Seeing The Kecak Dance in Uluwatu at Sunset Calls for a Tour

We were determined to hit this must-do activity in Bali. But I’d heard too many stories from other travellers about long queues and struggles getting to/from the temple. The price tag on the inclusive tour option was a little daunting, but I am so happy we did it this way. In fact, I think it’s the only real way to do it. Here’s why it’s totally worth booking your trip to the Uluwatu Kecak performance through Get Your Guide — especially if you want to catch the sunset show.

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Why you should book a tour to see the Kecak dance in Uluwatu

Booking a tour to the Kecak dance in Uluwatu is hands down the best way to do it. Here’s how it makes every aspect of the experience better.

Transportation to the Kecak dance in Uluwatu

A huge part of what made this easy was the driver. It’s a 1.5-hour drive through heavy Bali traffic to get from places like Kuta, Seminyak, or Canggu to Ulutwatu. If you’re a pro scooter driver, that might not bother you and you’ll be happy to do a self-drive. (But keep in mind you will be driving in the dark on the way home.)

However, if you’re thinking you can just get a Grab or Gojek to get there and back, it’s not that simple. Getting there is fine. But 1,500 people pile in for the performance every night, and rideshares are already not as available out in Uluwatu. So when it’s over, there’s a mad dash for transportation and you might wait ages and/or see surge pricing.

Our booking included private transportation (with that sweet, sweet air conditioning) before and after. Easy peasy.

Exploring Uluwatu Temple

We had about an hour to explore the coastal clifftop Uluwatu Temple before the show. While our guide certainly wasn’t a temple expert nor very fluent in English, we still got way more out of the experience with his help. He explained the story behind the deities and made sure we didn’t lose any sunglasses to the cheeky monkeys that roam wild.

Tickets to the Kecak dance in Uluwatu

People start queuing as early as 2pm to secure a ticket to the sunset show. And who has time for that?! These guide services have reserved tickets, so it’s not a gamble. He was even able to cut the line to grab the temple and performance tickets super quickly.

And because we paid for everything upfront, we didn’t have to do a thing. He carried all the cash and managed the payments. (Particularly useful if you’ve just arrived in Indonesia and still haven’t wrapped your head around the conversion in the thousands. 😵‍💫)

I saw a Get Your Guide review that mentioned having to pay for their own temple tickets, but that was definitely not the case for us (August 2025). Perhaps they changed it recently.

Watching the Kecak dance

People start queuing as early as 2pm to secure a ticket to the sunset show. And who has time for that?! Guide services like the ones on GYG have reserved tickets, so it’s not a gamble. He was even able to cut the line to grab the tickets, which took him no more than 2 minutes.

Half an hour before the Kecak performance, he took us to the seating area. At first I was thinking, “Why are we here so early?” But he told us where to sit to get the best view and we ended up with amazing seats. (One of the performers even jumped into the crowd just one row in front of us!)

You don’t want to be the unfortunate ones who arrive late and have to sit at the very top of the amphitheatre.

Everything the Kecak dance in Uluwatu tour includes

For 600,000 IDR (about $60 NZD/AUD, €30, $37 USD) per person, we got:

return transport
area entry fee
parking
Uluwatu Temple entry tickets
Kecak dance in Uluwatu performance tickets
Guaranteed sunset showtime (If that’s what you want)

The tour we booked also had the option to stop off at Jimbaran Beach for dinner. I don’t necessarily recommend this — I’ll explain why below. Fortunately, there are tons of tour options on Get Your Guide with slight variations. We chose ours because it had the best reviews.

Of course, you can organize all these things yourself, but I still think it’s easier to just book the tour. Here are some average costs of each aspect of the experience. (Note you’ll need some cash):

One-way Grab/Gojek bike from Kuta: 70,000
One-way Grab/Gojek car from Kuta: 250,000
Temple entry: 50,000
Performance ticket: 150,000
Private driver: Average 100,000 per hour
Plus a few extra bucks for the area entry fee, parking if you drive, or a tip for your driver.

If you’re staying in Uluwatu or are a hardcore budget backpacker dedicated to saving as much as possible, it’s definitely possible to figure it out without the booking. It’s just notoriously difficult to get sunset tickets, so make sure you go early.

Tips for experiencing the Kecak dance in Uluwatu

I don’t want to tell you tooooo much about the Kecak dance in Uluwatu because I had so much fun going in with no expectations. However, here are some tips for the best experience:

Book at least a few days in advance. It always sells out.
Definitely go for the sunset show. You get the best of both worlds because it’s dark by the time the real fire stuff starts.
Sit slightly left so you can get epic views of the temple in the distance. You’ll also avoid being directly blinded by the sunset.
Wear something that covers your shoulders to be respectful. You don’t have to worry about wearing shorts because the temple will give you a sarong.
Bring a rain jacket or umbrella if the weather looks iffy. There’s no coverage in the seating area.
Consider bringing a seating cushion.
Consider bringing a little fan — it’s hot!
Set your camera to the best night mode possible. I have no excuse for why my photos are so poor lol.
Did I mention you should book through Get Your Guide?

Consider skipping the optional dinner

So our tour had the option to stop for dinner on Jimbaran Beach. It was a nice way to break up the drive and we weren’t planning on visiting that area otherwise. So it seemed like a fun addition.

However, we were kind of naive. We knew the restaurant would be touristy and overpriced… but it was oh so touristy and overpriced. Jimbaran Beach is basically all resorts and the entire beachfront was covered with tables as far as the eye could see.

We’re used to eating 30,000-50,000 IDR ($3-5) nasi goreng from local warungs. We splurged on grilled seafood a couple times in Lombok — it was about 150,000 ($15) for a whole fish. This restaurant? Only does seafood and a two-person platter was 1,500,000 ($150 NZD/AUD).

We could have backed out. But it was our last night together in Bali. We found a middle ground and asked for 500g of prawns and 250g of squid, shared a Bintang, and got some rice and veg on the side. Dinner set us back 700,000 ($70). Expensive, but didn’t ruin our lives and the food was good.

Anyway, if you’re on a tight budget, definitely avoid this at all costs (pun intended). And you shouldn’t really request to go somewhere else instead, because the driver clearly gets some kind of commission or fee for bringing tourists to that specific restaurant. Otherwise it’s kind of just a waste of his time. You could probably offer to give them some extra money to take you somewhere else.

Do NOT go to the Kecak dance in Uluwatu if...

The Kecak dance in Uluwatu was incredible, but it’s not for everyone. Do not visit if:

You can’t follow the temple’s dress code. I saw some girls in literal bikini tops. Other people took their sarongs off once inside. (These are mandatory for all genders and provided by the temple. It’s not hard.)
You can’t follow other rules. There’s a clear no drone sign, and yet someone sent their drone up for a minute or two.
You can’t sit through the 1-hour performance. Some people decided to leave early… to beat traffic, I guess? They had to walk through the performance area. Incredibly tacky.
You can’t sit on hard stone for an hour. The seating is not exactly luxe. Consider bringing a little pillow if you’re concerned about comfort.