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How To See Ubud In A Day

I’m really not sure why but we only booked one full day in Ubud but I fell in love with the place as soon as we arrived so I needed to be sure to pack as much into our one day there as possible. With a little bit of research and some good planning we managed it just fine.
Getting Around: Hire A Taxi Driver
I highly recommend finding a taxi driver that you like and booking in a day tour with them. We were lucky to have an evening to find someone but there are taxi drivers sitting on the streets so you should be able to find someone and go straight from there. Our driver was friendly, knowledgeable and spoke good English so we agreed a price (400,000, about £25) and arranged for him to pick us up from our hotel the next morning. Top Tip: Don't be scared to barter with them; we very easily got to that price from the 700,000 he asked for originally.

He drove us wherever we wanted and each time, he parked up and came along with us as a tour guide would. We were able to spend as much time in each place as we wanted and we also learnt a lot from him, chatting about Balinese culture, his knowledge of the temples and religious beliefs and hearing about his family and their life here. He also turned out to be a pretty good photographer!
Sacred Monkey Forest Ubud
Visit the Sacred Monkey Forest
The forest is home to hundreds of Balinese long tail monkeys and they are able to run around freely and do exactly what they want; that's what makes it such an amazing experience. It's a pound or two entrance fee and whilst they get fed by the staff, if you are brave, you can buy your own bananas to feed the monkeys although beware and try to avoid eye contact with them. Also keep an eye on things like glasses and cameras, as they often grab anything they can get their hands on. Our driver told us there are different monkey 'gangs' and they can be very territorial with each other so we saw a lot of fighting but we also saw lots of playing, sharing food and looking after one another too.
Sacred Monkey Forest Ubud Bali
Buy a Sarong at The Art Market
I'm not sure why it's called the art market because we didn't see any art. The market is five minutes from the monkey forest and whilst it's small, it's buzzing with people and full of vibrant colours. We stopped off to buy a sarong as many temples in Bali require you to wear one but stayed to look around after; I love a good market. It's not essential to buy your own sarong as most temples provide them but for just under £5 for two (and those were the expensive, quality ones), they made for a great souvenir as well as being useful! Top Tip: Although its not worth a trip of its own, if you visit the market, you may as well pop into the Ubud Royal Palace as it is located just across the road.
art market ubud
art market ubud bali
Have Lunch at Cafe Wayan
We stopped off at Café Wayan for lunch as it looked pretty from the outside and had a good, varied menu of both Indonesian and a good selection of western food. I decided on nasi goring and each component was delicious, I especially loved the sweetcorn fritter; just the right amount for lunch after an active morning. There were many parts to this place, it made me want to get up and explore. All of it is very open with no walls again, just a roof over the top. For two mains, a milkshake, a beer and a bottle of water we paid around £15
Indonesian food bali
Purification at Tirta Empul
This one is a little further out and about half an hour in a car from the monkey forest but it was definitely worth it as this temple was our favourite stop of the day. Tirta Empul means ‘holy spring water’ and people flock here for its purification baths as they believe that the holy water is able to cleanse the mind as well as the body. This is where the sarongs got their first use as you are forbidden to enter without one. The main attraction inside is the large pool with 13 spouts of water flowing into it. People queue to get a chance to pray under the springs and wash away their problems. It's mainly local people who seek purification at the springs although tourists sometimes get involved too. Obviously the place has a certain vibe to it and although we didnt get in the pools, we both still left feeling very spiritual. Top Tip: Think about bringing spare clothing if you want to get wet. tirta empul balitirta empul bali ubud
praying tirta empul bali ubud
Have a Romantic Dinner at Mozaic
When I researched Ubud, this restaurant came up over and over again. Mozaic is Ubud's awnser to fine dining and a pretty amazing foodie experience. There are four menus to choose from: a six course, an eight course, a surprise or vegetarian. We opted for the 8 course grand menu which cost 1,000,000 IDR (about £60 each) and also included canapés, amuse boushe and petition fours to finish. Think a gastronomic feast outside with tea lights lining the path to your table, lights hanging down from the trees and looking up to the treetops and starry sky above. Top Tip - Book in advance and book it early, we were there for over three hours.
Mozaic ubud

50 comments

  1. God it looks beautiful, lovely photos. I adore monkey's the forest would be my paradise x

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    1. It was so amazing! and seeing the monkeys was a big highlight of my trip :D x

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  2. What an absolutely beautiful place to explore and it sounds like you have come up with a great way to see as much as possible in a short time. x

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    1. We tried! I'm sure there is so much more to see x

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  3. I had never heard of ubud till reading your post. It looks like such a beautiful place!

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  4. Oh what a beautiful place and I would definitely want to visit the Sacred Monkey Forest x

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  5. What a gorgeous place! I had never heard of Ubud before, but it looks amazing!

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  6. I have never heard of UBUD but it sounds great and I love the sound of the Sacred Monkey Forest.

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    1. Such an experience to see them all running free! x

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  7. Ubud is part of the trip to Bali/ Lombok I have planned for next year and I can not wait! x

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    1. Oh amazing! You are going to have such a great time! Did my paragraph on your blog sway you?x

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  8. Oh my goodness it looks and sounds so perfect!!! I LOVE your photos. The sacred monkey forest would be a fave for me!

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    1. Thank you! They don't do it justice, it was so amazing! x

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  9. Before reading your post I was thinking where is Ubud? I've never heard of it. After reading your post I'm thinking I want to visit and visit soon. It sounds amazing.

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    1. Do it! You'll love it as much as I did! x

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  10. Wow, looks like an incredible place - I'd love a much around the saris. £15 was a bargain for all that food too!

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    1. Food was really cheap all over Bali! Great value compared to London! x

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  11. Oh, how cute are those monkeys? Love the taxi driver idea - can't believe it was so inexpensive for a day of driving around!

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    1. We were shocked too! So much cheaper than the tours! x

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  12. I love the idea of hiring a taxi driver to act as both your guide and driver and at a reasonable price obviously provided you haggle the price

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    1. It was so great to have a local person with us - he gave us a totally authentic day! x

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  13. I've never even heard of this place, but those monkeys! How cute. The place looks so magical xx

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    1. Magical is actually the perfect word for it! x

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  14. Bali is one of those places I've been hearing more, and hope I go if or when I go to Australia.Beautiful pictures! Thoroughly enjoyed the post

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    1. You should definitely try to make a visit! It's one of my favorite places now! x

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  15. Looks beautiful, I would love to visit in the future x

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  16. Looks like a wonderful place full of culture and colour! We'd love to visit!

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    1. The colour was amazing! London is so grey, I didnt realise! x

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  17. Looks like you had a great time in such an interesting place! That sarong is beautiful btw and that setting for dinner would be paradise <3

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    1. Thank you! It was a hard choice there were so many sarong options ahah x

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  18. It looks amazing, I would love it there with all the monkeys and sarongs.

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  19. How cute are those monkeys i bet you had a lovely time at the monkey forest.

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    1. Yes! One of my favourite parts of the day :D x

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  20. Wow what an amazing trip. I'd never think to book a taxi driver for the day, great idea and such great value for money too!

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    1. Definitely - it saved us so much on a tour! x

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  21. Great post, great photos! It looks like an amazing place and I definitely need to try that restaurant!

    www.twentysomethingmuddle.com

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  22. Oh wow this looks absolutely amazing, it is the kind of place I would love to go. I would also come home with loads of fabrics haha

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  23. Amazing photos, looks like a wonderful place with so much to do! xo

    http://rachelnicole.co.uk/

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  24. What a beautiful place to visit, it looks amazing.

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  25. Wow this place looks amazing! I'm sure you've enjoyed your stay there - the pictures are stunning!

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  26. Girl your pictures are stunning! I've always wanted to visit Bali, it's high up there on my travel bucket list, and your pictures are making me want to go even more now!

    Hayley xo
    www.frockmeimfamous.com

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  27. I have literally been stalking all your Bali posts for inspo!! Your pictures are beautiful (as are you)…hope to see you before I go!
    Georgie xx
    http://georgieminterbrown.blogspot.co.uk

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