Tanjung Benoa doesn’t get much walk-in business. Though the area has attracted internationally acclaimed hotels for over a decade, you still have to know it’s there. Bereft of the banes of hard tourism congestion, noise, crime and pollution, Tanjung Benoa doesn’t nearly receive the attention it deserves.
It’s hard to miss the huge sign on the left a few kilometers before Nusa Dua. After a few turns, you join the long sinuous road leading north to the peninsula’s tip. A more idyllic approach is to walk from Nusa Dua north along a golden-sand beach.
The 5-kilometer-long peninsula is usually found under the entity Nusa Dua, the world-class resort enclave to the south. But Tanjung Benoa is actually an attractive and self-contained destination in its own right. Where else on Bali can you stay in a whole villa on the beach weekdays for US$50 per night?
Pointing towards Benoa Harbor like a long finger, this once sleepy backwater of mangrove swamps, coconut palms and natural white sand has metamorphosed into a growing resort of luxury hotels, excellent restaurants and open-air cafes, professional water sports agents and well-stocked convenience stores.
Tanjung Benoa doesn’t have the same feeling of immaculate isolation as neighboring Nusa Dua. Its innocent, village-like atmosphere is a compromise between Nusa Dua’s pristine orderliness and Kuta’s frenetic pace. Sure, there are masseuses and sellers on the beach, but they’re not pushy. No trouble finding a place to park or go on a pleasure walk.
This is still very much Bali – modern Western in a village setting, a real living and working environment with makeshift warung, school kids riding bikes, moms pushing strollers and parades marching right down the middle of the road like in the Balinese countryside.
The speeding traffic and absence of sidewalks used to make walking along Jl. Pramata unnerving, but the local banjar have made steady improvements. Footpaths have been added, the road is being widened, efforts are being made to control the flooding and offshore reefs are slowly being reclaimed.
New hotels, boutiques and restaurants are constantly being built, affording tourists plenty of options. The area has always attracted major upmarket hotel chains with reputable internationally recognized names such as Aston, Novotel, Ramada and a spanking new ultra-modern Conrad.
Recreation
The mantra for Tanjung Benoa is marine sports. Water sport company offices line the entire strip, facing a gentle and shallow shoreline on the peninsula’s eastern side. People complain about the noisy jet-skis, water scooters, motorboats and banana boat rides, but eco-friendly recreation is also available.
At generally less expensive prices than Nusa Dua, enthusiastic may enjoy parasailing, scuba diving, snorkelling, water-skiing, glass-bottom boats, reef fishing and trawling. The intensive trains for parasailing takes all of 12 seconds. It costs about US$30 for two to three minutes in the air – a blast!
It’s advisable that you use only a reputable marine sports agency who can provide adequate insurance coverage. A safe bet is Yos Marine Adventures (tel: 0361-773-774, email: yosbali@indosat.net.id, website: www.yosdive.com), a professional outfit where many of the hotels as well as Singapore Airlines send their guests. The majority of the Tanjung Benoa’s hotels also offer well-equipped water sport centers and experienced instructors.
Tanjung Benoa Port
The relatively quiet village of Benoa on the peninsula’s tip is a superb place just to sit, have a drink and take in all the life of the harbor. Sitting at anchor is a wonderful collection of fishing boats and private yachts along with smaller Indonesian vessels, navy patrol boats, traditional Bugis perahu and rows of jukung pulled up on shore.
In this village of hot narrow lanes are Bugis kampung, mosques, and a large, garish Chinese Buddhist klenteng facing a big tree surrounded by a traditional open-air market. The temple’s annex contains bronze icons salvaged from the shipwreck of a 15th century Chinese vessel, proof of a long history of Chinese contact.
For hundreds of years Benoa was an embarkation point for ferries crossing to Suwungan on the mainland. From the beach, boatmen still take passengers across to Pulau Sarangan; at low tide you can even wade across the narrow channel.
E-mail : pakbill2003@yahoo.com
Copyright@2004 PakBill
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