Amed Travel Guide

Destination Guide · East Bali

Amed Travel Guide

Snorkel from the shore with Mount Agung behind you.

By The Bali Guideline Editorial TeamUpdated 15 October 2026

Area Brief

What Amed is really like.

Amed is a 14 km strip of fishing villages and black-sand bays on Bali’s north-east coast, in Karangasem, where coral starts a few strokes off the beach and Mount Agung fills the skyline. It suits snorkelers, divers, freedivers and early sleepers. It is 2.5 to 3 hours by car from Bali’s airport, and the USAT Liberty wreck at Tulamben is 20 to 30 minutes north.

Amed is not one village but a 14 km run of coast road on Bali’s north-east tip, in Karangasem regency. From the turn-off at Culik it strings together the bays of Amed, Jemeluk, Bunutan, Lipah, Lean, Selang, Banyuning and Aas, with Mount Agung (3,031 m) about 17 km to the west. The reef starts a few strokes off the beach, and at Jemeluk the slope drops into a wall about 40 m deep, so you can snorkel, dive and freedive without a boat. Tulamben and the USAT Liberty wreck are 15 km north-west.

Tourism came late: the road was sealed in 2000 and phone lines arrived in 2003. Ecodive Bali, the oldest dive center, dates from 1997, and dive and freediving schools now line the road at Jemeluk, but fishing and salt still shape the day. Jukung outriggers go out before dawn, and a few farmers still dry Amed salt in split coconut trunks, though their number fell from about 200 to about 20 in the decade to 2016.

Read the full overview

The trade-offs are real. The airport is 2.5 to 3 hours away. The beaches are coarse black pebble at Amed village and grey-black sand farther east, better for getting into the water than for lying on. There is no center and no Grab or Gojek, so you need a scooter or a driver, on a road that climbs steeply over the headlands with few street lights. ATMs are scattered, and nightlife means a sunset bar with a live band.

The reef carries scars too. In the late 1980s villagers broke up the coral in front of Amed village, partly for building material, and the beach there shrank by about 100 m. Rehabilitation began in 2003, and statues sunk in Jemeluk Bay now grow coral.

Against its neighbors: Tulamben is a dive village and little else; Candidasa, about an hour south, is closer to Tenganan village, Padang Bai and the airport but has a narrow beach; Padang Bai has far more boats to the Gilis. Choose Amed when the reef in front of your room matters most.

Best for
Shore snorkeling, diving and freediving
Vibe
Quiet fishing villages, early nights, few bars
From the airport
2.5–3 hrs by car (about 100 km)
Days needed
3 nights; 4–5 for a dive or freediving course
Best time
April–October for calm, clear water
Getting around
Scooter or car with driver; no Grab or Gojek

Amed is a good fit if…

  • Snorkelers: Jemeluk’s reef starts a few strokes off the beach
  • Divers, with the Liberty wreck 20–30 minutes away at Tulamben
  • Learning to freedive, with deep water close to shore at Jemeluk
  • Couples after quiet evenings, sunsets and sunrise views
  • A base for Lempuyang, Tirta Gangga and Taman Ujung

Skip it if…

  • You want a sandy swimming beach: these are pebble and grey sand
  • You have under three nights: the transfer is 2.5–3 hours each way
  • You want nightlife, shopping or streets you can stroll
  • You won’t ride a scooter or pay a driver: there is no Grab or Gojek

Neighborhoods

Which part of Amed to base yourself in.

Amed is not one place. Each pocket has its own pace, noise level and walking distance to the things you came for.

Gold labels are the neighborhoods below. Numbered pins match the things-to-do list; zoom out for the day trips.

  1. 01

    Amed village and the Culik turn-off

    You leave the main east-coast road at Culik and reach the sea at Amed proper, the bay that gave the strip its name. Its beach is coarse black pebble lined with jukung outriggers, the salt fields of Purwakerti and the Amed Salt Centre sit beside the coast road, and the Pyramids reef lies offshore. Guesthouses here are among the cheapest on the coast.

    Best for: Budget stays near the salt fields and fishing boats

  2. 02

    Jemeluk: the main snorkel bay

    Jemeluk is the most convenient bay. Its reef, statues and wall are a swim from the beach, Ecodive Bali, Apneista and other dive and freediving schools sit on the road behind it, and cafés and warungs line Jalan I Ketut Natih. The road then climbs to the Jemeluk viewpoint. It is the one place where you can snorkel, eat and book a dive without a scooter.

    Best for: First-timers and anyone on a dive or freediving course

  3. 03

    Bunutan: villas on the headlands

    Over the headland east of the viewpoint, villas and small resorts climb the slopes above Bunutan’s quieter beach, where garden eels poke out of the sand. Offshore, Bunutan point is a deeper drift dive with reef sharks and barracuda. Many rooms face the sunrise over the Lombok Strait, but Jemeluk’s restaurants are 2 to 3 km back west, so you ride to dinner.

    Best for: Couples and villa groups who want a sea view and quiet

  4. 04

    Lipah and Lean: the second hub

    About 4 km east of Jemeluk, Lipah has the strip’s second cluster of warungs, small shops and dive shops, around a beach with shade, paid loungers and grey-black sand, plus a small wooden wreck in 1.5 m of water. Lean, the next bay east, is smaller and quieter. It is a calm middle base, about 3 km from the Japanese wreck.

    Best for: A beach and a few restaurants without Jemeluk’s boats

  5. 05

    Selang and Banyuning: the quiet east

    Past Lipah the road narrows and climbs again. Selang and Banyuning have a handful of upmarket villas and resorts on the slopes, a few oceanfront restaurants and the Japanese wreck in Banyuning bay. Currents are stronger here: visibility off Selang can drop, and Gili Selang, the rock off the eastern tip, is a dive for experienced divers. You drive to most dinners.

    Best for: Honeymooners and repeat visitors who want seclusion

  6. 06

    Aas and the far east

    Aas ends the Amed strip, about 14 km from Culik and the farthest bay from Jemeluk’s dive shops. A few family-run bungalows and guesthouses face the open strait and the sunrise, with fishing boats on the beach. Beyond it the road continues around Bali’s eastern tip through the Seraya villages to Ujung, a slow, hilly route to Amlapura.

    Best for: Long stays and travelers who want total quiet

  7. 07

    Tulamben: the dive village

    Tulamben, in Kubu district 15 km north-west of Jemeluk (20 to 30 minutes via Culik), is built around the USAT Liberty, which lies about 40 m off a beach of black sand and volcanic rocks. Most resorts belong to a dive operator, and village porters carry the tanks to the water. There is little else: a few warungs, no swimming beach and early nights.

    Best for: Divers doing several dives a day, including night dives on the wreck

Top Sights · 16 picks

Things to do in Amed.

Ranked by how worth your time they are, with the practical detail you need before you go.

How we rank: how much each place adds to a first trip, weighed against cost, crowds and travel time from Amed. Prices and hours checked 15 October 2026. Editorial policy

  1. 01Nature

    Snorkeling Jemeluk Bay

    Jemeluk Bay, Purwakerti, just east of Amed village

    Jemeluk is why most people come to Amed. You swim a few meters from the beach over coral and reef fish to where the slope turns into a wall that drops to about 40 m, so blue water starts very close to shore. Statues sunk in the bay to grow coral include a small underwater shrine; its marker buoy has gone, so ask a dive shop where to look.

    Tip: Go early, before the snorkel boats arrive, and wear fins: the current can run along the wall.

  2. 02Adventure

    USAT Liberty wreck at Tulamben

    Tulamben, 15 km north-west of Jemeluk (20–30 min by car)

    The USAT Liberty, a US Army cargo ship about 120 m long, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in January 1942 and beached at Tulamben to save its cargo. Tremors from Mount Agung’s 1963 eruption slid it off the beach, and it now lies about 40 m offshore, 5 to 30 m deep and crusted in coral. Divers walk in from the beach; snorkelers see the shallow stern on clear days.

    Tip: Arrive by 8 am, before the day-trip groups. Ecodive Bali charges US$75 for two Tulamben dives from Amed (checked Oct 2026).

  3. 03Nature

    The Japanese wreck at Banyuning

    Banyuning, about 7 km east of Jemeluk

    A small steel wreck lies in Banyuning bay about 20 m from the beach, its top a few meters below the surface, so snorkelers see it as clearly as divers, who follow the reef beyond it to about 35 m. Nobody knows which ship it was, or whether it is even Japanese. Coral covers the hull, and cardinalfish and trumpetfish school around it.

    Tip: Kawi Karma Beach Restaurant charged IDR 25,000 for entry, parking, a drink and showers in late 2025; mask and fins rent for IDR 25,000 each.

  4. 04Adventure

    A freediving course at Jemeluk

    Jalan I Ketut Natih, Jemeluk (Purwakerti)

    Amed is one of Southeast Asia’s main freediving centers: at Jemeluk you walk into calm water and need no boat until about 50 m. Apneista, on the beach, runs a two-day Level 1 course for beginners at IDR 4.6 million and a three-day Level 2, with a trip to the Liberty wreck, at IDR 6.5 million. It also holds daily yoga for freedivers at Blue Earth Village, where its 25 m pool is.

    Tip: Prices checked Oct 2026; the Molchanovs certification fee is extra. You need to be comfortable in water, not a strong swimmer.

  5. 05Adventure

    Learning to scuba dive

    Dive shops at Jemeluk, Amed village and Lipah

    Shore entries, warm water and the Liberty nearby make Amed an easy place to learn. Ecodive Bali at Jemeluk, the area’s oldest dive center (1997), charges US$375 for a PADI Open Water course over three days and five dives, and US$75 for two fun dives at Jemeluk or Tulamben, with gear and pickup from hotels in Amed or Tulamben. Many other PADI and SSI shops line the road.

    Tip: Prices checked Oct 2026. Avoid diving just after heavy rain, when run-off clouds the water.

  6. 06Viewpoint

    Jemeluk viewpoint at sunrise

    Headland between Jemeluk and Bunutan, about 500 m above the bay

    Where the coast road climbs over the headland east of Jemeluk, a free lookout with a few shelters looks back over the bay, the rows of jukung on the beach and Mount Agung behind. It is the classic Amed photo. At dawn the sun rises behind you over the Lombok Strait, first light reaches Agung and the fishing boats head out below.

    Tip: Sunrise is between about 5:45 and 6:35 depending on the month. It is a steep 500 m walk up from the bay; parking is free.

Itinerary

How to spend your days in Amed.

Routes that follow the light, the traffic and the opening hours, so you are in the right place at the right time.

One day in Amed

Based at Jemeluk: about 3 km on foot in total. The 7 km hop east to the Japanese wreck, the 3 km back to Lipah and the 6 km to the salt fields need a scooter or a driver; there is no Grab or Gojek.

  1. 5:30

    Walk about 500 m up from Jemeluk Bay (10–15 minutes, steep) to the viewpoint for sunrise, then back down.

  2. 7:00

    Snorkel Jemeluk from the beach before the boats arrive, and look for the sunken statues.

  3. 9:00

    Breakfast on Jalan I Ketut Natih, then sit out the late-morning heat.

  4. 11:00

    Ride about 7 km east (15–20 minutes) to Banyuning and snorkel the Japanese wreck.

  5. 13:30

    Ride about 3 km back west to Lipah for lunch and an hour on the beach.

  6. 15:30

    Ride about 6 km west to the Amed Salt Centre in Purwakerti (salt making in the dry season).

  7. 17:30

    Sunset over Mount Agung from Sunset Point or the beach at Amed village.

  8. 19:00

    Walk to a Jemeluk warung for the grilled fish of the day.

Three days in Amed

Day 1 on the coast, day 2 at Tulamben, day 3 inland to Lempuyang and the water palaces. Walking only works within a bay; every other leg needs a scooter or a car with driver.

  1. Day 1

    Follow the one-day plan: Jemeluk at sunrise and from the beach, the Japanese wreck, Lipah and sunset.

  2. Day 2, 6:30

    Drive 15 km (20–30 minutes) via Culik to Tulamben and dive or snorkel the Liberty before the day-trip groups.

  3. Day 2, 10:30

    A second dive or a snorkel over the Coral Garden, then lunch back in Amed.

  4. Day 2, 16:00

    The Amed Salt Centre, then sunset on the beach at Amed village.

  5. Day 3, 5:00

    Drive 16 km (about 40 minutes) to the Lempuyang car park for the first shuttle, around 5:30.

  6. Day 3, 11:00

    Drive about 10 km (25 minutes) down to Tirta Gangga for the koi ponds and lunch.

  7. Day 3, 14:00

    Drive about 10 km via Amlapura to Taman Ujung.

  8. Day 3, 16:00

    Return on the coast road through Seraya, about 25 km (an hour) to Banyuning, then 7 km to Jemeluk.

Seasons

Best time to visit Amed.

Amed is a dry-season place. From April to October the sea is usually calm and clear, visibility is at its best and the salt farmers are working. From November to March afternoon storms arrive, and run-off after heavy rain can cloud the water for a day or two, though diving carries on all year. Mount Agung is clearest early in the morning; by midday it is often in cloud.

July, August and the Christmas and New Year weeks are busiest, so book rooms and courses ahead. At Tulamben the Liberty is busiest from mid-morning, when day-trip dive groups arrive from the south.

Nyepi, the Day of Silence, falls on 8 March 2027: the whole island, boats included, shuts for 24 hours. Lempuyang closes to tourists for about five days at its temple festival, which follows Galungan; in 2025 that was 23 to 27 April, and the next Galungan is on 13 January 2027.

Getting There

How to get to Amed.

Travel times to Amed
Bali airport (DPS)2.5–3 hrs by carAbout 100 km via the east-coast bypass, Candidasa, Amlapura and Culik, longer in afternoon traffic. Most people book a private driver through their hotel.
Ubud2–2.5 hrsAbout 80 km by car. Perama’s shared shuttle runs Ubud–Padang Bai–Candidasa–Amed–Tulamben and stops at Amed Café Hotel (checked Oct 2026).
Seminyak or Canggu3–3.5 hrsAbout 95 km by car; leave early to clear south Bali’s traffic.
Sanur2–2.5 hrsAbout 85 km by car on the coast bypass. Perama’s shuttle also starts in Kuta and Sanur.
Padang Bai1–1.25 hrsAbout 48 km by car via Candidasa and Amlapura; East Bali’s main port, with far more Gili and Lombok boats than Amed.
Gili Islands1–1.5 hrs by fast boatThe shortest Bali–Gili crossing, but only a few departures, mostly in the morning.
Lovina2.5–3 hrsAbout 90 km by car along the north coast via Singaraja and Tulamben.
Tulamben20–30 minAbout 15 km by car or scooter via Culik.

Getting around Amed

Amed is a 14 km strip with no center, so you need wheels. Grab and Gojek do not operate here, there are no metered taxis, and bemos from Culik run mostly in the morning. Rent a scooter from your guesthouse or book a car and driver by the day; dive shops collect guests from hotels in Amed and Tulamben.

The coast road is narrow and climbs steeply over the headlands, with tight bends and few street lights, so ride slowly and avoid riding after dark if you are new to scooters. Within one bay, such as Jemeluk or Lipah, you can walk to the beach, the dive shops and dinner.

Know Before You Go

Amed tips that save time and trouble.

  1. 01Bring cash: ATMs are not in every bay, and warungs, beach fees, parking, Tulamben’s porters and Lempuyang’s shuttle take cash.
  2. 02Pack reef shoes for the pebble beaches and Tulamben’s rocky entry.
  3. 03Skip diving the day after heavy rain if you can: run-off cuts visibility.
  4. 04Carry a head torch: the coast road is mostly unlit, and on 2 May 2025 about 80 percent of Bali lost power for hours.
  5. 05Do not stand on the reef or the Jemeluk statues, which are there to grow coral.
  6. 06Pay Bali’s IDR 150,000 tourist levy online through Love Bali before you travel.
  7. 07Medical care on the strip is basic and serious cases go to Amlapura or Denpasar, so make sure your insurance covers diving.

FAQ

Amed questions, answered.

Is Amed worth visiting?

Yes, if you want to snorkel or dive from the beach, learn to freedive or spend slow days under Mount Agung; Jemeluk and the Liberty wreck are among Bali’s best shore sites. On a short trip it is less worth it: the airport is 2.5 to 3 hours away, the beaches are pebble or grey sand, and nightlife is a few bars.

How do you get to Amed from Bali airport?

By car: about 100 km, or 2.5 to 3 hours via the east-coast road, Amlapura and Culik, longer in afternoon traffic. Most people book a private driver through their hotel; Perama runs a cheaper shared shuttle from Kuta, Sanur and Ubud. Grab and Gojek do not work in Amed, so book your ride back ahead.

How many days do you need in Amed?

Three nights suits most people: a day on Jemeluk and the Japanese wreck, a morning at Tulamben for the Liberty, and a day inland to Lempuyang and Tirta Gangga. Allow four or five nights for a scuba or freediving course, since the transfer each way takes most of a morning.

Is Amed good for snorkeling?

Yes, it is one of mainland Bali’s best places to snorkel from the shore. Jemeluk Bay has coral, fish and sunken statues a few strokes out, the Japanese wreck at Banyuning sits a few meters down, and Lipah has a small wreck in 1.5 m of water. Go in the morning and wear fins.

Can you snorkel the USAT Liberty wreck?

Yes. The wreck lies about 40 m off the beach at Tulamben and its stern is only about 5 m down, so on clear days snorkelers see the hull and the fish from the surface; the rest reaches about 30 m. Go early, before the dive groups, and wear shoes for the rocky entry.

Amed or Tulamben: where should you stay?

Stay in Amed unless you are only here to dive. Amed has more places to eat, several bays to snorkel and the freediving schools, and Tulamben is 20 to 30 minutes away. Tulamben is a small dive village whose resorts mostly belong to dive operators, best for several dives a day and night dives on the Liberty.

Which part of Amed is best to stay in?

Jemeluk is the most convenient: you snorkel from the beach and walk to dive shops and dinner. Amed village has cheaper guesthouses, and Lipah is a quieter middle option with its own beach. Bunutan, Selang, Banyuning and Aas are the quietest, with villas and sunrise views, but you need a scooter or driver for meals.

Can you get from Amed to the Gili Islands?

Yes. Amed has the shortest crossing to the Gilis, 1 to 1.5 hours by fast boat, but only a few departures, mostly in the morning. Padang Bai, about an hour’s drive south, has many more boats. Take a morning crossing and keep a spare day before any flight.

When is the best time to visit Amed?

April to October, the dry season, when the sea is calmest, visibility is best and the salt farmers are working; July and August are busiest. November to March brings afternoon storms and cloudier water after heavy rain, but diving goes on all year. Avoid Nyepi on 8 March 2027, when the whole island shuts down.

Can you climb Mount Agung from Amed?

Yes, with a guide. Since January 2025 Bali’s forestry and environment office has required climbers to hire a local guide and banned climbing in bad weather, and trails close during big ceremonies at the mountain’s temples. The usual route starts near Besakih temple, on the far south-west side of the mountain, so arrange the guide and an early transfer through your hotel.

Nearby

Where to go after Amed.

Areas that pair well with this one, with honest door-to-door times.

How we researched this

Sources and fact checks.

Prices, opening hours, show times and travel times in this Amed guide were checked against official sites, government tourism pages and recent reporting on 15 October 2026. Where sources disagreed, we give the official figure and say so. Rankings are our editorial judgment, set out in our editorial policy.

We re-check the guide at least every three months and whenever we hear about a change. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

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