My goal for this blog post was to finish writing it in 10 minutes. Why? Because that is exactly how much time we spent at Dreamland Beach.
After checking out of our villa in Jimbaran, Mike and I got ready for some fun under the sun. Our plan for our 6th day in Bali was to explore the island’s beaches, and our first stop was a beach called Dreamland Beach.
Dreamland Beach is located within the gated Pecatu Graha resort complex on the Bukit peninsula of Bali. The name “Dreamland” was actually invented by the foreign surfers who discovered the beach many years ago. Now, however, the beach is called “New Kuta Beach.” Kuta is a district in South Bali harshly labelled as “the worst place in Bali” because of its trash-filled beach and the hordes of drunken tourists frequenting it. It’s probably not the wisest move to rename Dreamland Beach and associate it with a place that many people avoid like the plague when in Bali!
Dreamland Beach wasn’t really a “must do” in our list but since we had plenty of time to kill, we thought, “Yeah, okay, why not?” Our driver Made told us that the last client he brought to Dreamland Beach two years ago hated it because of all the construction that was going on in the area. It’s been two years, though, so we thought that maybe things are a little better now. And so off we went!
Rented vehicles are not allowed to enter Dreamland Beach, so Made dropped us off at a station where exclusive shuttle buses pick up tourists and drive them to the beach and back to the station for free. The shuttle buses come every 10 minutes.
Before getting to the actual beach, we first passed through a hallway of stalls selling summer clothes, swimwear, and accessories. If you’re ever going to Bali in the summer, I suggest that you pack light because you can easily just buy clothes and accessories when you get there. Mike’s initial thought when we passed by this stall was: “I should have just bought a hat here!”
We continued walking and passed by this cute and colorful wall. And because I’m such a sucker for cute and colorful walls (more like cute and colorful anything), I just had to have my photo taken here!
Here’s where “Dreamland” suddenly turned into a nightmare. As we walked down the alley where the shops were, we passed by this insipid waterway polluted with rubbish. It was certainly not a very good first impression!
As we came closer to the beach, however, we found that the beach itself was not so bad after all.
It was, however, not the dreamiest beach I’ve seen. It was a little crowded, with too many beach umbrellas ruining the serenity of the place.
We noticed that the beach was full of foreigners, mostly Caucasians. For a while, I thought we were no longer in Bali! Made told us that the locals don’t really like going to the beach that much because they don’t want their skin to get dark.
The beach is known as a popular spot for surfers, so the beach provides basic accommodations and cafes for these surfers.
It’s not the most majestic beach, but it’s still pretty in its own way. The sand was white and fine and the water was clean and had a nice turquoise color. I also loved how blue the sky looks in this area. However, don’t expect a big and vast beach. It seemed a little small to us. Also, there were a lot of people. To be fair, we went on a Sunday, so maybe it would have been better to go on a weekday.
I read somewhere that this beach became popular when the band Michael Learns to Rock shot their music video here for their song “Someday.”
And here is the version from the other Michael:
It was too hot to go swimming so we just took a few photos before moving on to our next destination.
As soon as we got to the shuttle drop off and pickup point, the shuttle had literally just arrived… which means that we were only at the beach for exactly 10 minutes!
While Dreamland possesses its own unique appeal, personally, for us, it was just average. I think it’s a good beach to go to if you are staying in the Pecatu area or if you are into surfing. If not, it’s probably not worth the trip going there. We preferred other beaches in Bali like Blue Point / Suluban Beach and Seminyak Beach.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
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This looks like a wonderful trip
It was 🙂
Nadine Smith recently posted…Jatiluwih Rice Terraces
The photos you took are beautiful! I learned something new as I had no idea about Dreamland beach. That nasty water you passed on your way to the actual beach was terrible, but once you get to the beach it looks pretty nice! I haven’t been to a beach in about 7 years, but I’m hoping this summer I can visit one.
-Marie
Thank you, Marie! 🙂 The beach itself was okay. I found it to be a little too small and crowded. But it’s not bad, except for the part with the icky trash. 🙂 Yes, hopefully, you can visit a beach soon. 🙂
Nadine Smith recently posted…Jatiluwih Rice Terraces
Dreamland sounded so dreamy at first but oh my goodness what a mess! How on earth someone would want to hang out there, and how can people be so disgusting and leave their crap lying around after they leave the beach, That’s just awful and so not eco-friendly. Holy shit.
♥: Jasmin N
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It’s such a waste (literally and figuratively) because if they only clean up that part, the beach could be promising. It did make me sad to see that, but aside from that, the beach is fine. Not the best beach in Bali, though, in my opinion.
Nadine Smith recently posted…Jatiluwih Rice Terraces
Take me to Bali!! Oh my goodness! What fun exploring!
You should visit one of these days 🙂
Nadine Smith recently posted…Jatiluwih Rice Terraces
This is the least favourite beach in Bali for me. It’s really nice to read your post, it brings me back to my trip to this beach, although I’m not a fan of this beach either.
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Which beach was your favorite in Bali? 🙂
Nadine Smith recently posted…Jatiluwih Rice Terraces
This beach looks so nice, the water looks amazing. Shame that the beautiful spots always get so overcrowded. I look forward to seeing more from your trip to Bali!
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