What to do in Ubud

We first visited Ubud 15 years ago and boy has it changed! Gone is the sleepy town, it’s a busy tourist spot now. You can still find the charming character of Ubud, you just have a few more people there enjoying it with you! There is so much to see and do from Ubud, this is what we did in three days.

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How many days in Ubud?

We stayed for three days but could have stayed for 4 or 5 easily. There’s lots to do here and in the area, these are our favourite things to do and best tours to choose.

Accommodation Ubud

Hostels in Ubud Bali

There are lots of budget options, not all are hostels. You can choose to stay in a homestay which is really nice as you are staying with a local family or some great units. Here are the best in the centre of Ubud:

Witantra house: Great location, great people and great room. Clean and cheap with a walkable location.

Jiwas House: clean, simple and quiet. Great location but not noisy with a good breakfast and a pool.

Dekwah Homestay: Feels like staying in a Balinese home, friendly, clean and central.

Ubud places to stay – midrange budget

Our midrange choice is Oes House: this highly rated home stay is great! We stayed here for one night and the rooms are large and comfortable as well as very clean. Nick is lovely and really helpful. his wife makes an excellent breakfast, try the Balinese cake at least once! The rooms are upstairs and the family live downstairs, you will be greeted every time you enter the property, it is really sweet.

5 star hotels in Ubud

There are a lot of quality hotels and resorts in and near Ubud. These are our top three choices if you are looking for a 5 star stay in the iconic lush green jungle of Ubud, Bali. These 5 star hotels in Ubud will deliver that magical stay you long for in Bali.

Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan: incredible. Magical pool, stunning rooms, beautiful staff and design. An all round magical stay.

Viceroy Bali: unbelievable stay. Beautiful rooms, staff and hotel design. The service and quality is exceptional.

The Ridge Bali: peaceful and tranquil, the ultimate escape. Excellent breakfast, staff and rooms.

Bali Villas Ubud

Villa Cella Bella Ubud: an absolutely stunning villa, the most beautiful stay

Ibah: stay in a treetop suite for lush jungle views and that dream ‘Ubud’ experience

Goya Boutique Resort: central location yet tucked away with incredible views and stunning rooms.

Kamandalu Ubud – CHSE Certified: stunning villas with excellent service, beautiful location and great breakfast.

Kayumanis Ubud Private Villas & Spa: like staying in the jungle, beautiful villas, great service and excellent food.

Bali Airport to Ubud

It is super easy to get from Bali airport to Ubud, you can grab a taxi, although this will be the most expensive option. The ride is about 1.5 hours and while this isn’t the longest trip ever the traffic around the airport can be busy so a taxi can add up. You can use an app like GoJek or Grab once you land to book a ride or pre book a transfer so you have a driver ready and waiting for you at the airport when you land. This is the easiest option as it is all arranged prior and takes any guess work out of it!

There is so much to do in and around Ubud! We could have stayed for a week exploring new sights, and then another week relaxing in a villa over looking the jungle. It doesn’t matter how many days you plan you will fill them up if you want to, here are our favourite things to do and best tours to take.

The rice fields

Visiting the rice fields are an absolute must! We hired a scooter and went ourselves but you can go on a tour as well. The views out over the fields are lush, green and perfect! This tour is super popular and an easy way to see the rice fields, waterfalls and temples in one. The guides are great and know where the best spots are and will help to take excellent photos of you! If you choose to go by yourself, make sure to visit in the morning or late afternoon to avoid the crowds.

Waterfall hunting

Visiting waterfalls is a popular thing to do in Ubud, make sure to head off early as they get busy! Some of the best are-

Tegenungan Waterfall, Tibumana Waterfall, Kanto Lampo Waterfall, Taman Sari waterfall, Leke leke waterfall , Sumampan Waterfall, Suwat waterfall and Tukad Cepung waterfall. These are often combined in to a day trip tour, the best is this combined day trip.

Ubud Palace

Ubud Palace is worth stopping into visit. It’s free to enter and located on the Main Street. They run dance performances here and have and lush gardens to wander.

Pura Taman Kemuda Saraswati (Ubud Water Palace)

This temples is pretty and has a beautiful pathway over lotus ponds to the temple. It makes a gorgeous photo spot and costs 50k to enter. It’s a place for quiet reflection to enjoy serenity.

Pura Tirta Empul, The water Temple

Located about a half hour drive outside of Ubud tickets cost 50k IDR for foreigners per person.

Tirta Empul Temple is one of the best temples in Bali, I love visiting here and watching people take part in the cleansing ritual. Moving from left to right participants put their head under the water fountains. Walk through the temple structure and you can sometimes see locals praying and receiving blessings.

To enter you need to wear a sarong, you can borrow one from the men at the entrance (included in your ticket) and they will help you tie it. You can visit with a tour that includes a cleansing ritual, teaching you the meaning and what to do. This is something I really recommend.

Pura Gunung Kawi

Not far from Pura Tirta Empul is this temple carved in rock. Thought to have been built between 1300 AD and 1500 AD the carvings are huge and the tickets cost 30k IDR for foreigners.

Goa Gajah, the Elephant Cave

Located on the way to Tibumana Waterfall, the Elephant Cave is worth stopping into. It’s a beautifully carved entrance and tickets cost 50k IDR.

Monkey forest

The Monkey Forest has certainly changed in 15 years! It was just a small entrance where we bought bananas from ladies and were promptly chased for them by monkeys as soon as we were 6m inside. Now it’s a huge place, a beautifully designed entrance with tickets starting at 100k IDR. You no longer buy bananas to feed the monkeys (smart move I think!) but it is still a nice place to observe the animals. You can take a tour which includes the monkey forest while seeing other sights as well, this is a great tour.

There are still the staff with sticks which seem to be the only thing the monkeys are scared off. If they get too close a whack on the ground sends them running. No monkeys are actually hit, it’s the sound they seem to not like. The Monkey Forest is much more regulated now, you no longer feed the monkeys and there is some really nice infrastructure there. Lots of families and people were there visiting happily. Monkeys are free range and come and go, roaming where and as they please. It is actually a nice visit if you haven’t seen monkeys before.

Our last visit…

Funny(ish) story. 15 years ago we visited the Monkey Forest and as I mentioned we had to buy bananas for the monkeys. After them chasing us and us just throwing the bananas to them in a massive heap Mike sat down. A monkey jumped in his lap and began picking at his shorts. Mike went to brush him off and the monkey decided to bite Mike on the stomach! Luckily it didn’t break the skin (they’re known to have rabies) but he had a monkey shaped bruise for a while! Let it be known I wasn’t keen on going in there again…although it is calmer and more regulated now.

Ubud art market

This is the shopping hub where you’ll come to buy all sorts of souvenirs. From bags, wooden carvings, hair ties and bracelets to placemats and hangers, there’s something for everyone!

Campuhan Ridge Walk

Walking this trail is a popular activity, you’ll wind out through lush landscapes of rice paddies and villages. It’s free to wander.

Rice Fields walk

Another great walk is the rice fields walk. It’s a relaxing 45-minute walk between stunning rice fields on the outskirts of Ubud. You’ll wander past farmers in their fields and villages. You can find the start right in the centre of Ubud next to the Art Market and Palace, there’s a sign above the street.

Best Tours in Ubud

Take a cooking class

We joined a cooking class in Ubud and it was the best experience! You can read all about our cooking class here, honestly it was one of the best things we did on our trip. We picked our own vegetables from their organic farm and then learnt how to create delicious Balinese meals. This is the cooking class we did, it was awesome!

ATV Tour Ubud

ATV tours are a lot of fun and this ATV tour Ubud is a great option to experience that. You will go ATV/Quad biking and then follow that up with water rafting! What an experience.

Aloha Swing Ubud

No visit to Ubud is complete without the Aloha swing, this tour takes you to the swing and includes Adrenaline Swing, Single and Tandem Swing, Libra Swing, and Bed Swing as well as photo spots at Aloha Ubud: Cute chicken nest, Cute bird nest, Big stone, and Butterfly

Combined day trips to waterfalls, rice terraces and temples

Ubud: Monkey Forest, Rice Terrace, Waterfall & Water Temple, Ubud: Waterfall, Rice Terraces & Monkey Forest Private Tour, Best of Central Bali: Waterfall, Elephant Cave & Rice Fields and Bali: Ubud Rice Terraces, Temples and Volcano Day Trip

Bali Kecak Dance Ubud

Seeing a Bali Kecak Dance in Ubud is brilliant, the dance is so interesting and traditional Balinese. If you have the time we loved the Bali Keckak Dance experience at Uluwatu as well, you can book your tickets here, they can sell out. You just need to get there which isn’t difficult!

Canyoning trip

Bali: Gitgit Canyon Canyoning Trip with Breakfast and Lunch

2-Hour Make Your Own Silver Jewellery Class

Make your own souvenir while learning classic techniques!

Where to eat in Ubud

Sun Sun Warung

This is my favourite restaurant in Ubud. It’s set in a lovely home garden with many seating areas available. You’ll be told to wait on arrival but it won’t be for long. Mike tried the Nasi Campur and loved it! They have gluten free options as well, I absolutely loved eating here and would return every day to try something new.

Cafes

There are literally hundreds of great cafes in Ubud, walk down the street and find your new favourite! Some of ours were Ubud Roaster, Sunny Coffee, Old Friends and Hidden Space.

Bali Cooking School

We took a tour out to the Pemulan Bali Farm Cooking School. It was excellent! We made local Balinese dishes and throughly enjoyed the experience. Read all about it on our Bali Cooking School blog! We highly recommend visiting!