Pacitan Travel Guide

Pacitan is both a town and regency in southwest East Java, not far to the east of Yogyakarta. It's mainly visited for its nearby coast and also offers good trekking in the Thousand Mountains region.

Worth It?: Only really for the beaches and surrounding mountains
What to Do: lazing on beaches, hiking.
Best Time to Go: May through September has the nicest weather in Pacitan.
How Long?: A day or two will suffice for Pacitan.
Trivia: Pacitan is the birthplace of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesia's first directly elected President.

The main allure of Pacitan is its pretty Indian Ocean coastline in Pacitan Bay. The nearest beach, Teleng Ria, is just a few kilometers south of downtown Pacitan and gets busy on weekends with locals. It features white sand for a three-kilometer stretch and is also fairly popular with surfers.

Serious surfers head west of Pacitan to Srau Beach where there are bigger waves. Gong Cave is also out this way and is said to contain Southeast Asia's most beautiful stalactite. The cave goes down for over 250m and also comes with five large pools.

Travel to Pacitan - Getting There

Yogyakarta has the nearest main airport to Pacitan, lying around 100kms to the west of town. It receives flights from Jakarta in around an hour as well as from elsewhere in the country and region. It is a bit of a trek to Pacitan from here as there are no direct highways.

Pacitan Things to Do

Pacitan Attractions

Pacitan Bay

the main attraction of town lies just south; a well-protected bay with the white sand Teleng Ria Beach.

Side trips from Pacitan

Srau Beach: heading 25kms west of Pacitan on the edge of central Java is this good surfing beach.
Gong Cave: one of the main sights in the Pacitan Regency, this deep cave features striking stalactites and stalagmites along with many pools.