The harbor village Padang Bai in the east of Bali is often visited only to cross from here to the Gilis or to Lombok. At first glance, the village does not seem to offer much more than a harbor. But is the charming fishing village possibly underestimated and could one perhaps experience more here than just jumping on a boat? This is what we want to clarify in the following article.
Where is Padang Bai located?
Padang Bai is located in the east of the Indonesian island of Bali, about 90 minutes from Ngurah Rai International Airport. The place serves many vacationers as a departure point on the way to Lombok, to the Gili Islands, to Nusa Penida or Nusa Lembongan. Here the big car ferry as well as small speedboats leave for the mentioned islands. But what else is there to do here?
Beaches in Padang Bai
The main beach of Padang Bai does not necessarily win a beauty prize. The harbor is located here, which makes the atmosphere not exactly idyllic and relaxing. Nevertheless, it is not at all uncharming for a city beach and there are many colorful fishing boats at anchor decorating the scenery. It is framed by two beautiful bays with white sandy beaches:
Bias Tugel Beach
At the southwest end, after a short walk, you reach “Bias Tugel Beach” also called Pantai Kecil (Little Beach) or “The White Sand Beach”. While along the whole east coast of Bali black volcanic sand is to be found, it changes exactly here into white sand. This makes Bias Tugal a beautiful white sand beach, ideal for swimming and snorkeling. There are also a few restaurants offering their food and merchants selling their wares here.
Blue Lagoon Beach
At the eastern end in turn is the idyllic “Blue Lagoon Beach”, which is ideal for snorkeling thanks to the offshore reef and turquoise water. Here you will also find beautiful white sand. On the beach there are usually some beach vendors who offer nice beach towels or massages. Culinary delights are also available at Blue Lagoon Beach.
Kusamba Beach
Twenty minutes away from Padang Bai you will find a beautiful, exotic beach called “Kusamba” Beach. Sea salt has been produced here for over 1000 years. At the traditional salt farm, you can watch the salt workers scooping bucket after bucket of water from the sea in the early morning hours, then pouring it onto the smoothed black sand. Here, the water evaporates and percolates, and the salt crystallizes in the scorching sun. It is then scraped off and taken to special huts of the villagers for filtering. At Kusamba Beach you can not only admire the Balinese at their traditional work, but also support them directly by buying a packet of salt from them.
Besides salt cultivation, many inhabitants live from fishing. Early in the morning they go out with their colorful, typical Indonesian wooden outriggers to provide freshly caught fish. This is later sold at the harbor or offered in the evening in the numerous fish restaurants of Padang Bai.
Diving and snorkeling in Padang Bai
Many stores on the main street of Padang Bai offer snorkeling equipment as well as excursions. Ideal beaches for snorkeling on your own are Blue Lagoon and Pantai Kecil beaches described above. Here you can admire the beautiful coral reef and many colorful fish without much effort.
If you want to dive a little deeper and see more of the underwater world, you can go to one of the numerous diving schools in town. Padang Bai is considered one of the main places for diving in Bali and is very popular. Here you can expect a colorful underwater world rich in fish, octopuses as well as colorful corals and their small inhabitants.
By boat you can reach the following diving spots from Padang Bai within five to ten minutes: Tanjung Sari, Tanjung Jepun, Jetty, Channel, Temple Garden, Coral Garden and Bias Tugal. Within about 30 minutes you can reach Mimpang/Tepekong and the spots around Nusa Penida. We will go into detail about the individual diving spots in a separate article especially about diving in Bali.
Sights in Padang Bai
If you want to see something else than the sea from above or below, you can visit many different temples in Padang Bai. The “Pura Tanjungsari” in the east of the village is probably the most worth seeing in Padang Bai. The holy site was built in the 11th century and is one of the four oldest on the island of Bali. The holy preacher Empu Kuturan, who introduced the caste system in Bali, is said to have lived here. The temple is elevated on a promontory and thus offers a great view.
Conclusion: For whom is a trip to Padang Bai worthwhile?
For divers a stay in Padang Bai is definitely worthwhile thanks to the variety of dive spots, but also for travelers the place has something to offer. The small fishing and harbor village may not be a must-see place on a Bali trip, but it definitely offers more than just a harbor. For example, a relaxed atmosphere, beautiful white sandy beaches and a temple steeped in history. So if you are on your way to one of the neighboring islands, you can definitely make a stop here, eat delicious fish, enjoy the beaches or go diving.
