My Best Travel Tips For Uluwatu, Bali

Uluwatu clearly became my favorite area in Bali, that’s for sure. Here you have breathtaking views, white sandy beaches with coral blue water, fantastic beach clubs and very trendy coffee shops and restaurants. I can really recommend visiting Uluwatu when you are in Bali!

Uluwatu is about an hour by car from Bali Airport. I can really recommend EVERYONE to go here – from families with children, to couples to solo travelers and friends who travels in group together, even as a honeymoon destination Uluwatu is perfect!

Uluwatu

Uluwatu consists of 2 areas – Bukit and Pecatu. These two areas in Uluwatu contain different things but are still just as similar to each other so it depends on what you want to do here. It is very easy to get between these two areas, it takes about 20 minutes and the easiest way to get between these areas is by taxi or if you rent a scooter.

If you stay in Bukit you are close to places like Single Fin, Ulu Cliffhouse, Binging beach and Thomas beach. On the other hand, if you stay in Pecatu, you are close to places like the Omnia dayclub, Sunday’s beach club and The Edge at Oneeighty club, and you are close to the most luxurious hotels in Uluwatu. So it all depends on what you are looking for.

Blue Point area

If you stay at Ulu Cliffhouse then you live in the center of Uluwatu. There are other accommodations around here too but if you want a little guided tour on where it is best to stay in Uluwatu I would recommend starting from this place. Here you have supermarkets on the street outside the hotel, gas station and small shops. Likewise, Ulu Cliffhouse is just beside the Blue point area which is a popular small area for restaurants, beach, shopping and sunset views.

Blue Point area is a must to visit when you are in Uluwatu! Here you will find, among other things, the popular and chic Restaurant Single Fin where you have a magical sunset view. Go to Blue Point area for lunch, here are plenty of local lunch places to choose from!

The first restaurant you will see is Single Fin but I recommend going further and find something local to eat at and then come to Single fin and see the sunset from here. If you continue all the way down to the beach you will reach Subalan beach which can only be reached when it is low tide. This beach is like a hidden little gem and definitely worth visiting!

Bukit:

• Thomas Beach
• Single Fin restaurant for lunch or dinner
• Ulu Cliffhouse
• Bingin beach

Pecatu:

• Omnia dayclub
• Sundays beach club (Can buy day pass here)
• Oneeighty at the Edge Beach club (Can buy day pass here)
• Karma kandara hotel Uluwatu (Can buy day pass here)

Uluwatus best beach clubs

• Omnia Bali Dayclub
• Sundays Beach Club (Can buy day pass here)
• Ulu Cliffhouse Beach club
• Oneeighty at the Edge Beach Club (Can buy day pass here)

Oneeighty at the Edge Beach Club

Oneeighty at the Edge beach club can be the absolutely GREATEST place I’ve ever been to! This place became a real favorite and I wish I could hang out here every day, that’s how good it is! Here you not only eat fantastic good food, you also have Bali’s coolest view from here! Not to mention their famous glass bottom infinity pool that hangs out 150 feet above sea level. This is one of the coolest artifacts I have ever seen and it’s definitely worth spending the day here!

Tips!

Something that is good to think about is to book seats here in time. There is a VIP area and a “regular” area. A regular area costs 450,000 rupiah (about 30 Euro) and a VIP area costs 650,000 Rupiah (about 45-50 Euro) per person. The layout is the same here as at the Potato Head beach club in Seminyak, that you can eat and drink up to 350,000 rupiahs (out of 450,000 rupiahs) and if it cost more you have to pay for it later when you take the bill.

So you can say that the entry is 100,000 rupiah (about 7 Euro). I think these layouts are really good indeed! 🙂 As I said, you should book a couch / beds before you get here, otherwise I recommend you to be here exactly at 11.00 am when they open to see if there are any beds available for the day. If yes – then you are lucky!

Uluwatus best beaches

• Thomas beach
• Suluban beach
• Padang Padang beach
• Balangan beach
• Nunggalan beach
• Pandawa beach
• Jimbaran beach

Thomas beach

Thomas beach is a hidden little gem that not many tourists find, perhaps because it is so hidden and is located lots of stairs down. If you have time and the fitness to go up these stairs later the beach is worth a visit. You will have the beach almost entirely for yourself! Look for the sign “Thomas Bali Guest House” after passing Padang Padang beach. Walk until you past a small shop who is selling drinks and snacks and behind them you will find all those steps that takes you down to Thomas beach.

Suluban beach

Suluban beach can be found in Blue point area. You can only get here when it is low tide so a recommendation is to have lunch in one of all the warungs that are here, go down and swim at Suluban beach and then have dinner and / or see the sunset from Single Fin restaurant. Anyway, to find Suluban beach you have to past all the warungs that you find on the cliff side, and finally you are getting down to a cave that you have to go through to get out on the other side. It is on the other side of the cave that you have Suluban beach and which also has a boat wreck lying in the middle of the beach.

Padang Padang beach

It is on this beach, Padang Padang that the movie Eat, Pray, Love by Julia Roberts was recorded. The beach has become extremely popular since that film and it is clearly noticeable as there were a lot of tourists here, although it is not that easy to find, hence it is laying under a large bridge. It costs 10,000 rupiah (about 1 Euro) to enter here and you pay in a kiosk to then go through a cliff to get down. On the way down to the beach, there are a lot of monkeys that you should beware of. Hold on to your things, because the monkeys are happy to take everything away from you. There is also free access to the toilets with toilet paper here!

Balangan beach

Balangan beach became my favorite beach of them all! I stayed at the Brothers Bungalows which is only 5 minutes walking distance to Balangan beach. Balangan beach is also a popular beach to surf on so you will find many surfers here! Renting a sunbed costs 50,000 rupiahs (about 3 Euro) for a day and there are plenty of warungs (restaurants) located right on the beach where you can have lunch or just enjoy a coconut. This water is magical, not to mention the white beach that was incredibly soft. I think this beach is big enough and perfect to stay at for a day or two, or why not for a week 🙂

Tips!

Walk around the beach so you get up on the cliff to be able to look out over the entire Balangan beach. This view is so incredibly beautiful! I saw many who also took their wedding photos from here, which is apparently popular here. I also found a hidden cave that I crept in to get a fantastic view of the mountains. But be careful, it’s easy to slip!

Nunggalan beach (shripwreck)

Nunggalan beach is a very hidden beach I would say. I had never found this one unless it was because I was with Christine from www.29grader.se that knew this place in Bali 🙂

To get to Nunggalan beach you have to go through a jungle that takes you right down to the beach and this is not an ordinary paved road, no! Expect to walk constantly down for about 25 minutes through the forest but once you are down at the beach it is worth all the time and energy! There are some kiosks here where you can buy drinks and snacks but otherwise you have a mile long beach TOTALLY for yourself. There are not many who find here (yet!) which was pretty nice.

Nunggalan beach is known (for those who find this beach) for their boat wreck which is located right on the beach here. Apparently there have been two parts that have been here but now there was only one part when I was here. Maybe the other one has gone out into the water?

Pandawa beach

Pandawa beach can have the most magical color on the water I’ve ever seen! This beach is similar to Balangan beach, but this one is much bigger and more tourists are here. To get here you will pass a large, well paved road, down through large rocky sides with large designed statues along the way.

It costs 15,000 rupiah (about 1 Euro) to enter here and you already pay it in the beginning of the road where you turn to get here. Well down by the beach there are plenty of warungs to eat lunch at, shopping stores and plenty of sunbeds for those who want to do that. The beach is very long but I recommend being as far away as possible, where it is as calmest and not as much tourists. Also, the water is more turquoise the further away you walk on the beach 🙂

Jimbaran beach

If you want to have dinner on the beach, it is Jimbaran beach you should go to. Here are lots of fish restaurants where everyone has exhibited lots of plastic chairs and plastic tables along the beach. Come here just before sunset and have dinner during the sunset itself, it’s an unbeatable experience here and something I really recommend doing! Also, Jimbaran beach is so close to the airport that you can see the aircraft’s taking off right in front of your eyes, really cool!

Jimbaran beach during the day is not as good as if I compare to all the other beaches I mentioned above. There are also many families with children here, so if you come here with children, Jimbaran beach is popular.

What to see and do in Uluwatu

Uluwatu not only has beaches and beach clubs to offer. There are also experiences that I recommend to see and do when you are here. These are:

• Uluwatu Temple
• Abandoned Aircraft
• Dine at Unique Restaurant – Ayana Resort
• Dine at the Rock Bar
• Dinner at Jimbaran beach

Uluwatu Temple

With about 10 minutes drive from Bukit and about 25 minutes drive from Pecatu you will find Uluwatu Temple which I find worth visiting! This is a must when you are in Uluwatu. Uluwatu Temple is an incredibly beautiful temple that protects Bali from evil sea devils and among other things the view from here is magical. Entry costs 30,000 rupiah (about 2 Euro).

Come in the afternoon and stay until sunset, because at 6 pm a dance called Kecak dance starts, which is a Balinese dance and is about 1 hour during sunset time. This costs an additional 100,000 rupiah (about 7 Euro) per person but it is worth it. If you want to do and see something different, then you should stay and have a look at this dance in Uluwatu Temple.

Be careful!

There are hundreds (yes hundreds!) of monkeys here who are more than happy to steel your things such as glasses, sunglasses, wallet, camera, yes everything they can find so be attentive and hold your stuff when you walk around the Uluwatu temple. I promise, you don’t want to mess with these monkeys. 

Abandoned Aircraft

Not far from Pandawa beach you will find an abandoned aircraft in the middle of the forest. If you go up from Pandawa beach, turn right in the roundabout and continue straight ahead for about 500 meters. You will pass some large containers on the left side of you, when you see them then stop by the small kiosk that is next to the containers with an old lady selling drinks and snacks. Behind this kiosk there is a small narrow road that you walk uphill. Continue walking for about 50 meters and you will get to the top of a mountain overlooking the abandoned aircraft.

Unique restaurant – Ayana Resort

If you are looking for a cool rooftop bar, the Unique rooftop bar & restaurant at Ayana Resort is the place to go. Here you have a really cool view not to mention their infinity pool. Eating dinner here is not expensive at all, hence it costs more to just have a drink. So definitely worth coming here for dinner! 🙂

Dine at the Rock Bar

If you want to enjoy a luxurious evening at the world’s best cocktail bar, the Rock Bar at Ayana Resort & Spa in Uluwatu is the one to go to, located on a cliff. From here you go by cable car down to the bar and keep in mind that you need to be dressed up to enter here. Flipflop, linen and swimwear are prohibited. This place takes about 880 people here so you can imagine how big it is! This place was really my favorite and I will definitely come back here next time I go to Bali. This is a really cool and cozy place!

Dinner at Jimbaran beach

As I wrote above, dinner at Jimbaran beach is a different and cozy experience in Bali. Order fresh fish, lobster or seafood directly over the counter and sit down on the plastic tables that stand on the beach and enjoy the sunset here. It’s magical!

Have you been to Uluwatu, what did you like best about? Tell me 🙂

Here you will find more Bali guides from me:

• My Best Travel Tips For Canggu, Bali

• My Travel Tips for Nusa Penida 

• This is The Best Beach Clubs at Nusa Ceningan  

• My Travel Tips For Nusa Lembongan – What To See, Do and Eat

Happy Travels!
// Charlotte