A Guide to Ubud, Bali

Ubud is a true tropical paradise with its lush forestry, and there’s plenty to do from sunrise hikes to spiritual cleansing in a slightly cooler climate than its neighbouring towns. It’s often referred to as being Bali’s cultural centre.

♪ Watch my day 3 day 4, and day 5 vlogs in Ubud on Tik Tok.

Canggu to Ubud

Whilst we could have likely booked a Gojek or Grab taxi, we decided to use our former driver Akiong who had previously transferred us from the airport to Canggu to drive us to Ubud. He picked us up at 09:00 as requested, equipped with air conditioning, bottled water and even provided us with some local fruit! Due to traffic, we arrived at our Ubud accommodation around 10:45 am which cost 300,000 IDR (approx. £7.50 each between two) – we paid this in cash.

Read about our time in Canggu here.

Ubud Accommodation

We stayed fairly central at Alum Terrace Cottages for 3 nights costing £38 pp that we pre-booked on booking.com. The narrow track down to the accommodation was not large enough for cars but would have easily allowed for mopeds, but it was a short 2-minute walk down from the main road. The main road is filled with eateries, spas and supermarkets.

Ubud Art Markets

We spent our first day in Ubud exploring the local area. We mistakenly thought that the famed Ubud Art Markets were a singular place, when in fact there are a few of them along the main road with a section even within a building so be sure to meander through them all. I left some tidbits of advice for haggling in this post, but if you see something in Ubud do pick it up as it was more expensive in Seminyak and I saw some items in Ubud that weren’t in other places.

Chez Monique Silver Class

Feeling a little crafty, we paid 600,000 Rupiah (approx. £30) per person for the silver class, where over 2-3 hours we made a silver item of our choice weighing up to 7 grams of silver. We booked via WhatsApp for the afternoon class overseen by a silversmith, and both chose to make a ring.

Private Driver Day Tour

On our fourth day in Bali, and our second day in Ubud, we booked a private driver Putu for 750,000 IDR (approx £19 pp between 2), who took us to six hot spots with a place for lunch picking us up at 9am starting with the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. We were able to discuss our itinerary with Putu, who recommended some options for us.  The majority of attractions we were visiting that day closed at 6pm so be sure to consider then when discussing your itinerary.

♪ Watch our Ubud day tour on Tik Tok.

The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary

Ubud’s Monkey Forest is worth a visit since it offers an ethical glimpse into the lives of the 1260 long-tailed macaques in 12.5 hectares of luscious forest nature reserve, that’s also home to 186 species of trees.  Its considered sacred by the local Balinese people since it also houses sacred temples and statues dating back to the middle of the 14th century

For adults, the monkey forest costs 80,000 IDR to enter on weekdays and 100,000 IDR on weekends. You can’t take in any food or drink and you’re advised not to carry it in your bags either as the monkeys can be aggressive.

We were a little apprehensive about our visit so we left our belongings in the car and only carried our phones with a strap around our necks. There were some staff around, but there were also areas where it was just us and the monkeys.

Aloha Ubud Jungle Swing

Our private driver Putu recommended Aloha Ubud Jungle Swing over another popular jungle swing who they said was the same owner but felt the Aloha was better and less busy. It cost 1,339,000 IDR (approx £67) for two of us so approx £34 each for the hire of two dresses and the use of 5 swings plus 2 nests. Whilst using the swings, we were harnessed in and while there is an official photographer they will also happily take photos and videos of you using your own phone camera. As you’re leaving you can view the professional photos but there is no obligation to buy. You can choose your dress colour, long or short, and pay on card with a 3% additional fee.

Tegalalang Rice Terrace

The next stop was the Tegalalang Rice Terrace, the iconic view of Ubud. We entered from the side of the road and paid 25,000 IDR each to a supposed attendant who came running over before we descended down into the terrace passing various cafes and establishments. The Tegalalang Rice Terrace stretches quite far so I believe there would be multiple points of entry, and you are free to wander and roam around as you wish.

Tirta Empul Water Temple

Tirta Empul is a sacred Balinese Hindu water temple that’s dedicated to the Hindu God of water Vishnu. The temple is said to have been created by The God Indra and believed to be blessed water that could purify those who bathe there. It costs 50,000 IDR to enter asked to wear a sarong over your clothes provided free of charge.

There is an additional fee if you wish to partake in the purification ritual, however I wasn’t feeling well enough that day to participate so we watched instead. There didn’t appear to be any set time in which to do this, just on arrival.

Kanto Lampo Waterfall

We took our driver’s recommendation for Kanto Lamp Waterfall that they recommended as a less buy but no-less beautiful location. We were advised that we couldn’t swim there, however on arrival there were people in the water and even had areas in which you could change privately.

Mt Batur Sunrise Hike

I’d say this view was worth the 2 am alarm! Mount Batur remains an active volcano that last erupted in 2000. At 1717 metres high, it’s the second most important mountain on the island, after Mount Agung and home to Batur Lake which is said to be the biggest and most sacred lake in Bali.

We pre-booked this tour via Get Your Guide which offers a generous cancellation policy and pay-later options, it costs £40.86 per person starting at 2:30 am. The price included accommodation pick up and drop off, torch, trekking poles, a guide and breakfast. The breakfast was bread, a boiled egg (boiled on the summit), biscuits, fruit, and steamed banana – so if this isn’t for you, bring your own.

Luwak Coffee Plantation

After the hike as part of our tour, we stopped at a coffee plantation to try Luwak Coffee which is said to be one of the most expensive and luxurious coffees in the world. It’s made from partially digested coffee cherries by Asian palm civets and is said to have a non-bitter and chocolatey flavour.

As part of the visit you have a short tour and then complimentary tea and coffee tasting, but it’s an extra cost to try the Luwak Coffee so we shared a cup between two of us. If ever I have a coffee, it’s a latte, so a coffee connoisseur could probably give a better description than this – it was bitter – but I’m glad I got to try it.

Creyta Ubud

Creyta Ubud is a day club that’s part of Alas Harum. We reserved a terrace bed for IDR 2,500,000 (approx. £126.48) between two people (approx. £64 each). The price indicates a minimum spend, which is redeemed against food and drinks and includes 5 hours of access to the layered pools with an allocated terrace bed, as well as access to the rice fields within Alas Harum. Click here for more beach clubs in Bali.

Our next stop was Nusa Penida