Bali's Ubud Area Advice Guide

Ubud is for most people where the start of the "Real Bali" begins. Some people quaff at the notion that the tourist areas of the south are in some way not "real". But unlike the physical attributes people like The Lonely Planet give this term (they scorn it). It is not so much about the number of buildings, but of attitudes and way of life. What you see in the people of Ubud is not that far changed from before the advent of mass tourism, What you see in the tourist south is a product of mass tourism. So you will find Ubud and other areas further out still, normally much gentler on your soul. Of course, there are always exceptions to this "Once out of the south" generalization. But most exceptions are always where there is mass tourism, normally day trippers from the south (namely Besakih and Kintamani); plus, of course, Lovina.

Weather wise, the Ubud area can get hot. But generally speaking it is quite a bit cooler than the beach resorts further south. This is due in part to it's elevation, plus also the cool mountain breezes that flow down the river valleys from Mt. Batur. So, if you are in a hotel set amongst rice fields, or along a river valley. Air conditioning is seldom required at night.

Ubud is remarkable in that is has a high density of hotels and visitors, but has far fewer hawkers (salespeople) patrolling the streets. Sure, they do exist, but they tend to be selling transport, newspapers and fixed price tickets to one of the many nightly dance performances in the area. Not temporary tattoos and fake Rolex watches. Oh sure, if you venture into the Ubud Art Market (also sells essentials), you will be hailed by watch stand sales people, etc. there. But you can just politely walk by, not have them follow you for 500 meters! The art market is to most visitors highly interesting and a good place to buy many low cost items. The streets all around the market are also brimming with crafts shops, restaurants and more. But these tend to have higher quality and prices.

Hotel wise, Ubud can actually be fairly well divided into 5 areas. Monkey Forest Road, Central Ubud, Penestanan, Campuhan River Valley, Ayung River Valley.

The Monkey Forest Road, and let us include Nyuhkunning, the other side of the "forest" (small wooded area). Is where you will find the greatest density of accommodations. Wrongly described as a backpacker area, it has a number of basic, plus luxurious hotels, and everything in between. Of course, it is harder to enjoy the wide open spaces here with so many fellow travelers / rooms. But it does have a good range of fashionable shops and cafes that lead all the way to the market and the shopping areas there too.

Central Ubud is really the area around the main road, Jalan Raya. Here you will find the greatest number of crafts and art shops, especially if you include Jalan Hanoman which leads off this road on the other side of the art market (to Monkey Forest Road). This area is more given to shops and restaurants, but accommodations do exist here to.

Penestanan is really the western outskirts of Ubud, about a 15 to 20 minute walk to the market. But, set amongst rice fields, it is a lot more airy than the town center. Also, Penestanan is the home of the "Young Artists". Dutch inspired artists that years ago developed a new painting style to traditional Balinese methods.

The Campuhan River neighbors Penenstanan along the main (and often busy) road north. Despite the proximity to this road however, many of the hotels whose entrance is on this road, actually sit upon the extremely serene / peaceful Campuhan River valley itself. The river is not that large, but the valley is lush. With Alang Alang grass and many palm trees, birds, dragonflies and fireflies. Because the hotel area is spread quite a long way along this valley. A walk from it's first hotel, The Tjampuhan, would only take you 10 minutes to the Art Market. A walk from it's furthest hotel, Bunga Permai, would take you a good 30 minutes more!

Much further out / west from Ubud, after the western most extremities of Penestanan, you come to the impressive Ayung River Valley. Used by the white water rafting companies, the river is quite large and the valley wide. Some of the super expensive / luxury hotels are located in this area. However, despite being included in most travel guides as part of Ubud. For most, it is much to far to walk (would take an hour to the art market). So it is fairly isolated.

Some of these are a considerable distance from, and therefore not really part of Ubud. But they are often categorized as such. The main crafts villages are Celuk (for silver), Sukawati (for Wayang Kulit puppets and baskets), Batubulan (for stone carvers), Blahbatuh (for Gamelan), and perhaps most famously Mas (for wood carvings and dance masks). Mas in particular makes for a good hotel destination, due to the picturesque rice fields (and their resultant cool breezes), plus proximity / easy access to a number of other areas.

We donate all of our direct reservation earnings from the hotels and villas on our site to a charity in Bali, which helps deprived Balinese children. When you book with and then stay and pay a hotel or villa in the Ubud area directly via our site you are basically making a donation to a very worthy cause at the same time, thank you (see our charity page).

If you would like to correct anything you believe is wrong or out-of-date here or provide extra text that could help others get the best out of the Ubud area please feel free to contact us. If you would like more tourism information on any aspect of travel to / holidays in Ubud, please visit our associated Bali Travel Forum.

If you have a favorite hotel or villa in Ubud or nearby which does not have a direct reservations facility with us, please feel free to either contact us with a name and email address for that hotel / villa or ask them to visit our site and register. The more hotels and villas around Ubud that join Travel Ethos, the more we can help needy children in Bali.