Teluk Awur Beach: Clean, Clear, and Calm Waves

Jepara - It's the dry season like this, and the beach looks so clean. The water is crystal clear, with a view of the sandy shore completely free of trash. The waves are calm, and I feel like just jumping in and swimming.

This time, I have a guest: celebrity Instagrammer Evi Dwi Soekarno. We first met a year ago when we rode a banana boat together at Jepara Ourland Park. Back then, her Instagram account had only around 5,000 followers, but now she already has 56,000. This girl from Pati is really unique—super talkative and straightforward, but not arrogant at all. Her accent is soft, probably because she used to study in Bandung.

We started at Teluk Awur Beach in Jepara. When entering this beach, I didn’t have to pay any entrance fee or parking fee because it’s managed by the local residents. They sell instant food and drinks to visitors at reasonable prices. The stalls are neatly lined up and clean. Across from the stalls, there are square tables and chairs, plus gazebos where we can just hang out or enjoy a bowl of instant boiled noodles.

Teluk Awur Beach is already quite popular among the people of Jepara. Besides being close to the city center, this beach also offers canoe rentals for visitors, and there are several boats ready to take us to Pulau Panjang (Long Island). The locals seem to manage this place quite well. They also provide safe motorcycle parking—again, without any charge. We just need to buy the food and drinks they sell, maybe order a glass of instant coffee, and we can sit here for as long as we want.

Second, we headed to the beach owned by Ocean View. Its location is right next to Teluk Awur. In the middle of a bright sunny day, this place looked very quiet. At Ocean View Beach, we got a different vibe—kind of like a resort by the beach. Even though we didn’t stay at the hotel or eat at the restaurant, the public can still enjoy the beach for free. The beach is clean, the water is clear, the waves are calm, the view is beautiful, and there are very few visitors.

Since I had already accidentally fallen into the water earlier, I decided to just go in up to my waist. Going to the beach without getting in the water just doesn’t feel right. To make the most of it, I went for a proper swim. I’ve never been afraid of getting darker anyway—my skin is already brown. Even if I try to whiten it, with all my outdoor activities under the hot sun, I’ll end up tan again. It’s okay. As long as my belly doesn’t get fat, hehe…

My stomach was starting to feel hungry, so the next beach destination was one that offers fried, grilled, and soupy seafood menus. Yep, Empu Rancak Beach in Mlonggo, Jepara. Let’s go!

Empu Rancak Beach is popular for its seafood culinary tourism. Besides enjoying delicious seafood dishes, we can also play on the beach and jump straight into the sea. We ordered the signature Jepara Pindang Srani and grilled snapper with two types of sambal, plus fresh vegetables. While waiting for our order to be ready, we took lots of photos and played around on the beach.

The aroma of the grilled snapper was so tempting that it made us even hungrier. We finished everything, probably because we were starving. Here, snapper, squid, and shrimp are priced at 100k per kilo, while patikoli fish is 120k–130k per kilo. You can choose to have it grilled, fried, sweet and sour, or made into pindang.

As the afternoon went on, the atmosphere made us want to swim again. It’s highly recommended to visit Mpu Rancak Beach in the late afternoon because the sun sets right over the open sea here. As the light grew dimmer, it was time for us to rinse off. Playing at the beach all day made our facial skin look dull, but we still stayed confident. No need for expensive skincare that makes us afraid of the sun. Today was really fun, wasn’t it?