The colourful traditional fishing boats that line the coastal shores of Jimbaran and Sanur are known as jukung. These graceful vessels use only one main cloth sail and in favourable winds can skim them ocean’s surface at a fairly rapid pace.

The Balinese generally use jukung for fishing. These boats will venture out into the coastal waters in the evening and return with their catch before sunrise to sell at local seafood markets. However, the impact of tourism has meant that many of the island’s traditional fishermen can now supplement their limited incomes by taking paying passengers to surf and snorkel at offshore reefs and neighbouring islands.

Most jukung are fairly small and this enables them to be hauled out of the water and parked on the sandy beachfront with relative ease. With an average length of approximately 5-metres and width of just 1½ -metres, a jukung can safely carry only two or three passengers. Larger models built using the same traditional design methods, utilize outboard motors and can carry divers and heavy scuba equipment to coral reef dive sites. Some entrepreneurial owners have even modified their jukung into glass bottom boats for visitors to view Bali’s amazing underwater marine life.

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Jukung - the Balinese native outrigger sailboat (prahu). Often built entirely without metal or nails, a jukung shows a high level of traditional technology.