Bali’s ‘secret’ beach hiding in plain sight in Nusa Dua

In Bali’s south, there is an elite enclave filled with luxury hotels and resorts.

Developed by a State-owned company in the 1970s to attract wealthy tourists to Bali, Nusa Dua has more than 20 luxury hotels and resorts, as well as a private hospital specialising in cosmetic surgery. Like gated communities in the Americas, not a single blade of grass is out of place in Nusa Dua, with manicured parks and gardens, water fountains, walkable footpaths (an anomaly in Bali), whisper-clean roads and beaches, fine-dining restaurants, country clubs, a golf course, upmarket day spas and more.

But unlike the gated communities in the Americas, anyone with a sunny disposition can get past the security booth at Nusa Dua, and you don’t have to be minted to enjoy its beaches and parks.

Set between two rocky islets artificially bridged to the mainland with sand, Nusa Dua Beach (in Bahasa, the Indonesian language, “Nusa Dua” means “two islands”) is a crescent of golden sand and clear, calm waters. There are a few sun chairs to rent, but nothing else. No annoying hawkers, no rubbish, and no dangerous rip-tides.

Both islands are carpeted with lush green parklands, pockmarked with shady trees, and ringed by jogging tracks. The southern islet, Peninsula, is the larger and taller of the two, and is home to the Waterblow — a narrow crag set in a limestone cliff that channels water that spurts up to 30m high.

The northern island, Nusa Dharma, has a small Hindu temple and the “soul surfing spot”, a protective offshore reef where sets of very gentle waves suitable for kids and beginnerd roll along the islet’s coast at mid and high-tide.

You can hire a surfboard and find a surfing coach on the boardwalk that lies adjacent to the island. There are also bicycles for hire and a row of “warungs” — small family-owned restaurants and souvenir shops where you can buy a sarong, swimsuit, an ice-cold Bintang or a bowl of nasi goreng, Indonesia’s famous fried rice, for a few bucks. There is also a clean toilet block with cold showers.