On our recent trip to Bali, we spent 4 nights in Ubud because there are so many activities to do there. We’re not really your typical partying backpackers and the day clubs aren’t our thing, so it was good to know that there’s so much more to do here than just the typical instagram itinerary.
Take part in a bathing ritual
One of the most popular things to do in Ubud for all tourists is to visit Pura Tirta Empul. It’s one of the classic images that will come up if you Google ‘Temples in Bali’ and it does come with the crowds to show it. That being said, it’s one of the most unique experiences of my life and I cannot recommend it enough to anyone planning their Bali itinerary.
There are several ways to visit the temple. The first being a tour which will take you to several temples in the area. I have met people who did this and thoroughly enjoyed it, however it’s not as budget friendly and you don’t have the freedom to look around at your own pace. It is definitely a good option for solo travellers as it’s a great way to make friends. It also takes the stress out of planning the logistics of getting there and back, and will take up a much larger portion of your day.
The second is to rent a bike and drive yourself there. We chose not to do this, simply because our schedule didn’t make sense to rent a bike as we’d hardly have used it, but also, the roads in Bali are just something else. If you’re not confident on a bike, I would not recommend driving in Ubud (and a lot of the rest of the island to be honest) as it’s a very hilly, winding terrain and some the local drivers are honestly TERRIFYING. Driving does however give you total freedom to spend as long as you’d like there, and stop off wherever else you’d like. This is a much better option if you’re wanting to explore a lot in one day.
Lastly, the option that we chose was to use Grab. There are signs up all over Ubud and in many other parts of Bali that say online taxi companies are banned but these are signs put up by taxi companies who will charge you 2-3 times the price. We generally use bikes, however if a car is not much more we do opt for the comfort. Like with renting a bike, online taxis give you the freedom to explore at your own pace, the only downside is that you cannot stop off at multiple places along the way unless you keep booking multiple different trips, or book a driver for an hour/day. However, on the times we’ve looked at hiring by the hour, it’s shown a minimum of 4 hours.
Ride ATVs
Driving the ATVs through the rice terraces and along the muddy courses (that definitely wouldn’t pass UK health and safety standards) was one of the most fun activities we did in Ubud. We booked on get your guide for £13.50pp (much cheaper than many other providers) with Best Bali Adventures. There are other companies that offer better packages and courses, however they were not in our budget. If you’re looking for the best all round company, I’d suggest Alasan Adventures as this also includes free lunch and access to Cretya Sunset and the course is generally better. That being said, we had an absolute blast. You can either ride tandem or solo, we chose solo and I’m very glad we did as I really enjoyed being in control (and Reilly enjoyed that I was the only one to blame when I did inevitably crash!). The whole thing took 1.5hrs and included a basic local lunch. They also have someone taking photos which you can purchase at the end (these are actually fairly pricey and not included like some companies offer) but they are high quality. My biggest recommendation is that if you see the camera, make sure you smile, in all of my photos I have a serious case of RBF!
Hike Mount Batur for sunrise
This was my most anticipated activity of our entire trip, not just to Bali, and for me it totally blew my expectations out of the park. If it’s not something you’ve considered adding to your itinerary, I highly suggest you do. However, it’s not an easy hike, and definitely not something to be taken lightly. If you’re not an experience hiker, or have never hiked at all, I would strongly advise against doing the hike unless you have really high levels of fitness. However, our guide Eddie gave us the option to take an easier route, which is basically just a road to much higher up the mountain (you will still need to hike the top part nonetheless). Like with many things in South East Asia, the health and safety measures leave a lot to be desired. I would recommend doing 4 things if you plan to do this hike:
- Bring plenty of water AND electrolytes, not one or the other. There were multiple occasions where we were met with either very dehydrated hikers or people throwing up due to exhaustion or mild altitude sickness (AKA Reilly lol) and in all those cases, hydration is essential. I would recommend bringing at LEAST a litre of liquids with you, and those should be mineral water and some form of electrolyte. This could be a Pocari Sweat (a personal fav drink for any hangover/hiking refreshment/ general replenishment) or something you add to water like diahrolyte or Berroca.
- If you need to stop, tell your guide to stop. The guides for these treks do it once or twice EVERY day, and they will not necessarily realise you need to slow down (partly because it’s pitch black) so you need to voice your thoughts. Our guide practically had us running up the trail, a hike that should take 2 hours as a general standard, barely took us just 1hr 20 (even with Reilly’s 10 minute pit stop haha).
- Bring your own torch if you can, or ask to exchange it at basecamp if you don’t think it’s bright enough. Reilly and I both seemed to be given dud torches that barely lit up anything compared to the others in our group. This meant that at the really challenging scrambles, it really was a sort of guessing game to see if the footholds would work, 2/5 times they didn’t. It was almost laughable when we’d pass groups that were taking breaks because they couldn’t even see us coming.
- This roll-on herbal remedy will be your absolute lifesaver. After suffering from mild altitude sickness and exhaustion, the guide handed Reilly this “miracle in a bottle” and it helped enormously. I applied it to the front and back of his neck and the pulse points below his ears and then handed it to his to inhale during the rest of the climb and instantly he felt miles better. I’m not entirely sure what it is, it essentially smells like olbas oil or tiger balm but we have since stocked up from a pharmacy.
Despite all of that however, it will definitely be one of the highlights of your trip. The views at the top are absolutely insane, and even though so many people are at the top, it doesn’t take away from the experience at all. If I’m ever to come back (or get to host a group trip which is my ultimate goal!) this is something that will definitely be on the itinerary.
If hiking is not for you but you still want to witness the breathtaking views from the top, there are many companies who offer jeep tours to the top or if you’d like to only hike up, you can arrange to be picked up by locals on motorbikes.
We booked our trip through our hotel with the company Savannah Moon Tours for 800,000IDR (around £42 or £21pp). However a couple from our hotel also booked through them but directly and paid 650,000IDR (around £34 or £17pp) which I wish I’d known about but honestly we just went with simplicity.