Ubud

Ubud sits inland in the hills of Gianyar, about an hour and a half from the airport in ordinary traffic and roughly an hour below the Kintamani crater rim. An airport car costs about IDR 200,000 to 450,000 depending on who you book it through. From Canggu the 30 to 35 km take 50 to 60 minutes if you leave before half past seven in the morning, and 100 to 130 minutes if you leave between half four and half seven in the evening. Ride-hailing apps will drop you in central Ubud, but local transport groups block app pickups there, so arrange the return leg before you need it.

The rice terraces are why most people come, and the hour decides whether they are worth it. Tegallalang is about twenty minutes north of Ubud and costs IDR 15,000 to 25,000 in cash, varying by entrance, with parking at IDR 5,000 for a scooter and IDR 10,000 for a car. Coaches arrive after ten and it stays busy until about three. Go between six and half past eight, or come back between half three and half five. Landowners charge IDR 10,000 to 20,000 to cross private paths and bamboo bridges, which is fair. The swings run IDR 250,000 to 400,000 and buy you a photograph, not an afternoon.

Tirta Empul, the purification temple, is 30 to 40 minutes from Ubud: IDR 75,000 for adults, IDR 50,000 for children aged five to twelve, sarong included, open eight to six. Coaches and school groups fill it between ten and two, so arrive before ten. Two spouts are reserved for priests, swimwear and bare shoulders are not allowed, and menstruating women are asked not to take part. Goa Gajah is fifteen minutes from Ubud at IDR 50,000 adult and IDR 25,000 child, and takes half an hour to see.

Ubud Monkey Forest costs IDR 130,000 for foreign adults and IDR 100,000 for children after a rise in April, opens at nine with last entry at five, and is a ten-minute walk from the centre. Go at opening or after four. Carry nothing loose: the macaques take sunglasses, phones and bottles, and feeding them is banned.

Two waterfalls sit within forty minutes. Tibumana is IDR 25,000 with a twelve-minute walk down and is best between eight and ten. Tegenungan is IDR 20,000 to 30,000 with 168 steps and is busiest from ten to three. Ubud Palace is free to walk into, the evening Legong is about IDR 100,000, and the Campuhan ridge walk costs nothing and is best before eight.

Give Ubud three or four nights and sleep here rather than driving in. Ubud is where we have spent more time than any other part of the island, across every trip, and it is still the area we would add a night to rather than take one from. We would not day-trip Ubud from the beaches: the traffic through the middle of the island takes back most of the day, and Ubud is the area first trips over-plan and under-stay.