Before You Visit Uluwatu Temple: Every Cost, and What's Worth It
By the BeatTheCrowd team · Prices last checked 3 November · 3 min read
Uluwatu Temple, on a clifftop at Bali's southern tip, is famous for sunset and the Kecak fire dance, and for its monkeys, which steal sunglasses. The entrance fee is low; the Kecak dance is a separate ticket, and tours bundle both with transport and dinner at a big mark-up. Most of them sound worth paying for. You don't need the most expensive one 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 one, whether that's a quiet early afternoon or a packed sunset.
At a glance
Adult entrance
About IDR 50,000 (sarong included)
Child entrance
About IDR 30,000
Kecak dance
About IDR 100,000-150,000
Bali tourist levy
IDR 150,000, once per trip
Inner temple
Worshippers only
Watch out for
Monkeys that snatch belongings
Quietest
Before about 3-4 pm
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The real total: entry price vs what a typical visit costs
Most sources put the adult entrance at about IDR 50,000, including a sarong, and children at about IDR 30,000, according to Pickyourtrail; some list IDR 30,000-60,000. The sunset Kecak dance is a separate ticket, about IDR 150,000 at the venue, according to Kura Kura Bus, with some lower prices online. So a sunset visit with the Kecak costs about IDR 200,000 per adult.
Visitor
What they buy
Price
Temple only
Entrance
About IDR 50,000
Sunset + Kecak
Entrance + dance
About IDR 200,000
Tickets: what each option gets you
Cost
Price (IDR)
Type
How to cut it
Adult entrance
About IDR 50,000
≈ US$3
Unavoidable
Sarong included.
Child entrance
About IDR 30,000
≈ US$2
Unavoidable
Ages vary by source.
Kecak dance
About IDR 100,000-150,000
≈ US$6-9
Optional
Buy early; it sells out.
Is the Kecak dance worth it?
The Kecak is performed in an open amphitheatre against the sunset, with a chanting male chorus and a fire scene. Our verdict: worth it; arrive early for a seat on the sunset side.
Are the all-inclusive tours worth it?
Packages with transport, both tickets and dinner sell for around US$70 per person on Expedia, far more than the tickets. Our verdict: a private driver usually works out cheaper for two or more.
What visitors say
Visitors say the clifftop views and the Kecak at sunset are unforgettable. The most common complaints are the monkeys grabbing glasses and phones, the crowds at sunset and the heat in the amphitheatre, so the advice is to secure your belongings and arrive early.
Prices last checked: 3 November. Prices vary with the season, peak and off-peak dates and promotions, and we recheck them every month. Visitor-reported costs are marked as estimates, and US$ figures are rough conversions.
The crowd tax: what busy hours really cost you
Our crowd data covers only the afternoon. It shows Uluwatu moderate at about 2-3 pm, then busy from about 4 pm through sunset, every day. The crowd tax is a queue for the Kecak and a packed cliff path.
When
Crowds (our data)
What to do
About 2-4 pm
Moderate
Walk the cliffs first
4 pm to sunset
Busy
Queue early for the Kecak
Crowds by day and time
From the typical weekly visitor pattern for Uluwatu Temple, based on Google’s popular-times data.
Quietest time
Sunday, 7 am-2 pm
Busiest time
Saturday, 4-7 pm
When
What to expect
Guides and tours: official, licensed or touts?
Some locals offer to retrieve items the monkeys take, for a tip. Our verdict: put away glasses, hats and phones before the monkey areas.
Short on time? What you'd regret missing
The clifftop walk with ocean views.
The Kecak dance at sunset.
Getting there
Uluwatu is on the Bukit Peninsula, in Bali's far south. Most visitors come by car or scooter; traffic after sunset is slow.
Rules that cost money
Wear the sarong provided. Non-Hindus can't enter the inner temple.
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.
Verdict
Weekdays, 7-11 am
Light crowds, easy to move around and take photos. Most visitors haven't arrived yet.
Best
Weekdays, 11 am-3 pm
Light crowds, easy to move around and take photos. Quiet even in the middle of the day.
Best
Weekdays, 3-6 pm
Peak crowds, queues at the entrance and main sights. Stays busy into the afternoon.
Worst
Weekdays, 6-7 pm
Peak crowds, queues at the entrance and main sights. Evenings are a busy time here.
Worst
Saturday and Sunday
A steady flow of visitors, short waits at the main spots. Similar to weekdays.
OK
📍 Live crowd check
See how busy Uluwatu Temple is right now, plus today’s hourly forecast.
