The Perfect 1-Day Ubud Itinerary with a Private Driver

Ubud is where most visitors meet the Bali they imagined: temples, rice terraces, craft markets and green river valleys. It is also spread out, slow to drive through and short on parking. With a car and a driver you can see its best parts in one day without rushing. This is the plan we suggest most often from a hotel in South Bali.

The day at a glance

Pickup at your hotel in South Bali
Tegenungan Waterfall (optional)
Sacred Monkey Forest
Ubud Palace and the art market
Lunch with a rice-field view
Tegallalang Rice Terraces
Tirta Empul Temple
Back at your hotel

That is six stops in one day. If it looks like a lot, drop the waterfall and start with the Monkey Forest. The day gets noticeably calmer.

Morning: a waterfall and a forest

Tegenungan Waterfall is the easiest big waterfall to reach from the south, about an hour from Seminyak. There are plenty of steps down and the same number back up, so wear proper shoes. Arrive before ten and you will share it with far fewer people.

The Sacred Monkey Forest is a shaded temple complex in the middle of Ubud, home to hundreds of long-tailed macaques. They are used to people and not shy. A few rules keep the visit pleasant:

Do not bring food, and do not feed them.
Put sunglasses, earrings and loose items in a closed bag.
If a monkey climbs on you, stay calm and walk on. Staff are everywhere and will help.

Midday: palace, market and lunch

Your driver drops you in the centre of Ubud, which is far easier than parking there yourself. Ubud Palace takes fifteen minutes: carved gates, quiet courtyards and no entrance fee. The art market across the street is where to look for baskets, sarongs and wood carvings. Bargain with a smile, and expect to settle a good way under the first price.

For lunch, head ten minutes out of the centre. The restaurants along the rice fields north of Ubud cost about the same as those in town, and the view is far better. Tell your driver what you feel like eating: Balinese, something lighter, or a place that works for children.

Afternoon: rice terraces and holy water

Tegallalang Rice Terraces are the stepped fields you have seen in every photo of Bali. You can look from the road in five minutes, but walk down into the valley if your knees allow it. The paths are steep and can be muddy. The swings and photo spots along the way charge their own fees.

Tirta Empul is the last stop and often the one guests remember longest. It is a temple built around a holy spring, where Balinese Hindus come to bathe under a row of stone spouts. Visitors may watch, and may join in respectfully. If you want to enter the water, bring a change of clothes; a sarong for bathing can be rented at the temple. A sarong for walking around is included with your ticket.

What it costs on top of the car

The car, driver and fuel are one fixed price. On this route you also pay:

Entrance tickets at the waterfall, the Monkey Forest, the terraces and the temple. Prices change, so ask us for the current figures. As a rough guide, set aside IDR 250,000 to 300,000 per adult for the day.
Parking, a small fee at each stop.
Lunch, at a place and a budget you choose.

Bring cash in small notes. Most ticket counters do not take cards.

What to bring

Comfortable shoes with grip
A light scarf or sarong, and shoulders covered for the temple
Sunscreen and a hat
A change of clothes if you want to bathe at Tirta Empul
Cash in rupiah

Easy ways to change the plan

Slower day: skip the waterfall and add an hour for coffee or a massage in Ubud.
With children: keep the Monkey Forest and the terraces, and replace the temple with an early return.
For walkers: start at sunrise with the Campuhan Ridge Walk, a gentle path along a grassy ridge just outside the centre.
For art lovers: swap the market for one of Ubud's painting museums.

Why a driver helps in Ubud

The stops on this route are spread over more than thirty kilometres of narrow road, and the centre of Ubud is a slow one-way loop. With a driver you are dropped at each entrance and picked up when you are ready. Nobody has to find parking, read a map or stay awake on the road home.