The island of Bali holds a charm created by its warm, welcoming people and their unique Hindu culture. Both crew and guests will certainly enjoy their time here with something to suit every taste. There are cultural and scenic activities including visits to atmospheric temples and luscious rice paddy views. There is a huge diversity of tourist attractions from wake parks to night zoos. For the more active there is surfing, diving, cylcing, canyoning and trekking. A more relaxing experience takes in beaches, gourmet food in world class restaurants, shopping and spas along with an array of trendy nightlife keeping everyone entertained.
Bali is the main international tourist hub for Indonesia and Benoa Harbour is the international port, located on the eastern side of the southern tip of the island. Benoa Port officials can issue Visa On Arrival, making life less complicated for arriving yacht crews and guests
Bali is also the home port of the Lighthouse Team, with the central office based in Sanur, about 15 minutes from Benoa Harbour. Having lived on the island for 20 years and tried and tested the majority of what is on offer, the Lighthouse team are well placed to suggest some of the “must-visit” places to really make the most of this internationally renowned island.
Benoa Berthing
Benoa Marina is the most yacht standard facility in Bali and the floating pontoons are the best that can be booked on the island. Lighthouse has facilitated vessels of up to 95m in length in the marina, but the draft of just over four metres proves to be the limiting factor, rather than length. Current configuration allows for berthing for up to four large yachts, or a greater number of smaller vessels, but the marina is evolving and the configuration may change to allow more capacity. There is easy gangway access to shore with non-potable water and low-level shore power available on the dock. Lighthouse can provide rental U/V & multi media water filtration systems to provide potable water on request. For larger electricity requirements, a shore side generator can be arranged, although it is expensive. It is possible to advance book berths at Benoa Marina through Lighthouse, as long as there is space at the time of enquiry and deposits are made.
East Dock / North Dock (AP2 Dock)
For larger yachts or vessels with a draft beyond the capacity of the marina, the 500m east dock, and the new 800m north dock in Benoa harbour provide options to come alongside. With draft of 10m and 1,000+ metres of dock, it’s possible to accommodate even the largest cruise ships. The east dock is in regular use by commercial cargo and passenger traffic and although in quieter times, has been utilised by yachts for extended periods, it is often necessary for a vessel to move for commercial activities and passenger ferry or cruise ship arrivals. The North dock commenced operations in 2025 and has so far allowed vessels to hold position for extended periods with more certainty. There is no potable water or shore power available on either of the commercial docks.
Royal Bali Yacht Club (RBYC) Serangan Bay
Previously the Royal Bali Yacht Club operated at Mertasari Beach in Serangan Bay was an option for stern to berths on floating concrete pontoons, however at present this is not available. Operators plan to rebuild in future and hopefully the berthing option will return. There is also a potential anchorage within Serangan Bay, although it’s busy with local vessels and swing room can be limited for larger vessels. The Serangan Bay anchorage area is a little exposed, both to wind and the larger swells that come through. This location is great for crew, with transfers of only five minutes to Sanur (or walking along the beach to various local cafes) and 45 minutes drive to Seminyak.
Future Projects
There are multiple marina projects touted for Bali, and throughout the cruising regions, so please reach out to Lighthouse to discuss the latest developments.
“The Lighthouse Consultancy are so helpful for everything a super yacht and crew could ever need. The provisioning team go above and beyond the norm, questions and requests are answered promptly and nothing seems to be too hard for them. I have no hesitation recommending this team to any super yacht that is cruising Indonesia. Thanks so much for your amazing service”
Lighthouse assisted Andromeda with complicated research for a broad-ranging Indonesian itinerary. Requests included: itinerary development, physical inspection of multiple destinations, arranging all logistics in support of +100m yacht and most challengingly seeking flight permits for the yacht’s own helicopter.
“We arrived in Indonesia with a lot of concerns…but we shouldn’t have worried. The amount of personal investment and time each and every one of Andy’s team members invested in our Indonesian experience prior to our arrival, showed within minutes.”
I could not recommend the Lighthouse Consultancy highly enough for any yacht venturing through the Indonesian archipelago. They make an impossibly challenging and remote destination as stress free as possible.
“Simply put, MY Eileen could not have achieved anything without the resourcefulness and dedication Andy and his team put in day in day out whilst we were in Indonesia. We found ourselves in an unfortunate technical difficult period and I have to say that Andy’s support was world class, if not possibly the best service I have ever received from an agent anywhere in the world.”
