How to visit Ubud, Bali

The cultural capital of Bali is, undeniably, Ubud. It’s on most travellers’ itineraries of the island and for good reason: it’s located centrally within the island, close to temples, rice terraces and coffee plantations.

I visited Ubud in September 2023 and had mixed feelings about the place. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting from a trip to Bali, being busy and hectic. However, I know that for many others, this would be the perfect base from which to explore!

I’ve written this guide to give you more information about how to visit, if you’re also planning a trip. It contains more information about Ubud itself, as well as my favourite things to do, and where to eat and stay.

About Ubud, Bali

Ubud is a town in central Bali. It’s very accessible from tourist hotspots like Canggu and Seminyak, or from the airport in Denpasar.

Although Ubud is just a town, it’s pretty massive. The centre sprawls out for ages, with plenty of resorts, hotels and restaurants located twenty to thirty minutes’ walk outside the main hub.

You’ll find everything you need to have a good holiday or backpacking trip within the town. There are plenty of Western restaurants and warungs (local restaurants), bars, souvenir and boutique shops, and amenities like corner shops and ATMs. You won’t struggle to find tour operators or taxis waiting to take you wherever you want to go.

A busy town

If I had to give one adjective to Ubud, it would be this: busy.

Literally. The roads in the centre have so much traffic, with cars and motorbikes heading down them. It’s very hectic and trying to cross the road feels like an endeavour in itself. (You try to wait until there’s a gap, and then accept that a gap isn’t coming and take your life into your hands…)

It’s painful as a pedestrian as well. The pavements are very thin and often have parked scooters and people blocking the way, or broken grates and wonky tiles, so you have to weave. It gets annoying, FAST.

The town centre gets particularly crowded in the evening. Expect to have to queue for the most popular restaurants and warungs in the centre, regardless of what takes your fancy.

Ratings

As part of this blog, I give every place I visit a rating so that I can easily compare destinations and decide whether they’re worth a visit. Those are the scores you see at the top of the page!

This is how Ubud rated:

• Safety: 4/5 – the town felt very safe. However, I was sometimes concerned about the traffic, as it felt it would be easy to be hit by a vehicle. There must be a lot of road accidents in Ubud!
• Access: 4/5 – despite the absence of public transport, Ubud is easy to get to. However, using a motorbike is essential for getting around, and pavements are uneven and have holes: not great if you have mobility issues.
• Enjoyment: 4/5 – personally I wasn’t too keen on the town; it’s just too busy and overwhelming. However, there’s so many things to do nearby. The food and shop options are also great.
• Value: 5/5 – there are plenty of inexpensive homestays and warungs available in town. Paired with using a scooter, you can do a trip to Ubud at a low cost. Activities also cover a range of budgets.

Overall score: 4.25/5

If you’ve already visited, let me know if you agree with these ratings! Just to note, the ratings are my personal opinion based on my visit, so you might have a completely different experience.

More: how I rank destinations using the Everywhere Ratings system

How to get to Ubud

Like pretty much everywhere else in Bali, public transport is nonexistent in Ubud. Fortunately it is easy to get to Ubud from destinations across Bali, given its popularity and central position.

Coming from outside Bali? It’s easiest to fly into the airport in Denpasar and continue from there. Alternatively, you can arrive by boat if you’re coming from Lombok or Java. In almost all cases it’ll be easiest to get a private car for the rest of the journey.

If you’re arriving from elsewhere in Bali, the most convenient option to get to Ubud is by taking a private car. This can work out quite cost effective, depending on the size of your group; solo travellers will feel the bite of the cost a little more.

From many places in South Bali, there are also shuttle buses. These shuttles are most cost-effective for solo travellers, and work well for longer journeys. Depending on the journey length and popularity, expect shuttle bus seats to cost up to Rp 200,000 ($13 / £10) per person.

Personally I took a private car. From Seminyak to Ubud, a 1 hour 30 min journey, the cost was Rp 190,000 ($12 / £10), whilst the cost to get to our next destination, Amed, was Rp 700k ($45 / £36).

How to get around

In the absence of public transport, it can be hard to get around Ubud. You’ve therefore got three options: renting a scooter, taking taxis, or going on a tour.

By scooter

Talking to travellers in Bali (and checking out the business on the roads), scooter rental appears to be the most popular option for backpackers getting around Ubud. This is the cheapest option for getting around and gives you lots of flexibility and opportunity to do whatever you want, without worrying about transportation.

Scooter rental hovers around Rp 100,000 ($7 / £5) per day, with fuel being fairly cheap in Bali.

On the downside, traffic in Ubud is hectic. Lou and I took one look at it and decided we wouldn’t be driving on these roads. Driving just looked painful and difficult.

Therefore, if you’ve never ridden a scooter before, I would not recommend learning in Ubud – or at least, do not commit yourself to doing so, such as by staying outside the town, until you’ve seen the conditions yourself.

By taxi

An alternative method of getting around is by taking a taxi.

If you are a solo traveller, or even in a pair, it normally works out cheapest to take a motorbike taxi – these weave in and out of the traffic so are a bit faster than taking a car too.

Expect journeys on a motorbike taxi to cost around Rp 20,000 ($1.30 / £1) for a 30 minute journey.

I’d recommend using the Grab app to book taxis. This gives you a fixed price and you can pay by card on the app, so you don’t need to worry about the finances of the journey. It’s common for drivers to give you the incorrect change or “not have enough change” so having the option to pay by card is super helpful!

Even if you don’t want to take a Grab, or there are no Grab taxis available in the area, it’s worth using the app to check the price. On both journeys we took with a public mototaxi, the drivers tried to overcharge us, so having evidence of the cost on Grab made sure we were charged a similar price.

By tour

If you want to explore the surrounding area, another option is to take a tour. There are plenty of tours available around Ubud and there are so many options as to where you go and when. Expect public tours to be in the range of Rp 200,000 to 400,000 ($26 / £20) per person.

It’s super easy to arrange a tour. You can organise them at agencies throughout the town or online. Most hotels and homestays will help you organise tours as well.

Where to stay

You have a crazy amount of options for accommodation in Ubud. Whether you want a cheap homestay, social hostel or luxury resort, the option will exist!

A more pressing consideration is where you’d like to stay in Ubud: centrally, or on the outskirts.

I’ve heard great things from travellers who stayed outside the centre; there are many homestays and hotels that offer a tranquil location, surrounded by rice fields, which sounds pretty nice to me. However, check to make sure there are enough amenities nearby, and prepare to spend extra for transfers if you are arriving by shuttle bus.

We stayed in the centre as we wanted to be close to all the amenities. However, to be honest I wasn’t crazy about the centre. If I visited again I would stay a bit further out, as there were still plenty of restaurants and shops on the outskirts of the town.

Personally, we stayed at Kamar Suci House, a tiny homestay in central Ubud. At Rp 145,000 ($9 / £7) per night in an en suite private room, it felt like a steal! It was comfortable and is a great option for the budget savvy.

How long should you spend in Ubud?

There is so much to do in Ubud, so it can be hard to know where to begin or how long you should stay for.

I’d personally recommend staying 4 to 5 nights. We stayed three nights and it wasn’t quite enough. We saw a lot, but there was a lot more that we wanted to do and ran out of time for! By contrast, 3 or 4 days will give you time to explore a range of attractions, whilst also giving you breathing time and flexibility with your plans.

Where to eat

You have so many food options in Ubud! We were really spoilt for choice.

There are a lot of Western places to eat, with many coffee shops and bistros available. The food at these places tends to work out more expensive than local warungs, so we mostly avoided them. Mind you, prices for western food in other towns in Bali are higher, so perhaps it’s not too bad!

Expect mains at a Western restaurant to cost around Rp 60,000 to 80,000 ($4 to $5 / £3 to £4), depending on the establishment.

Generally the meals served at warungs were much cheaper. Mains typically cost Rp 30,000 to 40,000 ($2 to $3 / £1.50 to £2), beers Rp 30,000 to 35,000 ($2 / £1.50 to £2) and ice tea (my personal choice of drinks tracker) Rp 15,000 to 25,000 ($1 to $1.60 / £0.75 to £1.30). Expect classic tasty Indonesian fare. They love serving meals on banana leaves which is so pretty!

Here are my favourite warungs in Ubud:

Sweet Orange Warung

After being recommended this twice before arriving in Ubud, we knew we’d have to swing by Sweet Orange Warung. It’s a warung set in rice fields not far from the centre of town.

To get there, you have to walk 10 minutes through pretty rice fields (as well as 10 to 15 minutes from the centre, in order to get to the start of the walk). I loved the walk through the fields; it was very peaceful and relaxing.

The warung was super nice. Given the location, it’s very peaceful, and we liked the quaint decor. Keep an eye out for the coconut masks hanging all around the restaurant. They’re so full of character and are very cute!

The only thing is, when we were visiting they were developing two sides of the Warung, which ruined the view a bit. The drilling noises also cut through the peacefulness. However, hopefully this is all complete by now!

Expect prices to be a bit higher than other warungs in the area (Rp 60,000 to 70,000 / $4 to $5 / £3 to £4 per main) but we thought it was worth it.

Just to note, when we visited at breakfast time, it was already busy. Come early if you want a meal at peak times! However, if Sweet Orange is too busy, do not despair. Continue waking up the path and you’ll find several smaller warungs in the rice fields. They’ve still got the gorgeous location and friendly staff, but without the crowds.

If you’ve got more time, keep walking up the path past Sweet Orange. You’ll eventually connect to the road to the east (Jalan Kajeng), which has lots of souvenir stalls and boutiques: worth a walk down in its own right!

Warung Makan Bu Rus

Warung Makan Bu Rus is an eatery right in the centre of town, not far from the Ubud Palace. It has a big garden with a serene atmosphere. The seating is spread out across the garden, and we felt very relaxed there.

The meals (at Rp 30,000 to 40,000 / $2 to $3 / £1.50 to £2) were also very reasonable.

This warung gets very busy and they have a waiting list for seats at peak time, so make sure to get there early if you’re wanting dinner. The staff seemed a bit overworked and busy so weren’t as friendly as at other places either.

Warung Biah Biah

A comfortable warung on the main tourist road, Warung Biah Biah is another great option for classic Balinese dishes. Expect food at affordable prices (Rp 30,000 to 40,000 / $2 to $3 / £1.50 to £2 per main) and a casual, friendly vibe!

Merlin’s

Have you ever wanted to eat based on your horoscope?

Well, Ubud has a restaurant which does this for you! My sister, Lou, was very excited about this, so we planned to eat at Merlin’s to try it out for ourselves.

The only problem is that to get an evening table you need to book a couple of weeks in advance. Booking a couple of days in advance, the only table available was at 4 pm!

Safe to say, we didn’t end up going for the 4 pm table and went on a tour instead. As the menu sounded a little pricey, this was probably the best decision for our budgets…

What to do

There are so many things to do near Ubud. There’s an extensive number of options which can easily fill three or four days, and likewise a fair number of places where you can just chill. Here are some suggestions:

1. Visit some temples

As a Hindu island, you’ll find many temples dedicated to the Hindu faith across Bali. It’s common for homes to traditionally contain their own shrines, so it’s no surprise to see temples and shrines across the whole of Ubud and further afield.

Within Ubud itself, just walking around you’ll see plenty of temples. Of note within the town are Pura Taman Kemuda Saraswati and the Ubud Palace, which you’re able to enter.

Head further afield to find more temples which are popular with tourists to visit. These include Tirta Empul, which famously contains sacred pools in which worshippers bathe, and Pura Gunung Kawi, which features shrines carved into the rock face. Both are a thirty minute drive away.

If you go out even further, there are other notable temples which might take your fancy. Tanah Lot, for example, is famous across the island for being a temple complex on a rocky islet just off the shore; it’s just as easily visited from Canggu or Seminyak as it is from Ubud, but nonetheless is a super interesting temple to visit. Meanwhile, Pura Ulun Danu Bratan is a lakeside temple in a stunning location.

Many of these can be combined with visits to other attractions across Bali, making for interesting days out!

2. Check out some rice terraces

Bali is known for its many rice terraces. These are classed as a UNESCO world heritage site, and I can see why! Rice terraces take a lot of ingenuity and engineering, and I find them fascinating to see.

There are plenty of rice terraces across Bali. Personally I visited Jatiluwih Rice Terraces, located 1 hour 15 minutes’ drive from Ubud. Walking through the rice terraces and admiring their flowing terraces and impressive drainage was quite fun!

3. Visit a coffee plantation and try Luwak coffee

Coffee is big business in Bali. You’ll find coffee plantations pretty much everywhere in the centre of Bali, many of which offer short tours and ‘free’ tasters.

We visited Mas Coffee Plantation, which is around 30 minutes’ drive from Ubud. It’s an interesting experience as they show you the growing coffee beans, as well as the old-school methods they use to process them; plus you’ll get to try some of the coffee for yourself.

Be warned, though: none of these experiences are truly free. We never felt like we were being pressured to buy any of the coffee at the end of the tour, but there is still an expectation you’ll buy something.

Another big thing to do at coffee plantations is to try the Luwak coffee, a famous coffee variety. This is made from beans which civets eat and then poop out. It sounds pretty disgusting but with all the processing they do afterwards, it doesn’t feel like it when you drink it!

The only thing to be careful of is where you try Luwak coffee. Some civets are kept in cages on coffee plantations under unnatural conditions, which can pose ethical problems for some visitors.

4. Take on the Campuhan Ridge walk

Want to stay in town? Check out the Campuhan Ridge Walk.

This is a ridge that passes north, adjacent to a river,  located only 20 minutes’ walk outside of town. Don’t expect any amazing views or interesting sights; to be honest it’s mostly covered by trees, and you won’t be able to see the river for most sections.

After half an hour’s walk the ridge becomes more developed with souvenir shops, cafes and warungs. To be honest by this point, unless you’re seeking some food or drink, I wouldn’t recommend continuing; it’s just a waste of time and the peaceful track never makes a return!

It’s something to do when visiting Ubud but certainly not one to worry about missing.

5. Take a cooking class

There are plenty of cooking schools on offer in Ubud. If you haven’t taken one elsewhere in Bali, I’d recommend it – it’s a lot of fun and you learn to cook traditional local dishes, which you can then replicate when you get home. What more could you want?

6. Have a massage

Massage places are widespread throughout Bali, but none seemed as concentrated as Ubud. There were masseuses on every corner!

What’s more, the massages in Ubud were the cheapest I saw being offered in Bali. Some were as low as Rp 100,000 ($6 / £5) per hour. I’m not a fan of massages, but if I was, it would have been tempting!

7. Watch the Legong dance show at the Ubud Palace

Another experience is to watch Legong dancing, a kind of traditional Balinese dance, at the Ubud Palace. There are nightly shows for tourists.

I thought the show was pretty good and interesting. We got a leaflet so we could just about follow the story behind each dance number, and, although somewhat gimmicky, it still felt true to the original dance style. I’d definitely recommend a visit if you want to see a little bit of Balinese culture during your visit!

8. Visit some waterfalls

Around Ubud – and, for that matter, wider Bali – you’ll find many waterfalls. As a change from sightseeing in temples, why not go check one out?

From Ubud, you could check out Tegenungan Waterfall, Sumampan Waterfall and Tibumana Waterfall. And there are plenty of less visited options that you could visit if you’re looking for a quieter trip.

9. See some butterflies!

If you’re a fan of butterflies, another interesting thing to do in Ubud would be to visit the Kemenuh Butterfly Park. Here you can see a range of Balinese butterflies in a natural environment.

I didn’t visit myself – I just didn’t have time – but it seems like a great way to spend a couple of hours!

10. Take an art class

When in Ubud, we took a batik art class, with Nyoman Warta Batik Class.

Despite having no artistic bones in our bodies, Lou and I, under the careful instruction of our teachers, created batik artwork that I’m super proud of. It was one of the best things I did in Bali and I’d wholeheartedly recommend it!

Are there ATMs in Ubud?

If you’re looking for ATMs and money changers, these are all over the centre of Ubud. Do not worry! Most do not charge fees either.

You will, by contrast, find that most places charge a 2% commission if you use card in restaurants. Many places will also only accept cash. Therefore, get yourself to an ATM to save a little bit of money!

Conclusion

Ubud, Bali, is an interesting town which features heavily on visitors’ itineraries. I can completely understand this – there are a lot of exciting things to do near Ubud.

However, if you’re like me, you’ll be disappointed by the town centre. If I were visiting again I’d definitely stay on the outskirts, where there is more relaxing accommodation available!

Do you have any questions about visiting Ubud? Let me know in the comments.

Planning a longer trip to Bali? Check out my guides to Amed, Gili Trawangan and Gili Air!