Wellness Guide To Ubud, Bali

Ubud wasn’t anything like I imagined — I envisioned a peaceful little village in the jungle with lots of yoga. Yes, there’s LOTS of yoga. Yes, there’s peaceful pockets… but WOW, Ubud is so much larger [+ crazier] than I imagined. It took me 5 days to let go of my expectations of Ubud + instead, appreciate it for what it is. There’s magic in the chaos.

Monkeys, yoga sanctuaries, vegan cafes everywhere, aggressive moped drivers, so much trash, LUSH LUSH LUSH vibes, massage spas on every corner, the BEST food, rich culture, ceremonies, all the spirituality, + the nicest people… Ubud is a must stop if you’re visiting Bali — especially if you are into all things wellness.

A note on expectations: I came to Ubud seeking an Eat, Pray, Love experience. I imagined myself sitting in peaceful cafes, meditating in lush gardens, + maybe even having a session with a guru. 5 days in + my cortisol rising every time I step onto the streets with the swarms of mopeds… I realized I had to release my expectations of Ubud. Even though it wasn’t the oasis I envisioned [+ I didn’t have the “spiritual awakening” I had hoped for], it was exactly the trip I needed.

Stay

So many choices! There are so many villas on Airbnb that look incredible. We’ve been to Ubud twice, + both times we stayed at amazing hotels:

• Bisma Eight Villas: We stayed here with Noah was 6m old because we wanted to be walking distance* from the heart of Ubud, but on a quieter road. Bisma Eight Villas is a luxury boutique hotel with an incredible farm to table breakfast + the villas are stunning. We looked into staying here our second time in Ubud, but all the villas have stairs… so we were a bit worried about that with Noah being 23m now + at a much different stage of life from last time we visited ; )
• Plataran: We stayed here when Noah was 23m old + Gabriel was 3m old. Highly recommend this spot, especially if you have toddlers! It was on a gorgeous rice field + truly felt like we were in a sanctuary in the heart of Ubud. There’s also a “kids club” that Noah loved, + it was walking distance to two of our favorite yoga spots — Yoga Barn + Lumeria. It had a complementary buffet breakfast, but we preferred to go to Suka every day for brunch + it was right next door! I actually preferred this location in Ubud compared to Bisma Eight Villas.
• If you’re looking to stay at a yoga retreat, check out Yoga Barn + Radiantly Alive.
• If you want to stay at a luxury resort outside the city, check out: Four Seasons [this is walkable to city center!], Capella Ubud, + COMO Shambhala Estate.

*While everything *is* walking distance, everything seems to take ~20 minutes to walk to. However, walking is typically faster than taking a taxi because the traffic is INSANE. Unless you rent a moped — but I was too worried to use a moped, especially since we were traveling with Noah. [But let’s be honest, I would also be worried without Noah lol]

Coffee + Cafes

I’ve never had so much FOMO when it comes to exploring all the food in the city. Balinese food is absolutely incredible, but there’s also SO many hip, healthy places [LOTS of vegan]. This list may seem extensive… but I could have honestly listed 100 cafes + restaurants I wanted to go to! These were at the top of the list. I didn’t go to all of them, but I hope to someday!

• Suka Espresso — favorite cafe! Iced americano with coconut cream was a staple every day we stayed at Plataran (it’s right next door!). I also loved their super shake, smoothie bowls, + poke bow. Everything is so good!
• PUKAKO — go here at the start of the Sari Organic Walk… it has the best views!
• Yellow Flower Cafe — go here after taking a class at Intuitive Flow
• KAFE — LOVED this cafe. Huge healthy menu + everything is super nourishing.
• Alchemy — raw vegan restaurant with an unreal dessert bar. Favorite banana pancakes!
• Ubud Coffee Roastery — love their cold brew. It’s on a super cute side street with lots of boutiques!
• Blend Cafe Ubud — beautiful smoothie bowls (see photo below!) near the Monkey Forest!
• Mother — “inspired by mothers around the world.” Yes please!
• Milk + Madu — popular cafe for brunch, but also has lots of lunch + dinner options like pizza, burgers, etc.
• Namaskara Coffee + Superfoods
• The Seeds Of Life
• Sage
• Sayuri Healing Food
• Alam Green Lotus
• Flourish By Heart Space
• Ivy Cafe
• Bake Pastry + Coffee
• Dharma Coffee + Juice
• Organic Farmer

Restaurants

A “warung” is a family owned business in Indonesia. You have to visit at least one warung [if not a lot more!].

• Herbivore by Locavore — MUST. Our favorite meal in Ubud! Plant based 7 course tasting meal. Make a reservation!
• Nusantara — MUST. We went twice it was that good. Herbivore’s sister restaurant but more causal. Great date night spot!
• Sun Sun Warung — MUST. Our fav warung.
• Mads Lange — MUST. Especially if you want to get out of town + have the most breathtaking views ever ever ever. Highly recommend pairing this meal with Tirta Empul.
• Mudra Cafe — MUST. Gorgeous setting with ayurvedic island food. Make sure to get the Japanese seaweed tacos… so good!
• ZEST — MUST. The best vibes + incredible plant based food.
• Satu Mangkok
• Folk Pool + Gardens
• Merlin’s
• Herb Library Bali
• Room 4 Dessert
• Warung Pulau Kelapa
• Ely’s Kitchen
• KEMULAN Kitchen + Culture
• Jungle Fish Bali
• Mama San
• Seeds Eatery
• Balinese Home Cooking
• Sacred Rice

Wellness

#1] ALL THE YOGA — Yoga Barn, Lumeria, Radiantly Alive, Intuitive Flow, Ubud Yoga Center, Ubud Yoga House. The yoga in Ubud is truly best in class. Radiantly Alive was my favorite vibe, Yoga Barn is the “OG” (please make sure to go to a class with Byron — he was my favorite yoga teacher!), + Intuitive Flow has the best view. A lot of the yoga studios have many different workshops, meditations, sound healings, etc… so make sure to check those out too!

#2] Walk the rice fields — MUST. We absolutely loved the Sari Organic Walk. Stop at PUKAKO for coffee + walk all the way to Pyramids Of Chi. You’ll pass through many cute cafes, small art shops, + stunning rice field views. It’s so peaceful. I highly recommend that you do this the first day you arrive in Ubud THIS is what I imagined Ubud to be. Another rice field walk we did was Kajeng Rice Fields… although this one definitely gets more treacherous/jungle vibes.

#3] Pyramids Of Chi— Tons of sound healing options [+ other spiritual offering]. Super cute restaurant as well!

#4] Get a massage—Karsa Spa comes highly recommended. We tried to get reservations, but it was fully booked! They recently opened a sister spa called Terra Spa. There are massage spas everywhere [+ they are so affordable!], so try a few. You need to try the Balinese Massage + Flower Bath at least once.

#5] Somatic bodywork session — LOVED my “Body Oriented Therapy” session with Adriana at Lumeria. I can’t recommend it enough.

#6] EAT ALL THE FRUIT — The fruit here is the best ever. Eat it all!

Things To Explore

#1] Water blessing at Pura Tirta Empul — one of the top 3 highlights of our trip to Bali both times we visited… so, so special. Go to Mads Lange for lunch or dinner after the water blessing!

• There are so many temples in Ubud — check out this post. Saraswati Temple has Balinese dance performances at night.

#2] Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary — MUST. Do not look the monkeys in the eyes. Seriously, don’t do it. However, you can pay for a selfie with the nice monkeys lol.

#3] Rent a driver for the day — There are many “tourist” hot spots… rice fields, temples, lots of waterfalls, cooking classes, coffee tours, rafting, hiking, hot springs, etc. Choose your own adventure. Even if you don’t want to do the touristy stops, I recommend getting a driver just so you can experience Ubud outside the city center (+ most importantly, go to Pura Tirta Empul for the water blessing!). DM me on instagram @elisabethsinnott for our driver that we loved!

#4] Campuhan Ridge Walk — If you start at the temple Pura, continue to go north [past Warung Widi Coffee] + you’ll walk through a quiet village… it will lead you to Karsa Spa + Jungle Fish Bali!

#5] Take a day trip to the beach — Canggu is an hour away (read my Canggu guide here) + has such a different vibe. Surfing, super hip cafes, + amazing shopping… highly recommend checking it out!

#6] WANDER! Lose yourself in the streets. Explore the markets. Find quiet streets with beautiful views. I wish I did more wandering around Ubud, especially near the rice fields — there are so many special pockets.

Pro Tips

• Coworking: Depending on where you are staying Outpost or Beluna are great options… also, saw a lot of people on their computers at the cafes!
• Be careful of the monkeys! We saw a monkey take a woman’s belongings. Luckily there are people who work for the city with sling shots who are on the lookout for aggressive monkeys… but still! It’s scary!
• You need to be okay with the chaos of mopeds. Mopeds are everywhere. It was so wild feeling the dichotomy of being so blissed out + peaceful after an amazing yoga class, + then walking out of class into the streets + instantly feeling my cortisol rise because of all the honking + aggressive moped drivers. It took quite a few days to “get used to it,” but I finally got to a place where it didn’t bother me *as* much. “Find the calm within the chaos” was our Ubud mantra lol.
• Sadly, there’s A LOT of the trash. Look up + you’ll see the beauty of the jungle, rice fields, + green everything. Look down + you’ll see so much trash in the streets + streams. Trash gets even worse in the rainy season. We were talking to a local about it + starting in December, they won’t even surf for a few months because the ocean has so much trash in it. If you’re visiting in February, highly recommend joining Bali’s Biggest Clean Up.
• Try all the Balinese + Indonesian food. Balinese food might me my new favorite cuisine. So much flavor. So fresh. So delicious. Favorites: Gado Gado, Beef Rendang, Sambal [all the amazing sauces], + Satay Ayam.
• It’s HOT + HUMID. Plan your activities accordingly. We went to Ubud in end of October [the start of rainy season] + the weather was great. Just a lot of mosquitos during dusk + dawn… but I think that’s typical for anywhere in Bali.
• The people in Bali are so incredibly nice. Truly, the nicest people in the world. I love that everyone greets each other with so much kindness + respect — hands in a prayer position at the chest with a bow.
• Balinese people LOVE babies. If you’re traveling to Bali with a baby, you are in for a treat! Especially in Ubud, everyone was all smiles around Noah + even asking to hold him while we were out to dinner at restaurants. We worked with a few nannies while in Bali [happy to share their info — DM me on instagram @elisabethsinnott] who were AMAZING. We all cried it was time to leave [Noah included].
• It feels so, so safe in Bali. We talked to a local about it + to my understanding it is because theft is considered a very seriously crime in Balinese culture. It was very inspiring how safe it felt. [+ worth mentioning again + again — how KIND everyone was].

My thoughts on traveling to Bali with babies vs toddlers: Traveling with Noah when he was 6m old was an absolute breeze. He went with us everywhere in the Artipope carrier + many times, when we went out to eat, people who worked at the restaurant would hold him while we ate our food. Traveling with Noah when he was 23m old [+ of course having Gabriel along for the ride too at 3m old] was a totally different story. It was quite hard + we often questioned, why did we think it was a good idea to travel to Asia with two kids under two?! Ubud felt even more chaotic the second time around [for our already sensitive nervous systems as parents to a toddler] + a lot of the beautiful architecture in Bali was not “toddler friendly.” I wouldn’t necessarily recommend traveling to Ubud with a toddler, but that’s just our experience! Thankfully Plataran felt like a safe haven + Yoga Barn + Suka were both right next door… so we ended up rarely leaving our hotel + treated the week we spent in Ubud like a “retreat” [going to yoga every day + hanging out at the pool!].

Even so, Bali has a super special place in my heart. I hope you are able visit Bali to experience the kindness of the people, the beauty of the nature, + the best food in the entire world!

Did I miss any of your favorite spots in Ubud?! Let me know!

Check out my full Bali guide here — with guides to Uluwatu + Canggu!

Love,
Elisabeth