Bali
Coastal & Beaches · Nature · Relaxed
An island of rice terraces, temples and surf beaches, where every village keeps its own ceremonies and offerings of flowers line the pavements. Stay in Ubud for the green heart of it, by the coast for the sea, or split your days between the two. A week goes quickly.
A weekend here might look like
- Morning: Tegallalang Rice Terrace - Terraces carved into a valley north of Ubud and watered by subak, the island's centuries-old shared irrigation. Paths lead down through the rice.
- Lunch: Cafe Lotus - An Ubud institution since 1983, set right at the entrance to Pura Taman Saraswati, with tables looking out across the lotus pond to the water temple. Family-run, with Balinese and Indonesian cooking from their own land: nasi campur, satay, a mini rijsttafel to share, and pisang goreng to finish. Sit at a table or take your shoes off in one of the pavilions. Evenings bring gamelan and traditional dance at the temple. Come early for breakfast and you may have the view to yourself.
- Afternoon: Uluwatu Temple - A sea temple on a clifftop some 70 metres above the Indian Ocean at the island's southern tip, where the Kecak fire dance is performed against the sea at sunset. Keep sunglasses close; the resident monkeys are quick.
More to explore
- Tanah Lot - A Hindu temple on a rock just offshore, reached on foot at low tide, and one of Bali's most photographed places as the sun goes down.
- Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary - A forest reserve in the middle of Ubud with temples, a ravine and hundreds of long-tailed macaques. Keep bags zipped.
- Pura Tirta Empul - A water temple founded in the tenth century around a sacred spring, where Balinese come to pray and bathe beneath the spouts of the purification pools.
- Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park - A 60-hectare cultural park on the Bukit Peninsula, built around a 121-metre statue of Vishnu riding the mythical eagle Garuda, taller than the Statue of Liberty and visible across southern Bali. Wander the limestone corridors and the Lotus Pond, an open-air arena framed by towering stone pillars, and catch traditional Balinese dance through the day, from Barong to Kecak. There are panoramic views over the island, restaurants and shops, and plenty of room to spend a few hours. The walk up to the statue is steep, so take the shuttle up and stroll back down.
- This Is Bali - Balinese Food & Desserts - A modern Balinese eatery on Jalan Goutama, where you order with stamps: tick the boxes and build your own nasi campur from the components. The food is properly Balinese rather than toned down, with jackfruit curry, chicken satay, corn fritters, coconut vegetables and a Balinese omelette among the picks, plus desserts that reimagine traditional sweets. Clean white interiors, generous space between tables, and small touches like a cold scented towel on arrival. Vegetarians do unusually well here. It gets busy at meal times.
- Naughty Nuri's Warung Seminyak - Ribs and martinis, the formula that made Nuri's famous. What started as a roadside warung in Ubud runs here as a big, loud, open-sided room on Jalan Mertanadi, seating 130 with a charcoal grill smoking away. The pork ribs are the reason to come: marinated in Balinese spices, flame-grilled and glazed in the house BBQ sauce, tender enough to fall apart. The martinis are famously large. There's pork belly, satay, grilled fish and salads too, plus truffle fries and margaritas. Come early or late, because the queue is real.
- Seniman Coffee - Ubud's serious coffee address, on quiet Jalan Sri Wedari just off the main road. Beans are sourced green and roasted on site, with a focus on light-roast single origins from across Indonesia, brewed by syphon, pour-over or espresso by baristas who'll happily talk you through it. A flavour wheel on the wall helps you choose. Sit on the open verandah in one of their rocking chairs with breakfast or cake, and browse the shop for beans, brewing gear and upcycled glassware on your way out.
- Lazy Cats Cafe - An upstairs café, bar and gallery on Ubud's main road, easy to walk straight past from the street. Inside it opens up: industrial-bohemian, vintage furniture, plants and skylights, with a terrace overlooking the traffic and shopfronts below. The menu is vegetarian and vegan, colourful and built on local produce, and the coffee is among the best-rated in town. Settle in with a book, a matcha or a cocktail and stay a while. That's the whole idea.
- Sisterfields - Australian café culture transplanted to Seminyak, opposite Seminyak Village, and the default brunch answer for most of the neighbourhood. All-day breakfast is the drawcard: truffle scrambled eggs, bacon benedict, poached eggs that reviewers rate as the island's best, alongside pastries, salads and sandwiches. Good coffee, fresh juices, cocktails if you're staying on. Bright, busy and always buzzing. Expect a queue at peak times, and a bill above Bali average.