Padang Bai in Bali

Beaches and Padang Bai area, description and is it worth going here

Padangbai or Padang Bai (Padang Bai) is a small town, more like a village, on the east coast of Bali, 60 kilometers from the airport and Kuta, a little closer here from Denpasar and Ubud (Padang Bai on the map). This is an almost non-tourist place and few people go here to relax. But, nevertheless, it is an important point for tourists and travelers, since there is a large port here, through which you can get to the neighboring islands of Lombok, Gili, Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan.

But in fairness it should be noted that this is not the only port through which you can sail to these islands. With the same success, you can do this from the pier in Sanur on high-speed ferries, or just buy a ready-made transfer by minivan + ferry to the right place on the mentioned islands, we described this in detail in the instructions "How to get to Bali". Padangbay is different in that there are large and slow cargo ferries from here, on which you can cross by rented car or with a motorcycle. Well, to sail on slow ferries, even just as a passenger, is several times cheaper than on fast ferries.

Is it worth a vacation in Padangbai

So, in our opinion, there is no full-fledged beach holiday in Padang Bai. There are a couple of beaches here, but they are small (the one in the center doesn't count). And all together with the location of this resort and its features makes it by no means the best place to relax.

We can't think of any reason why to come here, except for transit through the port to the islands. Nevertheless, there are several hotels here, where, perhaps due to ignorance of the situation, vacationers get on vouchers.

Well, okay, if you think about it carefully, then one reason for coming here was still found – it's diving and a little snorkeling in coastal waters. But even with this in mind, we would definitely not choose a hotel here for the entire rest period. Therefore, if you need to find a permanent place to stay, and not for a couple of days, then it's better to choose more developed and convenient areas Kuta, Sanur, Legian, Seminyak, Nusa-dua or Changu.

Which beach is in Padangbai

There are three beaches here. The main city beach is actually a port area, and swimming here among boats and floating garbage is hardly worth it, see the photo below for yourself.

Within walking distance from the center on the left and right there are two small beaches suitable for swimming and equipped with sun loungers:

• Blue Lagoon Beach on the left along the shore. Built up to the water's edge and very narrow at high tide. There is a cafe, deck chairs and umbrellas, and there is also a travel agency that organizes boat tours for diving and snorkeling in coastal waters. You can swim with a mask within the beach even on your own, but you will have to sail further from the shore.
• White Sand Beach, aka Secret Beach or Bias Tugel Beach on the right bank. It is wilder and not built up like Blue Lagoon, but there are sun loungers, umbrellas and cafes.

In general, if you get to Padangbai on vacation, but you can find where to swim and relax on the shore, but not on the main beach in the port.

Infrastructure in Padang Bai

In principle, everything is there. The entire tourist infrastructure is concentrated on the street along the beach. There are at least two motorcycle rental places, currency exchange, shops with goods for recreation and snorkeling, travel agencies. You can easily buy a transfer to any point in Bali and tickets to the islands.

There are several seafood restaurants and inexpensive local cafes "Varungi". Be sure to visit Warung Bu Jero, this is the place with the highest rating in Padang Bai, and we have been here, can confirm that it is delicious and relatively inexpensive. In general, if you find yourself in transit here for the night or even stop for a few days, you will definitely not die of hunger, and there will even be a place to sit in the evening and chat with other tourists.

What to see in Padang Bai, attractions and entertainment

Entertainment and attractions in Padang Bai consider that there is no at all. On a rocky promontory to the left of the village there is a Hindu temple Silayukti Temple, in fact it is the only local attraction. What you can do here is snorkeling and diving, for which you can buy boat tours to dive sites with all the equipment at street travel agencies along the waterfront or at Blue Lagoon Beach.

If you want to see something interesting, you can rent a motorbike and a car to travel around the surrounding area. There are quite a few iconic and interesting places within a day trip from here. These are natural attractions (mainly waterfalls) and temples. You can even go to Ubud during the day, to Lake Batur and hot springs, and look at the Agung volcano from the side. Download points of interest from our Bali map and use them for navigation.

Almost everything in the vicinity can be visited on your own. But climbing to the peaks of Batur or Agunt in one day to meet the dawn is better done as part of a group with guides, since climbing on your own is associated with security problems and prohibitions on independent visits. With the tour, you will be picked up from the hotel in Padang Bai at night, and in the evening you will be returned back. You can buy such tours in street travel agencies or online:

• 📷 Excursions to Bali on Trip.com
• 📷 Excursions to Bali on GetYourGuide
• 📷 Excursions to Bali on Tripster.ru
• 📷 Excursions to Bali on Sputnik8.com

How to get to Padang Bai

Padang Bai is located 60 kilometers from the airport of Bali and Kuta, a little closer here from Denpasar and Ubud (Padang Bai on the map). You can get here by taxi, tourist minivans, ferries from other islands. Here's all the details:

• By taxi

  

  From Bali airport and Kuta to drive 1-2 hours, the price is about 550,000 rupees (30.46 USD) when ordering through the Grab, GoJek, Maxim applications, it is cheaper to arrange a trip in the InDrive application. You shouldn't order a motorcycle taxi, it's too far away. A taxi at a fixed price from the airport or at a contract price with taxi drivers on the street may even be cheaper – from 450,000 rupees (24.92 USD).

  Important! Padang bai is a red zone for taxis from applications, they are not launched here. And if it is still possible to come from other resorts to Padang Bai, they are sometimes missed with passengers, then it is impossible to order a taxi to LEAVE the village center. Therefore, to leave by taxi, you either need to hire local bombed taxi drivers at a price 2-3 times higher than the apps, or walk along the main street Jalan Pelabuhan Padang Bai to the point behind the police station and order a car there. And if you come here by ferry from the islands, then be prepared for a massive attack by taxi drivers-molested: they literally will not give you passage already at the pier.

• By bus

  Public transport in Padang Bai from other cities of the island does not go, at least we do not know such buses. If you know, share in the comments or in our chat. Nevertheless, it is possible to get here inexpensively on tourist and regular minvans. They run at least from the airport, Kuta, Legian, Ubud, Sanur, Seminyak. The price for all flights is the same – 100,000 rupees/person (5.54 USD). There is no strict schedule, everything changes according to demand, but in general, the first flights start early in the morning at 05:00 hours, and run every few hours until the evening.

  Tickets are bought in hotels or street travel agencies, there are plenty of them at every turn in tourist areas. If you have a foreign card, you can buy it at 12go.asia, it's even cheaper this way.

• By ferry

  

  Right in the center of the city beach Padang Bai is the main port for communication with the islands of Lombok, Gili, Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan (Padangbai port on the map). There are slow ferries from here. A little to the side on the shore to the left is another pier of high-speed boats.

  Here, be prepared for all sorts of divorces from Fastboat ticket sellers. To sell you their tickets, they sometimes behave very aggressively: they block the way to the port; they deceive that the ferry is canceled; they sell tickets for a slow ferry under the guise of a high-speed boat. Well, who knows what else will be invented. So if you are determined to sail away from here to the islands on a slow ferry, ignore everyone who helped and pestered, and buy tickets yourself.

  By the way, it's not easy to buy tickets for a slow ferry here. The system of their purchase is completely converted to electronic form, and it is very difficult to buy them by non-residents of Indonesia. They are not sold at the ticket offices on the pier, there are simply no more ticket offices there. Therefore, tourists have to buy for cash at street travel agencies near the port with a mark-up of 50-60 thousand. There are several such agencies here, look nearby and compare prices.

  Keep in mind that helpers and some agencies under the guise of a slow ferry may try to sell you high-speed ones. Even on the signs with the schedule they have Slow Ferry indicated, but in fact they sell only for high-speed ones. In principle, there is nothing wrong with high-speed ferries, and they go more often and faster. But they can not transport a motorcycle, and they cost several times more expensive. And high-speed tickets can be bought online without any problems even for foreigners.

  

  Here are the prices for the benchmark:

  • Lombok and Gili – slow ferry 4-6 hours from 75 000 rupees (4.15 USD), motorcycle from 180,000 including passengers (9.97 USD). High-speed ferries 2-4 hours from 300 000 (16.61 USD).
  • Nusa Penida – slow ferry from 60,000 rupees(3.32 USD). High-speed ferries from 200,000 (11.08 USD).

  Ferries go to Lombok to different ports:

  • Bangsal (Bangsal Port) is a convenient port where you can immediately transfer to a local or tourist ferry to Gili, rent a motorbike at the pier to travel around Lombok, spend the night at the hotel.
  • Direct to the Gili Islands and back, bypassing Lombok.
  • Sengigi is the main resort area of Lombok with beaches, but it's not a fact that ferries go there now, find out everything on the spot.
  • Mataram and the port of Lembar (Dermaga Ferry Lembar) - ferries go here most often, but they are of little interest to tourists.

  The current schedule and prices in the network in all directions can not be found, everything needs to be found out on the spot and in fact, and even taking into account the weather. The best and most reliable option is to come to Padangbai overnight the day before (there is a place to stay), check the schedule, buy tickets and go in the morning. Here is a photo with information about the schedule for reference, but it may already be irrelevant, it's just for understanding:

  

  But if you want to cross on your motorbike or car, then you can come here and just sail away in fact in any direction to any port on Lombok, and already there on the island to get on your own where you need. Most often ferries go to the southern port of Lombok Lembar (Dermaga Ferry Lembar). Back, respectively, in the same way. Just keep in mind that not all distributors allow the movement of motorbikes on ferries, discuss this issue when renting. It's even easier if you are ready to sail on high-speed ferries, there are plenty of them here.

  You can see the schedule and prices for high-speed ferries from Padangbai on these carrier websites, online ticket purchase is also available there:

  • 12go.asia (there are all ferries at once, except slow ones)
  • fastboatbalitour.com/
  • wahanavirendra.co.id/fastboat-ticket/
  • ganggari.com/
  • ekajayafastferry.com/
  • bluewater-express.com/
  • www.giligilifastboat.com/
  • goldenqueenfastboat.com/
  • www.tanisfastcruise.com/
  • semayaone.com/

Hotels and accommodation in Padang Bai, where to stay

There are several dozen hotels in Padang Bai, most of them are available for online booking. There are very few budget options by the standards of Baldi with rooms for $ 10 by type just to spend the night here, so you should be ready to pay from $ 20 for a room for two. Even a bed in a hostel costs from $ 10.

The only hotel that is suitable here for a long stay is Bloo Lagoon Village 3* with its own territory and conditionally its own beach Blue Lagoon Beach.

You can book accommodation in Padang Bai with payment by Russian cards on these reliable sites:

• 🛌 Search for hotels in Padang Bai on Trip.com
• 🛌 Search for hotels in Padang Bai on Yandex.travel
• 🛌 Search for hotels in Padang Bai on Ostrovok.ru