.

TravelTips24 : Asia : Southeast Asia : Indonesia : Bali : Amed

Amed

For the city in Turkish Kurdistan (Southeast Turkey) with the Kurdish name Amed, see Diyarbakir.

Amed is a fishing village in the east of Bali.

Culture and History

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 road that regularly washed away during the rainy season. To this day, phone lines are so limited in the area that most hotels only have one landline each, so it is wise to bring a mobile phone (cellphone) when visiting if you need to stay in touch with the outside world. Local Indonesian SIM cards can be purchased in thousands of places around Bali. There is also a public telephone office in the centre of Amed and a couple of internet cafes (the connection speed is V-E-R-Y slow, though).

English is widely spoken in all the hotels, restaurants and shops.

Travel to Amed & Visa Requirements

The easiest way into Amed is by hiring your own transport and driver. Beware that Amed is stretched out over ten kilometers so make sure that transport to your hotel is included in the price.

Tours & Getting around Amed

There are public 'bemos' that pass through Amed several times a day but the easiest way to get around is to hire a car and driver.

Amed attractions and sightseeing

Most people come to Amed as a getaway, including expats from other parts of the island. It's a favourite honeymoon destination for tourists and is also popular with divers and snorkelers. Sailing trips in small Balinese sail boats can be arranged, and day trips to local places of interest such as the Water Gardens of Tirta Gangga and Bali's most sacred temple, Besakih, high on the slopes of Mount Agung.

  • Lempuyang Temple, half hour drive from Amed. One of the eight most sacred temples on the island. Park in the car park and walk up the steps to the temple. The lower temple is always open but the upper temple (at the top of the dragon staircases) is often locked, so it is best to go with a Balinese driver who will usually be able to arrange for the temple priest to open it up for you. It's situated high up a mountain and there are magnificent sunset views at dusk.

Amed city tours

For entertainment, a local live band performs at Double One Restaurant once a week and there are sometimes free Balinese dance performances in some of the restaurants. A local Gong & Genjek group performs about once a month in the Bali Mandala room at Dancing Dragon Cottages.

  • Scuba diving -- There is some fine diving in the bay. The beach diving is great or take a small boat out five minutes if you want to get to the deeper water. Beware of diving after a heavy rain, the water from the run-off can greatly reduce your visibility. There are some excellent dive companies in Amed and also some that are based in Lovina and run day trips to Amed that you can be part of if you call ahead.
  • Snorkeling -- Amed has some fine snorkeling within meters of the coast. A reef follows the majority of the coastline. Due to the limited number of visitors to the area, the sea life is healthy and abundant.
  • Amed Dive Center, Phone/Fax: +62 363 23462, (email: info@ameddivecenter.com), [1]. Offers: Introductory Dives, Scuba Dive, Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Rescue Diver, Emergency First Respond, Fun Diving in Bali’s best Dive Sites and Diving and Sailing Trips or Dive package and dive Safaris. "Make Bubble No Trouble" is the motto of Amed Dive Center. Amed Dive Center operates as a limited liability company - PT. Amed Wisata Tirta - and holds all required national (Indonesian) licenses. Amed Dive Center is a registered PADI Dive Resort (No. 6771) and follows the PADI regulations. Amed Dive Center works in close cooperation with Hotel Uyah Amed & Condor Sailing.

  • Condor Sailing, Phone/Fax: +62 363 23462, email: info@ameddivecenter.com [2]. Enjoy Nature, Go with the Wind on a 18 m traditional sailing boat for sailing, diving, fishing, exploration, dolphin watching, snorkeling, or just swimming and relaxing.
  • Amed Scuba(halloscuba@yahoo.com), Amed Beach (Bunutan), ☎ +6281805537926, [3]. AMED SCUBA offers diving tours around Bali with the best places under and over the water, with the diving sites in Menjangan, Tulamben, Amed, Padang Bai, Nusa Penida. Divesafaris in the area of Amed, Fun Dives, Introductory dives and all PADI dive courses from Open Water to Divemaster. edit

Amed souvenirs & shopping

There are a few shops in Amed selling basic necessities (shampoo, bottled water, etc) as well as sarongs and tee-shirts, but it does not have the range of handicrafts and clothing shops that other tourist areas have.

Amed Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

  • Dancing Dragon Restaurant, Dancing Dragon Cottages, ☎ 0363 23521(info@dancingdragoncottages.com), [4]. 7AM - 10PM. International and Balinese cuisine. Also buffet catering for group events.From $10.  edit
  • Cafe Garam, Phone: +62 363 23462, [5]. Offering International and Balinese cuisine. Café Garam, which means Salt Café, is part of Hotel Uyah Amed, which translates as Salt Lodge Amed. Garam is the Indonesian - and Uyah the Balinese word for salt. In order to combine the development of tourism with the traditional lifestyle this hotel and café right was built behind the salt production fields and use the salt production as its motto. The aim is to preserve the traditional salt production by promoting it as point of interest for foreign tourists and explain the production process. The salt is produced in the dry season (when production is possible) and stored it in traditional bamboo huts "Gudang Garam".

Amed nightlife, bars, clubs & pubs

Amed cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels & lodging

There is a wide range of hotels in the area, with rooms ranging from $20 - $200 per night. Most of them have been built by westerners in partnership with Balinese people and have brought a welcome increase in employment to the area. Everyone knows everyone so there is a real feeling of village community, but the hotels are well spaced out so you feel that you have your own private space there. There are no TVs in most of the hotel rooms, so bring a good book to read or better still, spend your time getting to know the locals. The pace of life is very slow and relaxed in Amed, the people are friendly, and they have time!

  • Apa Kabar Villas [6] is a small and quiet collection of ocean front bungalows (sleep four) and Balinese villas (sleep six) surrounded by lush gardens. They also have a lovely restaurant, swimming pool, and some nice coral for snorkeling right off of their beach.
  • Dancing Dragon Cottages, Amed, Bali, Indonesia, ☎ 0363 23521(info@dancingdragoncottages.com, fax: 0363 23521), [7]. checkin: 3.00pm; checkout: 12 noon. Feng shui boutique hotel. Air-conditioned thatched cottages with ocean views, 100-person conference center, pool, restaurant, bar.From $48.  edit
  • Villa Sinar Cinta, [8]. A traditionally built seaside villa with privacy and excellent service. It is the perfect place for maximally eight persons. Also with its large swimmingpool of 15 x 3 meters.
  • Hotel Uyah Amed, Phone/Fax: +62 363 23462, (email: hoteluyah@naturebali.com), [9]. We have implemented and maintain an environmental management system to reduce the consumption of natural resources and to prevent pollution by waste separation, energy and water - saving installations and programs. We try to communicate our environmental goals to the local community and our guest s in order to be in harmony with this beautiful environment.
  • Eka Purnama Cottages and Restaurant phone="+62 (0)828 372 264" "mailto:ekaamed@gmail.com" "http://www.eka-purnama.com" Eka Purnama is a family run, budget hotel located in Amed on the Eastern most tip of Bali, an area renowned for its traditional Balinese fishing communities, superb diving, snorkeling and outstanding natural beauty. All the comfortable cottages overlook the sea and are a short step away from the beach. The reasonably priced cottages are comfortable with a double bed and single bed, a ceiling fan, wardrobes and a spacious bathroom with shower and a western toilet.

Stay safe

  • Theft is almost unheard of in the Amed area. However, when travelling anywhere in the world, it is always wise to lock any valuable in a hotel safety box or safety deposit facility, and lock all doors and windows when you leave your room and when sleeping at night.

Get out

This page was last edited at 14:01, on 8 November 2008 by Stefan Ertmann. Based on work by David, Johny Canal, Bertil Videt, Jani Patokallio, Karen Kingston and Evan Prodromou, Wikitravel user(s) Balilover and Ronald, Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel and others.

Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license