Leaving behind the well worn past year and ushering in the new year has always brought people to travel, binge and unwind in their very own ways. And what better way to say adieu to the past than at the Island of the Gods! The city of pomp, show and glamour is the perfect place to spend the new year in Bali with a barrage of light shows and the best clubbing nights in tow. The city is filled with experiences for every kind of tourist- from quiet and intimate to loud and brazen! South Bali is known as the top destination for partying and welcomes you with open arms if concluding the year with fireworks or a drunken haze-listed below are some of the experiences one should undertake!
1. Nightlife at Beach Clubs
Think Bali, think Beach Clubs! Sea, sand and booze: with a backdrop of fantastic music awaits your new year’s eve experience. Probably the most crowded areas of celebrations, tourists who want to usher in the new year with a high dose of adrenaline and euphoria swarm the hotspots. With the swankiest of private beachfront clubs throwing the grandest of parties, you’re sure to experience the best of clubbing at these places. An array of private beach parties in South Bali offer a vibrant and endless nightlife. Look out for parties in Kuta, Seminyak, Sanur, Nusa Dua and Canggu.
A. Potato Head Beach Club
Among the front runners of nightlife experiences, Potato Head Beach Club is renowned for its two-day sound and light extravaganza, with famous DJs and music bands coming in to perform for the night. What takes the cake here is the lavish two bars and an infinity pool with the backdrop of the world’s best sunset. The Beach Club also has great decor, making the venue a psychedelic world through art installations. Potato Beach Club is famous for hosting the largest crowds in Bali and even larger firework show. The club also has rooftops and pools, which are all synced with the mood of New Year’s Eve, making the parties one of the most happening in Bali, leaving you awestruck.
Location: Kuta Utara, Bali
B. Finn’s Beach Club
Featuring a music festival that usually spans two days, the Finn’s Beach Club has become the most popular beach party in Bali over the last two years. Its multiple pass entry and secure accommodation areas make it the most frequented.
Location : Jalan Raya Pantai Berawa, Canggu
C. Bali Ku De Ta Echo Beach Club
Fireworks, non-stop music, and panoramic vistas, Bali’s Ku De Ta has it all. Considered one of Bali’s premier nightlife spots, this has one of the most lavish spreads among the nightlife scales. Hop aboard to the life of the night as each hour approaching midnight gets crazier and more vibrant.
Location: Seminyak, Kuta
Some of the other famous clubs to celebrate the new year in Bali is the at Cocoon Beach Club, OMNIA (in Uluwatu), Double Six Rooftops (Seminyak), Deus Ex Machina (Canggu) are great alternatives that provide ultimate party vibes with great discounts.
2. Public Beaches
If you want a quieter, less pumped environment than the discotheques and clubs, head out to the nearest beach, often towards the same area as the private parties. You can enjoy being out with the wind of the sea in your face, with downtime intimate eat and drink without the hassle of entry tickets and cramped spaces. If you’re lucky, you will witness some fireworks that ring in your new year!
Since the more popular beaches would be thronging with people, who would most likely not be sober, we recommend you to visit any lesser-visited beached like Petitenget Beach in Seminyak and Berawa Beach in Canggu.
A. Petitenget Beach:
Seminyak’s most tranquil beach, Petitenget is among the best places to unwind without the hustle of too many people being around. With white-grey sands and local eateries thronging the beach, you will have no short of a great time here. It falls near the Potato Head Beach Club, so if you’ve just missed getting your tickets, you still can have a great time at the beach!
B. Berawa Beach:
Berawa Beach is the perfect beach to celebrate the new year in Bali if you prefer a secluded party area and calming sunsets. You can also rest the night on the parasols or the lavish beachside hotels.
3. Binge in Bali!
A full belly and a hearty laugh are the perfect way to ring in the new year! Bali spoils everyone with a lush choice of eateries- from fine dines to local restaurants stacking up discounts and NYE specials on its menus. You are sure even to get discounts at some places! Make sure to place bookings, as seats get filled up quickly with everyone on the streets to ring in the new year.
Restaurants like Ku De Ta, W Bali, Old Man’s, and Boardwalk Restaurant offer great food with an even better ambiance!
A. Ku De Ta, Bali:
A sunset destination, this restaurant lounge bar provides a glamorous nightlife along with some gobsmacking food. Featuring a tropical beach vibe of interiors, this combines the best of partying and luxurious dining with a platter of international dishes. The highlight of this arena is its far-stretching lawn that lights up the night with professional DJ’s. A New Year’s favorite, make sure you get your bookings done early!
Location: Jalan Kayu Aya, Seminyak, Kuta, Badung, Bali
B. W Bali
Most popular among the W Bali bars is the WooBar, that is set up right near Seminyak’s Petitenget Beach is the perfect place to unwind before you begin the new year in Bali. Another great party spot, W Bali, has a lavish dining setting, aesthetic appeal, and a diverse menu. An annexe to the W Retreat and Spa hotel, this place gives food, party and dance the bang for its buck. A must visit if you’re in Seminyak.
Location: W Retreat & Spa Bali, Jalan Petitenget, Seminyak
4. Lightworks in the Jimbaran night sky
Ringing the New Year feels incomplete without the jet black sky lit up in shades of yellow, pink and white. So run along to the south side of Jimbaran Beach with your hands filled with munchies and seafood snacks and cosy up on the sand as midnight nears. Locals know best to not venture out too much at beaches, as most try to avoid the party scene.
A local favourite is the annual Puputan carnival on Badung Square which starts right after the midnight fireworks featuring giant handmade puppets. Enjoy the fireworks and then later, the huge carnival that runs all through the night! Another great place to catch the fireworks (and a magnificent first sunrise) is Sanur’s beaches. Make sure you’re not near popular beach areas, as there is a highly likely chance you’ll get sucked in a crowd of tourists.
Puputan Carnival Location: Jalan Udayana and Jalan Gaja Mada corner, Denpasar, Indonesia
5. Elegant Music and Unwind at Ubud
If the EDM beat drops and blaring music is not your scene this New Year in Bali, join the elite musical experience with fellow appreciators of good food and music at Jazz eateries and clubs.
Hop off the Kuta rave madness and take upon a soulful journey to Ubud- the Jazz capital of Bali. Passionate soulful music in the streets of Ubud is likely to whisk you away to a visual and auditory delight. Some resto-bars even feature traditional dances to the Jazz music, perfect for family or solo outings. You can enjoy an intimate new year eve date with the backdrop of live Jazz music accompanied by local food and drink- a profound experience out of the usual Bali vibe.
6. A Spiritual Experience at Denpasar
For the people living in Bali, every day is a party. So when the New Year approaches, they believe in divinity and gratefulness best expressed by offering prayers and invoking the divine. Take a shift from the Bali ordinary and head to the capital city of Denpasar, where culture and prayer awaits.
As dusk approaches, blend with the locals to offering prayers at Denpasar’s grand temples and move on to the vibrant display of cultural parades. The celebration gets hearty and livelier as the night progresses, with midnight fireworks and a joyous exclamation of “Selamat Tahun Baru” (Happy New Year). A local custom of shaking hands with all those around with the greeting is well respected! Dive into this authentic experience the next new year’s eve!
7. A Cultural Night in Sanur
Almost at par with Denpasar, the city of Sanur is also on a low down during the New Years Eve, perfect for the elderly and reserved tourists. Sanur brightens up with the traditional flags and ochre lightings, with frolicking traditional performances that are coupled with dramatic music and dance all night long.
You can also enjoy a lively retro night at Water Resorts (that are found in aplenty here), with the midnight Countdown Parties and finally begin the new year in the soft haze of Sanur Beach’s sunrise.
Bali is the perfect place to start a fresh new year, may it be with partying all through the New Year’s eve or offering your respects in the traditional Balinese way. With the above list, wade through different experiences for the new year in Bali.
