After completely fucking up my bearings in the search of a cheap villa with a pool I found myself in the boonies of Uluwatu, so decided to head out on a scooter and find the nearest beach.
Said nearest beach was known as Padang Padang, was but a 10 minute drive and was apparently popular with the beatniks. Would it though be worth the journey, or be a hippy hell? Well it turned out to be a little from column A and a little from column B.
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What the Padang Padang Beach?
Padang Padang Beach is located on the Bukit Peninsula in Uluwatu, right down in the far south of Bali, an area that has gone from actual backwater to full blown influencer playground in the space of about a decade. This part of the island is known for cliffs, surf breaks, over priced villas and an endless supply of people pretending they are having a spiritual awakening while drinking flat whites.
Padang Padang itself is one of the more famous beaches in the area, partly due to surf culture and partly due to its cameo in Eat Pray Love, which tells you pretty much everything you need to know about the crowd it attracts. That said it is undeniably scenic, wedged between cliffs with clear water and proper waves, even if the vibe is more Instagram than island life.
Padang Padang Beach
Getting to the actual beach involved a dollar entrance fee, as well as walking down more stairs than I like to do when I am on holiday. On reflection though it was worth it in the end. The beach itself is nice, but was indeed surprisingly small. So small in fact that the perhaps 80 people there made it packed.
As expected most of the visitors were of the Aussie or Australian ilk, dominated by females presumably out in Bali to “find themselves”. I hear this is a thing, but as someone who holidays usually in war zones cannot really get my head around. Still each and all to their own and there was certainly plenty to see.
What is there to do on Padang Padang beach?
There is hardly an eclectic amount to do on this beach with the main activities seemingly being surfing and surfing lessons. I will add that I saw zero people surfing. There were also shit shops selling crap crap, as well a limited amount of street food, and guys selling booze. Alas I fucked up with a $3 Bintang when I could have gotten a $2 cocktail. A clear trap for young players that a veteran such as myself should have been better than.
There was also a rather random tattoo parlour and the definite feel that there are many of the lazy type of expats roasting away here. I stayed for a few hours, before jetting off to the countryside and my AirBnB.
Eating and drinking at Padang Padang beach
At the top just before you go down to the beach there are a number of restaurants in a large building with indoor and outdoor seating. The Room looked pretty good, but I went for Tarragon Georgian Restaurant which while pretentious as hell had pretty great food.
On the beach itself I went for the Indonesian classic that is a Bintang and some ramen – #Winning
Restaurants near Padang Padang beach
Tarragon Georgian Restaurant
Location Padang Padang Beach complex Uluwatu
Instagram @tarragonbali
The Room Padang Padang
Location Padang Padang Beach complex Uluwatu
Instagram @theroombali
Padang Padang Beach Warungs
Beach time dining…
Worth visiting Padang Padang beach?
Despite being a regular visitor to Bali I will never truly understand the hype and personally consider it 45 percent the worst part of Australia, 45 percent very pretentious and about 10 percent hiding hidden gems.
And Uluwatu to a large degree epitomises that. Yes it is out of the way, but it still feels commercial and tacky. Padang Padang Beach duly is an OK beach, but were it in Cambodia, Thailand or the Philippines would be considered meh. Therefore worth a visit if you happen to be in Uluwatu and have a bike.
Address of Padang Padang beach
Padang Padang Beach
Labuan Sait Beach Road
Pecatu
Uluwatu
Badung Regency
Bali
Indonesia
Entrance fee paid on arrival
No official phone number
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