11 Unique Things For Your Ubud Bucket List

Ubud, nestled in the uplands of Bali, Indonesia, is famed for its terraced rice paddies, Hindu temples and beautiful landscapes.

It is said to be the hub of art and culture in Bali where wood carvings, jewellery and masks are designed and created by hand by the friendly locals.

We spent just four short days in this stunning little town and searched high and low for the best things to do in Ubud that are a little off the beaten path or non-touristy from visiting remote Bali mountain villages to quiet yoga classes in Ubud.

If you are wondering whether it’s worth visiting, then hopefully this list of unique things to do in Ubud will help you decide whether to add it to your Bali trip itinerary!

1. Book a yoga class

Yes, we did! And we LOVED it! I have done yoga before and aside from being possibly the most inflexible human on earth I quite enjoyed the fact I had to slow down, relax and concentrate on something else other than the million to-do lists in my brain.

For Steffan, it was his first time.

After some hefty research, I chose to book Taksu Yoga for our yoga experience based on reviews and also the fact it seemed a little more authentic and less hectic than some of the others.

Most tourists tend to book the more famous and popular Yoga Barn but we were keen for a more authentic and quieter experience so opted for Taksu Yoga in Ubud.

Our yoga instructor was a lovely man called Indra.

He was patient, communicative and friendly.

We enjoyed getting to know him and still stay in touch even now via email!

The grounds were the most beautiful green gardens we have seen with water fountains, bridges and ponds and it was so beautiful to explore after our yoga class.

If you fancy trying out a yoga class when in Ubud, we highly recommend Taksu Yoga and ask for Indra!

Find them here – http://www.taksuyoga.com/

To book a yoga class it may be easier to contact them via Instagram as their website sometimes shows errors.

2. Visit Munduk Village for the day

As we were visiting Bali at its busiest time of the whole year we were trying to escape the crowds, which is extremely difficult with a place as popular as Bali!

We spent the evenings googling places we could spend the day that would be a little quieter.

That is when we stumbled across Munduk village!

Full of waterfalls, gorgeous landscape views & coffee plantations this is definitely one of the most unique things to do from Ubud.

It’s a couple of hours north in the car from Ubud and well worth the day trip.

Nestled further into the mountains than Ubud and surrounded by rice terraces and waterfalls it’s not only fairly undiscovered but it’s also a gorgeous way to spend a day in Bali!

In our opinion, this is one of the best non-touristy things to do from Ubud and a real hidden gem in Bali.

3. Hire a local driver to explore Bali

So everyone who visits Bali thinks of mopeds and scooters.

The wind blows through your hair as you feel an utter sense of freedom and delight at being a guest on one of the most beautiful islands in Indonesia!

In reality? It’s less a sense of freedom and more a fear of imminent death.

Horns beeping, cars and scooters swerving with no warning other than a wave of a hand or a yell, traffic as far as the eye can see, mopeds mounting the pavement to swerve past cars, and near-miss accidents every 30 seconds.

Honestly, it was making me very uncomfortable just watching it from the safety of our car.

And unlike Thailand super easy railway system, there are no super train lines connecting you from point A to point B in Bali.

So save yourself the stress and hire someone local!

If you are planning to visit Bali for your honeymoon or you just want to treat yourself to that VIP treatment then hiring a driver is the way to go. But you will be pleased to know it will not break the bank!

We arranged our driver through our Air B and B host and it was a family member whom our host trusted and knew very well. He was brilliant and took us anywhere we wanted to go for four days straight.

It was also nice to know that we were supporting locals by using their services as a driver rather than hiring a car ourselves from a bigger organisation.

4. Book a tour to hike Mount Batur

Hiking Mount Batur is usually at the top of everyone’s Bali or Ubud bucket list and for good reason!

Mount Batur is an active volcano Northwest of Mount Agung and sits at a whopping 1700 metres.

Countless tour companies offer trips to hike this epic volcano for sunrise and it takes approximately 2-3 hours.

And whilst it’s not a stroll in the park, it is described as suitable for anyone with a reasonable level of fitness.

You can check out this blog all about what it’s like to hike Mount Batur!

5. Head to the local area of Tampaksiring for sunrise

This was an insider tip from our driver to head to the area of Tampaksiring which is not far from Ubud centre but is a real hidden gem in Bali.

On a clear morning, you have a perfect vista of rice field views below Mount Agung in the distance as the sun rises…. breathtaking!

We would recommend arriving there as the sun rises to watch the light change and capture some stunning photographs or simply just take it all in.

It was a simply beautiful experience as there were no other tourists around and it was so quiet by the roadside with the only noise being locals heading to work and school on their mopeds.

6. Enjoy a slap-up meal at Luxe BBQ and grill

If you want a special and memorable experience while you are in Bali, look no further!

This place is exceptional!

We decided we wanted a nice meal out and after some googling found this restaurant online, which describes itself as,

“Just 1,400 meters from the centre of Ubud, you’ll find the award-winning #1 small hotel in Indonesia, LUXE Villas Bali. Offering an exclusive window to Bali’s working rice fields, an alluring stroll or a five-minute moped ride, a journey shrouded in ancient Balinese traditions.“

We booked online and they arranged to collect us by scooter outside Starbucks at 7 pm.

We were met by smartly dressed employees who rode us both to the entrance of the Luxe and the whole evening from then was impeccable!

The food was honestly the best we have ever tasted, the service was so personal and friendly and we even got to meet the owners when we sat outside and they were the loveliest lovely people you could ever wish to meet.

Whether you are celebrating something or you’re not, pencil this into your itinerary! It was a night that we won’t forget anytime soon!

7. Get to Tegallalang Rice Terraces before anyone else!

We have all seen the photographs of the lush green rice paddies in Ubud right?

And the most famous and fairest of them all is definitely without a shadow of a doubt Tegallalang Rice Fields (also known as the Ceking Terrace, or Tegallalang) which due to its fame, is included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The downside to going in August? The rice paddies are not lush green as it’s just not the right time of year and it is very busy.

But the rice paddies are open 24 hours a day so you can get there as early as you like to avoid the heat and the crowds.

We arrived at 6 am for sunrise and there were already a few people there taking photographs, but other than about six other people and a friendly cat, we had the whole place to ourselves!

8. Visit Tirta Empul temple

We weren’t sure whether to visit Pura Tirta Empul Temple or not as we were warned it would be super busy.

And whilst that may not be a deal-breaker for some of you, for us, and photography, it makes it difficult.

But, it was super close to another location we visited for sunrise and so we decided to add it to our list.

We have been lucky enough to visit some beautiful temples in Asia and this was one of our favourites in Bali.

We got there just in time for opening and it was so quiet so this is worth adding to your Ubud bucket list even if you are worried it may be too busy.

9. Explore the wood carving market to see the craftsman in Ubud

Ubud is famed for its creative workforce from wood carving to painting and traditional Balinese dancing.

Steffan had decided even before we had even drafted our itinerary that he wanted a Traditional Balinese Wooden Mask to be home and hang on our wall so it made sense to head to the market and see the carvers in action!

Watching the woodcarver’s work was incredible, carving whilst holding things with your feet? It was one of the most unique things we did in Ubud and one to ensure you add to your Ubud itinerary.

You do have a salesperson who walks you around and explains the wood carving process and whilst it was helpful to hear more about it all he did get rather pushy when it came to us visiting the shop.

He did tell us to repeatedly take our time whilst browsing the masks but then jumped in every 2 seconds to try and sell us the one we were ‘browsing’ so it felt a little pressured.

We did however choose to buy a mask and were very happy with it and whilst it was far more expensive than the local shops we were assured that it was excellent and genuine quality and actually, we love it!

If you love being in nature and have opted for the green and more rural area of Ubud as your base but you are missing golden sandy beaches then a trip to the nearby Nusa Dua may be the perfect way of getting your beach fix!

Less than 90 minutes from Ubud, Nusa Dua is a resort area packed with pristine beaches, thrilling diving opportunities and lots of high-end restaurants.

The easiest way of getting to Nusa Dua Beach would be to use Bluebird and book via their app for a cost of around 25 USD.

Alternatively, if you are travelling on a budget then you could consider the bus which takes around 1 hour and 45 minutes into the resort area for a cost of around 6 USD.

Be sure to check out this guide on the very best and worst things about visiting Nusa Dua before adding it to your itinerary!

And if you are looking for another beautiful Coastal destination to visit after your trip to Ubud then we would recommend checking out the island of Nusa Penida.

11. Do the Campuhan Ridge walk at sunset

Listed frequently in the top 10 things to experience the Campuhan Ride walk is an easy hiking trail set above Ubud and is just over 1.5km long.

Nothing was quite as green as the photographs and it was super cloudy but even so, it was a nice way to spend an hour at sunset and another ‘must do’ ticked off our Bali Bucket list.

Final thoughts on what to do in Ubud Bali

Ubud has so many options and things to do for all tastes and abilities and it’s one of the things we enjoyed the most about Ubud.

That said, we do prefer to try and find things that are a little more non-touristy and off the beaten path and some of our favourite Ubud bucket list experiences were those that not many Bali guidebooks mention such as the stunning Munduk Village or visiting the art markets.

if you are visiting Ubud for a short time it’s certainly worth adding some of these lesser-known things to do in Ubud to your bucket list to get a feel for authentic Bali life and culture.