Tanah Lot is one of the most popular temples in Bali. You’ve probably seen a picture of it before – it’s a rock formation offshore. Hence the name; Tanah Lot means “Land in the Sea”. I’d totally recommend you go on a day trip to Tanah Lot!
Keep on reading for everything you need to know about your day trip to Tanah Lot. How to get to Tanah Lot, what to pay, when to go and what to do on your day trip to Tanah Lot.
Disclaimer: Prices mentioned in this blog post are stated in Indonesian rupiah with the roughly corresponding price in Euros (at the time I was writing this post).
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How to get to Tanah Lot
As I mentioned, Tanah Lot is quite a famous temple in Bali. Therefore, it is included in a lot of day tours that take you to different sights. Also, there are designated Tanah Lot tours. However, you can also just go there by yourself without visiting any other places. This is exactly what we did!
Tanah Lot is located in Beraban which is a 30-minute-drive away from Canggu, always depending on traffic of course. Getting there is easy as you can probably order a car at your hotel (about 140k IDR/8€ from Batu Bolong) or grab a car on GRAB or Go-Jek (about 90k IDR/5,20€).
However, leaving Tanah Lot can be quite the challenge. They have their own taxi company there. That is why Grab and other taxis are forbidden to pick you up at Tanah Lot. There is the possibility, though, that your driver comes in with you (for an extra 5k IDR/0,30€) and waits for your return in the designated parking area. Our Grab driver didn’t even charge anything extra for the almost 2 hours we were exploring Tanah Lot. We just paid him 88k IDR per trip (plus tip because we were so grateful). Contact me if you’d like to have bis number!
What to Pay for on Your Day Trip to Tanah Lot
I went to Tanah Lot with a girl I met at Serenity Eco Guesthouse on a spontaneous trip. So we didn’t really prepare it and were quite surprised that we had to pay 60k IDR/3,50€ per person just to get into the little village. For children, the entrance fee is 30k IDR/1,75€. Parking fee is 2k IDR/0,12€ per motorbike and 5k IDR/0,30€ per car.
When to Go on Your Day Trip to Tanah Lot
This is the point where you have to make a few decisions: At what time of the day do you want to visit Tanah Lot? At what tide do you want to go?
Sunrise at Tanah Lot vs. Sunset at Tanah Lot
We went for sunset which is something I’d totally recommend because it truly is beautiful! However, some people prefer to go early in the morning because it is less crowded. Is that really necessary though? In my opinion (judging solely from the day we were there), it is not. I didn’t mind the people and where we went to watch the sunset (more on that below), there were only about 15 people in total and we had an amazing view.
High Tide at Tanah Lot vs. Low Tide at Tanah Lot
Now this one can be tricky. We didn’t prepare our trip and therefore didn’t know that it was going to be low tide. We really enjoyed being able to walk around (and take awesome pictures). But judging from photos, it is also beautiful during high tide when Tanah Lot really is like “Land on the Sea”. The water fills up the access way from the beach to the temple.
So this one is up to your personal preferences, I can’t recommend one over the other. I definitely want to check out Tanah Lot during high tide as well.
What to Do on Your Day Trip to Tanah Lot
Obviously, Tanah Lot is a temple. You can explore the area right around it for a small donation. In addition, we were told that you have to rent a Sarong. However, be aware that you cannot go inside unless you are praying in order to not disturb the people practicing their religion in there. We didn’t arrive until shortly before sunset so we didn’t go closer to Tanah Lot.
I don’t think it’s essential to get any closer to the temple than we did for free though. Except for maybe if you have a guide who can tell you more about it. The nature at Tanah Lot is beautiful and there’s a cave (which we didn’t go into), a lot of other small temples and beautiful views you will pass on your way from the entrance/parking area to Tanah Lot.
We found the perfect spot for sunset. When you walk down towards the temple you keep left. There are the cave and the ground that is flooded during high tide. You just keep walking until you reach the rocks at the of the bay. Go up and you have an amazing view of the sun setting next to/behind Tanah Lot.
I highly encourage you to do a day trip to Tanah Lot when you’re in Bali. It is one of the most magical places I’ve ever been to! Feel free to message me with any further questions. I also love to be tagged or receive your pictures when you go to any places I recommend!
For more blog posts helping you plan your time in Bali, check out these: Your vegan food guide to Canggu. The Secret Garden of Sambangan. Ten Days of Traveling Bali. Your vegan food guide to Ubud. 10 Things to do in and around Ubud. My first weeks in Bali.
Planning on going to the Nusa Islands? Check out my guides on how to explore Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan by foot and the best places on Nusa Penida.
Follow me on Instagram here to keep up with my life after traveling!
