PADANG PADANG BEACH ULUWATU, BALI – The Complete Guide
Padang Padang beach, also known as Pantai Labuan Sait beach, is one of the most popular beaches in Uluwatu. There are several reasons for it, one being because this beach made its appearance in the Eat Pray Love movie. But Padang Padang also has some of the best waves to surf in Uluwatu. Besides these reasons, Padang Padang is just a beautiful beach with soft white sand flanked with impressive rock formations and crystal clear turquoise water which is great for swimming. You can easily spend a full day here with the local restaurants (warungs) providing drinks and food. Read in this blog post everything you need to know about Padang Padang beach Bali.
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Best Uluwatu tours
If you want to explore the best of Uluwatu with a private tour, then it is highly recommended to book a tour with a private driver so you can explore everything at your own pace. Because of Bali’s popularity it is highly recommended to book your tours in advance as it is likely that tours sell out. So don’t wait with booking until you get to Bali. Choose your favorite tours here and secure your booking! All of these tours include air conditioned transport with hotel pick up and drop off, certified guides and sometimes also lunch and the entrance fees. You can reserve now and pay later, with cancellation up to 24 hours in advance to receive a full refund.
- Uluwatu beaches, GWK Cultural Park and Uluwatu temple tour. A combination of the best culture and nature activities that southern Bali has to offer. Explore the most southern region in Bali with a private driver and English speaking guide to learn more about the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park and soak in the sunshine at Uluwatu’s best beaches. You will finish the day with a spectacular sunset at Uluwatu Temple and watch the famous Kecak Balinese Cultural Dance.
- Uluwatu beach club hopping tour. This private tour will take you to the best Uluwatu beach clubs to enjoy a day of relaxing at some of the best infinity pools and beaches that Uluwatu has to offer.
- Customisable full day tour along the best spots in Uluwatu. Have your own private driver for a day to visit all the best spots in Uluwatu. Make your own itinerary and explore every location at your own pace.
- Uluwatu white sand beaches tour and sunset at Uluwatu temple. Discover some of the best beaches in Uluwatu during this private tour. While visiting the beautiful white sand beaches you can swim and snorkel in crystal clear waters or rent a jet ski, fly-board or banana boat at your own expense. After the beach fun you will visit Padang Padang beach before watching the sunset at Uluwatu Temple and see the traditional Kecak dance show overlooking the sea.
- Underwater Sea Walking Experience Nusa Dua. Explore Bali’s stunning underwater life while walking on the bottom of the ocean with a professional guide. The sea walker is a soft dive system that is designed specifically for those who are not confident swimmers or do not wish to dive.
- Fly Board experience Nusa Dua. Fly high over the ocean with a Flyboard and get the adrenaline pumping!
- Watersports Fun Package Nusa Dua: Jet Ski, Parasailing and donut boat. Have the best of three watersports activities in Nusa Dua. Soar in the air while parasailing, drive a jetski yourself and have fun on the donut boat.
How to get to Padang Padang beach
You will find Padang Padang beach in the southwest of Bukit Peninsula in the Pecatu region. The best way to get around in Bali is to rent a motorbike if you’re comfortable driving one in busy traffic. You can literally rent motorbikes everywhere on the island. The rental price is usually between 50,000 and 100,000 IDR per day depending on the model and CC’s you choose. Of course you can always get a better price when renting longer term.
When coming from the Canggu or Seminyak area it is quite a long drive south through the busy traffic of Kuta. It will take you anywhere between 1 and 2 hours to get to Uluwatu, depending on the traffic. The best option is to visit Padang Padang beach while staying in the Uluwatu area. There are so many amazing beaches in Uluwatu and besides beach time there are plenty of other fun things to do in Uluwatu as it has one of the best sunset spots in Bali.
When you arrive at the entrance of the beach, you will see a quite large parking area at the opposite of the stairs to the beach. There you can park your scooter for 2000 IDR.
If you don’t want to ride a motorbike, you can hire a private driver (or private guide, however you like to call it), for a day tour. You can make your own itinerary and visit the highlights of Uluwatu in one day. The price will depend on how many persons join the car. But mostly it will cost you around 500,000 IDR.
Entrance fee to Padang Padang beach
After you’ve parked your scooter you will find a ticket counter at the beach entrance where you’ll take the stairs down. Here you’ll need to pay 15 000 IDR entrance fee.
Walking down to Padang Padang beach is already an adventure. You will walk down along the cliff via cement stairs. Be aware of the many cheeky monkeys hanging around here and keep your food and bags out of reach from them. The staircase splits into 2 different sections but ends at the same point. It’s really a spectacular feeling walking down from the top of the cliffs between the limestone cliffs of about 8 meters high. We must say, the way up is pretty hard after chilling a few hours in the sun, but that’s something to worry later. Now it’s time to enjoy the beach first!
What to do at Padang Padang beach
The crystal clear blue- greenish seawater and its beautiful white sand beach combined with several caves makes Padang Padang beach an unique spot. Some people might even remember this beach from the movie ‘Eat Pray Love’ with Julia Roberts. It’s a fact that after this movie came out, Bali gained a lot of attention. More and more travellers came to Bali after that for their own ‘Eat Pray Love’ experience. Therefore, this beach also gained more visitors over the time, and is now one of the most famous beaches in Bali to visit.
The beach offers enough space for everyone. However, when there are many people, it can quickly give a busy, but cozy feeling. You can rent sun beds and an umbrella, but there is also some natural shade under the cliffs and naturally formed caves. Toilets are also available on the beach as well surf board rental shops. And if you’re thirsty or hungry, there are enough possibilities on the beach to get drinks, snacks, coconuts and lots of different Bali souvenirs. So if you’re in need of a sarong, hat, t-shirt, bracelets or other things, you will most likely find it at one of the beach vendors.
Surfing at Padang Padang beach Bali
If you like to go surfing at Padang Padang beach, you can rent surf boards at the beach. The boards will cost you around 100,000 IDR for two hours. Because Padang Padang is considered as one of the best surf spots on the south coast of Bali, it can get busy. Surfers from beginner to professional from all over the world are coming to Bali’s south coast to surf the waves. With the amazing, beautiful scenery of the Indian ocean, the stunning limestone cliffs and lush vegetation in combination with the great waves, it is understandable why!
A birds eye view on Padang Padang beach. As you can see there is a resort with private luxury villas in front of the beach. Would you like to stay there?
Other things to do in Uluwatu
Uluwatu has many things to offer, but the impressive limestone cliffs and beautiful white sand beaches are the main attraction of Bali’s south-coast. The Bukit Peninsula has some incredible sunset spots but also other beaches to explore.
If you have some time to explore more of Uluwatu you can’t miss these spots:
- Uluwatu temple
- Karang Boma cliff with sunset
- Green Bowl beach
- Suluban beach and watching the sunset at Single Fin
More Bali travel inspiration
We hope you enjoyed this blog post about Padang Padang beach.
For more Bali travel tips, check our other Bali guides here:
20 best things to do in Uluwatu
Bali itinerary – Best things to do in Bali
Sunset in Bali – the places places to watch
Would love to visit here!
Hi Ilse, we enjoyed reading about Padang Padang beach at Bali. How nice to see your pictures, especially when you read the book or saw the movie Eat, Pray and Love. Really a very beautiful beach, your picture with the surfers……wow !