Before You Visit Tanah Lot: Every Cost, and What's Worth It
By the BeatTheCrowd team · Prices last checked 3 November · 3 min read
Tanah Lot, the sea temple on a rock off Bali's west coast, is one of the island's cheapest big sights, but sunset turns it into one of the busiest. The entrance fee is cash only, and there's parking, sunset tours from the south, and the island-wide tourist levy. Most of them sound worth paying for. You don't need a tour to have a great visit. In this guide we walk through what each option costs, what you really get, and how to choose the right time, whether that's a quiet morning or a packed sunset.
At a glance
Foreign adult
IDR 75,000
Foreign child (5-10)
IDR 40,000
Payment
Cash only
Parking
About IDR 5,000 (car), 2,000-3,000 (scooter)
Bali tourist levy
IDR 150,000, once per trip
Inner temple
Worshippers only
Quietest
Mornings to early afternoon
🎟️ Book skip-the-line tickets
Check the crowds, find the best time slot, and book through our authorised partner.
The real total: entry price vs what a typical visit costs
Foreign adults pay IDR 75,000 and children 5-10 IDR 40,000, according to Bali Holiday Secrets; older guides list IDR 60,000. Tickets are cash only at the booth. Parking is about IDR 5,000 for a car and IDR 2,000-3,000 for a scooter. Foreign visitors also pay Bali's IDR 150,000 tourist levy once per trip, separately from the temple.
Visitor
What they pay
Price
Foreign adult
Entrance
IDR 75,000
Foreign child, 5-10
Entrance
IDR 40,000
Driving
Car parking
About IDR 5,000
Tickets: what each option gets you
Cost
Price (IDR)
Type
How to cut it
Foreign adult
IDR 75,000
≈ US$5
Unavoidable
Bring cash.
Foreign child, 5-10
IDR 40,000
≈ US$2
Unavoidable
Cash only.
Car parking
About IDR 5,000
≈ US$0
Optional
Paid at a separate booth.
Is it worth it?
Non-Hindu visitors can't enter the temple itself; you see it from the shore and, at low tide, walk to the base for a blessing at the holy spring. Our verdict: worth it, for the setting rather than the temple interior.
What visitors say
Visitors say the temple on its rock is spectacular at sunset, and the blessing at the spring is memorable. The most common complaints are the sunset crowds, the souvenir stalls and the traffic, so the advice is to arrive in the afternoon and stay for sunset, or come in the morning.
Prices last checked: 3 November. Prices vary with the season, peak and off-peak dates and promotions, and we recheck them every month. Visitor-reported costs are marked as estimates, and US$ figures are rough conversions.
The crowd tax: what busy hours really cost you
Our crowd data shows Tanah Lot moderate from morning to about 3-4 pm, then busy from about 3-5 pm until after sunset, every day. Weekends get busy earliest, from about 3 pm. The crowd tax is a packed shoreline at sunset and slow traffic out.
When
Crowds (our data)
What to do
Morning to about 3 pm
Moderate
Best time
About 4 pm to sunset
Busy
Arrive early for a sunset spot
Crowds by day and time
From the typical weekly visitor pattern for Tanah Lot, based on Google’s popular-times data.
Quietest time
Monday, 6-10 am
Busiest time
Saturday, 3-7 pm
When
Guides and tours: official, licensed or touts?
Sunset tours from Kuta and Seminyak add transport, which helps given the traffic. Our verdict: a driver or tour is worth it; the entrance is cheap either way.
Short on time? What you'd regret missing
The temple on the rock, from the shore.
The holy spring blessing at low tide.
Batu Bolong, the nearby temple on a rock arch.
Getting there
Tanah Lot is on Bali's west coast, in Tabanan. There's no practical public transport, so most visitors come by car, scooter or tour.
Rules that cost money
Non-Hindus can't enter the temple. Cover shoulders and knees near the temple.
What can go wrong
You bring no cash.
High tide: you can't reach the base.
Sunset traffic back to the south.
What one adult really spends
Level
What's included
One adult
Typical
Entrance
IDR 75,000
Driving
Entrance + car parking
About IDR 80,000
FAQs
How much is Tanah Lot?
+
IDR 75,000 for foreign adults and IDR 40,000 for children 5-10, cash only.
How we research: every guide is written by the BeatTheCrowd team from official sources and recent traveller reports, cross-checked against each other. Crowd figures come from our own crowd data. Prices last checked 3 November. Prices and rules change, so always confirm on the official site before you book.
What to expect
Verdict
Weekdays, 6-11 am
Light crowds, easy to move around and take photos. Most visitors haven't arrived yet.
Best
Weekdays, 11 am-3 pm
A steady flow of visitors, short waits at the main spots. The middle of the day, without a sharp peak.
OK
Weekdays, 3-6 pm
Peak crowds, queues at the entrance and main sights. Stays busy into the afternoon.
Worst
Weekdays, 6-7 pm
A steady flow of visitors, short waits at the main spots. Steady into the evening.
OK
Saturday and Sunday
A steady flow of visitors, short waits at the main spots. Busier than weekdays, as locals join the visitors.
OK
📍 Live crowd check
See how busy Tanah Lot is right now, plus today’s hourly forecast.
