Palabuhanratu or Pelabuhan Ratu (Sundanese for: 'Queen's Harbor') is an administrative district (kecamatan) and a fishing town which serves as the regency seat of Sukabumi Regency. The town is at the southwest coast of Palabuhanratu Bay, West Java facing the Indian Ocean. It is a four-hour drive from Bandung and up to a 12-hour drive from Indonesia's capital Jakarta due to traffic jams in Ciawi, Cicurug, Cibadak and Pelabuhan Ratu gate,[Pelabuhan Ratu Heavy Damage Road] whose residents love to visit the bay 'Teluk Palabuhanratu', once named 'Wijnkoopersbaai' (wine merchant's bay) by the Dutch. Nederlandse Malacologische Vereniging, Correspondentieblad van de Nederlandse Malacologische Vereniging, Volumes 161-170 (1974), p475 The bay is shaped like a horseshoe and has enormous waves that can be very treacherous. The Sundanese locals say that the Indian Ocean is the home of Nyai Loro Kidul who reigns along the southern coast of Java.Dalton, Bill. Indonesia Handbook, Moon Publications, USA 1989, , pp 232
The town had 37,477 inhabitants in mid 2024, while the district had 124,596. The district is composed of the town (kelurahan) and nine surrounding rural villages (desa), all sharing the postcode 43364. These are tabulated below with their areas and the populations as at 2024.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Palabuhanratu Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.3202110)
Kode Wilayah Name of desa Area in km2 Populationmid 2024estimate 32.02.01.1001 Palabuhanratu (town) 6.01 37,477 32.02.01.2002 Tonjong 8.65 6,979 32.02.01.2003 Citepus 15.02 15,807 32.02.01.2004 Buniwangi 6.66 6,250 32.02.01.2005 Cibodas 9.42 9,887 32.02.01.2006 Pasirsuren 5.74 8,520 32.02.01.2007 Cikadu 13.52 10,042 32.02.01.2008 Citarik 11.01 15,869 32.02.01.2009 Cimanggu 10.30 5,956 32.02.01.2010 Jayanti 5.42 7,809 32.02.01 Totals 91.77 124,596
Economy Ocean fishing port The current port has been improved to become an ocean fishing port with an investment of IDR 415 billion ($48.8 million) on a 17-hectare area expansion. The project was initialized in September 2011.[Pelabuhan Ratu Ocean Fishing Port]
Tourism Coastline
The Pelabuhan Ratu's white sands beach is a popular vacation destination for visitors from Sukabumi, Bogor, Bandung, and Jakarta. However, because of high rolling waves, some spots on the beach are considered too dangerous for swimming. Together with Pangandaran, the beaches are popular in West Java, both facing south towards the Indian Ocean.
Hotels, restaurants, resorts, and tourism facilities were built in the vicinity. Among the oldest is The Samudra Beach Hotel, established in 1966 and commissioned by then-Indonesian president Sukarno. Sukarno was involved with the exact location and the idea for the Samudra Beach Hotel. The hotel keeps room 308 furnished with green colours and reserved for Nyai Loro Kidul. A painting of Nyai Rara Kidul by Basuki Abdullah, a famous Indonesian painter, is displayed in this room.
Surfing location Palabuhanratu has become a popular location for surfers in recent years, with its Indian Ocean location providing good waves. Several spots that are popular with surfers are Cimaja Beach, Sunset Beach, Karang Sari Beach, and Karang Aji Beach.
From 12 to 18 June 2011 the second event of the West Java Surfing Championship was held at Cimaja Beach: a 750-metre beach with waves about 1 to 2 metres high. The competition got 6 stars surfing premium (the highest rank) as a part of the Indonesian Surfing Championship and Asian Surfing Championship Tours. Cimaja Beach has many rocks, so sometimes it is called 'Beach Without Sand.'[Asian Surfing Championship Tours] Climate Palabuhanratu has a tropical rainforest climate (Af) with moderate rainfall from June to September and heavy to very heavy truck rainfall from October to May.
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