The best holiday guide to a weekend away in Bali’s beautiful Uluwatu

In the past year, more than 1 million Australians have travelled to Bali.

Yet for some, a week or two in paradise each year isn’t enough.

An estimated 10,000 Australians live more-or-less permanently on the island, either as retirees, for work or to start businesses of their own.

But even people who live in paradise need a weekend away now and then.

Here we take you to the Uluwatu Peninsula or Ulu for short in the south of Bali and check out the best places to eat, rest and play.

EAT

In 2016, a team of Australian chefs and hospitality experts opened Mason, an open-air restaurant focusing on wood-fired Mediterranean-inspired cuisine in the west-coast surf and entertainment hub of Canggu.

It quickly became one the most popular Western restaurants in Bali.

During the pandemic they opened a second venue on Jalan Pantai Padang-Padang, a restaurant and nightlife hub in the Uluwatu Peninsula.

With 120 seats, high ceilings, breezy ceiling fans and lots of indoor plants, Mason Ulu has a sultry colonial feel.

Everything on the menu is great but the smoked tuna dip is outstanding, as are the prawn ‘al ajillo’, grilled with chilli, rocket and garlic chips.

Mason is the ‘it’ restaurant’ in Ulu right now, packed with customers seven nights per week.

“Ulu is the dream location in Bali,” says co-owner Marcus Boyle of Melbourne, who moved to Bali six years ago.

“It’s developing but not in a tacky way, the F&B has come a long way, some of the best beach clubs are here and it has a more chilled-out vibe than other parts of Bali.”

“The water is pristine blue, the beaches are pure white and you have some of the best surf spots in the world. When you bring all those little things together, that’s the magic of Ulu.”

STAY

Gypsea Bali is a boutique hotel with eight luxury bungalows, three one-bedroom villas and two two-bedroom villas with private outdoor bathrooms located only three minutes ride on a scooter from Bingin Beach.

As you walk through the large hand-carved double wood doors at Gpyspea, you enter a hidden paradise within paradise beset with little shrines, palm trees and pathways that meander through a tropical garden.

At the centre is a large oasis-style pool surrounded by day beds with sunset views.

The service at Gypsea Bali is the same as you might get at a five-star hotel in Bali.

But as there are only a small number of other guests, the service is more personal with more attention to detail.

“What I love most about Ulu is the landscape,” says Tony Portinari, the Brazilian owner of Gypsea Bali who’s lived in Bali for 11 years.

“The yellow sea cliffs set against the strong blue colour of the Indian Ocean, the contrast is so dramatic, so raw and beautiful. Ulu has its own energy that’s different to other parts of Bali and it draws different kinds of people, more relaxed, into nature, surfing and the sea.”

PLAY

A weekend in Ulu is all about the beach and there are many to choose from, starting with Bingin.

Set under a tall cliff and edged by a coral reef and a row of cheap beachfront restaurants, Bingin Beach is a throwback to the Bali of the 1970s.

Ten minutes down the road, a few minute’s ride from Mason Ulu, is Suluban Beach and the world-famous Uluwatu Surf Break, where you can sip a smoothie or throw back a Bintang beer from a cliff-top restaurant while watching some of the best surfers in the world ride big glassy waves.

With lots of parking, public toilets, beach umbrellas and towels for hire, Padang Padang Beach is perfect for families.

But to really get away from it, head to Nyang Nyang beach on the south coast of the Uluwatu Peninsula: a 1.5km-long stretch of bone-white sand lapped by sparkling, turquoise waters and backdropped by 150m-high cliffs carpeted in jungle.

It looks more like Tahiti or Hawaii than Bali.