, the roads around here can be sketchy, but for the most part they are surprisingly good. Each beach serves up something different, and depending on where you go, you can expect to find hidden caves, waterfalls plummeting onto the beach sand, fresh seafood restaurants along the beach head, or incredible, unique rock formations around the water’s edge.
There is even one beach that looks like Bali’s Tanah Lot, with a temple on an island, reachable via a small footbridge at all times of the day.
Karimunjawa Islands
This is another place I had never heard of before I began researching for Lonely Planet. I thought I had been everywhere around Central Java, until someone asked me if I’d been to Karimunjawa. At first I thought they were joking, until I looked into it.
As it turned out, one of my friends knew all about Karimunjawa, and offered to give me the full tour. The place is incredible, and for an idyllic alternative beyond Bali, I have to say they are the perfect choice.
Accessing Karimunjawa is done from Semarang or the nearby port town of Jepara. You can also fly into cities such as Yogyakarta or Solo and transfer to Jepara. Located 75 kilometers from the coast, it takes a few hours to reach Karimunjawa on the fast boat, or longer if you take the ferry, but what awaits is worth it.
Visiting Karimunjawa is all about laid back beaches, watching sunsets and experiencing some of the most amazing snorkeling in Indonesia. For most of the year, no matter the season, you will have the beaches pretty much to yourself, something that can never be said about any beaches in Bali!
Gili Gede
If you’re looking for something a bit different, then try heading the “secret Gili’s”. Gili Gede, the largest of these islands, is located off the south west coast of Lombok, and hardly anyone knows they even exist.
To get to Gili Gede, you will have to go to Lombok and then come across to the island from there. It’s very close, and you can actually just hire a local fisherman to bring you over if you don’t mind a little bargaining.
What you will find when you arrive on Gili Gede, is a nice little island that’s home to 5 traditional villages, 2 dive centers, a couple of resorts and a smattering of home stays. This is about as quiet as you can expect to find in this part of Indonesia, but for some it may be just a little TOO quiet. Certainly, if you are looking for somewhere with a beautiful view to just chill, then Gili Gede should be on your radar.
Thousand Islands
If you are flying into Indonesia on a long haul flight, then you will possibly arrive in Jakarta before heading onto Bali. The thing is, you don’t even have to leave Jakarta to find tropical islands!
Now, I’m not saying this is better than Bali, because Thousand Islands aren’t exactly perfect. But if you are short on time in Indonesia, or are spending a bit of time in Jakarta anyway, then they are certainly worth checking out.
I had never heard of Thousand Islands until I was in Jakarta researching for Lonely Planet. As soon as I was told that there is a region of Jakarta that are tropical islands, I was intrigued. A couple of days later I was at Ancol Harbor catching a fast boat out into Jakarta Bay to see them for myself.
Thousand Islands is actually a string of 342 tropical islands stretching north from Jakarta. Only about a dozen of them can be visited by tourists though. The first and closest ones to Jakarta are very polluted, but about an hour out from the city the water clears and within minutes you are in beautiful, tropical heaven.
Places like Pulau Pelangi, Pulau Seribu, Pulau Macan and Putri Island are as idyllic as they get, with incredible diving, snorkeling, and white sand beaches.
For a place beyond Bali and this close to Jakarta, I’m still amazed at how good they were.
Lombok
Lombok is only a short flight to the East of Bali, or an easy ferry ride away. For this reason, it’s long been a favorite of travelers looking to head beyond Bali. Historically, it’s also the first place that most visitors to Indonesia visit AFTER Bali.
So where are the good beaches on Lombok?
The most popular are at Kuta, Lombok. Not to be mistaken for Kuta in Bali.
This was my first port of call in Lombok. It makes sense, and isn’t that far from the International Airport. A quick Taxi or GoCar will get you to Kuta, which also happens to be the backpacker and digital nomad center of the island.
Kuta has some really spectacular beaches, all within a few minutes scooter ride of the main center. They blew me away with how quiet they were, with clean white sands, and the clear blue green waters that you would expect to see in a tropical paradise. The area is great for diving, and also turns on some good surf waves as well!
Away from Kuta, the best beaches can be found on the west coast, not too far from the Gili Islands. Quiet, long stretches of sand lined with palm trees and local warungs make this area a favorite for tourists to visit either on the way to, or after a trip to Gili T.
Summary
Finding a nice beach beyond Bali isn’t hard. In fact, it doesn’t take long to find a beach in Indonesia that is a lot better than the majority of beaches in Bali, with a small fraction of the crowd. My personal pick is Pulau Merah, for ease of reaching it from Bali, and for the beauty and relaxed vibes!
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