In the middle of the island of Bali you'll find bustling Ubud, nestled between rice fields and lush green jungle. It's a popular destination among digital nomads, locals and tourists, who come here for all kinds of reasons: a retreat at an eco-lodge, the beautiful rice terraces, or immersing yourself in Balinese culture. Ubud is known for its art and culture, and there's an incredible amount to do in the area. Don't let the busy center put you off, because as soon as you step outside it, you'll find yourself in a green oasis of calm. Heading to Bali soon? Below you'll find all our tips and favorite activities in Ubud.
Not sure yet which regions to visit? Check out our Bali travel guide for all the best destinations per region.
How many days do you need for Ubud?
Plan at least 3 to 4 days for Ubud, so you can explore not just the center but also the surrounding area properly. Want to add a day trip to Mount Batur for the sunrise hike? Then 5 days makes for a more comfortable schedule. That way you'll also have room for a day of doing nothing in between all the activities.
Getting around Ubud: renting a scooter or Grab/Gojek
We almost always choose to rent our own scooter, including in Ubud. Keep in mind that traffic in and around the center of Ubud can get pretty busy, so you need to feel confident on a scooter to enjoy riding around here. If that's not for you, Grab or Gojek are a great alternative: through the app you can order a scooter taxi that gets you to your destination quickly and cheaply.
Tip: Helmet checks have recently become strict in and around Ubud. As a result, everyone, including locals, now wears a helmet as standard. Do the same yourself, both for your own safety and to avoid a fine.
Best time to visit Ubud
You can actually visit Ubud all year round, but the dry season, from April through October, is generally the most pleasant. There's less chance of rain, and paths to places like the waterfalls and rice fields are easier to walk. Keep in mind that July and August are the busiest months, so it's best to book your accommodation and tours a bit earlier.
What to do in Ubud?
Visit Ubud Palace
Right in the center of Ubud you'll find Ubud Palace. The royal family lives in the palace, but part of it is open to visitors. It's free to visit all day, and you'll have seen it within 20 minutes, but it's definitely worth including. Sometimes traditional music is played here on local instruments too. Fun to experience!
Monkey Forest in Ubud
Bali's famous monkey forest is located right in Ubud, in the middle of town. Around 700 macaques live here, and you'll also find 3 temples. The forest is open from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm (tickets available until 5:30 pm), and you can easily spend 1 to 1.5 hours here. Despite being one of THE tourist attractions in Ubud, it's not something we'd necessarily recommend. We've never been ourselves, partly because of how aggressive the macaques can be, and partly because we don't find the whole concept of the monkey forest very ethical. And trust us: if you travel through Indonesia, you'll run into macaques somewhere along the way regardless.
Tip: Bring as few belongings as possible and definitely no food. The monkeys are used to visitors and love grabbing a dangling pair of sunglasses or a flip-flop in exchange for food.
Price: 80,000 IDR for a ticket.
Tegallalang rice terraces and rice fields
The Tegallalang rice terraces are the most famous in all of Indonesia. Beautiful, but also busy: the side with the little restaurants and valley views is usually the busiest. On the other side you'll find a quieter entrance through a local warung.
PRICE: 10,000 IDR donation to the farmers. At some entrances there's a gate where you pay 50,000 IDR to be allowed to take photos.
Besides Tegallalang, there are plenty more beautiful rice fields to find in the area. So rent a scooter in Ubud and ride around the surroundings. Take the small side roads and see where you end up, before you know it you'll find yourself right in the middle of the most beautiful rice fields, without all the other tourists.
TIP: In our Google Maps of Bali you will find all kinds of beautiful locations in the middle of the rice fields.
Campuhan Ridge Walk: hiking in Ubud
Fancy a nice walk before dinner? Right in the center of Ubud you'll find the Campuhan Ridge Walk: a path along the ridge of a hill. The surroundings are green and the walk is easy and flat. You definitely won't be walking alone, every evening people come here to walk their dog or go for a run. The path is completely free to visit.
Tip: Ubud has two other beautiful hiking trails: the Sari Organic Walk and the Subak Juwuk Manis rice field walk.
ATV/quad tour through the jungle
Looking for an adventurous activity? Then an ATV or quad tour is a great option. We went with Goje Adventure and chose route 4, out of five available difficulty levels. Before you set off you get boots and a helmet, and you first ride a practice round on the terrain.
Route 4 was tough: lots of uphill and downhill, into a cave, through several rivers and past rice fields. Along the way there's also a slip track where you can really let your quad slide. Afterwards you ride back to the start, where you get a meal. In total you're on the go for about 2 hours.
This track is fairly heavy and not suitable for complete beginners. Also pay attention to the weight limit: a maximum of 140 kg for a tandem quad and 120 kg for a single. Marlo and I unfortunately couldn't ride together on one because of this.
Tip: Bring a change of clothes. Afterwards you can still shower and change.
Tubing and rafting on the Ayung river
On the Ayung river near Ubud you can go tubing and rafting. With tubing, you float with 1 or 2 people in a small boat over the river, through rapids and past rocks. Tessa thought it would be a calm river where you'd gently drift through nature, but that turned out not quite to be the case. Listen carefully to the instructions at the start, so you stay balanced in your boat and don't fall out. The surroundings are beautiful, though there is some waiting time involved since you regularly have to wait for each other.
Rafting is a bit more intense: an experienced guide joins you as you make your way through the rapids and small waterfalls. You'll also pass a waterfall here where there's time to take photos. Both activities end with lunch.
PRICE: Costs can vary quite a bit, from 280,000 IDR to 600,000 IDR. Both activities take about 4-5 hours, a full afternoon or morning program.
Make your own jewelry in Ubud
In and around Ubud there are plenty of places where you can make your own piece of jewelry, a tangible souvenir to take home. You usually choose between a ring or a bracelet and go through the entire process yourself, from weighing the silver to polishing it. We made a ring both in Ubud and at Agung Silver in Sidemen. Both were fun experiences, and we ended up with a beautiful ring each time.
Tip: Make an appointment in advance, for example via Instagram or Facebook, so you're sure there's a spot for you.
Coffee plantations in the area
A lot of coffee is grown around Ubud, so visiting a coffee plantation is an activity you won't want to miss. The famous Luwak coffee is often made here too, although unfortunately the Luwak cats are kept in small cages at many plantations. So it's better to look for a plantation where this doesn't happen, or simply not buy the Luwak coffee. The plantations themselves are well worth a visit: you'll usually get a coffee and tea tasting, and often spices and fruit are grown alongside the coffee too.
Cooking workshop: traditional Indonesian cooking
Taking a cooking class in Ubud is one of the most fun ways to get to know Balinese cuisine. You usually make 5 dishes in total: chicken bumbu bali, grilled tuna, mie goreng, satay with peanut sauce and pisang goreng. From pounding your own sauce base in a large mortar, to cutting the vegetables and cooking everything in the pan. At the end you get to enjoy the meal you made yourself, so dinner afterwards definitely won't be necessary.
Price: The workshop runs from about 3 pm to 5 pm and costs around 350,000 IDR per person.
Balinese massage
Treat yourself to a wonderful Balinese massage in Ubud. You can get a good massage anywhere on Bali, but Ubud is hard to beat: here you get the best traditional massages for a really good price.
Our favorite spa in Ubud is Hesa Wellness Spa, in our opinion the best in town. You start with a lovely sauna, followed by a hot and cold bath, and finish with a massage, scrub and wash. Everything is spotlessly clean, tidy and completely zen.
PRICE: You'll usually pay between €5 and €15 for a "regular" massage, though prices can go up to €40 depending on the salon.
Visiting the most beautiful temples
Ubud is one of the most traditional and authentic places on Bali. You'll find plenty of different temples here. Visit, for example, Goa Gajah: a stunning, entirely hand-carved meditation cave. Or take a look at the well-known Pura Tirta Empul, known for its holy water from a nearby spring. You'll see many people in the water here, and if you like, you can also join the ritual by dunking your head under the 30 fountains.
The Saraswati Temple, right in the center, is also worth a visit. The complex is known for the lotus pond in front of it, which makes it a beautiful sight even from the outside. Traditional dance performances, such as the Legong or Kecak dance, regularly take place here in the evening.
One of the most beautiful temples nearby is about a half-hour drive away: the Candi Tebing Gunung Kawi temple. This roughly 1000-year-old temple complex was carved out of the rock and sits, reached via a long staircase, right among the palm trees and rice fields. It's not just the temples themselves that are special, the whole setting completes the picture.
Price: 50,000 IDR for the Gunung Kawi temple.
Looking for souvenirs
In the center of Ubud you'll find various places to buy souvenirs. Think covered market buildings with fixed stalls, and the Ubud Streetmarket with loose market stalls along a narrow street. What's on offer at most stalls looks pretty similar, but haggling definitely pays off, and who knows, you might find a real gem.
Waterfalls around Ubud
Around Ubud you'll find an enormous number of beautiful waterfalls. Kanto Lampo is one of the biggest and most visited waterfalls in the area. It's about a 40-minute drive away and can get busy with both tourists and locals, so it's best to go on a weekday and early. The closest waterfall is Tegenungan: after a 15-minute drive and a steep staircase you'll reach the pool where the water crashes down. Looking for more? You'll find even more waterfalls in the area, such as Tibumana.
The most beautiful and largest waterfall on Bali, the Sekumpul waterfall, is about 2 hours and 20 minutes' drive from Ubud. It takes some effort to get there, but it's more than worth it: via a hike of around 300 steps you'll reach the 80-meter-high waterfall, where you can also take a dip in the cool water. The waterfall combined with its surroundings makes for a stunning picture.
Climbing Mount Batur
Feeling adventurous and up for a proper hike? Then book a sunrise tour on Mount Batur. In the middle of the night you set off by jeep or on foot towards the volcano. Around sunrise you'll be at the top, enjoying the beautiful view as the sun comes up. If you're lucky, there'll be a "sea of clouds", completing the picture perfectly.
TipWould rather not get up in the middle of the night? During the day you can also admire Mount Batur from a cafe in the area with a nice cup of coffee, or drive around the volcano at the base to see the lava rock up close. On a scooter, you'll reach Mount Batur in about an hour and a half.
You always climb the volcano with a guide, even during the day, though it can get quite hot then. You'll also miss out on the beautiful sunrise moment.
Looking for more adventure? Then also visit Mount Bromo or or Mount Ijen on Java!
Hotels in Ubud
A few nice and lovely hotels in Ubud:
- Taman Ayu Ubud: a nice guesthouse right in the center of Ubud. The owners are very nice and can arrange scooters, tours and boats for you.
- Nyoman Sandi Guest House: a nice guesthouse a little further from the center of Ubud. An oasis of peace where you can relax by the pool, but also go into the center whenever you want.
- Komaneka at Bisma: a beautiful hotel with an infinity pool on the edge of the jungle and rice fields. Yet you're still close to the center with all the great restaurants.
Restaurants in Ubud
After all that activity, you'll get hungry too. A few of our favorite restaurants in Ubud:
- Huma cafe
- Watercress Ubud
- Sa Mi Warung
- Moment Coffee and Grill
- IKIGAI UBUD
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