Nusa Lembongan is becoming an increasingly popular destination for tourists who want to see a smaller, more intimate island during their time in Bali.
One of the attractions of this island is the Waka Beach Club and it’s this beach club that our team ventured forth on ferries to discover and explore.
This is what they learned on their awesome trip to Nusa Lembongan.
Introduction – Getting To Waka Beach Club
Waka Beach Club is on the small island of Nusa Lembongan off the coast of mainland Bali, if you want to get there – it’s quite a journey.
You’ll need to travel by boat to Nusa Lembongan, which is a reasonably pleasant trip in good weather and a bit more hair raising if it’s stormy, first.
Then, travel on Nusa Ceningan will either be by scooter or local scooter taxi and the roads are often close to non-existent which means you’ll need to be very careful driving back from a beach club, particularly if you’ve had a few drinks while you’re there.
This beach club is part of a resort, the Waka Hotel in fact, and that means they may also offer priority to hotel guests which can mean that you have to wait for seating etc.
However, getting into the beach club once you arrive is easy and the hotel complex offers parking, so you won’t have any problems securing your scooter.
Where Is Waka Beach Club? 8FC4+H68, Lembongan Island, Jungutbatu, Kec. Nusa Penida, Kabupaten Klungkung, Bali 80771
Website: Facebook
Opening Hours: 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily, except Nyepi
What’s Inside Waka Beach Club?
Waka Beach Club has an attractive pool area, day beds, and a restaurant and bar facility, In addition, this beach club has direct access to the beach.
Our Review Breakdown For Waka Beach Club
We try to conduct all reviews fairly for two reasons – the first is to be fair to the beach clubs that we review and treat them in the same fashion.
The other is to deliver a standard, consistent review format for you, our readers. This allows you to compare two beach clubs easily without having to carry out any calculations, etc. on your own part.
We do this by sending our entire team to visit a beach club, though they may not all visit at the same time or even on the same day.
Each team member, ranks the club from 1 (worst) to 5 (best) against the criteria laid out in the list below.
After their visit, they meet up and discuss their experiences and vote on a final grade against each criterion.
Then, one team member is elected to write up the review which is to reflect the discussions that they had and the final scores.
Once this review goes live, it will be a year, at least, before we revisit the beach club and make any amendments.
Pre-Club Advertising
We don’t see a lot of adverts for businesses in Nusa Lembongan either online or offline, but we have to say that as far as we can tell, Waka Beach Club is invisible in these spheres.
We find this kind of frustrating as it means that the beach club isn’t as busy as it could be and this can lead to a diminished experience for guests.
Yes, we know, it’s more challenging to advertise online when you have a strict geographic catchment area for visitors, but in 2025 – it’s not impossible to get this right.
Location
Nusa Lembongan is a lovely place, but it’s not very conveniently located if you want to just head out the door and enjoy a beach club day, it’s a lot of travel to get there and you’ll need to stay overnight on the island if you want to visit this beach club.
However, once you are there, Waka Beach Club is a beautiful venue and the pool area is fabulous and it’s not hard to get to once you’re on Nusa Lembongan because the island’s not very big.
Booking Process & Seating Options
There is no booking process at all on the Waka Beach Club website and we’re baffled by that. Sure, it’s a hotel and they will give priority to hotel guests but in 2025, you ought to be able to make a reservation online for a seat.
Particularly, when you consider that Waka Beach Club is part of a group of properties each targeted at luxury consumers. You can phone the property and try and arrange something but it’s so inconvenient when it could all be done at the touch of a button.
Entry Fee
In keeping with the best practices of the best beach clubs in Bali, there’s no entry fee to be paid at Waka Beach Club and we heartily approve of that.
We simply can’t understand why any beach club thinks it’s appropriate to charge a fee to come in, look around and take a seat at the bar and order some food or drink.
If a pub or restaurant pulled this trick, it would be empty and that’s how we feel about beach clubs with entrance fees.
Minimum Spend
There’s also no minimum spend at Waka Beach Club and we confess, we’re less happy about that.
The thing is that when a beach club has a minimum spend, they normally have a good booking process that secures you a seat and by paying a deposit, the beach club is incentivized to keep your seat, even if you show up late.
When a beach club like Waka Beach Club doesn’t have a minimum spend, the incentive is to give the seat away to anyone at the front door with a desire to spend money in the venue.
Welcome And Security
We were impressed with the welcome at Waka Beach Club which was friendly, professional and warm. We felt wanted as guests and that’s always a nice way to start the day.
However, as long-term readers will know, we’re big fans of bag checks as they help to keep venues safe for all their guests and there’s no security protocol at all at Waka Beach Club.
Inclusions
When you don’t pay an entry fee and you don’t have a minimum spend, typically, nothing is included in your time at a beach club and you have to pay for everything.
That’s true at Waka Beach Club and while the cost of renting a towel here is pretty negligible, you will have to pay to rent a towel and for any other service you require.
Service
Speaking of service, we really enjoyed interacting with the staff at Waka Beach Club, while they’re not quite as polished as the creme de la creme of the beach club scene, they are a credit to their venue.
They are warm, friendly, welcoming and kind and they have good knowledge of the things they serve and how their beach club works.
They are a highlight of your time at Waka Beach Club and they epitomize class Balinese hospitality.
Entertainment
There’s no real entertainment at Waka Beach Club and that shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. People come out to Nusa Lembongan for a break from the norm.
They want to chill out by the sea and read a good book, or chat with friends or their families. They’re not looking to dance until dawn. Mainland Bali is best for that.
So, the absence of entertainment at Waka Beach Club fits in with the mellow vibe of the club.
Pool Quality
We thought that the pool area was gorgeous, that there was more than enough seating to go around for the few guests that were there when we visited and that it was clean and inviting.
We’d be very happy to return to Waka Beach Club to enjoy another swim in the Bali heat in their pool.
Menu/Drinks Pricing
You simply can’t go wrong with the prices on the Waka Beach Club menu, they are among the lowest that we’ve ever seen in Bali and they still represent good value for money.
The property isn’t cutting corners, it’s taking advantage of the cheap rents and staff costs on Nusa Lembongan when compared to the mainland.
So, if you want a beach club treat and you’re not feeling as flush as you might be, don’t worry about it Waka Beach Club is a great place to go.
Food And Drink Quality
We doubt they’ll win any major culinary awards for their food and drinks but Waka Beach Club is a very good place to eat and the food is tasty, served in large portions and of a high quality standard.
The drinks which were a little more expensive than the food but still cheap by Balinese standards, were strong enough and cold enough. They were also nicely presented.
Sunset View
With a lovely position on the West side of Nusa Lemnbongan, you can get a fabulous sunset view here which provides a wonderful light show above the Indian Ocean.
This is a bit of a rarity for beach clubs outside of the mainland and that’s a shame because a Bali sunset is one of the highlights of staying on the island.
Music And Ambiance
They use piped music at this beach club and we doubt they put too much thought into the playlist. It’s pleasantly inoffensive and you’ll forget that it exists, two seconds after you leave.
And that’s just fine, again, this is a beach club for chilling and not for partying.
Payment Options
You can pay by cash or card at this resort and beach club, but we didn’t see any signs for QRIS payments which is a bit of a surprise as it feels like the sort of place that’s priced attractively enough to see more Indonesian guests than most beach clubs.
Exit Process
This attractive beach club is fairly small and it won’t take you too long to figure out how to retrace your steps to the front door of the resort when you’re leaving.
You will be wished a warm farewell by the local staff as you depart, which is exactly how it should be.
Transportation
This is Nusa Lembongan and while this beach club and resort are close to a local town, if you want to get around here – you can’t rely on Grab or Gojek.
You’ll either want to drive your own scooter or hire a scooter taxi from the ranks of locals offering this service.
It’s not expensive to get around like this, but the roads are often rough to non-existent and accidents involving spills are common.
Social Media Presence
The company has a decent social media presence on both Facebook and Instagram and these platforms are regularly updated.
We found the pics to be very representative of the beach club and they actually include people which is a good thing – we like to see a busy place, not an empty one.
But their channels are a bit promotion heavy and for some reason don’t seem to have gained very much traction with their intended audience.
Other/General Comments
This beach club’s spot on the beach is fantastic and we love that they’ve put day beds on the sand with umbrellas for shade while the ocean laps at the shore.
We also like that they offer snorkeling experiences from this resort, as Nusa Lembongan is one of the best snorkeling destinations in the world.
The beach club also has a very Balinese feel to it and that means it’s a great place to grab some cool shots for your Instagram.
Our Overall Opinion Of Waka Beach Club
Waka Beach Club’s biggest challenge is its lack of visibility to tourists outside of Nusa Lembongan, with barely any social media presence, no website, no online advertising and only this review out there – the only time you will know it’s there is if you stumble upon it.
And that means, it’s never really very busy and it lacks the buzz that you’d expect from a beach club destination and that’s a shame, because it’s a very attractive place and the service and food are good, though they could use extending the opening hours a little to incorporate the sunset.
Overall, we definitely wouldn’t travel to Nusa Lembongan just for this beach club, but if we were nearby, we’d probably go back and spend a few hours by the pool again.
FAQs
Can You Swim At Waka Beach Club?
Yes, there is a decent sized, if unusually shaped pool in the heart of this beach club where you can enjoy a relaxing swim.
There is beach access from this beach club and, in theory, that means you’re free to take a dip in the ocean too. However, we’d advise against it, the shoreline here is very rocky and unless you’re wearing protective watershoes, your feet are likely to get cut to pieces.
Stick to the pool, it’s a great place for lounging in the sun without the fear of lacerations.
What Can You Do At Waka Beach Club?
You can eat, drink, swim and relax at Waka Beach Club. We’d note that this beach club has some of the shortest hours that we’ve ever encountered in Bali and it’s more of a day club than it is a fully-fledged beach club.
So, make sure to arrive early and be prepared to leave early, we’d suggest stopping in for lunch, enjoying the heat of the day by the pool and then venturing out to explore the rest of the island before the sun starts to set.
Is Waka Beach Club A Family-Friendly Venue?
Yes, Waka Beach Club is a family-friendly environment as most hotel beach clubs in Bali are. You’ll find that children are welcome throughout the resort area.
However, this comes with the proviso that their parents keep an eye on them and prevent them from annoying of the other guests in the hotel.
There are also no special facilities at this beach club for kids, but given that it’s only open for 6 hours a day, it seems unlikely that most kids will get bored of the pool and the sand by then.
Who Owns Waka Beach Club?
Waka Beach Club is owned by a trio of Balinese brothers who prefer to stay out of the limelight and the hotel and club are fronted by Kamal K Kaul an Indonesian national who acts as the President and CEO of the Waka Group.
The group manages several properties on both Nusa Lembongan and in mainland Bali.
Final Thoughts On Waka Beach Club
We really like Nusa Lembongan and while we would not travel to the island just to visit this beach club, we think it’s worth stopping in at Waka Beach Club if you have time on your trip.
The adjoining resort is also an attractive place to stay if you’re thinking of spending a few days on the island.
Perhaps, the biggest downside of Waka Beach Club is that most people don’t seem to know it’s there – so it’s always quite quiet. Having said that, for some people that will be very appealing, indeed.
