You might wonder how the sand on Pink beach gets its pink color. It’s basically the dead red corals that got crushed into thousands of broken coral pieces, combined with shells, and calcium carbonate materials left behind by tiny marine creatures with red and pink shells. Waves brought these dead red corals to the beach with white sand, and then these two colors of white and red became pink. But, you have to look pretty good to see any glints of a pink hue here. Pink beach is more of a strawberry-blonde shade, but it is still a nice spot to visit if you want to sunbathe on the sand or go for a swim.
Pink Beach East Lombok
Pink Beach (also called Tangsi Beach) truly is a unique place on Lombok Island. Although the south of the island around Kuta has plenty of beautiful white sand beaches (our favourite is Tanjung Aan Beach), this is the only one with a pink hue. It gets the colour from thousands of coral pieces and shells in the area.
Luckily, Pink Beach doesn’t have a tourist infrastructure with concrete and air-conditioned restaurants. It has a local Indonesian vibe and offers basic amenities. Warungs are made of bamboo and instead of sunbeds, they have gazebos to offer shade.
Things to do at Pink Beach (Tangsi Beach)
Swim, snorkel and relax. Most people come for snorkelling but you need to go further from the shore. As with most Southeast Asian countries, Indonesia also has a lot of washed-up garbage on the beaches. An unpleasant surprise for us was to see many plastic cups and plastic bags floating in its turquoise waters.
Swimming
The bay has shallow and calm water which is ideal for swimming. Next time I’m bringing a floatie, tying myself to the boat and staying floating all day long.
Snorkelling at Pink Beach
Visitors arriving at Pink Beach by boat go snorkelling. If you arrive by scooter like us, you can ask local fishermen to take you snorkelling. The best spot is islands Gili Petelu, about a 10-minute boat ride away. Just make sure to bring your snorkelling gear.
Ask in your hostel before you go or ask fishermen when the low tide is, that’s the best time to go snorkelling because you can visit the tiny island Gili Pasir with hundreds of starfish, which only appears during low tide.
Kayaking
You can rent a kayak right on the shore and paddle around the bay. The changing colours of the sea bottom are beautiful.
Relaxing
That’s what Pink Beach is for in my opinion. Sip a coconut, have fun on the swing, walk on the pink sand and enjoy the views.
Pink Beach viewpoint
Just when you arrive at Pink Beach you will see a small hill from which you can admire the Pink Beach. Right before you reach the hill, there are a few warungs offering delicious meals.
