Handara Golf & Resort Bali

Fifty years of golf inside a volcano.

Handara is Bali’s oldest championship course and its most unusual. It lies inside the crater of an extinct volcano at Bedugul, 1,142 metres above sea level, beside Lake Beratan and its floating temple. The air is cool, the fairways are lined with tall trees and mist often drifts across the crater rim. It opened in the mid-1970s and celebrates its golden jubilee in 2026. With Bali National in Nusa Dua closed since 2025, Handara and New Kuta are the island’s main championship options, and many visitors play both.

Handara Golf & Resort Bali green fees and tee times.

Book through the resort, through Leading Courses, or through Klook’s Bali golf pass, which covers Handara and New Kuta. Third-party listings quote about IDR 2,000,000 for 18 holes. Green fees typically include a cart, and packages from tour operators add a caddie. The resort’s 50th-anniversary celebrations include shotgun events on 6–8 November 2026, when tee times are limited, so plan around them. The resort encourages walking with trolleys as part of its eco-golf programme.

The round, in perspective.

Five-time Open champion Peter Thomson and Ronald Fream designed the course, which was established in 1974 and fully open by 1976. It plays to par 72 at about 7,024 yards from the back tees and 6,410 from the men’s tees. The altitude and cool climate let bentgrass greens thrive near the equator, which is rare in South-East Asia, and the crater floor gives a parkland course framed by forested slopes. Recent reviews are mixed on green conditions, with temporary greens in use at times in 2026, so ask about course condition when you book.

Know before you go.

Altitude

1,142 metres; mornings are cool, so bring a layer

Greens

Bentgrass, unusual in the tropics

Walking

Encouraged with trolleys under the eco-golf programme

Anniversary events

Shotguns on 6–8 November 2026 limit visitor tee times

Make the trip work.

Leave early: the drive up from the south takes about two to two and a half hours, and the crater often clouds over in the afternoon. Bring a light jumper. After the round, Handara has a Japanese-style onsen and spa, three restaurants and family chalets with fireplaces, so a night in the highlands is easy to arrange. Its gateway, a carved Balinese split gate, is one of the most photographed spots on the island.

Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS) is about two to two and a half hours south by road. Ubud is about an hour away, and Nusa Dua about two hours. Hire a driver for the day; the mountain road is winding and slow.

Where it is.

Nearby: 1. New Kuta Golf (62 km)

Somewhere to settle in.

Handara’s own family chalets, with living areas and fireplaces, suit golfers who want an early tee time and a quiet night in the cool air. Otherwise, stay in Ubud, an hour away, and make it a day trip, or base yourself on the coast and pair Handara with New Kuta.

Make a trip of it.

Pura Ulun Danu Beratan, the lake temple on the Indonesian 50,000-rupiah note, is a few minutes away. The Jatiluwih rice terraces, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Gitgit waterfalls are within an hour. For more golf, New Kuta Golf on the Bukit Peninsula offers clifftop holes above the Indian Ocean.

Find your season.

Bali’s dry season, from about April to October, is the best time to visit. The highlands are cooler and wetter than the coast all year, with afternoon cloud and mist common, so morning tee times are wise. The wet season from November to March brings heavy rain.