Ubud should definitely be a must go on your explore-Bali list. There are many ways to spend your time in Ubud.

You stay a week in an expensive villa and enjoy yoga, wellness and massages every day? Or would you prefer to show your creativity, create silver jewelry and try a stone carving workshop? Maybe you are more of a nature person and like to walk for hours through rice fields and discover hidden waterfalls?
No matter what you feel like – you will find it in Ubud! And there is no right or wrong way to spend your time here.

In this post you will find my recommendations for an unforgettable stay in Ubud!

The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Bali! You will not only find hundreds of insidious monkeys here who want to steal your sunglasses, but also a really beautiful nature park with quiet corners and great traditional statues. The visit will definitely be a highlight of your trip to Bali. In order to hike relaxed through the paths and be able to enjoy the time, you should plan half a day. Entry costs for adults IDR 80,000 in 2019 (= 5 euros).

Tips for a relaxing stay:

• Do not wear sunglasses on your head
• Always keep an eye on your backpack
• Do NOT grin at the monkeys (this will show your teeth and the monkeys will feel attacked and hiss at you)
• If a monkey spontaneously jumps on your shoulder and you feel uncomfortable, just stay calm and wait until it loses interest in you
• Keep your distance from the baby monkeys. They are really cute, but the parents take very good care of their little ones and may be more aggressive than other monkeys

Around Ubud there are beautiful rainforest and lots of waterfalls. The most popular waterfalls you can reach from Ubud include: Tukad Cepung, Wisata Air Terjun Kanto Lampo, Air Terjun Tibumana and the Tegenungan Waterfall. Here you see gigantic forces of nature but also a lot of tourists at lunchtime at the latest.

We discovered Air Terjun Kuning thanks to the owner of our villa (see picture below). We visited the waterfall in the late afternoon and we only met one other person and otherwise hiked alone through the forest. #SecretSpot

Everything is green in and around Ubud. Wide rice fields, thousands of palm trees, rainforests and above all the famous rice terraces. The Tegallalang Rice Terrace are really beautiful and you can hike the different paths for hours. The well-known swings are of course available and for 100,000 IDR (= 6.50 euros) you can fly over the rice fields for a minute and grab the popular Instagram picture.

TIP: The best way to escape from the crowds is to start as early as possible. From 6am you can park your scooter in the nearby parking lot.

Between the many street markets and small shops and boutiques, the Ubud Traditional Art Market is one of the largest markets. Here you will find clothes, accessories, wood carvings, paintings, fruits, vegetables, Balinese spices, and much more. If you’ve never negotiated at a market, it’s best to watch some locals beforehand.

TIP: If you end up getting your desired chain at a price where the seller takes your money grumpily, you’ve made a very good deal! 😀

You can find traditional Indonesian food in almost every corner in Bali. It is still a much better feeling if you cooked it yourself and maybe you can even try some dishes at home. I took part in the Balinese Cooking Class at „Green Kitchen“. You can easily make an appointment via WhatsApp and choose between vegetarian or non-vegetarian. You will be picked up in the morning around 9am and then first shop at the largest market in Ubud (Klungkung Market)! Then you harvest all the vegetables that are needed for the multi-course menu in huge fields. Now you can start cooking! Traditionally with stone mortars and open fire.

ATTENTION: In the end you are simply completely over-eaten and unfortunately have to roll home. The good thing is that you will be brought back to your accommodation.

We took a quad tour at Kokat Bali Adventure and it was great! There are of course many adventure providers in the area. The tour usually takes place in a small group of 5 to 10 people. You can drive alone or in pairs through the rice fields!
At first we were rather disappointed, because we had very anxious participants in our group and we therefore really ran into each other slowly. The disappointment was gone as soon as we arrived at a mud parkour! Here we were finally allowed to step on the gas and after a few minutes we were nicely dirty. 🙂
If you have experience, you can also rent a quad and go alone. It’s definitely a lot of fun!

Ubud is mainly used as a retreat. Many visitors use the time for yoga or a relaxed retreat. I did not take part in any yoga class there, so I can unfortunately not make any recommendations, but you will be faced with an incredibly large selection and guaranteed to find the perfect place to relax.