AdventurePrivate car
Ubud ATV, Ayung Rafting & Jungle Swing
- ATV ride
- Ayung River rafting
- Jungle swing
$120 / personDetails
Ubud, Bali
Bali's cultural town in the rice fields — palaces, dance, markets, a monkey forest and a hundred cafés — an hour and a half north of the beach and a different island once you're there.
What is Ubud like, and how many days does it need?
Ubud is a town, not a village: a busy main street of shops and restaurants around the palace and the market, surrounded by rice fields, river gorges and villages of painters and carvers. Two or three nights is right — one for the town (palace, dance, monkey forest, the ridge walk), one for the sights north of it (terraces, holy springs, the volcano), and one for doing nothing. It's 90 minutes from Seminyak on a good morning and longer in the afternoon.
- RegionCentral Bali · Gianyar
- Best forCulture, dance, food, slow mornings
- From SeminyakAbout 1.5 hours
- How long2–3 nights
- Best timeAny; dance at 19:30 nightly
- CrowdsHeavy on the main street; light 10 minutes out
On the ground
The centre — Jalan Raya and Monkey Forest Road — is crowded, noisy and full of good restaurants. Ten minutes in any direction it's paddies and quiet lanes with villas. Stay out of the centre and walk or drive in.
Evenings are for dance: legong or kecak at the palace and the temples at 19:30, tickets from the sellers on the street. Mornings are for the ridge walk at Campuhan before the heat, the market before the coaches, and coffee overlooking a field.
Everything people come to central Bali for — Tegalalang, Tirta Empul, Kintamani, the waterfalls — is 20 to 60 minutes north. Ubud is the base, not the sight.
What to see in Ubud
Ubud Palace and the market
Puri Saren's carved gates and evening dance; the art market opposite before nine.
Campuhan Ridge Walk
A paved path along a grassy ridge between two rivers; 45 minutes each way, best at 07:00.
The Monkey Forest
A real forest with temples and several hundred macaques at the south end of town.
The craft villages
Mas for woodcarving, Celuk for silver, Batuan for painting — all within 20 minutes south.
Entrance fees are in the price of our set routes; on a car + driver day they are paid at the gate, and your driver tells you the amounts the evening before.
What to do
Set routes that stop at Ubud
4 of our routes pass through.
CulturePrivate car
Ubud Arts, Batuan Temple & Tegenungan Waterfall
- A Balinese family house
- Batuan Temple
- Silver & painting villages
- Tegenungan
$75 / personDetails
CulturePrivate car
Eat, Pray, Love Ubud Experience
- Pura Sudamala ritual
- A local healer
- Tegalalang
$75 / personDetails
AdventurePrivate car
ATV Ride & Horse Riding Adventure
- ATV through the paddies
- Horse riding, beach or village
$200 / personDetails
Or make it a driver day
Ubud plus wherever else you like, at your pace — up to ten hours, priced per car, your route.
Before you go
How long should you stay? Two or three nights in the middle of a trip. One day for the town, one for the sights to the north, one free. Longer if you're here for yoga or the food.
Best time to visit. Any month. Mornings before nine for the walks and the market; dance every evening.
| Tickets | Palace free; dance per person; monkey forest per person |
|---|---|
| Opening hours | Town all day; dance from 19:30 |
| Dress | Sarong for the temples (spares in the car) |
| Walking | Easy in town; the ridge walk is 45 min each way |
| Food | Everything, at every price; warungs on the side streets are the value |
| Toilets | In cafés and restaurants |
| Traffic | The centre jams from 16:00; walk or leave early |
Questions
Asked in the car
Where should we stay in Ubud?
Out of the centre: Penestanan, Nyuh Kuning or the villages north of town are ten minutes away and quiet. Our guide to where to stay covers the trade-offs.
Is one day enough?
For the town, yes. For central Bali, no — the terraces, springs and volcano are a second day. Our Ubud classic route covers them from any base.
Can you pick up from Ubud?
Yes, at no extra cost, and the central and east routes are an hour shorter from here than from the south.
Nearby, with our photos
Ubud as a base
Tell us how many nights you have in Ubud and we suggest which routes to run from there.