Batur at dawn, the terraces by ten, a waterfall before lunch.
Which sunrise trek has the kindest climb. What a swing over the jungle really costs. Whether Tegallalang is worth the crowd. Reviews of the tours you can book from Ubud.
Batur before dawn, the jungle swing, the split gate, a farm kitchen.
The four bookings most Ubud trips are built around, with what each costs and what the people who went thought of it.
01The early alarmSunrise Mount Batur Guided Hike with BreakfastPickup in the small hours, two hours up by torchlight, breakfast on the rim as the sun clears Mount Agung.
02One day, all of UbudMonkey Forest, Jungle Swing, Rice Terrace, and Water TempleMonkey Forest, the swing, Tegallalang and a water temple in one day, with the driver waiting at each stop.
03East to LempuyangBesakih Temple & Lempuyang Temple Gates of Heaven TourBesakih, the mother temple, then the split gate at Lempuyang. A long drive for the photo everyone knows.
04A farm-kitchen afternoonBalinese Cooking Class at an Organic FarmPick the vegetables on an organic farm, then cook and eat a Balinese lunch under a thatched roof.
An Ubud morning comes in three shapes: terrace, waterfall or temple.
The green Bali of the postcards sits within an hour of Ubud. Pick the kind of morning first, then the tour that does it best.
★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · Waterfalls, Water Temple & Rice Terraces Private Tour · from $29
Rice terracesTegallalang and Jatiluwih, best walked before the buses arrive.
WaterfallsTegenungan, Tibumana, Tukad Cepung: stairs down, a swim at the bottom.
TemplesSpring temples, lake temples and the mother temple on Agung.
239 terrace, waterfall and temple days to choose from around Ubud.
Two hours up Batur in the dark, for the best sunrise in Bali.
The crater rim stands at 1,717 metres over a blue lake, with Agung and, on a clear morning, Lombok’s Rinjani on the skyline. Most treks come down to a soak in the hot springs on the shore.
In Ubud town the monkeys own the main road.
The Sacred Monkey Forest sits at the foot of Monkey Forest Road, the palace stages Legong after dark, and the art market is open before the shops. Most of it is a walk from your guesthouse.
Everything around Ubud town →
Ubud’s wild side: quad bikes, the Ayung rapids, a swing over the gorge.
The river valleys that keep Ubud green also make it Bali’s adventure base. Most of these include hotel pickup and lunch. Pack a change of clothes.
The Ubud tours almost everyone books.
Every Ubud tour we have reviewed →More travellers take these than anything else around Ubud, and each has a clear reason for the queue.
1
All-Inclusive Ubud Private Tour
Visit Ubud’s Monkey Forest, Tegalalang Rice Terrace, Tirta Empul Temple, and Tegenungan Waterfall with a private driver-guide. The day also includes a traditional Balinese house, lunch, and a jungle swing. Guides such as Guna, Eka, Swandi, and Kadek have earned special praise for their local insight and photo help, though your assigned guide may vary.
From · $100
Read our review →
2
Sunrise Mount Batur Guided Hike with Breakfast
from $27
3
Mount Batur Sunrise Guided Hike and Natural Hot Spring
from $36
4
Best of Ubud Full-Day Tour with Jungle Swing
from $56
5
Monkey Forest, Jungle Swing, Rice Terrace, and Water Temple
from $31
6
Waterfalls, Water Temple & Rice Terraces Private Tour
from $29
7
All-Inclusive Tour with Optional Lunch
from $27
8
Waterfall, Rice Terraces & Monkey Forest Private Tour
from $23
What a day out of Ubud costs, from dance ticket to private driver.
Every tour on the site, grouped by price. Bali stays cheap until you add a private car, and plenty of the best mornings cost less than dinner.
Palace dance tickets, waterfall runs, cooking classes and the shared Batur treks.
Private days with a driver, the east-coast temple loop and Nusa Penida by fast boat.
- 1All-Inclusive Ubud Private Tourfrom $100
- 2Best of Ubud Full-Day Tour with Jungle Swingfrom $56
- 3Best of Ubud 1-Day Private Tourfrom $54
Multi-day loops, private specialists and the once-a-trip splurges.
Three Balinese rituals you can reach from Ubud in an afternoon.
Plenty of islands have waterfalls and swings. A spring temple you bathe in, a chant with no instruments and a gate that frames a volcano are Bali’s alone.
Tirta Empul’s holy spring
North of Ubud at Tampaksiring, a spring has filled the same stone pools for over a thousand years. Balinese come to melukat, a cleansing rite: you put on a sarong, wade in and bow under the spouts one by one, passing the ones kept for funerals. A guide tells you which is which before you get wet.
- 1Full-Day Spiritual Cleansing and Shamanic Healing Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 1,780 reviews
- 2Tirta Empul: Temple Tour with Optional Spiritual Cleansing★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 1,257 reviews
- 3Ubud Tour – Balinese Healing By Shaman And Self Purification★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 236 reviews
Kecak and Legong
Kecak uses no instruments at all. Rings of bare-chested men chant in interlocking rhythm while dancers in the middle play out a scene from the Ramayana. Legong is its opposite, all gamelan and fluttering fans, performed most nights in the courtyard of the Ubud palace.
- 1Ubud Palace Legong Dance Show Ticket★★★★★★★★★★ 4.4 · 3,979 reviews
- 2Uluwatu Sunset, Kecak Dance, and Dinner Jimbaran Beach★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 3,681 reviews
- 3Ubud Kecak and Fire Dance Show Tickets★★★★★★★★★★ 4.4 · 2,631 reviews
The Lempuyang Gate
Pura Lempuyang climbs a mountain at the eastern end of the island, and its split gate frames Mount Agung so neatly that it became the most photographed doorway in Bali. The pool in those photos is a mirror held under the camera. The temples above go on for some 1,700 steps, and few visitors climb them.
- 1Besakih Temple & Lempuyang Temple Gates of Heaven Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 3,243 reviews
- 2East Bali Tour: Gate of Heaven, Water Palace, Sleeping Gajah★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,726 reviews
- 3Lempuyang Quick Access, Waterfall, Water Palace & More★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 1,072 reviews
Four Bali bookings that will not wait until tomorrow.
Most of Ubud can be arranged with a driver the night before. These four run on volcano hours, ferry timetables and a queue at a gate.
- 01Mount Batur Sunrise Guided Hike and Natural Hot SpringPickups leave Ubud around two in the morning, so the booking has to be in by the evening before at the latest.
- 02Besakih Temple & Lempuyang Temple Gates of Heaven TourThe gate photo runs on a numbered queue that can stretch past two hours by mid-morning. Pre-dawn departures beat it.
- 03Snorkeling 3 Spots with GoPro & West Land TourFast boats cross from Sanur in the morning and the last ones back leave in the afternoon. Miss yours and you are staying the night.
- 04Uluwatu Sunset, Kecak Dance, and Dinner Jimbaran BeachKecak starts at sunset and the seats are first come, first served. Turn up with the ticket already bought.
When the afternoon rain hits Ubud, get under a thatched roof.
From November to March the mornings are mostly clear and the downpour arrives after lunch, loud and short. Keep the trek and the terraces for the morning, then spend the wet hours at a cooking station, a silversmith’s bench or a massage table.
Ubud, Tegallalang, Batur, Sidemen, the east: the loop most first trips follow.
Ubud
Tegallalang
Kintamani
Sidemen
Karangasem
Nusa PenidaBy place: Ubud and the day-trip belt
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