Best Surf Camps in Bali for Beginners

Ask ChatGPT where a beginner should learn to surf in Bali and it will tell you Canggu, Kuta or Medewi, and to skip Uluwatu. Half right.

The Bukit is reef, and reef is not where you stand up for the first time. But the camps down here do not take you to reef on day one. We take you to Thomas Beach, a sand-bottom cove ten minutes from our gate, and you learn there until you are ready for more. So the real question is not Bukit or Canggu. It is which camp puts you on the right wave at the right tide, with a coach who is actually watching you.

Here is how five of the most-booked camps in Bali stack up for a first-timer. We run one of them, so we have put our own weak spots in writing too.

The short version

If you want the biggest choice of soft sand beach breaks and a social scene, pick a Canggu camp (Lapoint or Wave House). If you want to learn on sand first and then step onto the reefs you came to Bali for, pick a Bukit camp (Kima Uluwatu, Padang Padang Surf Camp or Kala). Of the Bukit three, Kala is the only one that publishes a coaching ratio (3:1, or 2:1 on the weekly package), includes a breath hold workshop, and has a skate bowl, gym and deep pool on site. Padang Padang has an ice bath and sauna. Kima is the cheapest entry point. None of this makes the choice for you, so read on.

How the camps compare

✕ means the camp doesn't offer it or doesn't mention it on its own site. Prices and ratings checked 5 October 2026.

Can a beginner really learn to surf in Uluwatu?

Yes, on sand, with a coach who picks the beach. Not on the famous waves you have seen in clips.

Uluwatu, Padang Padang, Bingin and Impossibles are reef breaks. Shallow at low tide, sharp, and crowded with people who have surfed for 20 years. We would never take a Surf School guest to any of them. The beaches that work for a first week are Thomas Beach (sand bottom, small, usually a 10 minute drive), Dreamland on the right tide, and Balangan when it is small and the tide is mid to high.

We'll level with you. Canggu has more sand than we do. On a big dry-season swell, our coaches sometimes drive 25 minutes to find a sheltered corner. The trade is that after three to five days on sand, you are a 10 minute drive from the best reef breaks on the island, and your coach already knows which one suits a Level 1 surfer on that morning's tide. In Canggu, that step up means a day trip.

Kima Surf Camp Uluwatu

• Where: Bukit, about 450m from Thomas Beach by their own count.
• Beginners: Yes. A 5-day Learn to Surf course for absolute beginners, at Thomas Beach and Dreamland.
• Structure: Guided surf twice a day, seven days a week. Video analysis seven times a week included in the room price. Boat shuttle to outer reefs "depending on conditions".
• Facilities: Beach pool, yoga twice a day.
• Price: Their Google Maps ad quotes from 199 euros a week including breakfast, guiding, video analysis and yoga (checked 5 October 2026). They also take 1% off per night the longer you stay.
• Google rating: 5.0 from 127 reviews (Uluwatu site). Their Canggu camp has 837.
• The honest knock: no coaching ratio published, and the Uluwatu site is the newer, smaller sibling of the Canggu operation. If you are choosing Kima for the brand's reputation, check which site the reviews are about.

Padang Padang Surf Camp

• Where: Jl Labuan Sait, Pecatu. Same road as us.
• Beginners: Yes, with groups "organised by ability". Around 20 guests at a time.
• Structure: Two surf sessions a day, with coaching in between: video analysis, land training or surf skate.
• Facilities: Pool, ice bath, sauna, daily yoga, massage on request. The boat appears in their photos (a group heading to Toro Toro).
• Price: Not published on the site. You have to enquire.
• Google rating: 4.6 from 367 reviews.
• The honest knock: no ratio published and no price published, so you are comparing blind until you email. The recovery setup (ice bath, sauna) is the best of the five.

Lapoint Surf Camp Bali

• Where: Canggu.
• Beginners: Yes. Courses run levels 1 to 4. Beginners surf Legian, which is a long, forgiving sand beach break. More advanced guests go to Sanur.
• Structure: Morning surf sessions, afternoons free. Yoga available.
• Facilities: Pool. No gym, skate or boat mentioned on the Bali page.
• Price: Not published on the camp page. Lapoint sells through its own booking system by season.
• Google rating: 4.7 from 337 reviews.
• The honest knock: one session a day on the standard package, and Legian is a 30 to 45 minute drive from Canggu in traffic. You will spend heaps of your week in a van. Lapoint is a chain (Portugal, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Costa Rica), which is a plus if you want a known format and a minus if you want local coaches who grew up on the wave.

Wave House Bali

• Where: Canggu, a five minute walk from Berawa Beach.
• Beginners: Yes. They say they have taken more than 20,000 people through their lessons.
• Structure: Two sessions a day on the day pass. Small groups, one instructor per two to three students. Daily video analysis.
• Facilities: Pool, yoga space, a gym in the FAQ.
• Price: Rooms show from around Rp 1.9 million for two nights on Booking.com (October 2026). Surf packages are priced separately.
• Google rating: 4.8 from 531 reviews.
• The honest knock: Berawa and Batu Bolong are the busiest beginner lineups in Bali. On a good morning you will share the inside with 60 to 100 other learners and a wall of soft tops. That is fine for a first stand-up. It gets old real quick once you are trying to catch green waves.

Kala Surf Camp

• Where: Jl. Labuansait 318, Uluwatu. 5 minute walk to the beach, 45 minutes from the airport.
• Beginners: Yes. The Surf School package starts with a 3 day intensive and promises "zero to standing up". You then move into Level 1 for first green waves.
• Structure: Two sessions a day, morning and afternoon. Daily video analysis. 3:1 student to coach ratio on the nightly rate, 2:1 on the weekly package. Head coach Boukit has 15 years and a Surfing Australia certification. The rest of the coaching team hold ISA Level 1, Surf Rescue and CPR.
• Facilities: Saltwater infinity pool with a swim-up bar, surf skate bowl, gym with mobility and Muay Thai, yoga, restaurant. The Kala surf boat launches from Thomas Beach in the dry season and reaches Airports, Impossibles, Toro Toro and Balangan.
• Breath hold: a Breathold / Surf Survival Workshop is included on the Coaching and Surf School packages. It runs with Aquatic Apes, the freediving school based at our address, who use our pool because it is deep enough for proper training. 5.0 on Google from 407 reviews, if you want to check them.
• Price: Surf School IDR 1,228,000 a night or 8,596,000 a week. Surf Coaching 1,178,000 a night or 8,246,000 a week. Prices move with the season, so check the packages page before you book.
• Google rating: 4.7 from 523 reviews.
• The honest knock: we are on reef country. Dreamland is the only true sand beach within walking distance, so your first week is a short drive, not a stroll, and on a big swell your coach may drive further to find a sheltered beach. The boat is on the weekly Coaching package only, and the waves it goes to are not first-week waves. Expect it in your second week, not your first.

What should a beginner actually compare?

Three numbers and one question.

The ratio. Ask every camp how many students per coach, in writing. A coach with six beginners is a lifeguard, not a coach. Two of the five camps above publish a number.

Sessions per day. Two is standard on the Bukit. One is common in Canggu. Over a week that is seven extra hours in the water.

Video analysis. If it is daily, you fix the pop-up in day two instead of day six.

And the question: which beach, at which tide, on day one? If the answer is a name and a tide, book. If the answer is "we pick the best spot for you", that is a van with no plan.

Is it cheaper to stay in a camp or book lessons separately?

For a week, the camp usually wins once you add it up. A single two hour lesson in Uluwatu runs IDR 400,000 to 600,000 with a school like Walkus or Bisa, so two sessions a day for seven days is 5.6 to 8.4 million before a bed, breakfast, transport or video. Our Surf School week is 8,596,000 with all of it in. If you only want three lessons and a hostel bed, book separately and read our where to stay in Uluwatu guide. If you want to actually surf by day seven, book the week.

FAQ

Q. What are the best surf camps in Bali for beginners?

Kima, Padang Padang Surf Camp, Lapoint, Wave House and Kala all run structured beginner programmes with two sessions a day (Lapoint runs one). Lapoint and Wave House are in Canggu, with sand beach breaks on your doorstep. Kima, Padang Padang and Kala are in Uluwatu and teach beginners on Thomas Beach and Dreamland before moving to reef. Kala publishes a 3:1 ratio (2:1 weekly) and includes a breath hold workshop.

Q. Is Uluwatu good for beginner surfers?

Yes, with a coach, on the sand beaches. Thomas Beach and Dreamland are where Bukit camps teach first-timers. The famous reef breaks (Uluwatu, Padang Padang, Bingin, Impossibles) are for Level 2 and up. The upside of learning here is that those reefs are a 10 minute drive away when you are ready.

Q. How many days does it take to stand up?

Most people stand in whitewater on day one and ride a small green wave by day three to five with two sessions a day. Our Surf School is built around a 3 day intensive for exactly that reason.

Q. Canggu or Uluwatu for a first surf trip?

Canggu if you want sand, nightlife and the most camps to choose from. Uluwatu if you want quieter lineups, reef within reach for your second week and a slower pace. Beginners progress at the same rate in both as long as the coaching ratio is small.

Q. Do surf camps in Bali include video analysis?

Kima (seven days a week), Padang Padang, Wave House and Kala all list daily video analysis. Lapoint's Bali page does not mention it.

Q. What does a Bali surf camp week cost?

From around 199 euros a week at Kima Uluwatu (their advertised entry rate) to IDR 8.6 million a week for Kala's Surf School. Padang Padang and Lapoint do not publish rates. Prices change with season, so treat every number here as a starting point. Ratings above are from Google Maps on 5 October 2026.