22 Sep Uluwatu Surf Spots Ranked: From Beginner Breaks to Pro Barrels

Welcome to Uluwatu, Bali’s crown jewel of surfing, where cliffs drop like mic drops, barrels roar like jet engines, and even the most sunburnt beginner can find their wave. If surfing were religion, Uluwatu would be the temple (literally… there’s an actual one on the cliff). And if surfing were food, Uluwatu would be the buffet where everything from spicy beginners-only noodles to five-star Michelin-level pro barrels is on the menu.

But here’s the thing: not all Uluwatu waves are created equal. Some are gentle, some are gnarly, some will make you cry tears of joy, others tears of reef rash. So let’s rank the breaks; beginner to pro, so you know where to paddle, where to spectate, and where to just order a coconut and cheer for the lunatics inside cavernous tubes.

1. Padang Padang Baby (Inside) – The Beginner’s Playground

This is where baby surfers cut their teeth.. literally, sometimes on their surfboard wax. Inside Padang is mellow, sandy-mixed-reef bottom, and beginner-friendly when conditions are right. Rent a foam board, practice your pop-up, and feel like Kelly Slater for 0.5 seconds before nose-diving into whitewash. Locals are used to teaching here, so expect crowds of surf schools and high-fives from strangers.

2. Dreamland – The All-Levels Holiday Romance

Dreamland looks like a surf postcard designed by a travel agent with Photoshop fever. Long sandy beach, turquoise walls, and fun peaks that suit everyone from intermediates to semi-pros pretending they’re intermediates. Beware: the name “Dreamland” comes with fine print. On a good swell, it can turn into “Nightmareland” with dumpy closeouts. Still, for cruisy fun, this is where you’ll score your vacation highlight reel.

3. Balangan – The Longboarder’s Daydream (and Shortboarder’s Playground)

Balangan is the kind of wave that makes you sigh out loud, even before paddling in. A wide, sandy bay framed by cliffs, it offers long left-hand rides that feel tailor-made for flowy carves and nose rides. On smaller days, it’s pure longboard heaven! Think gliding, trimming, and looking cooler than you probably are. On bigger swells, it wakes up and turns into a legit shortboarder’s paradise with long, peeling walls. Intermediate to advance surfers love it here, beginners can practice on the inside whitewater when it’s small, and pros can hunt barrels when the ocean feels generous.

4. Bingin – Short, Sweet, and Shallow

Bingin is like that friend who’s small but terrifyingly intense. The wave is short and mechanical, breaking over razor-sharp reef. Perfect barrels for those who know what they’re doing, reef tattoos for those who don’t. Intermediates can try their luck, but timing is everything. One wrong take-off and you’ll be starring in your own slapstick reef comedy.

5. Impossibles – Long Walls, Long Paddles

The name doesn’t lie. Unless you’ve got paddling power of a Viking rower, connecting sections here can feel… well, impossible. But when it links up, it’s like surfing an endless moving sidewalk of glassy perfection. Best for confident intermediates and up, who like their rides long and their legs burning.

6. Padang Padang (Outside) – The Balinese Pipeline

Outside Padang is not for the faint of heart, faint of skill, or faint of anything really. This is Bali’s heaviest, hollowest wave.. a deep, perfect left that eats boards and egos for breakfast. Pro-level only. If you’re not ready, grab a coconut on the beach and enjoy the gladiator show. Think “surfing meets Roman colosseum,” except with fewer lions and more reef.

7. Uluwatu Main Peak – The All-Rounder

This is the hub, the iconic spot where Uluwatu surfing earned its legend. The wave breaks fast and powerful, with steep takeoffs and multiple sections. Good for advanced surfers, but intermediates can test their courage on smaller days. Bonus: you access it through the iconic cave, surfing’s most cinematic entrance.

8. Uluwatu Racetracks – The Name Says It All

Fast, hollow, and barreling. You’re either threading the needle of your life or getting pitched so hard your grandchildren will feel it. Racetracks is advanced territory, best at mid to low tide. If you hesitate, the reef won’t.

9. Uluwatu Temples & Secrets – The Chill Uncles of the Family

Up the point lies Temples, a more forgiving, less crowded wave (because most surfers can’t be bothered paddling that far). Great for intermediates looking to step it up, with fun walls that don’t try to kill you immediately. It’s Uluwatu, but less gladiator, more Sunday yoga vibe.

10. Uluwatu Outside Corner – The Beast Awakes

This only works on monster swells, and when it does, it’s the stuff of surf folklore. Outside Corner turns into a freight train of endless lefts, peeling from the horizon to the cave. Reserved for advanced big-wave lunatics with quads of steel and life insurance. For spectators: grab a Bintang and watch humans defy physics.

So, Where Should You Surf?

• Beginners: Inside Padang, Dreamland, inside Balangan.

• Intermediates: Bingin (cautiously), Impossibles, Temples & Secrets.

• Advanced: Main Peak, Racetracks, Outside Padang, Outside Corner.

If you’re unsure where you land on the skill ladder… don’t sweat it. Uluwatu can be paradise or punishment, depending on the day. That’s why having the right guidance makes all the difference.

Surf Uluwatu With the Right Crew

Whether you’re chasing your first foamie ride or hunting the barrel of your life, Uluwatu delivers. But why wing it solo when you can join a surf family that knows the breaks, tides, and tricks? At Wave House Uluwatu, we take you from hesitant pop-up to confident charger, with surf coaches, community vibes, and after-surf laughs that last longer than your sunburn.

Come for the waves. Stay for the sunsets, the nasi rendang, and the fact that you can tell people back home: “Yeah, I surfed Uluwatu.”