There are few destinations in Bali more stunning than Uluwatu. Uluwatu is a small town on the southwest Bukit Peninsula, located about thirty or forty minutes by taxi from Kuta. Although it's not far from Kuta or Jimbaran, Uluwatu is a bit challenging to get into, making the distance seem further than it really is. Uluwatu is a great destination for a day trip if you're staying in Kuta or Jimbaran, but there's also a number of high-end villas in and around Uluwatu. Be warned: Uluwatu and the rest of the Bukit Peninsula is a destination that was first popularised by surfers; if you're not a part of the surfing crowd, you might want to choose a different town in Bali as your base of operations.
Magnificent Surfing
Some call Balangan Beach (located northeast of Uluwatu) the single best beach in all of Bali. Informal signs along a twisting road will lead you to this hard-to-find beach. Once you get there, you'll be glad you made the effort. Besides the wonderful surfing, you'll find laid-back warungs (family owned beach-side seafood restaurants) and comfortable but simple bungalows.
Dreamland Beach, just southwest of Balangan, is another beach that draws surfers. Although some people say the “New Kuta” development ruined this beach, the waters around the beach are perfect for intermediate and advanced surfers looking for a challenge.
Closest to Uluwatu is Padang-Padang Beach. There's a great big surf break offshore here. Again – this is not a surfing spot for novices, but for experienced surfers, you'll rarely find a spot like this to surf.
The best part about the surfing spots around Uluwatu is that it's not nearly as crowded as Kuta's surfing destinations.
Get Married!
Besides the surfing, there's another very popular activity in the bukit Peninsula: marriage. Getting married in Bali is a popular activity these days, and nowhere is it more popular than on the beautiful beaches of the bukit Peninsula. The private villas are ideal for a quiet honeymoon, and a number of the nearby resorts offer special wedding packages and wedding planning. A relatively new chapel built exactly for this purpose is close to the Nyang Nyang Beach, just south of Uluwatu.
The Uluwatu Temple
The Uluwatu Temple is the one site in this area that you don't want to miss, especially if you enjoy visiting cultural or historical sites. At least as old as the eleventh century (some claim a small temple existed on the site even before that), the temple is one of Bali's nine key directional temples. Expanded by two Javanese sages, the temple perches atop a steep cliff, 70 metres above the Indian Ocean. Sunsets at the Uluwatu Temple are considered the best in all of Bali.
To get into the temple, you'll need to pay about 20p – a bargain you may not find anywhere else on Earth! Once you get in, you'll want to be careful of being hassled by the “guides”, who seem to always want a tip, and the monkeys. Yes, that's right – the monkeys. If you'd like to see monkeys in Bali, Uluwatu Temple is a good place to get a glimpse of them. There are lots of monkeys inhabiting the temple site, and their favourite game is to grab the hats, eyeglasses, and other belongings of tourists. (If you do have something snatched by a monkey, you can usually bribe them to give it back by offering a little fruit.) Monkeys or no, Uluwatu Temple is a must-see in this area.
If you're looking for a place to surf in Bali, Uluwatu should be on your list of destinations. If you are hoping for the parties and the wild nightlife that so often comes with surfing, however, you'll want to stay in Kuta or Seminyak and get a taxi to the beaches around Uluwatu. But if you want the excitement of surfing during the day, and a quiet, moonlit walk along the beach at night, Uluwatu is one of the best places to stay in Bali.