Oct 13, 2026 · @Bali Food & Travel
Over 32 years Waterbom has earned its place in our hearts. We took our kids there; we ate, we drank, we squealed and enjoyed the rush of the slides. Once we grew up and so did our kids, Waterbom became a different day out but worth every moment.
By Sarah Dougherty.
It began as a big dream in the days when Kuta was a dusty track and no one could imagine the growth that would come. That dream grew and grew, and we grew along with it. Going back as a group of adults, with nobody to put sunscreen on but ourselves, we spent a day that mixed thrills with chill in equal measure.
With more slides, more pools and beautiful gardens to enjoy, with a private gazebo to call home, a glass of wine with lunch, two swim-up bars and a resort-style pool where the most strenuous thing we did all afternoon was float, it’s a day out that’s built for grown ups as well as kids. Here’s why Waterbom is a great day out for adults.
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- The big slides still give a proper rush, and Climax will have you laughing at the bottom and heading straight back up.
- Oasis Gardens is greener and quieter, with medium-thrill slides and a big pool made for lolling about.
- A private gazebo gives your group a shady home base, so everyone can enjoy the day at their own pace.
- Lunch is a real lunch: sourdough pizza made with 24-hour dough, doughnuts baked on site and a glass of wine to go with it.
- Two swim-up bars and a pool with underwater sound turn doing nothing into the highlight of the afternoon.
- The park was built around its trees, and today it’s carbon neutral, with 55% of it still jungle and gardens.
- The parties feel like you’ve been let in on something, whether it’s a Waterbom & Friends evening or your own birthday.
- You can stay after the gates close, with sunset cocktails at the top of the slide tower or dinner by the slides.
The big slides really aren't for chickens ( or short people)
We got there for opening, which turned out to be a perfect plan. You can even time your day to join their yoga class, when the park is at its most peaceful. Queues are shorter in the morning, and the park has that early-morning hush. We set up in our gazebo, and the adrenaline junkies headed straight for the big three: Climax, Boomerang and Smashdown.
Climax is the one everyone talks about. You step into the capsule, the floor drops away, and for a second you’re genuinely not sure what’s happening. Then you’re at the bottom laughing, and someone is already asking to go again. Boomerang and Smashdown are a softer thrill but with at least one heart-stopping turn. It’s easy to forget how much fun a great water slide can be, the squeals and belly laughs reconnect you with your inner child.
If anyone is serious about trying the FlowRider, the FlowPro Pack gets up to two people a private hour on it with a coach, at 9 am or 5 pm. It’s just as much fun watching other people wipe out. Riding this wave requires some skill, and definitely balance, but the staff are experienced at getting you up and keeping you up.
Oasis Gardens is where the grown-ups end up
If the big slides are Waterbom’s showpiece, Oasis Gardens is where you’ll want to spend the best part of the afternoon – young kids have their own dedicated section with recent upgrades and the big kids are drawn to the main pool with the cool crew, so this is our top tip! It’s the most recent addition to the park, greener and quieter, which is exactly what you want once the adrenaline wears off.
There are three slides here that we’d call medium thrills and maximum fun: quick enough to make you yelp, not so wild that you need a sit-down afterwards. Boomerang, The Drop and Tail Spin are all found here and rate from Moderate to Extreme; I’ve tried them all and lived, and I’m considered mature! They all land you next to the big pool that’s made for dips, lolling about and recovering (in my case), and long conversations about everything and nothing.
Order lunch from the Oasis Cafe where artisanal sourdough pizzas mingle with fresh salads, gourmet sandwiches, fresh pastas and Indonesian classics. Pair it with a cool cocktail or a fresh juice and linger at the swim-up bar.
It’s also why Waterbom works for a mixed group. The thrill-seekers can explore the big slides while everyone else stays put, reads a book, enjoys the sunshine, or books a massage, and nobody feels like they’re missing out.
A private gazebo gives you a home base
Booking a private gazebo was the best decision we made all day. It gave us a shady spot to leave our things, regroup and eat, and it meant the day could run at everyone’s own pace.
The gazebos are located around the park and in the Oasis Gardens pool area, and they make all the difference. Some of our group wanted to ride Climax three times before lunch, and some wanted to lie in the shade with a book. With a gazebo, both are fine. You drift off in different directions, meet back for a drink, and nobody spends the day standing at the bottom of a slide holding everyone’s sunglasses.
Gazebos start from Rp 550,000 for up to 6 people, with a luxury gazebo for up to 8 people in Oasis Gardens running to Rp 1,250,000, including pool towels and mineral water, power outlets, food deliveries and concierge service.
Lunch is an actual lunch, and afternoon tea rates too
We’d braced ourselves for chips. Instead, we sat down to a proper lunch with a nice glass of wine. The kebabs were the hit of the table, and there are healthy wraps too if you’d rather not tackle Smashdown 2.0 on a full stomach (sensible, in hindsight). A cold beer is also very much an option. We took it.
The kitchens here are run more like a restaurant than a waterpark. Pizza dough is left to rise for 24 hours, bread and cakes are baked on site (the doughnuts are a highlight), ingredients arrive fresh every day, around 95% is sourced locally, and there’s no MSG on the menu. Wantilan Food Court is the place if your group wants a bit of everything, Oasis Café for a quieter meal in the gardens, and Sliders Bar & Grill if you fancy watching people fall off the FlowRider while you eat your burger.
Two swim-up bars and a pool with its own soundtrack
There are two main swim-up bars, so you’re never far from a cocktail, a fresh juice or a cold beer. With a professional catering company behind the Food & Beverage operation at Waterbom, everything is high quality and seriously good value.
Our favourite small surprise was floating in the pool with underwater sound. Lie back, let your ears dip under, and the music is right there with you. It sounds like a gimmick until you try it, and then you’ll happily drift around for twenty minutes doing nothing else.
It began with the trees
A little history explains a lot about Waterbom. Its founder, Santo Gulino, first came to Bali in the early 70s, when getting to Kuta Beach meant walking down dusty paths shared with the odd wandering cow. When he decided to build a water park here in 1989, he had no industry experience and one firm rule: not a single tree would be cut down. They designed the park around them and continue to protect the surrounding nature.
It took four years to build, with bamboo scaffolding and heavy bangkirai wood instead of cranes, and it opened on 7 December 1993 with eight slides and a Rp7,000 ticket. Today, 55% of the 5.1-hectare park is still jungle and botanical gardens, which is a big part of why it feels the way it does.
That thinking has carried on, and it’s a big reason to feel good recommending the place. Waterbom’s stated aim now is to become the world’s most sustainable water park. It was the first tourism site in Bali to become officially carbon neutral; its emissions targets have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (one of only 45 tourism companies with that stamp), and it’s aiming for net zero by 2033.
On the ground, that means waste separated across the whole park for recycling and composting, water-saving measures everywhere (no small thing for a business built on water), and an education programme for local young people called Seed of Thought. None of it gets in the way of your day. It just means you can spend a lazy afternoon in the pool and feel fine about it.
The parties make you feel like part of the family
When Waterbom throws a party it never feels like a tourist trap – whether it’s your personal party or a Waterbom event. A few times a year the pools and slides stay open into the early evening in the Oasis Gardens area, then local and international DJs take over poolside, with tropical cocktails, a botanical styling salon and a photobooth.
Waterbom & Friends events are a way of connecting with their friends and feel more like a garden party thrown by people who know each other than a club night, and you leave feeling like you’ve been let in on something. For those of us who live here and have grown up with Waterbom, it’s a chance to catch up, dance, enjoy an after-hours dip and some good music.
If you’re planning your own celebration, the team are very good at it. Big Day Out is made for hens, stags and birthdays: eight day passes, a Premium Gazebo, an esky with 10 beers or seltzers waiting when you arrive, plus snacks to share, for IDR 920k per person (minimum eight). Slide & Play adds giant Jenga and cornhole next to your gazebo for IDR 945k per person. And for two, the Couples Date Pack (IDR 3.35 million) includes a decorated private gazebo, lunch, two signature cocktails and a 30-minute massage each.
You can stay after the gates close
The park shuts at 6pm, but your day doesn’t have to. Waterbom has created a few unique experiences to have inside the park after hours! Check out their Sunset at the Top package which gives your group the top of the Oasis Gardens slide tower to yourselves from 6pm until 8pm, with cocktails, canapés and a view out towards Kuta beach. Entry from 3pm is included, so there’s time for a few slides first. It’s IDR 1.164 million per person for groups of ten or more.
For a bigger occasion, Dine by the Slides gives you the whole park after hours, with sunset drinks and a family-style dinner by the pool, at IDR 1.8 million per person (again, minimum ten). We can’t think of many better places in Bali for a milestone birthday.
Our verdict
Go early for the big slides, settle into your cabana, take your time over lunch with something cold to drink, and spend the afternoon floating around Oasis Gardens. Waterbom has always been brilliant for families. It turns out it’s just as good when the family is a group of adults who still want to go down Climax twice.
Good to know: Waterbom is on Jalan Kartika Plaza in Kuta and is open every day from 9 am to 6 pm. Prices above are published rates, and most packages offer a cheaper domestic rate for Indonesian residents. Book by emailing sales.manager@waterbom-bali.com, and day tickets are on waterbom-bali.com.
Waterbom Bali for adults at a glance
- Where: Jalan Kartika Plaza, Kuta, Bali. Open daily, 9 am to 6 pm.
- Best for adults: big slides (Climax, Boomerang, Smashdown), the quieter Oasis Gardens, two swim-up bars, and wine, beer and cocktails with lunch.
- Best time to arrive: at opening, when queues for the big slides are shortest.
- Home base: private gazebos (cabanas) can be booked for the day.
- Celebrations: packages for hens, stags, birthdays and couples, from IDR 920k per person.
- After hours: private sunset sessions and poolside dinners for groups of ten or more.
- Sustainability: first tourism site in Bali to become carbon neutral, with 55% of the park kept as jungle and gardens.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Waterbom is known as a family park, but it’s a great day out for adults, with high-thrill slides, two swim-up bars, proper restaurant-standard food, private gazebos and quieter areas like Oasis Gardens. It also runs adult-focused packages for hens, stags, couples and after-hours events.
Climax, Boomerang and Smashdown 2.0 are the big thrill rides, and Climax, with its drop-floor capsule start, is the most famous. For something gentler, the three slides in Oasis Gardens offer medium thrills and land in a large pool.
Yes. Two swim-up bars serve cocktails, wine, and beer, and you can order it in your gazebo.
Yes. You can book a standard or Premium Gazebo as a shaded base for the day. Several packages, such as Big Day Out and the Couples Date Pack, include one.
Yes. The Big Day Out package is designed for hens, stags and birthday groups of eight or more and includes day passes, a Premium Gazebo, an esky of beers or seltzers and sharing snacks for IDR 920k per person. The sales team can also create custom packages.
Yes. The kitchens produce fresh, quality food every day: pizza dough is leavened for 24 hours, bread and cakes are baked on site, around 95% of ingredients are local and there’s no MSG. Options range from salads, bowls and wraps to burgers, pasta and pizza. And of course plenty of local Indonesian classics on offer.
Waterbom aims to become the world’s most sustainable water park. It was the first tourism site in Bali to become carbon neutral, has emissions targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative and is working towards net zero by 2033. They follow strict sustainability initiatives in the park to achieve their goals.
Yes. Single riders up to 136kg can ride most slides, with some restrictions for riders over 145kg. Check the full slide restrictions on Waterbom’s website before you go
Plan for a full day. Arrive at 9 am for the big slides, take a long lunch, spend the afternoon in Oasis Gardens and stay until 6pm closing. It’s worth it!
