Wellness Guide To Uluwatu, Bali

8 min readJan 15, 2023

Oh Uluwatu, how I love you.

While I liked Ubud + Canggu, I loved Uluwatu. If you only can make one stop on your trip to Bali — make it Uluwatu. It truly felt like we were living in a fairytale… beautiful beaches, incredible cafes, amazing wellness scene, lush nature, + just a laidback, peaceful vibe. It is also incredibly well known for surfing… truly a surfer’s paradise with breaks for all levels.

Similar to how Canggu became a “boom town” — I think Uluwatu is trending that way. I highly recommend visiting in the next few years, so that you get a taste of the magic of Uluwatu before it becomes too overrun by tourists.

Don’t be surprised if you want to extend your time in Uluwatu… the day before we left for the airport, we were like — “Should we just cancel our flight + live here for a month?” We were seriously SO tempted. I’m already scheming how we can visit again. I love you, Uluwatu!

Stay

We stayed at Terra Cottages — which truly made our trip so special. The entire staff is so kind + helpful. Also, their banana pancakes are next level. Free breakfast + coffee is included [we found that to be the norm everywhere in Bali, which I appreciated so much!] + there’s easy access to the beach! It’s in our favorite part of Uluwatu, too 🥰

Other hotels to check out:

The Asa Maia — This looks like an amazing wellness experience
Le Cliff Bali — Right on the water, I’ve heard good things
Uluwatu Surf Villas — A splurge for sure. I’d love to eventually stay in a surf villa + share the villa with another couple!

Coffee + Cafes

The food in Bali is truly my favorite in the world… savor every single meal!

Arabica — Our favorite coffee in Uluwatu, attached to Alchemy
BGS — Another great coffee shop!
Suka Espresso — *MUST! Highly recommend grabbing a coffee at Suka + then walking across the street to Thomas Beach. Definitely one of the highlights of our trip.
Bambu Fitness Cafe — *MUST! Attached to the gym, this cafe was so good. Try the Asian Chicken Salad + Beef Pow Wow… + of course, the Cocopresso!
Alchemy — *MUST! The best banana pancakes ever + incredible smoothies.
The Cashew Tree — Perfect spot if you have kids… there’s a playground attached! Good food, raw dessert bar, cute boutique, outdoor gym, + they frequently have live music at night [I think once a week?!]. This was right next door to Terra Cottages, so we spend a lot of time here!
The Bakery
Warung Local
The Loft
Land’s End Cafe
Son Of A Baker

Restaurants

Drifters — *MUST! This is the cafe we miss the most in all of Bali. It’s the coolest surf shop + cafe with the best food + vibes. Also all of their desserts are incredible.
Mana’s — *MUST! Located at the Uluwatu Surf Villas, we went here multiple times. Favorite tacos!! You can also swim at the pool if you dine here [open for all meals].
MASON — *MUST! We ended our Uluwatu adventures with a romantic dinner here + everything was SO good.
Yuki — *MUST! Incredible Japanese restaurant with a gorgeous vibe.
Gooseberry
Banana Lounge
La Baracca
Shaka Riki
The Warung
Laggas
Bartolo

Wellness

#1] Yoga — So many great spots: The Space, Alchemy, Morning Light Yoga, + La Tribu. I went to yoga every single day while in Uluwatu + it was the dream! Check out the events + workshops each studio offers, too!

#2] Bambu Fitness — It is a packed house here most days, but if you want to lift weights… this is the place!

#3] The Istana — Meditation center that offers yoga, cryotherapy, sauna, 10 day silent retreats, + more!

#4] Santai Recovery Spa — Sauna, ice bath, hot pool, + swimming pool!

#5] Bambu Hut Spa — Our favorite spot for massages. Ask for Yiyik or Made as your massage therapist!

#6] Fields Of Yarrow — Organic facials!

Things to Explore

#1] SURF! You can’t go to Uluwatu + *not* surf. There’s waves for everyone. As a beginner, my favorite beach to surf at was Padang Padang. We absolutely LOVED our surf instructor — DM on instagram @elisabethsinnott + I will pass along his What’s App!

#2] Uluwatu Temple — During sunset, there’s a Kecak Fire Dance performance that’s very popular [get tickets ahead of time, as it tends to fill up!]. The temple is built on cliff… so the views are stunning. But beware of the monkeys… they are mischievous! We saw a monkey steal sunglasses off a person, as well as steal someone’s waterbottle + THEN DRINK IT!

#3] Ulu Cliffhouse — Beach club! The view is stunning + you can rent chairs for the day + hang out by the pool. They also seemed to have a lot of DJ/live music events, so definitely check that out! We’ve heard good things about Sunday’s Beach Club, especially with kids!

#4] Rent a driver for the day — Depending on your Bali intinerary, you should definitely do a day trip to Ubud [if you aren’t spending multiple days there! See my Ubud Guide here]. There are also many rice fields, water falls, temples, etc to visit. Your driver will be able to help you make an itinerary for the day based on what you want to do!

#5] MOST IMPORTANTLY… explore all the beaches + relax. Slow down + savor it all. See below for my beach guide 😍

All The Beaches

Okay, I had to make a list specifically for all the beaches, because WOW… they are all so incredible + different. Unlike Canggu which had very dirty beaches, all the beaches in Uluwatu were pristine + so beautiful. One of our favorite things to do in Uluwatu was wake up early, grab coffee, + do a beach walk at a “new” beach. We made it a priority to do as many beach walks as we possibly could during our time in Uluwatu.

Thomas Beach—*MUST. My favorite beach… beautiful white sand beach + sparkling blue water. Grab a coffee from SUKA + then walk across the street… down the path you’ll hit Thomas Beach!
Nyang Nyang Beach — The path to get down to this beach is WILD. There was literally only one other person at this beach when we went because it’s so hard to get to. Check out Karang Boma Cliff which is close by — it’s a popular grassy picnic area for sunset views!
Green Bowl Beach — Another beach with a LOT of steps to get down… but worth it! It’s a very small beach, but chances are you’ll see a lot of surfers catching big wave.
Pantai Tanjung Simah — A “secret beach” we discovered when we were checking out an airbnb. The rock formations are beautiful + chances are you’ll be the only one on the beach. It was a bit treacherous going down, but once we got to the beach it was so peaceful + beautiful.
Bingin Beach — This was our “local” beach, as we add access to it from Terra Cottages. We loved watching the surfers at sunset while enjoying a coconut drink.
Padang Padang Beach — Our fav beach for surfing!
Suluban Beach [Uluwatu Beach] — Go when the tide is low, so that you can access the “secret beach.” This is probably the most famous surfing break, so you’ll see a lot of elite surfers! On the way down to the beach, you’ll encounter a lot of bars. Single Fin is the most popular. Honestly, they are seemed kind of dirty + I didn’t love the vibe… BUT, the view at sunset is spectacular… so it’s worth it to go one of the bars, just to see the view.
Balangan Beach — Great beginner surf beach. The “Balangan Viewpoint” is a very famous sunset view for weddings, instagrammers, etc.

Pro Tips

Mopeds are the best way to get around. Unlike Canggu + Ubud, Uluwatu is not really “walkable.” Everything is relatively spread out + the roads are pretty narrow — so I’d recommend exploring via motorbike [Gojek!] or you can use Grab [the “Uber” of Bali]. Terra Cottages had motorbikes we could use for free for the day.
Need a babysitter? DM me on instagram @elisabethsinnott + I’ll connect you with our favorite babysitter in the world, Zainab. Uluwatu is extremely kid friendly — there were so many families!
Watch as many sunsets on the beach as possible.
Don’t drink the tap water in Bali. Drink all the coconut waters, though 🤩
When to visit? Dry season is April-October. We visited twice — once in April + once in November. I preferred November! April felt more hot + humid. It was also the “end” of the wet season in April…. so the beaches had a lot more debris than in November when we visited. We may have gotten lucky with no rain though in November… the rain can be unpredictable that time of year!