Ubud Travel Guide: Things to do in Ubud, where to stay and what to eat

Located in the mountainous region of Bali island, Ubud is known as the center of arts and crafts of Bali.

Ubud is hardly “new” or undiscovered – in fact, it is a haven for visitors and very popular. Because of this, the infrastructure that caters to tourism is already well established here: locals speak fluent English, there are plenty of accommodation options from villas and hotels, lots of activities to do, places to visit, and a variety of meal choices from vegan organic cafes to authentic local Balinese food.

Best of all, the costs in Ubud are still relatively affordable compared to Seminyak!

Even though I’ve been to Bali many times, Ubud is the one place I had always wanted to visit but never got the chance to. I heard great things about Ubud and a quick search revealed plenty of exciting activities and places, so we allocated an entire week on our first visit just staying in Ubud. Since then, I’ve visited Ubud a few more times.

• What to book before your trip to Bali
• Where to stay in Ubud
• How to get around in Ubud
• Map of Ubud: Attractions and Restaurants
• Things to do in Ubud
• More activities near Ubud
• What and Where to eat in Ubud
• Other places to check out in Ubud
• Where to get a massage in Ubud
• Day trips from Ubud

What to book before your trip to Bali

• a local SIM Card – having a data connection is always important! make sure you are connected throughout the trip so you can easily look at maps and research on the go. This SIM card can be bought at DPS Airport when you land, but it will cost you more than if you had pre-booked it here before your trip. I recommend getting XL.
• Airport Transfer – This is probably the best and cheapest option to get from DPS Airport to Ubud. You can pre-book airport transfer here for a very fair price here. Alternatively, you can arrange an airport transfer with your accommodation, but they will normally charge Rp 200,000 – 300,000 depending on where you stay. For more information, you can read my Complete Bali Guide.

Where to stay in Ubud

Unless you’re planning to rent a motorbike, it’s a good idea to stay near the central part of Ubud. In Ubud, there are plenty of homestays and small hotels that are located within minutes of the central part of Ubud and with plenty of food options around. Here are some highly recommended homestays:

• Goutama Homestay – A very simple and affordable homestay. The entrance goes through a small family-owned temple.
• Jati Homestay
• Awan Bali House

However, if you want something a bit more luxe or traveling with family, then you might want to look at resorts and villas. Here are some of my picks:

• Artotel Haniman Ubud – A modern studio located 1km south of central Ubud
• Alaya Resort – This resort is located minutes from the monkey sanctuary in Ubud
• Samsara Ubud – 5-star accommodation in the middle of the forest. All the villas here come with their own private pool, and you can order the floating breakfast in your room.

The following villas are great for when you’re traveling with a large family or with a group of friends because you can rent the entire villa:

• Villa Purnamasari – Three-bedroom villa with private pool, not too far off from central Ubud
• Villa Ubud Paradise – Five-bedroom villa located 1km away from central Ubud

We stayed at a villa called Mule Sayana Villa in Ubud. Unfortunately, they are no longer available from the place we booked them from. If you managed to find them though, I would highly recommend them. Everything was exactly as pictured – a one-bedroom villa with an attached spacious bathroom and private pool, a small shed in the garden where you can chill while looking out to the vast rice fields that surround this villa. However, the downside is that the villa is very secluded – it took about 15-20 mins by motorbike to reach the central part of Ubud, each way. It might not seem like much now but if you have to do this every day, it gets a bit old.

How to get around in Ubud

Ubud, like the rest of Bali, is best enjoyed on a motorbike. Most of the roads in Bali are quite narrow so you’ll most likely encounter some traffic jams. It’s easier to navigate through the jams on a bike than in a car. Renting bikes in Bali is very common for tourists and quite affordable – it only costs you Rp 60,000 – 70,000 / day, and fuel is about Rp 30,000 for a full tank.

If you have a lot of places you want to go to, you can also explore hiring your own car with a private driver who can drive you around wherever you want to go. This is more convenient than a taxi since you’ll save time finding one every time you need to go somewhere.

If you can’t drive a motorbike, your best bet is to get a taxi. This shouldn’t be hard to do, as there are plenty of taxi drivers on the streets of Ubud. However, you do have to negotiate a bit with them or they’ll try to rip you off at first. For example, we were quoted Rp 400,000 for a round trip from Ubud Central to Tirta Empul. A quick check of the other apps shows that it should be Rp 150,000 one way, so I negotiated it down to Rp 300,000.

If you don’t feel like dealing with taxi drivers, you can try Bluebird Taxi. Install the Bluebird taxi app, which is Indonesia’s most trusted taxi operator. The app works like a ride-hailing app and you can get a taxi to take you from point A to point B. It’s also a great tool for estimating how much a taxi should cost.

While there are ride-sharing services like GOJEK or Grab, they don’t seem to be very well received in Bali. You can see many anti-Uber/Grab signs throughout the island, and the legality is still questionable in Indonesia. It seems to be fine to use them for longer journeys, but it really depends on the areas you are going to. We used Grab from our villa in Seminyak (a fairly secluded area) to Ubud. However, if you are staying in Ubud Central, no drivers would pick you up. So your best bet for a short distance transport, if you don’t want to bike, is still a taxi or hire a private driver. Bluebird taxis are allowed, however.

Map of Ubud: Attractions and Restaurants

For your convenience, I’ve made a little Ubud map of all the restaurants and activities I will mention throughout this article. Here it is!

🗺 Save this map to your phone! If you are a Google user, click on the image of the map above. The map will then be saved to your “Recent” maps viewed. Click here for instructions on how to view the map later. It will work from your phone too.

Things to do in Ubud

These activities are located in the central Ubud area, where it can be reached either by foot or on a short motorbike ride! Here are some things you can do in Ubud:

1. Visit Goa Gajah Cave

Goa Gajah means “Elephant Cave” in Indonesian. It might be worth getting a guide here since there is no explanation whatsoever inside. We didn’t, and I had no idea what the place is about until I read up after.

Outside Goa Gajah there will be ladies trying to sell you sarongs which you must buy and wrap around the lower half of your body before going into the temple. You do not have to buy from them! You can just use the cloth they give out at the entrance of the temple, which is included with the entrance ticket.

The sarongs they sell outside have more patterns but you shouldn’t pay more than Rp 30,000 for them – you have to haggle a bit for this price. At first, I thought we got totally ripped off buying sarongs here, but we ended up using them a lot on the trip as sun protection while biking, or as an extra layer at other temples. I think it was actually a worthy purchase.

2. Campuhan Ridge Walk

This is a short and very easy walk (ie: well-paved) with an abundance of greeneries around the trail. It shouldn’t take more than an hour to go to the end of the ridge and then back, but you might end up spending a long time here if you’re taking pictures. But! There is almost no shade throughout the walk so I recommend doing this in the morning or late afternoon.

3. Kajeng Rice Field Walk

Close to Ubud Central, there is a nice walk that takes you through the rice fields. It starts from Jalan Raya Ubud, and takes you up Jalan Subak Sok Wayah – a small paved street lined with cafes, villas, yoga studios, and homestays. It was quite a pleasant walk! You can loop through to another rice field, and head south. You’ll find your way back to Jalan Raya Ubud near Cafe Lotus.

Follow this walking map for a rough guide. Keep in mind that Google Maps isn’t very accurate – at the point when you’re close to Sunset Cafe & Bungalows, keep an eye out for a small trail that takes you down to the valley below near the small stream. From here on, the road will not be paved so be careful! It will look more like a hiking trail.

Keep north when you get near the stream, and you’ll find a bridge where you can cross and loop back south. You’ll be walking in the middle of the forest for a while before you’ll finally see a clearing and you’d soon be walking by the rice field again. When you see Luxe villas, you’ll know you’re on the right way!

This walk took us about an hour to get through, at a very leisurely pace.

4. Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary

I was reluctant about going to the sanctuary since I heard stories about the monkeys being aggressive and would attack if you have a backpack with food.

While all of that is true, they are quite okay as long as you heed these warnings posted all over the forest: do not look at the monkeys in the eyes (they’ll try to establish dominance and get aggressive if you do), do not taunt them with food, do not bring food inside your bags, and most importantly do NOT pet the monkey even as they are perched on your head eating bananas. Personally, I wouldn’t even try to feed the monkeys.

Please take this seriously as unfortunately, some visitors had gotten bit by the monkeys there. We actually saw a guy getting bit by one of the monkeys because (I think) he had bananas inside his bag and the monkey was trying to get to it – he swatted the monkey away and got bit in the process.

I also saw a group of the monkeys bullying a small toddler when we were in the more remote areas of the park. It was really scary as the monkeys were relentless and chased the poor child even as we tried to scare the monkeys away. I absolutely do NOT recommend bringing your small children to this park because of this.

So yeah, there are lots of disclaimers in visiting this sanctuary: keep your distance and don’t keep food in your bag. And if you could, don’t bring small children to the park.

The place itself is very beautiful. It’s surrounded by lush rainforest and stone architecture that makes it look straight out of an Indiana Jones set. So even if you decide that the monkeys are too scary, you’d still enjoy walking around the area.

5. Kecak Fire & Trance Dance Performance

Kecak is a traditional Balinese dance involving fire and the Hindu Ramayana story. The dance is usually performed at a temple, making it a very picturesque and dramatic performance.

There are various Kecak performers with different show schedules and locations around Ubud – just find one that suits your schedule! Here are a few that you can book online:

• Kecak Dance at Pura Dalem Gede – Every Sunday and Tuesday at 7PM
• Kecak Dance at Puri Agung Peliatan – Every Thursday at 7PM

I would recommend reading the story ahead of time (the event booklet will have this info) as the entire story portion of the dance is performed in Balinese – I speak Indonesian fluently and I didn’t understand a word.

To end off the night, there will be a trance performance called Kuda Lumping, where a performer in a trance will step all over burning coal barefoot without getting hurt.

Day Trips from Ubud

These activities below require you to get out of Ubud Central itself, so you’ll need to arrange transportation for it. For us, we just rented a motorbike and drove ourselves to these spots!

But if you don’t have your own mode of transport, you might want to consider joining this Ubud Tour. It’s marketed as Eat Pray Love tour, which sounds so cheesy, but really it just takes you to Tirta Empul and Tegallang Rice Field – both are well worth visiting!

1. Tegallalang Rice Terrace

Rice is a staple food in Bali. Okay, let me correct that – rice is a staple food in all of Asia – Bali, and Indonesia are no exception to this. We love rice as much as Europeans love bread, and a meal is not complete without rice. As evidence of the importance of rice in Indonesian culture, the Balinese and Javanese worship Dewi Sri, the Goddess of rice and fertility.

I once overheard an exchange between an Indonesian waiter and his European guest – the European guest did not want to order rice with his (Indonesian) dishes, much to the disbelief of the Indonesian waiter. “No rice? There is no meal without rice” he proclaims – and I can relate. I cannot live without rice too!

Tegallalang Rice Terrace is one of the most famous rice fields in Bali. This place is quickly becoming a famous tourist spot thanks to Instagram. It’s about 30 minutes ride on the motorbike up north. There are plenty of rice terraces in Ubud but the ones here are special because the rice fields are located on a cliff which makes for an amazing photo location.

Obviously, I took a ton of pictures at this spot so I’ll make a separate post on it with more tips and my recommended walking route, but if there is one thing you should remember about visiting this place is: go very early, like 7 – 8am early. It’s not so much about beating the crowds, it’s about avoiding the crazy hot sun in Bali.

We got to the rice fields at 10am, which I thought was relatively early – but I was wrong. It was already boiling hot at that time. When we left at noon, it was even more hot and pictures just don’t look as great because of the strong direct sunlight. We’ve resorted to wearing our sarong as a cape to shield our shoulders from the insane Bali sun.

Also, bring some cash because you will be asked for small donations at certain spots (Rp 10,000), or there are certain spots that might charge you an entry fee to the rice fields. The entry fee should be Rp 50,000 per person and they’ll give you a wrist band so that you don’t have to give any more donation when you are inside. There are drink stalls at the top of the rice terrace where you can get chilled drinks but they only take cash.

2. Tirta Empul Temple

Tirta Empul is a natural hot spring that is considered one of the holiest temples in Bali. Locals believe the water has magical power. Inside the temple, you can rent a sarong and go into the water for a blessing or you can walk around the courtyard and see the source of the water that is still bubbling.

I recommend visiting this temple together with the Tegallalang Rice Terrace since it’s also located to the north of Ubud. It takes about 15 mins more to the north from the rice terrace by motorbike.

3. Visit some waterfalls

There are lots of waterfalls to visit when you’re in Bali, but the ones that are very close to Ubud central are Tibumana waterfall, Goa Rang Reng, and Kanto Lampo. There will be a small fee of Rp 25,000 per adult to enter the waterfall area.

Tibumana waterfall is an impressive waterfall with a little cave at the bottom. If you arrive early enough, it might be possible to have the place all to yourself. Keep in mind, you have to descend down a lot of stairs to get to this waterfall, which means – you’ll have to climb it back up too! Near Tibumana there is a temple called Pura Dalem Agung. If you’re lucky, you might be able to witness a religious ceremony while you’re there.

Goa Rang Reng is a terraced waterfall close to Tibumana. You can climb up the waterfall via some ropes, then go down on it like slides. There is also a small pool at the top you can soak in. Like Tibumana, it requires descending quite a bit of stair.

Kanto Lampo is a terraced waterfall close to Ubud central. Okay, maybe not so hidden but it’s definitely less touristy than most other waterfalls – like Tegenungan for example.

To get there, follow the pin on Google Maps but keep your eyes open for local road signs once you get close to the area. They’ll lead you to the entrance of the waterfall, where you pay a small fee of Rp 10,000 per person.

The waterfall area is actually quite small – after the entrance, you go down a set of stairs and it’s immediately to the right. There isn’t much else to do aside of the waterfall itself and swimming in the small river below, but it does make a great picture doesn’t it?

We were also shown the way to a second smaller waterfall by a local guy, but the way to get there was kinda troublesome. You have to go further down the river, which is not very far but you do have to go through slippery rocks and wade through thigh-deep water on some parts, so it’s not worth going unless you’re really into that kind of stuff. The first waterfall is already amazing anyway.

4. Bali Swing

I’ve seen images of this giant swing overlooking amazing rice terraces all over Instagram and I’m sure you have too. Well, Bali Swing is the place where everyone took these photos!

Bali Swing has five single swings of varying heights (5m, 10m, 15m, 20m, and 78m), tandem swings, two cute nests and amazing stone over the edge above the valley with an amazing view on the canyon and waterfall. They charge US$35 for the entrance fee, unlimited rides on their swings and lunch buffet. I thought the price was quite steep but you’ll definitely get tons of good photos for your Instagram.

You can book this Bali Swing + Waterfall Tour, which will take you to the swing AND Tegenungan Waterfall for less than US$35, which already covers the entrance fee to Bali Swing! It’s a great value if you ask me.

What and Where to eat in Ubud

The food in Bali is great, and Ubud is not an exception. Here are some of my recommendations:

1. Bebek Tepi Sawah ($$)

Oh my god, you’re in for a treat with this one. I love Bebek Goreng, aka Deep fried crispy duck.

I came here from recommendation of my friend Clarinta, who had gone to Bali so many times I totally trust her recommendations. And she did not disappoint with this one. The Bebek Goreng here is indeed very authentic and tasty, plus the restaurant itself has a great atmosphere – you sit on the floor with a low table while overlooking a rice field (PS: “Bebek Tepi Sawah” means “Duck by the rice fields” in Indonesian).

What to order here? Aside from the obvious Bebek Goreng, I also got Sate Lilit (per Clarinta’s recommendation again – it’s minced chicken skewered into lemongrass stalk and then grilled) and Avocado juice.

General tip: If you see Avocado juice on the menu in Bali you should just order them – you won’t regret it. In Indonesia, Avocado juice is more like smoothies where they add condensed milk and chocolate sauce (sometimes black coffee, to counter the taste of the milk). It’s not a healthy drink by any means but it sure is a delicious one!

2. Puspa’s Warung ($)

“Warung” means a small and traditional, usually cheap, food establishment in Indonesian. Located right in the middle of central Ubud, I am surprised the dishes here are very cheap – they all range from Rp 25,000 to 40,000, so much cheaper than other restaurants I’ve gone to in Bali and so delicious!

What to order here? I recommend getting the Nasi Campur (which by the way, is a must-try dish in Bali), which means “Mixed Rice” this will give you a taste of many dishes all in one. I also recommend Chicken Satay and Guacamole, which comes served in traditional Indonesian chips (called Krupuk) instead of tortilla chips. It surprisingly made a great combo!

PS: Jalan Goutama – Goutama street – itself is an interesting place to hang out – there are tons of cafe, organic food and similar cheap warung around the area.

3. Warung Pondok Madu ($)

Annoyingly the location on the google maps location was wrong for this place. I’ve tried submitting the correct location, but it seems to have shifted back to the wrong one. Anyway, the location in my map above is correct so you can just follow that, or look for Jati Cottage in Ubud – Pondok Madu is right next to it and it should be near the Monkey Forest.

Like everyone else, I ordered the pork ribs noodle (Mie Iga BBQ) with the spicy sauce. And like everyone else again, I can confirm that the spicy level is indeed Indonesian level. I couldn’t finish all the noodles since it would just be torture but I finished the ribs. I would also recommend getting the Avocado Cup.

Location on Google Maps

4. Hujan Locale ($$$)

This is another recommendation I took from Clarinta. At first I thought the price was expensive – The dishes here were priced at US$10-13, which was relatively expensive in Bali where I’ve been spending less than $10 per meal, but in the grander scheme of things it’s not too outrageous.

Once the dishes came, I was very satisfied with all of them. At Hujan Locale most of the dishes are a fusion of local cuisine from all over Indonesia. I got the Duck leg with green chili and my boyfriend got the Solo Braised Soy beef. The beef, in particular, was amazing. Their portion is also quite large. We came here quite late and I wasn’t able to try their Rawon (it sold out for the night), but I definitely would go for that next time.

5. Fair Warung Balé by Fair Future Foundation ($)

While dining at Hujan Locale, this place across the street (or more like the alley) caught my eyes. It is food for a good cause – the profit from this restaurant goes to pay medical bills for those in need. The food itself was tasty too – I recommend getting Opor Ayam (Chicken cooked in curry sauce) and Capcay (mixed stir-fry vegetables), both dishes you can commonly find throughout Indonesia.

6. Naughty Nuri’s ($$)

I don’t think this place needs much introduction since Naughty Nuri is not a secret or hidden place, everyone knows their pork ribs and how delicious they are. Definitely get the pork ribs and some sides, that’s all you really need to get from here. And perhaps some Bintang to wash it all down!

7. Locavore to go ($$)

Locavore to go is a sister restaurant to Locavore, the Michelin-starred restaurant down the street. Locavore serves sandwiches and burgers, and they are really good. We tried their smash burger and their Reuben sandwich and loved both.

8. Simply Social ($$)

Located strategically on Jalan Raya Ubud, Simply Social is a great place for breakfast. They open as early as 7 AM! My favorite item here was the mango smoothie bowl. They’re also open for lunch and dinner, though I didn’t try their menu.

Other places to check out in Ubud

1. Artteas

Artteas was a happy accidental find for us – we were just walking around Ubud central and needed a place to chill for half an hour and get a drink, so when we walked past Artteas we just went in.

To our surprise, they had a great variety of teas to choose from – a few local teas from Bali and Java, Chinese teas, Chai from India, just to name a few. What makes this place truly unique is that each table is equipped with a stove and tools for proper tea brewing. We ended up getting a pot of jasmine tea from Java, and the waiter proceeded to ceremoniously brew and pour the tea for us – reminded me of a Japanese tea ceremony!

2. Djamoekoe

“Jamu” is an Indonesian traditional herbal drink I had been drinking since I was young. Indonesians believe Jamu has health benefits, especially for women, so my mom would force me to drink Jamu everyday. As a child, I hated the taste but as an adult now? I love it!

Jamu is traditionally sold on the street by women carrying the Jamu ingredients on their back, and when you call them over they’d mix the Jamu fresh in front of you. Sadly this tradition is difficult to find now but I started seeing Jamu popping up as drinks at the organic cafes – mostly going for Rp30,000 – 40,000. Well, at Djamoekoe you can get a huge bottle for the same price! There are actually many different concoctions of Jamu, and I was delighted to find they have the same variety I used to drink as a child which is “Kunyit Asem” – consisting of turmeric, tamarind and cinnamon. If you like herbal healthy drink, I recommend you to visit this place!

Where to get a massage in Ubud

1. Jaen’s Spa

This is another recommendation I took from Clarinta. The spa is very simple and not overly decorated, but their massage is amazing! All of the masseuses are properly trained and their quality is consistent. Go and book the 90 minutes Balinese Massage – we booked 60 minutes massage and it was over too quickly. We learned our lesson and immediately booked 90 minutes massages for the next day.

2. Ayu Asri Spa

Unlike Jaen’s Spa, Ayu Asri is a very simple and understated place. Right off Jalan Hanoman, you might miss it if you blink. Find the exact location in my Ubud map above! Don’t expect to find a nice spa with relaxing music and waterfall sounds. You’ll get your foot massage al fresco at the balcony and your body massage inside a small room. However, it was honestly one of the BEST massages I’ve ever had in my life, and so affordable too.

Day trips from Ubud

If you’re wondering what else you can do in Bali, you can consider doing day trips! For these activities, I highly recommend booking the tour packages (I’ve linked the ones I used below). It just makes everything so much easier since you don’t have to worry about the logistics.

1. Mount Batur Sunrise Trekking

I wrote an entire post about my experience on trekking to the summit of Mount Batur, but to sum it up: This is what I would call a high ROI hiking – the hike was short and not very difficult but the view above is amazing.

Mount Batur is right next to Mount Agung, so on a clear day you can see the still-smoking Mount Agung, which makes for an amazing picture. And because you start so early you’re basically done climbing a volcano by 9am!

But, I filed this activity under day trip because even though you finish the trek early in the day, you’ll still have to drive back to your hotel which takes 1-1.5 hours. Then, you’d probably want to catch up on sleep or rest up a bit, so I recommend not doing anything too crazy that day.

2. Adventure & Spirit Canyoning

We booked this canyoning tour by Adventure & Spirit, a Bali canyoning enthusiast group.

So this was my first time ever trying canyoning and… it was amazing! We did the Double K route, which includes rappelling down 15m waterfalls, jumping off 7m cliffs and sliding down 10m ravines. I am actually scared of heights so the 7m jump was especially difficult for me… but in the end, I did them all with minimal hesitation. I had no problems with any of the rappelling though, and I feel like I could have done higher ones.

The Double K route cost US$155 per person. I’ll be honest, when my roommate Jess told me about this a few years ago I thought it was quite pricey. But after going on the trip I think it’s all worth it! They gave us all the gears we need (thick wetsuit, helmet, booties, harness, etc) – all you had to do was walk in with whatever you feel like wearing. Plus they pick you up from hotel to the location of the canyon, which is in the far north of Bali. Moreover, the guides are very experienced, super fun and I felt safe throughout the entire trip.

3. Do a day trip to Nusa Penida

Nusa Penida is a relatively undeveloped island south-east of mainland Bali. You won’t find all the snazzy beach clubs, organic cafes or trendy restaurants that has become synonymous to Bali here. However, it does house some of the most photogenic sights in Bali.

Although more convenient to do from Seminyak, a day trip to Nusa Penida is still very doable from Ubud – you just have to start the day early as it takes about an hour to get to Sanur. I’ve written an extensive guide on how to get to Nusa Penida here.

Ok, that was a long guide to write! I really hope you find this useful. As always please feel free to let me know of any feedback and if you have any questions in the comment section below.

Are you looking for more places to visit during your stay in Bali? Be sure to check my complete Bali Guide. This post contains everything I know about Bali – which areas to stay, what food to eat and what to do in Bali.