Uluwatu

Dramatic cliffs & world-class surf (South Bali)

About Uluwatu

Perched on Bali's southwestern tip, Uluwatu offers breathtaking clifftop views, ancient sea temples, and some of the island's best surf breaks. The area is home to luxury resorts built into dramatic limestone cliffs overlooking the Indian Ocean.

Best for: Surfers, honeymooners & luxury travelers

Uluwatu Temple
Cliff-edge resorts
Surf breaks
Kecak fire dance

Uluwatu at a glance

Beach: Very good (4/5). White-sand coves (Padang Padang, Bingin, Melasti), many down cliff stairways; mostly surf and reef, calmest at Melasti.
Nightlife: Very good (4/5). Clifftop bars and sunset clubs; busy at sunset and on party nights.
Prices: $$$ · Pricey. Mid to high: clifftop resorts and beach clubs are pricey, surf-break warungs are cheap.
To the airport: 20 km · 40–75 min. By road to Bali airport (DPS), in usual traffic.
Climate: Hot & humid · coast

Ratings

Calm-water swimming: Fair (2/5)
Surfing: Excellent (5/5)
Diving & snorkeling: Poor (1/5)
Sunsets: Excellent (5/5)
Restaurants & cafés: Very good (4/5)
Culture & temples: Good (3/5)
Nature & landscapes: Good (3/5)
Yoga & wellness: Very good (4/5)
Family-friendly: Good (3/5)
Peace & quiet: Good (3/5)
Remote work: Good (3/5)
Walkability: None (0/5)

Rated from 0 (none) to 5 (excellent), compared with Bali's other areas.

Resorts in Uluwatu

Jumeirah Bali: Uluwatu, from about $700 a night
The Ungasan Clifftop Resort: Uluwatu, from about $700 a night
Umana Bali, LXR Hotels & Resorts: Uluwatu, from about $800 a night
Svanata Uluwatu Bali Resort: Uluwatu, from about $300 a night
Radisson Blu Resort & Villas, Bali Uluwatu: Uluwatu, from about $200 a night
Green Escape Eco Resort: Uluwatu, from about $150 a night
Renaissance Bali Uluwatu Resort & Spa: Uluwatu, from about $150 a night
Karma Kandara: Uluwatu, from about $550 a night
Grun Uluwatu: Uluwatu, from about $200 a night
Bvlgari Resort Bali: Uluwatu, from about $1,300 a night
Six Senses Bali: Uluwatu, from about $560 a night
Alila Villas Uluwatu: Uluwatu, from about $800 a night
Seascape Uluwatu Resort & Spa: Uluwatu, from about $300 a night
The Edge Bali: Uluwatu, from about $1,200 a night
Suarga Padang Padang: Uluwatu, from about $200 a night
Biu Biu Resort Bali: Uluwatu, from about $100 a night
Four Points by Sheraton Bali, Ungasan: Uluwatu, from about $60 a night
Airis Luxury Villas & Spa: Uluwatu, from about $80 a night
Avery Le Nixsun Villas by Waringin Hospitality: Uluwatu, from about $116 a night
Blue Point Resort & Spa: Uluwatu, from about $52 a night
Bombora Balangan Resort: Uluwatu, from about $101 a night
Brothers Bungalows Balangan: Uluwatu, from about $39 a night
Cross Bali Breakers: Uluwatu, from about $105 a night
Family Nest Resort & Villas: Uluwatu, from about $70 a night
Flowerbud Bungalow Balangan II: Uluwatu, from about $20 a night
Gypsea Bali: Uluwatu, from about $161 a night
Hidden Hills Villas: Uluwatu, from about $200 a night
Hideaway Villas Bali - Uluwatu: Uluwatu, from about $69 a night
Hideaway Villas Bali - Ungasan: Uluwatu, from about $81 a night
Kalia Bingin: Uluwatu, from about $129 a night
Kayu Mama Resort & Spa: Uluwatu, from about $57 a night
Khaiyyara Jimbaran: Uluwatu, from about $34 a night
La Joya Balangan Resort: Uluwatu, from about $80 a night
Le Grande Bali Uluwatu: Uluwatu, from about $49 a night
Lulu's Wellness Boutique & Cafe: Uluwatu, from about $89 a night
Mahagiri Villas & Spa Dreamland: Uluwatu, from about $102 a night
Mantra Wellness Bali: Uluwatu, from about $78 a night
Mule Malu: Uluwatu, from about $102 a night
Mû Boutique Resort & Spa: Uluwatu, from about $89 a night
Puri Pandawa Resort: Uluwatu, from about $32 a night
Pandawa Hill Resort: Uluwatu, from about $25 a night
Prasana Villas Uluwatu: Uluwatu, from about $153 a night
S Resorts Hidden Valley: Uluwatu, from about $61 a night
Sal Secret Spot: Uluwatu, from about $91 a night
Swiss-Belresort Pecatu: Uluwatu, from about $54 a night
The Asa Maia: Uluwatu, from about $480 a night
The Balangan Hotel: Uluwatu, from about $82 a night
The Tempekan Heritage: Uluwatu, from about $20 a night
The Temple Lodge: Uluwatu, from about $99 a night
Uluwatu Cottages: Uluwatu, from about $72 a night
Uluwatu Sunset Hills: Uluwatu, from about $116 a night
Uluwatu Surf Villas: Uluwatu, from about $53 a night
Vanara Resort & Spa: Uluwatu, from about $234 a night
Village Bali: Uluwatu, from about $119 a night
White Palm Hotel Uluwatu: Uluwatu, from about $81 a night
Wyndham Dreamland Resort Bali: Uluwatu, from about $40 a night
Yoga Searcher Bali: Uluwatu, from about $100 a night
Origin Uluwatu: Uluwatu, from about $79 a night
The Bingin Beach Villas' Bungalow Resort: Uluwatu, from about $66 a night
The Elementum: Uluwatu, from about $151 a night
Mira Hotel & Recovery: Uluwatu, from about $127 a night
The Sterling Uluwatu: Uluwatu, from about $94 a night
Nuju Uluwatu: Uluwatu, from about $273 a night
PinkCoco Uluwatu: Uluwatu, from about $69 a night
Gravity Eco Boutique Hotel: Uluwatu, from about $69 a night
Nisí Villas Bingin: Uluwatu, from about $436 a night
UMI Resort: Uluwatu, from about $91 a night
Le Bamboo Bali: Uluwatu, from about $78 a night
Mahameru Uluwatu: Uluwatu, from about $59 a night
Svara Boutique Residences: Uluwatu, from about $160 a night
Eywa Retreat: Uluwatu, from about $145 a night
Le Yanandra Resort Bali: Uluwatu, from about $52 a night

Sights in Uluwatu

Uluwatu Temple (temple). Pura Luhur Uluwatu is one of Bali's most sacred sea temples, built on the edge of a cliff about 70 meters above the Indian Ocean at the southwestern tip of the Bukit Peninsula. Visitors walk the clifftop paths for the views, as the inner shrine is open only to worshippers, and a Kecak dance is staged at sunset nearby. Sarongs are required, and the resident monkeys snatch sunglasses and phones.
Pangolin Kids Club (play & adventure). Pangolin Kids Club is a natural play space in Pecatu on the Bukit Peninsula, close to the Uluwatu beaches. About 1,000 square metres hold a 12-metre climbing tower, a climbing wall, a sensory ball pool, a baby area and a shaded outdoor playground, with daily workshops and nannies for children from babies to fourteen.

Beaches in Uluwatu

Padang Padang Beach (beach). Padang Padang is a small white-sand cove below the cliffs of Pecatu, reached by a steep stairway that squeezes through a narrow gap in the rock. Its reef break is a famous wave for experienced surfers, while the sheltered shore allows a swim on calm days. It gets crowded from late morning, and monkeys on the stairs grab loose bags and snacks.
Suluban Beach (beach). Suluban Beach, also called Blue Point, is a small sandy cove among limestone rocks and sea caves at the foot of the Uluwatu cliffs. Stairs lead down past cliffside cafes to a narrow passage through the rocks, and surfers paddle out from here to the Uluwatu reef break. Go at low tide: when the water is high the sand almost disappears and the passage is unsafe.
Melasti Beach (beach). Melasti Beach is a white-sand beach on the south coast of the Bukit Peninsula in Ungasan, reached by a road cut down through tall limestone cliffs. At low tide the reef flats are exposed and the shallow water inside them is good for wading, and beach clubs line the back of the sand. A Kecak dance is performed at an open-air amphitheater at the eastern end of the beach.
Nyang Nyang Beach (beach). Nyang Nyang is a long, largely undeveloped white-sand beach below the cliffs southeast of Uluwatu Temple. A steep road winds down from the clifftop car park, 15 to 20 minutes on foot, and scooters can ride it to a lower parking area; a stairway of about 500 steps descends further east. Warungs with loungers sit on the western half, reef and strong currents make swimming risky, and at low tide you can walk past the rocks at the east end to the graffiti-covered wreck on neighboring Nunggalan.
Balangan Beach (beach). Balangan Beach is a strip of white sand about 500 m long on the west coast of the Bukit Peninsula, backed by limestone cliffs and a row of simple warungs. Its long left-hand reef break draws surfers, and at low tide the reef in front of the beach is exposed. The water is shallow over sharp coral, and swimming can be hazardous when the surf is up; the cliff at the northern end is a popular spot to watch the sunset.
Dreamland Beach (beach). Dreamland Beach, now officially New Kuta Beach, is a stretch of pale sand below high cliffs on the Bukit Peninsula's west coast in Pecatu, between Balangan and Bingin, with a golf course and resorts on the clifftops above. Its left and right waves, best around low tide, often suit surfers of all levels. The beach gets busy and has restaurants, but the waves near shore can be powerful and the currents strong, so swim only when the sea is calm.
Bingin Beach (beach). Bingin Beach is a small white-sand beach at the foot of steep cliffs on the west coast of the Bukit Peninsula, reached by a steep walk down from the clifftop. Its left-hand reef break is one of the Bukit's classic surf spots, and the bottom is reef and rock, so water shoes help. In July 2025 the authorities demolished dozens of unlicensed cliffside cafes and guesthouses; the beach stays open, but rubble and rough access remain while the area is redeveloped.
Green Bowl Beach (beach). Green Bowl is a small cove of white sand on the south coast of the Bukit Peninsula in Ungasan, below the Pura Batu Pageh temple, reached by a steep stairway of about 300 concrete steps down a forested cliff. Limestone caves at the back of the beach hold small Hindu shrines and roosting bats, and monkeys are often seen on the walk down. The reef offshore is a right-hand surf break for experienced surfers, and currents are strong when there is swell.
Thomas Beach (beach). Thomas Beach is a strip of white sand below the cliffs of Pecatu, between Padang Padang and Suluban, reached by a steep flight of more than a hundred steps from the parking area. Large boulders rise from the shore, small warungs sell drinks and snacks, sunbeds and umbrellas are for rent, and surfers ride its reef break at mid to high tide. Swim at mid to high tide as well, because low tide exposes rocks and coral along the shoreline.

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