ubud Archives - SandSpice

15
Jul 24
3

Ubud Bali Royal Palace 🎼 Music & Dance

Ubud, located in the uplands of Bali, offers a captivating blend of culture, art, and natural beauty. As the island’s cultural capital, Ubud boasts colorful art galleries, engaging museums, and serene temples set against jade-hued rice fields.

Don’t miss the Locavore restaurant, renowned for its fusion cuisine, or the picturesque Campuhan Ridge Walk with stunning valley views.

For an artistic experience, visit the Museum Puri Lukisan. Whether you’re dining at upscale restaurants or witnessing elegant Balinese dance performances, Ubud promises an unforgettable journey. 🌿🎨🍽️

Highlights

Ubud Activities to keep you in the zone…

Our first destination in Bali was the spiritual city of Ubud. We divided our time (4 nights) between 2 guesthouses on either side of the city center. One of the places we would stay had a large swimming pool: An important feature since Ubud is a good distance inland – 13 kms from the nearest beach.

We also earmarked a few promising restaurants.

The goal of searching out all possible activities in Ubud is not necessarily the best way to appreciate and enjoy this traditional and cultural town. The ideal thing to do here is just to relax and soak up the atmosphere, and then go out and sample some of the excellent food on offer.

Of course there are a number of venues at the center of town that you should not (and cannot) avoid.

You don’t need more than 3 or 4 days to discover what Ubud has to offer. That gives plenty of opportunities to visit the town, wander around the paddy fields, check out the central temples, idle away a few hours by your guesthouse pool, and target a few outstanding warungs.

You’ll find plenty of statues with tea-towels on their heads…

Music & Dance at the Royal Palace

Located next to the central crossroad of Ubud is the Puri Saren Royal Palace. Entrance is free, and you can wander around during the day to enjoy the Balinese architecture and the relaxing garden settings.

The place is not very big, so you don’t need more than 20 minutes or so to take a look around.

They’re small, but don’t to mess with these guys

Denpasar to Ubud

Every few nights you can pay to watch ceremonial Balinese dancers perform inside the Palace courtyards.

Alternatively, you can just turn up outside the Palace to catch one or more of the regular street performances of music and dance.

Evening ceremony in front of the Royal Palace

Most nights in Ubud there is an organised performance in or around the various temples. These are normally scheduled between 7 pm and 9 pm and are free to watch.

Ubud – Traditional Balinese music and dance

After 9 pm everything starts to shut down as the tourists wait to take their complimentary shuttles back to their guesthouses.

Visit Monkey Forest

Monkey Forest is apparently the biggest tourist attraction in Ubud. You can pay IDR 50,000 (€3) per person for the privilege of wandering around this enclosed area which is home to some 600 or so Macaque monkeys.

“Hey, Bubbles! I can see my house from here…”

The monkeys are small but can be quite aggressive and daunting in numbers. Feed them at your peril! The forest has onsite medics available to treat the inevitable monkey bites and scratches.

If you don’t relish the full-on experience, you can still observe the monkeys close up without even entering the forest. The monkeys go where they like – in or out of the forest – and they don’t much care if you’ve bought a ticket or not.

Just make sure you hide away any food.

On the hunt outside <em><strong>Monkey Forest</strong></em>

On the hunt outside Monkey Forest

We found scores of monkeys hanging around the car park and the outer walls of the forest. They offered plenty of entertainment and photo opportunities.

Overspend at Ubud Market?

You will no doubt be sold the idea that the Ubud market is the place to buy all your holiday souvenirs and trinkets – Don’t believe the hype.

The Ubud market is undoubtedly the most expensive place to do your shopping. If you’re fresh off the boat, and not yet up to speed with real prices, you’ll end up with a big hole in your wallet.

Even if you have a good idea what you’re doing, the shopkeepers drive a hard bargain. After all, you’re just another tourist and there’s no shortage of those in Ubud. This applies not just to souvenirs but also to the fruit and vegetable sellers. Best head away from the center to do your shopping.

Better still, wait until you get back to Denpasar where you’ll find some real bargains – exactly the same stuff as in Ubud but at a fraction of the price.

Ubud Bali Activities

Following our 4-day break, we were next heading to a large, lush island off the south coast of Bali. We planned to stay in Lembongan for 8 nights. Our idea was just to relax on and around the island’s beaches, and enjoy some leisurely water sports.

All Hotel Options in Bali

If you enjoyed Ubud Bali Royal Palace – Music & Dance, check out our Bali & Lembongan 2-island itinerary. You may also like:

Lembongan Island Transfers 🛥️ from Ubud to Mushroom Beach — Lembongan Island Transfers 🛥️
Lembongan island transfers don't feature any boat-boarding jetties: Get ready to wade into the water up to your thighs to embark/disembark.

Death in Lembongan - Invite to a Funeral
During our time in Bali and Lembongan we'd already had a taste of the vibrant life on the islands: Now we would learn a little about death in Lembongan.

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10
Mar 24
2

Ubud Bali Hotels & Airport Transfers 🌄

Tags : ubud

Following an overnight stay in London and a short break in Hong Kong, we were keen to reach the relative peace and tranquillity of a 4-night stay in Bali. We had chosen two very different styles of accommodation for our hotels in Ubud: A family-run guesthouse and an upmarket Spa and Gallery resort.

But first of all we needed to arrange our transfer from the airport at Denpasar to the centre of Ubud.

Highlights

Ubud Airport Transfers

The first thing you’ll need on arrival at Denpasar airport is some cash. There are several ATM machines available, and for around €90 you can withdraw IDR 1,500,000.

You’ll be needing some of this to pay for your taxi.

Ubud Bali

The most straight-forward way of getting from Denpasar-Bali Ngurah Rai airport to Ubud is by taking a taxi from the ‘official’ taxi counter opposite the Arrivals gate.

There are prices to various destinations displayed on a board above the counter, but you can negotiate the price based on exactly where you want to go with the guy at the counter. Just make sure you’ve agreed on the price with the driver himself before setting off in the taxi.

Denpasar to Ubud

We agreed to pay IDR 300,000 (€18) to reach our guesthouse on the north side of Ubud. The trip takes about an hour, and you pass through a couple of toll booths, for which which you need to pay the driver some small amounts in cash.

A constant traffic jam heading into Ubud

Ubud Bali Hotels

Although the centre of Ubud is relatively small, the outlying areas – where many of the guesthouses are located – spread out quite a distance to the north and to the south. For this reason we chose two places to stay, one just to the north of the centre and one to the south.

The first of these was the highly-recommended family-run Lilacita Inn on Jalan Suweta, one kilometer north of the central Ubud Royal Palace. The second was an upmarket Spa and Gallery resort located 2½ kilometers south of the Palace.

All Hotel Options in Bali

What better location for breakfast?

Ubud Hotels – The Lilacita Inn

We couldn’t have had a better introduction to the cultural town of Ubud than spending our first night at the Lilacita Inn.

With its Balinese-style architecture, intricate carvings and internal courtyard garden this guesthouse just oozes serenity and charm.

Ubud hotels – Entrance to Lilacita Inn

We were given a light and comfortable room on the far side of the courtyard, and the next morning enjoyed our breakfast on a raised dais in the centre of the courtyard garden.

We paid IDR 350,000 (€21) for our one-night stay, including breakfast.

The Lilacita Inn is a 15-minute walk from the Palace and central markets. However there are a few really good restaurants on this side of town, notably the Sweet Orange Warung, which is hidden away from the streets – way out in the midst of the paddy fields.

The Sapulidi Resort & Spa

If you’re looking for a more upmarket oasis away from the noise and traffic of central Ubud, then the Sapulidi Resort & Spa is the place to go.

Privately located in a beautifully landscaped area of mini-lakes and paddy fields, the 4-star Sapulidi Resort offers everything you need for a relaxing and luxurious break.

Our Balinese-style villa included an ensuite outdoor bathroom featuring a large private pool.

All essentials were available in the room including fridge, safe, mosquito net, kettle, wifi and tv. The resort facilities include a large infinity swimming pool, spa & massage boutique and open air restaurant.

Although located 2½ kilometers south of the Palace, the Sapulidi Resort offers a complimentary shuttle-bus service to and from the center of town.

Sapulidi infinity pool

This resort is incredible value for money at just IDR 525,000 (€32) per night, including a really good buffet breakfast.

We stayed for three nights, but would readily have stayed longer.

There are some great attractions in the center of Ubud, including Monkey Forest, the Royal Palace, the markets, and a variety of excellent restaurants.

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Tag Archives: ubud

Jul 24

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