Ubud
Ubud is the most-planned place in Indonesia and where a Bali trip settles, with retreats at full scale and jungle pool villas for a fraction of what they cost elsewhere. The best day-trip radius on the island starts here.
Ubud in a nutshell
Ubud: what to expect
We looked at how travellers actually plan Ubud on Stippl, across 73,000+ planned stops in the town.
Ubud is inland Bali, and you come for the culture and the day trips rather than a beach. The Sacred Monkey Forest sits in the middle of town, three fourteenth-century temples in twelve hectares of jungle with the macaques living free among them. The Campuhan Ridge Walk starts at the edge of the centre and costs nothing. Tegallalang's rice terraces are twenty minutes north, Tirta Empul's purification springs half an hour, and the Mount Batur sunrise trek collects you at two in the morning. Most travellers give Ubud 3 nights.
More than half of every Indonesian trip planned on Stippl includes Ubud, and almost nobody passes through. One Ubud stop in eight is a single night against one in four across the country, and more than half of all Ubud stays run exactly three or four nights. Ubud opens about one trip in six of those it appears on and closes fewer than one in fourteen, so it sits in the middle of a Bali itinerary rather than at either end.
Three nights, and hang the day trips off them. Tirta Empul, Gunung Kawi, Goa Gajah, Tegallalang and Batur are all out and back before dinner, and nothing else on the island sits this centrally. Ubud pairs with the interior rather than the coast, so Munduk, Amed and Sidemen follow more naturally than Canggu. Skip it if you came for a beach, because the nearest is an hour of traffic away.
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First-time Bali travellers
Ubud is the most-planned place in Indonesia on Stippl and most people give it 3 nights: walkable, English-speaking, with the best day-trip radius from one bed.
Culture travellers
Temples, a daily offering culture you cannot miss, nightly Legong and Barong dance at the palace, four art museums and a live woodcarving trade.
Yoga and retreat travellers
The reason a large share of visitors come at all: multiple full-scale studios, sound healing, retreats and teacher trainings, with accommodation attached.
Digital nomads and long-stayers
Coworking and coliving concentrated in Penestanan, cheap monthly villas, and a community that turns over slowly.
Couples
Jungle-view villas with private pools at a fraction of what they cost elsewhere, rice-field dinners, and a town that closes early.
Families
Quieter than anywhere on the south coast, no surf to worry about, and the Monkey Forest, markets and art classes are all short outings.
Maybe not for you: beach people, since there is no coast and the nearest is an hour of traffic away; anyone travelling December to February, when rain closes the outdoor half of the town; light sleepers booking centrally, because the main roads gridlock from mid-morning; and first-time riders.
The best time to visit Ubud
Shoulder pair
April to May and September to October
The unanimous answer: dry, before or after the peak, and the terraces still green because Bali harvests three times a year.
Dry season
June to August
The travel window at its best, and July and August the peak: rooms and tours cost materially more and the headline sights are at their worst for crowds.
Wet season
November to March
Heavy, short showers rather than all-day rain, but Ubud catches half as much rain again as the coast, and at twenty rain days a month short stops being a comfort.
- Ubud is the wettest of Bali's big three, with far more rain than Canggu or the Bukit. Inland central Bali catches what the coast does not; a January trip that wants sun goes down to the sea and up to Ubud for the day.
- January is the second most-planned month for Bali on Stippl, in the middle of the wet season everyone says to avoid. It is the northern-hemisphere holiday; people come for the escape, not the weather, and the studios and cafés are open regardless.
- Something is on at a temple most weeks, because every temple keeps its own anniversary on the 210-day calendar. Odalan ceremonies close lanes and fill compounds; ask at the guesthouse which one is this week and go.
- Legong, Barong and Kecak play nightly, rotating between the palace and half a dozen venues. A different programme each night, tickets at the gate from late afternoon; the palace show sells out in the peak.
- Cool-season nights are genuinely cool, twenty-two degrees in July and August. Bring the pullover for the evening; it is the one place on Bali where the advice is not a formality.
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Things to do in Ubud
The Sacred Monkey Forest
Walk the twelve-hectare temple forest in the middle of town with several hundred long-tailed macaques living free among three fourteenth-century temples, about €5. Nothing loose in the hands, and go at opening.
Tegallalang at sunrise
Drive twenty-five minutes north to the terraced valley on every Bali poster and be there before seven; by nine it is a queue for the swings. About €1 to walk the terraces, and the coffee shops on the rim open early.
Melukat at Tirta Empul
Queue along the thirty spouts of the bathing pool at the holy-spring temple thirty minutes north, dipping your head under each in turn, in a rented sarong for about €3. A ritual, not a swim; follow the locals in front of you.
The Campuhan Ridge Walk
Walk the two-kilometre ridge path from Pura Gunung Lebah at the edge of town, above two river valleys and out into village and rice country. Free, no tour needed, and done by eight before the heat.
Legong at the Ubud Palace
Take the nightly dance at half past seven in the palace courtyard, gamelan live and a different programme each night, about €6 at the gate. Touristy and unanimously worth it; sit at the front.
Rafting the Ayung
Spend six hours door to door, from eight to two, through a jungle gorge with carved rock walls, about €30 with the transfer and lunch. The tubing version is the gentle one for children.
The neighbourhoods of Ubud
Central Ubud
The two streets, palace, market
The walkable core along Jalan Raya and Monkey Forest Road: the palace, the market, the water palace and two hundred cafés inside a ten-minute walk. For first visits and anyone without a scooter.
Everything on foot, and the traffic and the noise of the two main streets.
Padangtegal
Quiet lanes, Monkey Forest end
The quiet lanes immediately south of the centre, five to ten minutes on foot, with the sanctuary at the end of the road and guesthouses in family compounds. For first visits that want the centre without sleeping on it.
Central Ubud without the noise, and the monkeys at the end of the street.
Penestanan
Steps, rice lanes, long stays
North-west of the centre up a flight of steps: narrow lanes, thicker greenery, an artists' and long-stay community and coworking, with the Campuhan ridge walk at the door. For digital nomads and anyone staying a month.
The ridge walk and the community, and the steps home every evening.
Nyuh Kuning
Village, woodcarvers, no traffic
A village immediately south of the Monkey Forest: woodcarvers, a handful of warungs and no through traffic, with homestays in the compounds. For families and for a working Balinese village ten minutes from the market.
A village and silence, and a walk through the monkeys to the centre.
Sayan
Gorge views, resorts, villas
The west edge above the Ayung river gorge: valley views, the island's best-known resort addresses and villas, a drive from the centre. For a splurge and for couples who want the ravine from the pool.
The best view in Ubud, and a car for every trip into town.
Pengosekan
Painters' quarter, galleries
South of the centre, a long-established painters' quarter with galleries, dance and music lessons and creative guesthouses. For artists and for lessons where the artists actually live.
The arts at the door, and a fifteen-minute walk to the market.
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Where to stay in Ubud
Stay in Central Ubud for two or three nights without a scooter, and outside it in Penestanan or Nyuh Kuning for a week or more. Book on a small street rather than a main road: the difference between a quiet night and Jalan Raya is one turning. Most people give Ubud 3 nights on Stippl. Prices peak in July, August and Christmas and bottom out in February, the wettest month.
Central Ubud
Hostels with pools from €8, family homestays with their own temple €15 to €40, and boutique hotels €60 to €150.
Padangtegal
Guesthouses in family compounds down quiet lanes, €20 to €60, five minutes from the centre on foot.
Penestanan
€25–70
Coliving houses and long-stay villas among the artists, €30 to €100, up a flight of steps.
Nyuh Kuning
Homestays and private-pool villas in a village with no through traffic, €25 to €120.
Sayan
The island's best-known resort addresses on the gorge from €300, and villas with a valley view €120 to €250.
Pengosekan
Creative guesthouses with lessons on offer, €20 to €60, among the galleries.
What to eat in Ubud
Whole spit-roast suckling pig with rice, crackling, lawar and blood sausage: a Balinese ceremonial dish, and Hindu Bali is where you can eat it
Duck rubbed with base genep spice paste, wrapped and slow-steamed for hours; usually needs ordering a day ahead
A plate of rice with six or eight small Balinese sides: the everyday meal, and the cheapest way to eat widely
Minced meat, grated coconut, vegetables and spice; the red version uses blood, so ask if that matters to you
Minced fish or chicken with coconut and spice moulded onto lemongrass stalks rather than skewered
Civet coffee, served at plantation tastings north of town alongside a flight of flavoured coffees and teas
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Ubud customs and what not to do
Walk around the offerings
Canang sari appear on every doorstep, pavement and shop counter by early morning with incense still burning, and stepping on one is the commonest visitor mistake.
Tirta Empul has its own rules
Menstruating women may not enter, soap and sunscreen are not allowed in the pools, feet are never pointed at a priest, and you ask before photographing anyone bathing.
Bargain at the art market
It is expected there and not in boutiques or cafés; the same building is a produce market before dawn and the souvenir market from mid-morning.
The carvers are the shopkeepers
Ubud's mask, woodcarving and painting trades are still working trades and the person at the counter is often the maker; ask, and the price and the story both change.
Kopi luwak is a question
Caged civet production is widespread in Bali and it is the reason the coffee is cheap on the plantation tours; skip the tasting, or ask to see where the animals are.
Do
- Start at sunrise; Tegallalang, the ridge walk and the temples are different places before nine
- Carry your own sarong and small notes for temple and waterfall gates
- Ask your host what temple ceremonies are on; an odalan is the least staged thing you will see here
- Book bebek betutu a day ahead if you want to eat it
Don't
- Bring food into the Monkey Forest, or make eye contact with the macaques
- Ride a scooter here without a licence that actually covers you
- Plan a beach day; the coast is an hour of traffic each way
- Expect nightlife; the town is quiet by ten and that is the point
What a Ubud trip costs
Budget
€13–30
Hostel dorm or simple homestay, warung meals, Grab bikes, free walks and the odd 25,000-IDR waterfall.
Mid-range
€47–130
A pool guesthouse or small resort, a mix of warung and café eating, a full-day driver, a paid attraction or two a day.
High-end
€110–180+
Private-pool villa, restaurant dining, a private driver on call, rafting, retreats, spa.
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Fun facts about Ubud
The Monkey Forest holds three Hindu temples from the fourteenth century. The long-tailed macaques, several hundred of them, are considered guardians of the temples, and the forest is a sanctuary before it is an attraction.
European artists settled around the Ubud court in the 1920s and 30s. Walter Spies arrived in 1927, and the painters who followed him made a village court town into Bali's cultural capital.
Eat Pray Love turned Ubud into a spiritual-tourism destination. Elizabeth Gilbert's 2006 memoir brought the wave of yoga studios, retreats and raw-vegan cafés that changed the town's economy.
Bali harvests rice about three times a year. The terraces around Ubud have no single green window, which is why the rice is green is not a season here.
The Ubud Palace is still a royal residence. The family of the Ubud princes lives in it, and the courtyard hosts the Legong dance every night at half past seven.
Tegallalang's terraces are cut into a river gorge at 600 metres. The rice climbs the valley walls on the subak irrigation the island has used for a thousand years, and it is best seen before the coaches at eight.
Local tips for Ubud
Only the road in
Bali has one airport and Ubud is thirty-seven kilometres from it, one to two hours depending on the southern traffic. A pre-booked driver is about €20; Grab is cheaper if it takes the fare.
Grab bike in town
The Grab or Gojek motorbike is what everyone actually uses: about €1 a trip anywhere in Ubud and a bike in minutes. The centre is walkable in principle and unpleasant in practice.
A driver for the day trips
A private driver for a full day, about €40, is the standard way to see the temples, the terraces and the waterfalls, and beats self-driving on every count. Book the evening before.
How long to stay
Most people give Ubud 3 nights on Stippl: the town and the ridge walk, one temple-and-terrace day and Batur at dawn. Cooking classes and rafting fill a fourth.
Ride on the right licence class
Indonesia requires a motorcycle licence plus an IDP, the police check both at roadside stops, and the insurance follows the licence. Scooters rent for about €5 and the shop asks nothing.
Waterfall paths are the injury
Steep, slippery and often unrailed, and the descent is the hard part. Shoes with grip, and go in the morning before the rain makes the steps a stream.
Ubud questions, answered
Early mornings and one day trip, then nothing. Ubud is the most-planned stop in Indonesia, carrying 73,000+ stops on Stippl, and everything worth seeing is worth seeing at seven in the morning. Put the temples and the ridge walk into Stippl before breakfast and leave the afternoons free.
Three to four. The Ubud stops planned on Stippl run to 3 nights, which covers the town and one day-trip loop. The fourth night lets you add Batur at sunrise or an east Bali drive without giving up a slow morning somewhere.
You can, and only 1.34% of Ubud stops planned on Stippl are same-day, which tells you what people conclude. The things that make Ubud worth it happen at sunrise, and a day trip from Canggu arrives at ten with everybody else. Move here for three nights instead.
Tegallalang charges an entry fee and has vendors and swings strung along the paths, which is a different experience from the photographs. The Campuhan ridge walk, the Kajeng lane and the path past Sari Organik are free, quieter and closer to town, and they are the walks to do.
Safe enough, and bites and thefts are ordinary rather than rare. No food anywhere on you, no eye contact, nothing loose or dangling, and sunglasses in a bag. If you are bitten, wash it for fifteen minutes and get to a clinic the same day, because rabies exposure is treated on the clock.
No, and most people should not rent one. Grab and Gojek motorbike rides cost very little and arrive in a couple of minutes, and a private driver covers the day trips for less than a day of stress. Rent only if you have ridden in Asia and hold a licence and an international permit.
Every guide is written by the Stippl editors and checked against the trips our travellers actually plan. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
Plan Ubud in Stippl
Day-by-day planning, stays and budget in one app, with every place from this guide already on the map.
Download the app