Indonesia is a fantastic destination for landscape photography featuring many photogenic locations. In this guide, I share one of them with you: Sawarna. Located in the southwest of the island of Java, it offers countless opportunities to photograph spectacular coastal landscapes.
Sawarna is a coastal village located in the Indonesian province of Banten. It is known for its beautiful beaches and stunning natural scenery, making it a popular destination for local photographers. The region includes lush green hills, rocky cliffs, sea stacks and pristine sandy beaches that stretch along the Indian Ocean.
When we visited Sawarna in 2022, I discovered that although it is a popular vacation destination for people living on the island of Java and for Indonesian photographers, it is not very well known outside the ‘Indonesia. I only knew about him thanks to the photographers from Java that I follow on Instagram. Indeed, during the four days we spent in Sawarna, we were the only Western tourists.
It was a great experience. The locals were some of the most welcoming people we’ve met on our travels through Asia, the seafood was excellent, and the seascape photography was incredible. The only thing you need to know if you’re planning a visit is this: almost no one speaks English in Sawarna. Make sure you familiarize yourself with the most common Indonesian words and install Google Translate on your cell phone.
How to get to Sawarna
For locals with a car, it is easy to get to Sawarna. From Jakarta, it’s a 5-6 hour drive on paved roads that become hilly and steep for the latter part of the journey. As a foreigner visiting Indonesia, it’s not that simple. Getting to Sawarna via public transport is not an option unless you want to plan a stopover somewhere along the way. I didn’t find a reliable bus route to reach Sawarna in a single day.
You might think that renting a car would be the right thing to do. There are several car rentals in Jakarta and you can rent a car with an international driving license. The problem is insurance. While you can get insurance to cover damage to the rental car, it’s not possible to get proper liability insurance – I haven’t found an option that offers good coverage. And because of the way people drive in Indonesia, it’s the most important insurance to have when renting a car. Otherwise, you could be in big trouble if you are involved in an accident.
A much safer option for getting to Sawarna is to hire a driver through Bogor Private Tour Guide. We paid around $90 for a driver and a comfortable car. The price included pickup from our hotel in Jakarta, water, an English-speaking driver and a safe ride to Sawarna. Given that this means a 10+ hour day for the driver, it’s a reasonable price. We stayed in Sawarna for four days and paid an additional $90 for the return trip to Jakarta.
In Sawarna, no car is necessary. Most photo spots are within walking distance. And there are also many locals on their motorbikes, who will take you anywhere for a few dollars.
Where to stay in Sawarna
As Sawarna is not yet accustomed to Western tourists, it is difficult to find and book good accommodation. On Booking.com* you will find a few hotels, but the ratings are not very good. If your only goal is photography, you’ll be fine.
The best hotel in Sawarna is the Sawarna Resort. They are not on Booking, so if you want to book you have to email them or contact them via WhatsApp. They don’t speak English but are very good at Google Translate, so you will have no problem finding a room if they have availability.
The hotel is well maintained, with beautiful air-conditioned rooms, a small restaurant and welcoming staff. A room for two costs between $30 and $35, including basic breakfast.
Where to eat in Sawarna
If you’re visiting less touristy parts of Indonesia, finding a good place to eat can be difficult. Although Sawarna has several small warungs near Tanjung Layar Beach, we only found one restaurant with reliable opening hours. Luckily the restaurant called Wow Nyai is a short walk from Sawarna Resort and serves some of the best seafood in the area. Even if you are vegetarian, you will find a few options.
Landscape photography in Sawarna
Now let’s move on to the main topic of this article: Indonesian landscape photography in Sawarna. Within a 5 kilometer radius of Sawarna you will discover many spectacular seascapes which offer fantastic photo opportunities. During the four days I spent in the area, I focused on two places within walking distance of a half hour from our hotel.
Tanjung Layar
Tanjung Layar Beach is one of the best coastal photography spots in Indonesia. It’s an ideal photo spot for sunset. Besides a huge marine stack, this area is full of interesting subjects. Depending on the tides and weather, you will be able to capture waves crashing on the shore, rock pools and reflections.
One evening I took a spectacular photo of a seascape while standing by the ocean. To photograph this perspective you need to head to Tanjung Layar between low and mid tide on days with good waves. If the water level gets too high, staying on these rocks is too dangerous.
If the tide is too high to capture the scene above, you will find more subjects closer to shore. In the photo below I photographed a beautiful set of rock pools and reflections, safely accessible as the tide comes in. But be careful as these rocks can be slippery and sea urchins hide in the rock pools.
You will find Tanjung Layar at the eastern end of Sawarna Beach. It is a short walk from Sawarna Resort, almost 3 kilometers away. To return, you can ask the locals to take you on a motorbike for a small fee.
Bokor Reef
Karang Bokor, a few kilometers west of Sawarna, is less popular than Tanjung Layar but is also a great place for landscape photography. The best time to photograph it is at sunrise with a medium tide. But be sure to scout the area beforehand, as the rocks you’ll be standing on while taking your photos are dangerous, with many holes and crevices.
If you visit Karang Bokor during the day, you will need to pay a small entrance fee. It used to be a more popular place with a camping area. There’s not much left, but someone will still collect the fees during the day. Early in the morning, this is not the case.
If you can find someone to take you there on a motorbike before sunrise, that might be the quickest way to get there. But the road is very steep and it is not safe to sit on the back of a scooter on some sections. That’s why walking there might be the best option. In the morning, there are no cars on the road, and after about 2 kilometers you will arrive at the entrance to Karang Bokor. From there head towards the coast and follow the signs as I show in the video above. On the way back, you can try hitchhiking. There will now be cars passing by and I was able to get into one of them.
Conclusion
Although not part of the typical travel itineraries through Java, taking a detour to Sawarna is worth it for any landscape photographer. Besides the two photo spots I show above, there is also Pantai Legon Pari with Karang Taraje at its eastern end and the Coral Coast Beurem at the other end. Pantai Goa Langir is also worth a visit. All these photo spots make Sawarna one of the best places for landscape photography in Indonesia.
*Above I use booking affiliate links. If you use them to make a reservation, I will receive a small commission from Booking.com.
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