Five Hidden Sunset Spots in Seminyak That Aren't Beach Clubs
Seminyak is rightly celebrated for its sunsets. Every evening the whole strip turns out for it, and every evening several thousand people watch the same sun go down from the same handful of beach clubs, having paid a minimum spend for the privilege. The sunset is free; the sunbed is not, and there is a persistent local suspicion that the clubs have rather successfully persuaded visitors otherwise.
The northern end of the beach, beyond the last of the clubs. Walk fifteen or twenty minutes north from the main Seminyak beach access and the loungers simply stop. What is left is wide grey sand, a scattering of local families, the occasional football game, and precisely the same sun setting into precisely the same ocean. Take something to sit on and a drink from a shop and it costs nothing at all.
The warungs behind the beachfront. A row of simple, family-run places sits a street back from the sand, and several have upstairs terraces or roof space with a clear western view over the low buildings. The food is a fraction of the beachfront prices, the beer is cold, and you will usually be the only visitor there. Ask; owners are generally delighted to point you up the stairs.
Petitenget beach, up toward the temple. Quieter than the Seminyak strip proper, with the sea temple silhouetted at the northern end and far fewer people. It is a working stretch of beach as much as a sunset spot, with fishing boats pulled up and locals swimming, and the atmosphere at dusk is considerably calmer than anything nearer the clubs.
Any rooftop that is not selling sunsets. A number of small hotels and restaurants a few streets inland have roof terraces with an unobstructed western horizon, and because they are not marketing the view they are neither full nor expensive. The trick is to look up as you walk the back streets in the afternoon and note anywhere with chairs on the roof, then come back at six.
The rice fields on the Kerobokan side. Ten minutes inland the buildings thin out and the remaining paddy opens up, and sunset over water-filled fields with palms in silhouette is arguably a better picture than the beach version. Walk one of the field paths in the late afternoon, stand still, and watch it happen with nobody else there.
The pattern behind all five is the same: go slightly further, or slightly inland, or slightly earlier than the crowd. Sunset in Seminyak begins to soften around half past five and the light is often at its best in the ten minutes after the sun has actually gone, which is precisely when the beach clubs empty as everyone heads off to dinner.
None of which is an argument against the beach clubs, which are good at what they do and pleasant enough once in a fortnight. It is an argument against assuming they are the only option. The same sun sets on the whole of the west coast, and most of that coast is free.