Let’s face it, we hardly gave Bali a chance. We missed the beaches, many iconic temples, and everything else the average tourist would see. After just a few days in Ubud, we hightailed it off the island in search of something more our style – natural beauty, peace and tranquility. But if you are planning a trip, here are some tips from our brief visit.
Where we stayed
- Sikut Satak Guest House, via Airbnb, Ubud
- Excellent value ranging form $20-$30 per night (we paid $29)
- Large comfortable room, king size bed, kitchenette, walk in shower
- Private garden with small verandah with chairs
- Reliable and consistent A/C, Wifi and hot water
- A bit of a walk to town on a very busy street (20+ minutes each way)
- Excellent value
- TIP: Recommend staying a little closer to town as even the side roads are very congested with traffic and make walking rather hazardous.
- TIP: It cost us $30,000 IDR (about $3 CAD) to take a taxi to the end of our street, which was the edge of town. However, when in town, most taxi drivers wanted to charge us between $50,000-$100,000 to take us the 1.5 km distance back to our house. You must negotiate firmly with taxi drivers.
- TIP: Negotiate everything. Start at half the asking price and find a happy middle ground.
- TIP: If you get a good, honest taxi driver, get his name and whatsapp info, and use him for the rest of the trip as we did. Essentially, you will have a private driver available when you need him.
What we ate
- We ate mainly Indonesian food and really enjoyed this cuisine.
- TIP: Beware of the many overpriced tourist restaurants.
- TIP: Do try the Indonesian food in spite of all the western influences. There was even a Dairy Queen on the main drag!
What we did
- Sacred Monkey Forest: Within town limits, so easy to get to. While this is pretty touristy, it was still fun to watch all the monkeys, and to observe the rituals of the locals going to the temples on site (the temples themselves are off limits to tourists).
- Royal Palace: Right on the main road in the middle of town, this was a beautiful temple to meander through and take a few pictures. Be forewarned, this place is swarming with tourists.
- Campuhan Ridge Walk: Easy hiking trail on the outskirts of town offering sweeping hilltop views. The views were not all that impressive, probably because the area was super arid during our visit.
- Tegalalang Rice Terraces: These iconic rice terraces are worth visiting. Plan on spending a couple of hours meandering through the narrow paths, admiring the stunning views.
- TIP: Bring some small bills for the donation boxes that are placed along the paths to collect money to help with the upkeep of the area.
- TIP: Visit the Rice Terraces earlier in the morning or later in the afternoon for optimal lighting conditions for photos.
- TIP: The taxi from Ubud to the Tegalalang Rice Terraces should cost about $100,000 IDR each way.
- TIP: “Tis” is a new restaurant on the edge of town offering amazing views of the rice terraces, great food, and an infinity pool for guests to enjoy.
- TIP: If travelling to Lombok from Bali, consider flying. It only cost $22 CAD (via AirAsia) per person, including one checked back each. It is a quick flight, and and the Lombok airport is quite central to most tourist destinations on the island.
