Green Bowl Surf Forecast and Overview

Green Bowl Beach is one of Bali’s most remote beaches, a 30-metre stretch of coarse white sand at the base of a 75-metre-tall cliff. The steep drop down hundreds of steps adds to the allure, drawing only the most daring weekenders and die-hard surfers who prefer the uncrowded waves and exotic locale.

Green Bowl Beach also has two big limestone caverns that contain little rock shrines and give shade and protection for beachgoers and surfers paddling in from their fun and thrills on the waves.

On a good day, Green Bowls can have terrific right handers, requiring smaller swells to be manageable but capable of handling far above head if you are ready to battle the strong rips and the inevitable rouge set. As the surge curves around the reef, the wave will start breaking well out at the back, but many of the waves will shut down and not make it to the end portion. If there is a crew on the inside, going to the top of the reef can be a terrific alternative.

Green Bowls’ inside portion can have a tremendous hook, where the wave will bend back on itself as the surge goes into the channel and refracts onto the reef, providing some great barrel opportunities. Green bowls is not optimal due to its swell exposure, but it can be a terrific day when the swell and wind are down.

Green Bowl Wave and Best Condition

Wave size: Waist high – 1.5x overhead

Swell size (ocean): 1 – 4ft

Swell direction: S – SW

Tides: All tides

Direction: Right

Best wind: N – NE

Surfing level: Intermediate / Advanced

Crowd factor: 5/10

Localism factor: 1/10

Fun factor: 6/10

Risk factor: 7/10

Green Bowls sits offshore in the unusual Northerly wind, so go there early to take advantage of the morning light. It will break on all tides and swell orientations from 1ft to 1.5 over-head, although it is worth noting that on the outgoing tide, a large current will run down the channel here.

Getting to Green Bowl Beach

Green Bowl Beach is not difficult to reach. A branch south of Nusa Dua’s Jalan Dharmawangsa and into Jalan Pura Batu Pageh leads directly to the abandoned Bali Cliff Resort. The temple is located to the left of the resort’s entrance, and there is a parking space in the temple’s foyer that is guarded by a local elder who also works as a ticket collector.

There are numerous stories about how the beach earned its unusual moniker. Surfers are usually responsible for the nicknames of numerous beaches and surf places along the coast of the Bukit Peninsula. The color and curvature of the rock that looms over the beach, as well as the emerald patches of seaweed in its clear waters, are most likely the inspiration for ‘Green Bowl Beach.’