How many days do you need in Ubud?

1. 1Ubud centrepalace, market, Monkey Forest, evening dance1 day
2. 2Tegallalang, Tirta Empul & Goa Gajahstart at opening time1 day
3. 3Campuhan Ridge Walk & museumssunrise walk from town1 day
4. 4Spare dayceremony, cooking class or rain1 day

Why 3 to 4 days

Ubud's sights are spread out rather than numerous. The palace, market and Monkey Forest are walkable from the centre, but Tegallalang, Tirta Empul and Goa Gajah are a short drive away in different directions, and the best hours at each are the early ones, before heat and tour arrivals build. That gives you one main outing per morning, which is why three days is the practical minimum.

Ubud is also the easiest base for the Batur sunrise trek, which is usually sold with a pick-up in the small hours. If you plan to do it from Ubud rather than staying in Kintamani, add a day, since you will want the afternoon to recover.

Day by day: a 4-day plan

• Day 1, the centre: the morning market and Puri Saren, the royal palace on the main crossroads, then the Sacred Monkey Forest at the southern edge of town (open 9am to 6pm, last entry 5pm; adult tickets IDR 130,000 as of 2026; see our Monkey Forest guide for the rules on food and loose items). In the evening, watch the Barong or another Balinese dance with live gamelan in the palace courtyard.

• Day 2, terraces and water temples: go to the Tegallalang rice terraces at opening time, before the tour buses, then on to Tirta Empul, the spring-fed purification temple. Bring a sarong and treat it as a working place of worship; our Bali temple etiquette guide covers dress and conduct. Finish at Goa Gajah, the Elephant Cave, on the way back.

• Day 3, on foot: walk the Campuhan Ridge Walk at sunrise, an easy, mostly flat path above two river valleys that starts from town and needs no ticket. Spend the rest of the day on a museum or artist's compound and a long lunch of babi guling or nasi campur.

• Day 4, spare: keep it for whatever the first three days turned up: a village odalan (temple anniversary) or procession, a cooking class, a rice-field walk at the edge of town, or a rainy afternoon. Ceremonies follow the 210-day Balinese calendar, so ask your guesthouse what is happening that week.

When 2 days is enough, and when 5 makes sense

Two days works if you combine days one and two: the palace and Monkey Forest on the afternoon you arrive, and Tegallalang and Tirta Empul the next morning. You lose the ridge walk at dawn and any slack for rain.

Five days makes sense if Ubud is your only inland base, if you want rest days in the middle of a long trip, or if you do the Batur trek from here. That is roughly how our 5 days fitted into an 18-day route: Ubud was the central stop between the northern highlands and the volcano, roughly halfway through the trip. Our full loop is in our 18-day Bali itinerary.

Where to stay and how to get around

Stay in or near the centre if you do not plan to ride a scooter: the palace, market, Monkey Forest and the start of the ridge walk are all walkable. Penestanan and the rice-field edges are quieter and greener but need more transport planning. Choose by walking route rather than straight-line distance, because some roads have no pavement.

For the trips out of town, a driver for the day or Grab and Gojek are the usual options. App drivers are restricted from picking up in some parts of Ubud, so you may need to walk to a pick-up point or book through your accommodation. If you ride a scooter, read our Bali scooter rules guide on the motorcycle licence requirement first. For the town itself, see our Ubud travel guide.

Frequently asked questions