Padang Padang Beach (Otherwise Known As “The Beach From Eat, Pray, Love”): Bali

Regardless of how cliche it now is, we couldn’t pass on the opportunity to visit Padang Padang Beach; where the filming for Eat Pray Love’s beach scene took place. We were looking forward to seeing whether this beach lived up to how it was portrayed in the movie.

To begin with, it’s definitely not an easy beach to get to. In fact, nothing is that easy to get to if you’re staying in Jimbaran. So, we rented motorbikes for the day (though I highly recommend you don’t due to an awful experience we had) and set off to find this beach. We were on the road for at least half an hour before we found it – you’ll know you’re there when you see cars and motorbikes lined up on the side of the road right before a bridge. And lots of tourists, of course.

We parked our bikes and went down quite a few stairs to get to the beach. Along the way, we had to climb down in between a narrow path with rocks towering over either side of you, which proved quite difficult when people were also trying to walk back up.

After squeezing your way through the claustrophobic pathway, you’ll land right on the beach where there are a handful of restaurants and stalls selling touristy junk. The souvenir stalls were a bit of a turn-off initially, as our expectation of this beach was seclusion and tranquility. We decided to head to a smaller section of the beach to the left in order to remove ourselves from the more crowded area.

The beach itself was beautiful, but unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations (not sure if I should blame Eat, Pray, Love for that one). The water had a tonne of algae being washed up onto the beach and in the water, along with quite a bit of garbage. The shallow water leading in was quite rocky, making it difficult to walk in. Seems as though I just didn’t have much luck with beaches on this trip in general.

Overall, I think it’s worth a trip to Padang Padang beach if you’re staying in the area to say you’ve been and to check it out for yourself. Just don’t set your expectations too high after watching Eat, Pray, Love.

My other adventures in Bali:
Two Nights In Kuta
What To Expect From Accommodations In Ubud
Wandering Ubud: The Streets, Markets, & Rice Fields
How To Survive The Monkey Forest In Ubud, Bali
5 Things No One Told You About The Gili Islands
The Many Sides Of Gili Trawangan: Bicycling Around
Sunsets And Night Markets: Gili Trawangan
Gili Trawangan: The Beach
Finding Accommodations In Gili Trawangan
Mount Batur Volcano Sunrise Trek: Ubud, Bali