Lovina Beach is located about 10 km to the west of Singaraja, right on the main coast road that will take you all the way around the island. It’s more an area than a distinct destination, really being comprised of the small towns of Kalisasem, Temukus, Kalibukbuk, Anturan, Tukad Mungga and Pemaron. This is a much more quiet stretch of coastline, and don’t come looking for the active clubbing scene or wall-to-wall shopping of other parts of Bali.

The beaches in Lovina tend to be of a black, volcanic sand, and you won’t find huge sprawling expanses of sandy beach that you have on other parts of the island. You also won’t find enormous waves here on the shore of the Bali Sea, as it is much shallower than the southern beaches that face the Indian Ocean. What you will find is a placid ocean, especially peaceful in the morning, and trust me, you will find yourself thinking that this is exactly why you came to Bali.

Lovina’s beaches have plenty of hotel options, and you just might find better value for money than you would find down in Kuta, especially in high season (June-August, and December and January). Another thing that you will appreciate is the close proximity of your hotel to the water. It’s easy to find hotels that are between the ocean and the main road, so that you’ll can sit and eat your breakfast right on the sea. Just try doing that down in Kuta! Having said that, you will want to find a place that is set back a bit from the street– less noise in the morning.

Dolphins are also a big attraction in the Lovina Beach area. Get up early one day and hire a local guy with a boat to take you out looking for these gorgeous creatures. No promises, but you have pretty good chances of seeing dolphins, and even if you don’t you’ll still enjoy being out on the water, with a great view of the north Bali coastline.

For about 400,000 rupiah from places like Sanur or Kuta you can get a driver to take you up over the gorgeous mountains of Bali’s interior, through rice terraces and jungle and down to Lovina Beach. Take a chance. You won’t regret it.

Come on up to the north coast, find yourself a nice hotel in the Lovina area for a fraction of the price that you’d pay down in Sanur or Kuta, and hire a local guide to take you and the kids out early one morning to look for dolphins. Even if you don’t see dolphins it’s a wonderful way to wake up in the morning, to the gorgeous calm waters of the Bali Sea. One of the first things you’ll notice about the ocean up here is the lack of wave activity, which might make for a less stressful time at the beach if you have small children. You’ll also notice that Lovina beaches don’t have the expanses of white sand that you will find in the South but instead tend toward volcanic black sands.

The Lovina area is actually a bunch of small towns to the west of Singaraja: Kalisasem/Temukus, Kalibukbuk, Anturan, Tukad Mungga and Pemaron. If you want a little bit of nightlife Kalibukbuk is probably your best bet. Kalisasem and Temukus has cheap accommodation near the beach and you can also find equipment rental if you’d like to go snorkeling. Really there are plenty of decent hotels and guesthouses in Lovina though, and a lot of them are right on the ocean, which is nice (and next to impossible to find down in Kuta at any price, by the way).

You can book a hotel online but if you’re not overly particular you can be pretty well assured of finding some acceptable accommodations. For my friends who visit Bali for a week or 10 days I always recommend at least a couple days in Lovina because in addition to being a great place to unwind, just the drive up through the rice terraces around Ubud and mountains around Bedugul and Kintamani obviously gives one a different perspective on Bali. That spot poolside on a lounge chair will be there for you when you return from your little side trip. Why not get a driver to take you up to Lovina Beach on Bali’s north coast? It might turn out to be the most memorable portion of your holiday.

The primary difference here is one of geography. Bali’s north coast is on the Bali Sea, which is quite shallow and therefore generally without the rough seas and often large waves such as you will find on the south-facing beaches of Bali. This means that hotels and restaurants are situated right on the water and oftentimes you can eat or have your hotel room just on the other side of a low seawall. If being right near the water means a lot to you, then you won’t get much closer than the Lovina beaches. Not having to fight traffic and cross streets full of motorcycles and taxis to get to the beach is also a real pleasure, especially before your first cup of coffee in the morning!

A lot of people also enjoy the visual effect of having the deep green backdrop of Bali’s volcanic mountain range rather close to the coast. You will probably be more aware here that you are on a volcanic island that still has thick jungle, waterfalls and plenty of exotic flora and fauna. Along those lines, if you are a nature lover the beaches of Lovina provide a wonderful base for a day trip to West Bali National Park, also known as Taman Nasional Bali Barat in Bahasa Indonesia. The drive from Lovina to the park is no more than a couple of leisurely hours, and you can hire a car with a driver. Be sure to bargain hard!

A relatively small percentage of tourists who visit Bali make it up to the Lovina-Singaraja area. It’s too bad because there is a lot more to Bali than shopping and partying. If some serious relaxation was what you had in mind when you booked your trip, you might find it more readily available up on the north coast. It has been said that Lovina is a little bit of a step back in time for tourists in Bali, before the traffic got bad and the prices started to really rise. In some ways, economically speaking, Bali’s north coast probably has as much in common with neighboring Java as it does the south end of Bali: the pace is slower, and while some tourists might find that boring, others definitely find that Lovina beaches are waiting to provide them with precisely the relaxed beach holiday that they need.

The beaches in this area of Bali are characterized by an ocean that is completely different from the southern part of the island. This is the Bali Sea, not the Indian Ocean, and the difference is immediately apparent when you get your first look.

The beaches on the southern part of the island are south facing, with only Australia far to the Southeast filling its part of the enormity of the deep Indian Ocean. This size and deapth results in powerful surf year-round, especially in the months between March and October. Even people with a lot of experience in the ocean may find themselves tested unexpectedly by the big waves and rip currents. Those with little or no experience may unfortunately find themselves way over their heads in more ways than one. Should this dissuade you from enjoying a beach holiday on Bali’s southern beaches? No, but exercising caution is essential if you do.

On the other hand there is Lovina and its beaches. If you look at a map of Southeast Asia you will see many islands north of Bali, like Borneo and Sulawesi-in fact most of the thousands of islands making up the Indonesian archipelago are in this area. These islands exist in much calmer waters, with very little in the way of wave action. Bali’s North coast benefits from this geographical difference, or at least you would consider it a benefit if you’re on holiday with small children who want to play in the water. Now you won’t find the wide, white expanses of beach sand that characterize many of the beaches in the South, but on the other hand it’s pretty easy to find a reasonably priced Lovina hotel that is literally right on the waterfront. Just try to do that in Kuta!

The lack of surf pretty much all year-round means that snorkeling is another option for your family. Just ask the locals for suggestions as to snorkeling spots and you will have plenty of help finding snorkeling gear as well!

And of course if you haven’t heard about the Lovina dolphin excursions before you even arrive at the Lovina beaches, you will certainly be approached with offers to take you out on an early morning dolphin-finding trip. For children especially, getting close to these magnificent, friendly creatures will probably be a highlight of their Bali vacation. No guarantees, but if you are lucky enough to get close to some dolphins it will certainly be a high point for mom and dad also. Come on up to Lovina Beach– you’ll be glad you did.

And why would that be? It’s mostly about geography. Coming from the south of Bali, you’ll enjoy the mountains and rice terraces as you wind through Bedugul, then come down to the sea, to Singaraja. Lovina faces northwest into the Bali Sea, about 6 miles/10 km to the west of Singaraja in the Buleleng subdistrict. The beaches in this area are entirely different from the south facing Indian Ocean beaches near the airport. Instead of large waves and often dangerous conditions, you’re welcomed by a placid sea, the surface of which often resembles the smoothness of a lake, especially in the morning. While there is not a lot of beach sand, the beaches and the entire coastline are undeniably beautiful.

Okay so there is no surfing on the beaches of Lovina, well how about dolphins? You’ll be constantly asked by the locals if you have been out to see the dolphins yet. Even if you visit for only a short time, make it a point to hire a boat and go out early one morning to get a close-up look at these beautiful creatures. With the lack of sea swells the experience can border on the mystical, on a quiet cloudless morning.

There is also good snorkeling around the Lovina beaches if you know where to look, and don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of helpful folks eager to tell you exactly where the good areas are, and rent you the masks, snorkels and fins that you will need to do it.

While you might not plan to stay in the north of Bali for your entire Indonesia holiday, I think most people who make the trip up from places like Kuta, Seminyak, Nusa Dua and Sanur for a couple of days feel like it was time well spent. For you and your whole family, Lovina Beach might turn out to be one of those travel surprises that you end up appreciating as much as the sites or activities that you had planned to enjoy beforehand.