In short. The water in Bali rises and falls twice a day, and the tide times shift by about an hour every day. For the south of the island (Sanur, Nusa Dua, Bukit) use the Benoa station: the high and low tide tables for November and December 2026 are below, in Bali time, with heights measured from the lowest level, LAT. The nearest tide is also shown on the home page of the site, from the same BMKG data. Plan swimming at Sanur and Nusa Dua for high tide, and a walk to Tanah Lot for low tide. Fresh data for any day is given by the "Pasang Surut" tool on the BMKG Maritime site, and the BMKG office in Denpasar warns about maximum water and flooding of the shore.
Why it matters. In Bali the water rises and falls twice a day, and on reef beaches the difference is visible to the eye. Sanur and Nusa Dua are described as shallow and calm. In December 2025 Detik wrote of Sanur "perairan yang dangkal dan ombak yang tenang", that is, shallow water and quiet waves, and in March 2026 Kompas wrote of Mengiat beach in Nusa Dua: "relatif tenang dan dangkal", relatively calm and shallow. When the water goes out, a shallow beach is laid bare, so on such beaches swimming is more comfortable at high tide. For surfing, timing also decides: on the reef spots of Uluwatu some waves work at mid and high tide and others at low tide, as Wikipedia describes. Tanah Lot temple stands on a rock by the shore and, according to the same encyclopaedia, is "only accessible on foot at low tide": people walk to it at low tide.
Which station. For the south of Bali take Benoa, the harbour next to Nusa Dua and Sanur. For Padangbai and Gili Manuk BMKG has its own stations. The tides at Benoa are mixed, with two high and two low waters a day, so the tide times shift by about an hour each day, as the table shows.
How to read the table. Times are in Bali time (WITA, UTC+8), and heights are counted from the lowest astronomical level (LAT), so they are always positive. "High" is the peak of the tide, "low" is the bottom of the ebb. BMKG rounds the time to ten minutes. BMKG shows the difference between high and low water over a day in metres: on weak days it is about 0.9 m (on 20 November the level runs from 1.09 to 1.95 m), on strong days about 2.3 m (on 27 November from 0.02 to 2.32 m, on 25 December from 0.05 to 2.26 m). The biggest difference in levels comes at new moon and full moon (spring tides), the weakest at the half moons. According to the BMKG moon phase table, these are the new moon on 9 November and the full moon on 24 November, which BMKG calls a supermoon (the Moon closest to the Earth). The biggest difference in levels in the table is seen on 25-28 November and 25-27 December: on such days the water rises higher than usual and falls lower. BMKG recalculates the forecast: before an important trip check with its tool, as the table here was read on 7 November.
Table, November 2026, Benoa, WITA time.
- 1 November: low 11:10 and 23:10, high 04:00 and 18:10
- 2 November: low 12:10, high 05:00 and 19:10
- 3 November: low 00:30 and 13:10, high 06:10 and 20:20
- 4 November: low 02:20 and 14:30, high 08:00 and 21:20
- 5 November: low 03:50 and 15:50, high 09:40 and 22:20
- 6 November: low 05:00 and 16:50, high 11:00 and 23:00
- 7 November: low 05:40 and 17:50, high 12:10 and 23:40
- 8 November: low 06:20 and 18:30, high 13:00
- 9 November: low 07:00 and 19:10, high 00:10 and 13:40
- 10 November: low 07:30 and 19:40, high 00:40 and 14:20
- 11 November: low 08:10 and 20:10, high 01:10 and 15:00
- 12 November: low 08:40 and 20:40, high 01:40 and 15:30
- 13 November: low 09:10 and 21:10, high 02:10 and 16:00
- 14 November: low 09:40 and 21:50, high 02:40 and 16:40
- 15 November: low 10:20 and 22:20, high 03:10 and 17:10
- 16 November: low 11:00 and 23:10, high 03:50 and 18:00
- 17 November: low 11:40, high 04:30 and 18:40
- 18 November: low 00:20 and 12:30, high 05:30 and 19:40
- 19 November: low 01:50 and 13:40, high 07:10 and 20:30
- 20 November: low 03:10 and 14:50, high 09:00 and 21:20
- 21 November: low 04:10 and 16:00, high 10:20 and 22:10
- 22 November: low 05:00 and 16:50, high 11:30 and 22:50
- 23 November: low 05:40 and 17:40, high 12:30 and 23:20
- 24 November: low 06:30 and 18:30, high 13:20
- 25 November: low 07:10 and 19:10, high 00:00 and 14:10
- 26 November: low 07:50 and 20:00, high 00:50 and 14:50
- 27 November: low 08:40 and 20:40, high 01:30 and 15:40
- 28 November: low 09:30 and 21:30, high 02:20 and 16:20
- 29 November: low 10:10 and 22:20, high 03:10 and 17:10
- 30 November: low 11:00 and 23:30, high 04:00 and 18:00
Table, December 2026, Benoa, WITA time.
- 1 December: low 11:50, high 05:10 and 18:40
- 2 December: low 00:40 and 12:50, high 06:30 and 19:30
- 3 December: low 02:10 and 13:50, high 07:50 and 20:20
- 4 December: low 03:20 and 14:50, high 09:30 and 21:10
- 5 December: low 04:20 and 16:00, high 10:50 and 22:00
- 6 December: low 05:10 and 17:00, high 12:00 and 22:50
- 7 December: low 06:00 and 18:00, high 13:00 and 23:30
- 8 December: low 06:40 and 18:50, high 13:40
- 9 December: low 07:10 and 19:30, high 00:10 and 14:20
- 10 December: low 07:50 and 20:00, high 00:40 and 14:50
- 11 December: low 08:20 and 20:30, high 01:20 and 15:20
- 12 December: low 09:00 and 21:10, high 02:00 and 15:50
- 13 December: low 09:30 and 21:40, high 02:30 and 16:20
- 14 December: low 10:00 and 22:20, high 03:10 and 16:50
- 15 December: low 10:40 and 23:10, high 03:50 and 17:30
- 16 December: low 11:20, high 04:30 and 18:00
- 17 December: low 00:00 and 12:00, high 05:30 and 18:40
- 18 December: low 01:10 and 12:40, high 06:40 and 19:20
- 19 December: low 02:20 and 13:30, high 08:10 and 20:00
- 20 December: low 03:20 and 14:40, high 09:50 and 20:50
- 21 December: low 04:20 and 15:50, high 11:10 and 21:40
- 22 December: low 05:10 and 17:00, high 12:20 and 22:30
- 23 December: low 06:00 and 18:00, high 13:10 and 23:30
- 24 December: low 06:50 and 18:50, high 14:00
- 25 December: low 07:40 and 19:50, high 00:30 and 14:50
- 26 December: low 08:30 and 20:40, high 01:20 and 15:30
- 27 December: low 09:20 and 21:30, high 02:20 and 16:10
- 28 December: low 10:10 and 22:30, high 03:20 and 16:50
- 29 December: low 10:50 and 23:30, high 04:10 and 17:30
- 30 December: low 11:30, high 05:20 and 18:00
- 31 December: low 00:30 and 12:10, high 06:20 and 18:40
Where to check yourself. Open the Pasang Surut tool on the BMKG Maritime site. In it you choose the station (Benoa), the dates, the "Rentang Waktu" of 3 days, a week or a month, the time zone "WITA" and the reference point "LAT". Below are a graph of the water level and two tables: "Pasang Tertinggi (H)" and "Surut Terendah (L)", with a button to download the data. If you choose "MSL", heights are counted from mean sea level and may be negative, which is not an error. We took the table above from the same tool on 7 November 2026, so check it against the site: BMKG recalculates the forecast.
Warnings about high water. When tides are especially strong, the regional office BBMKG Wilayah III Denpasar warns of "pasang maksimum" (maximum water) and of rob, that is, flooding of the shore by the tide. This happened in May 2026: Antara Bali on the full moon and rob. Restrictions on swimming at a beach are set by lifeguards with flags; how that works is covered in the guide to the ocean and flags.
What this means for you. Plan swimming at Sanur and Nusa Dua for high tide, and at low tide remember that the reef is exposed near the shore. Time a walk to Tanah Lot for low tide, taking the time from the table above. Check surfing on the reef spots of Bukit against the table: some waves work at mid and high tide, some at low tide. On the days of strong tides, around the new moon on 9 November and the full moon on 24 November, the water rises higher than usual, so do not leave things close to the line of the surf. Before you set out, open the BMKG tool once more: the forecast is updated.