Amed is a beautiful little fishing town on the North East coast of Bali, in the region of Karangasem. I spent many pleasant weekends up here.
Diving/snorkeling
Amed is famous for its world class diving and snorkelling. I completed my diving Open Water PADI course here and I highly recommend it to anyone. Here is a link to the video documenting my progress throughout the course. This video was made by my fantastic instructor at Ecodive (read my comparative guide of the different Open Water PADI courses HERE).
Featured in the video are all the major diving sites in Amed, including the spectacular US and Japanese shipwrecks at Tulamben and Banyuning. There are also some fantastic wall dives. All dives were accessible from the beach and were very reasonably priced.
Equally fabulous, is the snorkelling available. The shallow coral is just as beautiful and colourful, with biodiversity to suit all tastes. This allows for the non-divers to experience equally incredible sites.
Driving down the coastline
Something I recommend to anyone, going up to Amed, is to ride a scooter South down the coastal road. You do not have to go very far (perhaps 10 minutes) and the views are mind-blowing! After a morning of diving, I drove all the way down this coast to the point the road turned off to the right and inland, which took about 30 minutes, and then turned around to go back up to Amed.
Dining
There are a couple of places I would suggest for eating. One is Galanga, a French owned and run restaurant. The food there is delicious, especially the Tempe Burger and it can't be beaten for homemade ice cream. The other places I went to were little local clifftop restaurants which caught the sunset. To reach them you drive (South) through Amed and up to the coastal rode. These restaurants are scattered along the left side of the road. They serve good local food, fresh fish and cheap arak cocktails. In the evenings, live reggae is played in an array of bars and restaurants which can be fun, however, nightlife is quite quiet up here so do not expect a big party.
Water Temples/Palaces
On the way up to Amed, there are a couple of Water Palaces and Temples which are worth seeing. See my other page HERE for more information and photos.