Sidemen Retreats
Amed is roughly an hour and a half northeast of Sidemen, on the dry coast under the far side of Mount Agung. It is the usual next stop out of the valley, and the pairing works because the two places are nothing like each other: Sidemen is green, high and agricultural, Amed is black sand, salt pans and water.
Together they make the east Bali week that most people who skip the south of the island end up doing. Three nights in the valley, three or four on the coast.
The route
The drive climbs out of Sidemen and runs east through Bebandem to Amlapura, the old Karangasem capital, then turns north and picks up the coast road. The last stretch is the good part: the road runs along the shoreline with the sea on one side and the volcano behind you, through a string of small fishing villages that all get called Amed collectively.
Worth knowing that "Amed" is about ten kilometres of coast rather than one village, so where exactly you are staying changes the last fifteen minutes of the drive. Have the name of your accommodation, not just Amed.
Getting there
Private car
Rp 400.000 one way for the car, up to 4 people with luggage, and the same in the other direction. This is what nearly everyone does.
If you want to stop at Tirta Gangga, which is more or less on the way and is the best of the east Bali water palaces, say so before you set off rather than halfway. A stop on a point-to-point transfer is a conversation; a whole day with a driver is a different arrangement and a different price, and it is usually the better value if you want more than one stop.
Scooter
A good ride if you are travelling light and confident, and the coast road at the end is genuinely one of the better stretches on the island. The caveats are the ones that apply to every ride out of the valley: an international licence with a motorcycle endorsement, luggage you can actually carry, and a wet season that arrives faster than you can stop.
Ride-hailing and shuttles
There is no shuttle service between Sidemen and Amed. Ride-hailing apps will sometimes quote it, but there are no drivers waiting in the valley to take the fare, so a car has to come out to you first and cancellations are common on a route this long.
What to expect when you get there
Amed is dry where Sidemen is wet, and hot where Sidemen is mild. It is a snorkelling and diving coast rather than a swimming and sunbathing one: the beaches are black volcanic sand and steep, the water is clear, and the Japanese wreck at Banyuning and the Liberty wreck at Tulamben further north are the reason most people come.
It is also spread out and there is very little in the way of pavement, so wherever you stay is roughly where you will eat unless you rent a scooter for the few days.
Going on from Amed
Amed is a reasonable jumping-off point for the north coast and for Lovina, and there is a fast boat from Amed to the Gilis in season, which is a shorter crossing than the one from Padang Bai. If you are heading back towards the airport instead, budget three hours or so from Amed rather than the two and a half from Sidemen.