Overview
The coast here is a series of horseshoe bays separated by headlands — Seger, Tanjung Aan, Mawun — each with its own break and its own wind. The Mandalika resort zone built around the circuit has changed the town quickly, and the land acquisition behind it drew a formal warning from a United Nations special rapporteur in 2021 over the eviction of local families. Every February the Bau Nyale festival brings thousands to the beach at night to catch sea worms, tied to the legend of a princess who threw herself into the sea.
Highlights
Tanjung Aan is the swimming bay and Seger the viewpoint above it; both are ten minutes east by scooter. Surf lessons run at Gerupuk, where the break is reached by boat and works through more of the tide. Roads outside town are unlit and the dogs are territorial after dark, so ride back before nightfall.