About Lovina

A Introduction to Lovina

Officially Lovina does not exist, Lovina is the leftmost part of the map (in the yellow part). The region is called Buleleng and is marked in yellow, although the region extends far into the purple part, parts of the green part also belong to Buleleng, the largest region of Bali.

Lovina is an area located between the 2 large cities in the north Singaraja and Seririt, which is popularly called so, there is no Balinese who has Lovina as birth place.

The name Lovina originated from the Lovina Beach Hotel, the pioneer hotel built in 1953 by Anak Agung Pandji Tisna. It was the first hotel built in the area. When the Lovina Beach Hotel was handed over to his younger cousin in 1956, business declined and the Lovina Beach Hotel slowly lost popularity. The centre (Kalibukbuk) at the dolphin statue is also called Lovina or Lovina Beach.

In 1980 the provincial government of Bali built 2 beach houses for the Lovina Beach Hotel as support. When the area became more popular in tourism, the name Lovina also became more famous and so the 7 fishing villages located here became an area with the name Lovina. I understand that there are different versions of the origin of the name. The Lovina Beach Hotel still exists and is also listed in the hotels section.

As mentioned, Lovina originally consists of a row of fishing villages along the northern road in Bali, which have grown together under the influence of tourism. They are the following villages (from east to west) Pemaron, Tukad Mungga, Anturan, Banyualit, Kalibukbuk, Kaliasem and Temukus.

It is a quiet area with a black (lava sand) beach and it is a beautiful diving area, so don’t expect golden sandy beaches and beach hotels with sunbeds on the beach. There are restaurants, cafes, shops, diving schools and hotels.

The tourist centre is located in the village of Kalibukbuk, which also has a beach promenade. In the centre is the famous statue with a dolphin (this area is also known as Lovina Beach). Lovina is best known for its dolphins, which you can find early in the morning in groups at the nearby reef. In contrast to the south, you can swim anywhere here, because the current is calm and the sea is generally calm.

Lovina has grown in the last years into an area that has more to offer than a black beach and dolphins, Lovina itself is not really interesting from a tourist point of view, but the north of Bali is a beautiful area to discover and this is perfectly possible with staying in Lovina. The goal of this document is to share information which is hard to find, the information is from local people or is my own experience.

The north of Bali is underestimated, although it does not offer white beaches as in the south, but it does have beautiful nature, waterfalls, rice fields, countless temples, and mountains. Its reputation for being a backpackers village has faded as there are now a large number of hotels, ranging from cheap to very pricey. For the non-beach lover there are a lot of alternatives. In Lovina (and beyond) there are many hillside with ocean view and beach villas available for rent.