Candidasa Seaside

Candidasa Candidasa is a neat little town a short hop from Padang Bai. It is a great place to spend the night on a trip around the island but there is little or no beach. It all washed away when the developers built too heavily along the shore and changed the way the waves replenished the sand. There are a few dive shops that operate there but you are better off diving from Padand Bai if you want to dive the islands offshore from Candidasa. It can be too difficult to launch the boat in Candidasa if the waves are big. The nearby small islands Tepekong, Mimping and Gili Biaha are all great dives. I recommend the Water Worx dive shop in Padang Bai for excellent service and outstanding divemasters. A few good restaurants have been built right on the seawall. From there you will have a beautiful view of the waves crashing on the breakwater. There is a big shallow water lagoon in the middle of town where the kids spend all day catching a small bucket of fish using rice for bait and very tiny hooks. A sidewalk follows the edge of the lagoon and can be walked in 10 leisurely minutes. At the end of town going north there is a sharp bend in the road. If you continue straight ahead there are a few nice resorts on a thin beach that might offer good discounts if you ask. If you want nice beaches it would be better to stay in Padang Bai. There is one a few hundred meters past the ferry harbor up and over the hill that is quite good. Both Candidasa and Padang Bai are an easy drive from Kuta or Ubud. There usually is a police checkpoint outside Padang Bai where the police shake down drivers for bribes. If you are a foreigner it would be a good idea to have an international or Bali drivers liscense or risk paying a penalty. The road crew just put in a new road last week right through downtown Candidasa so it's smooth driving if you have a car or motorbike. If not, there is Perama Tours with the red and white buses out of Kuta, that are a cheap way for visitors to get around without and hassle. Once in Candidasa you can easily walk from one end of town the the other. The ojek (motorbike taxis) are for hire at reasonable cost for trips to the countryside. Bali - Candidasa 2006   www.dutchpickle.com

 

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