The Soho House of surf camps.

Is this place real?! 

‘I honestly didn’t know places like this existed’, is the thought that went through my head constantly whilst at Kima and it’s one that I heard repeated endlessly from almost every person I spoke to (except the Germans who have apparently known about this place and kept it a secret for years)! 

So where was I? My first destination in Bali was a place called Kima, a surf camp in Canggu (on the South West Coast of Bali). 

Canggu itself is described by the locals as California, it’s a hippie heartland and the grown up, more Boho cousin to Seminyak which was once the most sophisticated beach destination on Bali. Canggu only a few years ago was a surfers paradise set in the Paddy Fields, but has quickly sprung up into a bustling town with everything you could want/ imagine on your doorstep (with a paddy field thrown in-between various roads just to remind you where in the world you are)! Whilst some of the developments such as exclusive beach clubs and fancy shops feels insensitive to local Balinese culture, the surf loving locals are thrilled that they feel they’ve been transported to Malibu, Byron Bay and beyond. They also love the crowd it draws, with ≈70% of Balinese GDP from Tourism, tourists are the backbone of the economy and visiting Canggu means many of the surf loving locals get to work doing what they love (surfing) and get paid for it! Together all this has created a bizarre mix of shops, bars, beach clubs that are state-of-the-art and straight from a designer magazine. 

The Kima camp itself is a little oasis, setback from the main road via a short walkway covered in palm trees. It’s breathtaking, and whilst I was sceptical when booking online that the place could really live up to the glossy photos (we’ve all been somewhere where the photos were taken a long time ago and reality is far from this), I was completely wrong, the place was pristine! It’s also only a few hundred metres from the beach with two of the best surf breaks in Bali - is this place real?!

Canggu beach and one of the famous breaks at sunset ☝🏽

A millennial melting pot. 

The camp is full of 30 somethings many of whom have become disillusioned with the corporate world and are taking a break. Important caveat, it’s not somewhere where people are dropping out of reality altogether, everyone is driven and knows this is a short timeout, not a new nomadic lifestyle they’re keen to embrace - that’s two very distinct groups, both of which you can find in Bali! 

Breakfast on day one and I’m chatting with someone who quit McKinsey (from Finland), another BCG (from Poland). Lunch and I’m with a freelance marketing and events specialist from Ecuador who left her job and hopes to build a business by coming to Bali to meet creators and get those famous Bali Insta pics for her website! 

Dinner I’m with a French guy living in Singapore working for a Swedish meditech company here on a week's holiday, and after I have a cocktail with a Scottish man who works on oil rigs in Asia and stopped here as a bit of respite before heading home to Spring in Glasgow! You couldn’t meet a more diverse group of people, each and every one with a story to tell. Almost everyone is travelling along and there’s no pressure, no-one is here looking for lifelong friends, instead you have a friendly face around camp, someone to have a drink, dinner and catch some waves with before we all move on to new destinations.

Camp life. 

Next up is the camp itself! As i’ve mentioned the place is just incredible, it’s a complete mix of Balinese, European and Australian. You can pick how you’d like to stay from 6 bed dorms, to a 3 bed private villa (with every level in-between)! 

I opted for a twin room and 3 out of my 5 nights had the room to myself. Most people are in shared dorms, and only I couple met opted for the solo rooms. I soon learned that you spend so little time in your room in this place, there really wouldn’t be much point opting for a solo room - unless you’re super picky!   

Now to the camp itself, accommodation is set across two main buildings and in-between there is a restaurant, cocktail bar, gym, skate arena and 3 pools to choose from. One of the pools even has a giant diving platform that amuses everyone each time someone gets up there and realises just how high it really is (but doesn’t want to lose face by climbing down the stairs). There are endless places to lounge from hammocks (with amazing views), to sunloungers and beanbags. They also have quiet spots in hidden corners all over the camp, with little wooden signs hinting at what might be around the corner or up a flight of stairs!

A selection of pictures of the Surf Camp ☝🏽

The Soho House of surf camps.

But here is where this surf camp differs from any others I’ve seen online, and from the people I met, is completely unheard of in the surfing world. At Kima, your every need is taken care of and thought of before you can anticipate it. 

The whole place is run with military precision. You have social hosts, an App where you book what activities you’d like to participate in (by 8pm the night before) and a WhatsApp group which updates you on all the social activities, timings and where to meet people to join! 

The activities range from sunset Bintang on the beach, family BBQs to nights in the town (and everything in between). I was lucky enough to go to a sunset on the beach where the surf instructors brought along guitars and a cajon drum. I also joined a couple of the BBQs each of which had more live music from local performers. 

Sunset on the beach with live music! ☝🏽

In almost every location around camp, if you take a seat, there are buttons calling for assistance - food, drink, you name it, the staff are happy to help (probably the first tell-tell sign that you’re not at a real Soho House)! The prices are also totally Balinese, so alarmingly cheap with huge portions. The most expensive is probably the punchy, brilliantly mixed cocktails which come in at a pricey £5 (unless you make happy hour where it’s 2-4-1)! This place would be dangerous if everyone wasn’t keen to get up and out to hit the waves daily! 

Another clever (albeit likely accidental) touch is that the towels at Kima cleverly mimic the famous stripes everyone has come to associate with the different Soho Houses around the world.

This place feels like you should be paying a fortune in an exclusive designer resort, when in reality, you’re having the time of your life for much less than a couple of nights at one of the Soho House groups many places in the English countryside (I’ll take Bali’s weather over the British any day)!

One of the local live performers in camp using a Loop pedal! ☝🏽

And that’s a wrap on my time in Kima! My 6 nights, 5 days flew past and my surfing came on a lot! If anyone wants an adventure, I cannot recommend Kima enough. The days went by at lightning speed and I was endlessly wishing I could press pause. I cannot wait to go back - so who is coming back with me next year?!