Ubud Indonesia – Your Quick Travel Guide

In a nutshell

Ubud is the land of advertised paradise. While adverts are typically misleading and have some hidden motivation, this time they aren’t. In fact, they couldn’t be more on the money. Ubud is the best. The very best. You should go.

Why go to ubud

If you’re reading this, you’ve no doubt caught wind of the worldwide hype concerning the wonder that is Bali. While the island is full of treasures from North to South, around each corner and beside each beach, you need not go very far from your bed to experience a taste of the best Bali can offer.

Yes indeed, Ubud is the place to be. Between the exhaustive list of outdoor activities, adventurous ones, and cultural ones, you’ll find yourself dead on your feet before you’ve finished brushing your teeth at night.

The Monkey Forest makes for a moderately stressful, but brilliant encounter with monkeys in a daringly authentic manner. Feel their little hands unzip the pockets of your bags and pants in search of bananas. Try and keep your cool. Shriek if you want to – there are enough people doing it to not worry too much about your street cred.

The Tegallalang rice terraces provide the perfect backdrop for sundowners, while the art market should be the setting of at least one full day of squeezing, gawking, small encounters, and full shopping bags.

The adventurous are well catered for, here. Go rafting, swinging, walking on Campuhan Ridge, hiking to Tegunungan waterfall, and exploring to places known and unknown, all equally intriguing and impelling.

Beyond the exhaustive list of activities and points of interest, the small town is complemented by exquisite accommodations and forward thinking, westernised restaurants. In short, it is the perfect honeymoon destination.

When to go to Ubud
While there is very little time in the year that Bali will be bettered by the inside of your living room, there are, of course, some points in the year that Bali is unforgivably appealing. While high season happens around Christmas and over the months of July and August, the best time to visit is just either side of these months. That is, April, May, June and September. Avoid the crowds and inflated room prices, and soak in your surrounds with steady, dry conditions, and decreased humidity.

Where to stay in Ubud

The beauty of the countryside is well complemented by the abundance of astoundingly beautiful, entirely picturesque bungalows, cabins and resorts. Some resorts, in fact, are so beautiful that leaving your room, pool, and steady flow of cocktails is the first challenge of the day. Then again, you should probably hold off on the cocktails until your breakfast has settled.

All in seriousness, the options before you are delightful. Whether you are interested in a bedside pool, a view of rice terraces from your private balcony, or a single bed in a dormitory, it seems near on compulsory to stay somewhere tranquil. In lieu of this, and more toward the single bed in a dorm side of things, you’ll be supplemented with oodles of charm and rustic appeal. One such example is the Jukung Hostel, where the majority of what surrounds you has descended from old and broken long-tail boats.

Choosing between the mass wealth of high-end resorts is one of the best problems one could have. Enjoy the problem. Never complain, you’re in paradise! Just a handful of such places include the exceedingly serene Ubud Lestari Bungalow, the Biyukukung Suites, and Tegal Sari Resort.

Where and what to eat in Ubud
The selection of food on offer in Ubud is inversely proportionate to the prevalence of apples. Strange comparison, sure, but also entirely accurate! The amount of truly special spots to grab a bite is enough to send you into a bit of a panic, coping by pushing more food into your mouth in the hopes of getting through the murderously enticing menu. Yes, it’s a difficult situation. Poor you.

The difficulties must, however, get worse. You’ll need to decide between local Indonesian dishes, incredibly creative vegan and vegetarian restaurants, burger bars, high-end spots, and street side vendors. Spend more days, spend more money – you’ll feel an aching desire to try it all!

A great way to eat for a night is by making dinner for yourself. Somewhat more exciting than your all too familiar regular that pops into your mind, the cooking classes in Ubud are full of life and flavour. There are many schools in the market. They vary in approach, price, and inclusions – there’s something for everybody!

How to get around Ubud

Getting around Bali is as easy as it appears in the travel blogs, vlogs, alluring adverts, and envy inducing Facebook posts. The best way to get around with the greatest degree of freedom is certainly a scooter. They’re easy to come by and easy to ride. Prices are cheap, and destinations aren’t far enough away to make the decision reckless.

If you’ve skimped on travel insurance or want to avoid the responsibility of getting yourself around, then head for one of the many bemos roaming the streets. Rides between spots around town won’t set you back any more than a 20,000 IDR and allow you the luxury of wandering eyes as you pass by interesting old buildings and colourful street corners. If a motorbike taxi is closer than a songthaew, then you can get where you’re going for the same sort of price and a little less delay.

How to get to and from Ubud

Getting in form the airport couldn’t really be much easier, or much cheaper. The ride from Denpassar on a minibus (bemo) takes about an hour and will set you back a very little IDR 50,000. Public bemos heading back to the airport run during the early hours of the morning from the Central Market – be on your toes here as there is no price regulation and a fair few beady-eyed hagglers.

Should you have a taste for spacious, air-conditioned taxi rides and are keen to head away from the very busy and loud southern spaces of Kuta, then you can be in Ubud for around IDR 200, 000. From the airport, excluding any surcharge you may pay, expect to pay around IDR 150, 000.

Bemos are significantly cheaper than any other option before you. There is also a strong local taxi cartel that opposes the online taxi services running routes to and from Ubud. As such, finding an Uber or Grab taxi may be a little tricky. However, Bali Cab and Blue Bird taxi’s still run these routes and provide some diversity to a market filled with travellers of varying budgets.

Perama shuttles also offer routes to a host of destinations outside of Ubud, including the airport in Denpassar and Kuta. Tickets for the trips normally cost around double the price of bemos but are supposed to be non-stop and air-conditioned. The service provided varies largely, and can range from efficient, affordable and comfortable to hot, slow, and a waste of money. A such, it is probably unwise to book in advance – rather weigh up your options on the spot.

Between bemos, Perama shuttles and taxis, getting to and from your one-day favourite place on earth should cause you very little headache.

Is Ubud a safe place to visit?

Being the popular tourist destination that it is, there are a fair few individuals seeking to take advantage of any traveller’s lapse in judgement or inattention. It is wise to keep very valuable belongings at home and to always keep an eye on the things that you have with you. Should you do this and be firm in the face of manipulative and disingenuous locals, you should be aces!