Our 14 Favourite Things To Do in Ubud at Night

While Ubud may not have the wild beach bars and huge nightclubs that you find in coastal towns like Canggu and Seminyak, it still has its fair share of things to do after dark, with something to suit everyone.

Being night owls ourselves (no sunrise yoga here!), we've spent the last few years hunting out all of the best things to do in Ubud at night. These are 14 of our favourite evening activities, from cultural performances and night tours to unique dining experiences and a selection of live music bars.

1. Watch legong dance at Ubud Palace

Ubud Palace is one of Ubud's top attractions, known for its beautiful Balinese architecture. But at night, it becomes even more magical as it transforms into a stage for one of Bali's most popular traditional dance performances.

The style of dance performed at the palace is classical Legong, which was once a form of royal entertainment and is characterised by elaborate costumes, intricate finger movements, complicated footwork, and intense facial expressions.

The talented dancers act out stories and legends from Balinese mythology, accompanied by a gamelan (traditional Balinese orchestra). The performance sometimes features other styles of traditional Balinese dance too, most commonly barong (featuring mythological lion-like creatures).

The dance show takes place every evening at 7:30pm and lasts just over an hour. The show requires a ticket, and you can either pre-book online or pay at the door.

Seating is arranged around the venue on a first-come, first-served basis, even with an advance ticket. We always try to arrive by at least 7pm to get a good seat. Most latecomers end up sitting on the floor.

2. Grab sunset dinner and drinks at Sayan Point

Sitting on a ridge above the Ayung River on the outskirts of town, Sayan Point is where you'll find one of our favourite restaurants in Ubud for dinner with a view. It has spacious open-air seating with breathtaking panoramic vistas of the river valley, lush rice terraces, and jungle below.

While it's a lovely spot to visit any time of day (there's even a small infinity pool for a dip), we love coming here in the evening to experience one of Ubud’s most spectacular sunsets.

You can come just for sunset drinks or enjoy dinner from their Indonesian and Western menu. It's not gourmet dining, but the nasi goreng kampung (fried rice) was delicious. They also have burgers, pizzas, steaks, and more. Prices were surprisingly affordable given the incredible view.

There's a 150,000 IDR ⓘ minimum spend per person to visit, but we easily met this with a main meal and drink each (a couple of cocktails will do too). It gets busy around sunset, so we'd suggest reserving a table by contacting them on Instagram, so you can secure a good view.

The restaurant is located in Sayan, a small village on the outskirts of Ubud, around a 25-minute drive from the centre by car or 15 minutes by scooter – set Google Maps to walking directions for the quicker route.

3. Enjoy Ubud’s live music scene

Nightlife in Ubud leans more toward easygoing evenings than wild, all-night parties. Many bars and restaurants host regular live music nights, featuring everything from jazz and blues to rock and Latin sounds.

Here are some of our top picks for the best live music venues in Ubud:

4. Sing your heart out at MediaFun karaoke

If you'd prefer to be the ones singing, then don't miss MediaFun, a unique entertainment centre in central Ubud with board games, pool tables, and, most importantly, private karaoke rooms!

Each karaoke room is kitted out with cosy sofas, giant TVs, and modern karaoke machines loaded with the latest hits and old-school classics. We asked for some extra microphones and turned it into a big group sing-along with friends.

Open until 2am every night, the karaoke rooms start from just 200,000 IDR ⓘ per hour (up to 4 people), while the larger rooms are 500,000 IDR ⓘ (up to 20 people). We were having so much fun that we ended up staying for 3 hours.

We could order drinks directly with a waitress who brought them over from the bar next door. The cocktails were very affordable at just 75,000 IDR ⓘ each.

The karaoke rooms can also double up as private cinema rooms if that's more your thing. It’s a good idea to book a room ahead of time. There are discounts if you visit before 6pm.

5. Go for cocktails at The Lair

The Lair is another of our favourite bars that's perfect for a quieter and more intimate night out in Ubud, especially if you love creative cocktails.

Hidden under Ubud's iconic Campuhan Bridge, the Lair sits on the edge of a jungle-covered ravine, with views of the winding Campuhan River below. It has a relaxed but stylish feel, with a unique cave-like entrance, elegant decor, and dim lighting.

Both the food and drinks menus are presented like playing cards/tarot cards, which was a fun and unusual way to pick and order. We tried several of their signature cocktails, featuring tasty tropical infusions. "The Sun from Kintamani" was my fave!

The Lair is a relatively small bar, with only a handful of tables overlooking the river, so it's best to book a table in advance. It's open until midnight, but has a much calmer nighttime vibe than the busy bars on the main street.

6. Watch Ubud’s Kecak fire dance

Kecak is another of our favourite styles of traditional Balinese dance, with dramatic choreography and fire. Unlike Legong, there are no instruments. But rather, it's accompanied by dozens of men chanting “cak-cak-cak” in a trance-like state.

The performance tells a story from the Hindu epic Ramayana, in which Sita, the wife of Prince Rama, is kidnapped by the demon king Ravana. There’s a fiery climax where bamboo torches are lit, and fire is thrown around.

The best-known Kecak dance in Bali is held every evening at Uluwatu Temple, but we recently discovered that you can enjoy this unique cultural performance in Ubud too. We found the Ubud experience more intimate as the venue is smaller and you’re closer to the performers.

The Kecak dance performances in Ubud are held at four different venues, which vary by day of the week:

• Monday & Wednesday: Agung Rai Museum of Art

• Sunday & Tuesday: Pura Dalem Kutuh Kaja

• Saturday: Desa lan Puseh Temple

• Thursday: at Peliatan Palace Ubud

7. Have a laugh at Secret Comedy Club

With a range of international and local comedians calling the island home, stand-up comedy is becoming a popular evening activity in Bali. One of the more popular companies is Secret Comedy Club, who host events at different locations in Bali throughout the week.

Their Ubud show is held every Friday night at an undisclosed venue, which you’ll only find out after booking. Although we’ve not attended the Ubud show yet, we’ve enjoyed the same show in other locations and can definitely recommend it.

With just a small crowd of around 20-25 people, the intimate show centres around audience interaction, so go with an open mind and be ready to join in. While some parts were funnier than others, we had lots of laughs and made some new friends too.

8. Paint your own dinner at Seven Paintings

Seven Paintings is an unusual art-themed immersive dinner experience that’s located within Ubud's Kaamala Luxury Resort. It's open to both resort guests and outside visitors.

The unique dining experience combines a seven-course meal with amazing 3D visuals and interactive storytelling, led by the Mona Lisa herself. During our dinner, we enjoyed colour-changing cocktails, desserts engulfed in dry ice, and many incredible food illusions.

Each course took inspiration from a different well-known artist, including Michelangelo, Banksy, and Van Gogh, with edible artworks and the opportunity to paint our own masterpieces with puree-based paints.

Seating at Seven Paintings Ubud is limited to just 16 guests per session, so it’s important to make a reservation in advance.

9. Enjoy a magical dinner at Merlin's

Right in the heart of Ubud, Merlin’s is an amazing magic-themed restaurant with mystical candle-lit tables, robed waiters, delicious and innovative dishes, and elaborate presentation (think plenty of dry ice!).

It's the first restaurant in the world where “the food chooses you.” To order, we were each required to draw three tarot cards from a deck, which represented our past, present, and future, as well as our starter, main, and dessert.

You can either stick with the dishes chosen for you, or you can opt to swap any of them out for something else on the menu. I stuck with all three of my dishes, while Emily is a little fussier and decided to swap for others on the menu.

Merlin’s also hosts magical theater and dinner shows in their hidden backroom bar, accessible through a secret library door in their magic shop. You can book this on their website by selecting 'Merlin's Secret' from the homepage.

10. See a traditional Balinese shadow puppet show

For one of the most unique things to do in Ubud at night, head to Oka Kartini in the town centre to watch a "Wayang Kulit" performance, aka a traditional Balinese shadow puppet show.

Shadow puppets are one of Bali's oldest and most sacred performing art forms, with intricately designed leather puppets that tell stories from Hindu epics behind a large silk screen, accompanied by a traditional Gamelan orchestra.

Oka Kartini hosts traditional puppet shows in Ubud 3 nights a week at 8pm, every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. The theatre also has a workshop and gallery where you can admire many beautiful puppets before the show begins.

The puppet show lasted over an hour, with around 95% of it in Balinese language (with occasional jokes in English). We were given a sheet with the story and a brief explanation at the start, but still found it a little difficult to follow. We really enjoyed the experience, but it may not be for everyone (read: not for kids).

11. Follow the immersive light trail at Hikaria

One of the newest nighttime activities in Ubud is the Hikaria Night Walk, opened in late 2025, which brings together nature, culture, and technology.

Set among the forests and rice terraces of north Ubud, Hikaria is an immersive nighttime walking trail that features colourful light installations and cutting-edge projection mapping to tell a story from Balinese mythology.

Each of the installations tells a chapter of a story between the God of Light and the God of Shadow, bringing in the theme of animism, or the Balinese belief that everything has life, with spirits dwelling in trees, rivers, wind, and flowers.

Our favourite installation was the giant moon surrounded by mist, greenery, and lights, which had a really ethereal, fairytale-esque vibe. There was also a colourful interactive field that came alive as you walked, and a cool laser show. Watch our full video here.

The experience starts from 7pm each night, and it's best to pre-book a time slot. It took us around 45 minutes to explore all of the displays. There were staff across the walk who helped take photos of us for free, which was a great extra touch.

Hikaria is around a 20-30 drive north of downtown Ubud. You can grab dinner at the on-site Green Kubu restaurant before or after to make the most of your visit.

12. Hang out at an Ubud pool club after dark

Ubud's famous pool clubs aren't just daytime hangouts. Many stay open until the evening, with sunset views, happy hour cocktail deals, and live DJs creating a fun vibe after dark.

These are a few of our favourite Ubud pool clubs to stick around at until the evening:

13. Try local flavours at a night market

For a taste of local life, one of the top things to do in Ubud at night is to visit the food markets, where you can enjoy tasty traditional dishes, market snacks, and delicious Balinese desserts.

There are two big local food markets close to Ubud, Gianyar and Sayan, but neither is located right in the town centre, so you do need transport to get to them.

Gianyar Night Market, the bigger of the two, is a 30-minute drive east, while Sayan Night Market is 20 minutes southwest. If you love food and want to experience authentic local culture, it’s worth the trip to escape the tourist crowds.

Both night markets are open from 5-11pm. We took a guided tour to visit Gianyar Night Market, which was a great way to find the best stalls and learn about the local food scene. We tried a super authentic Babi Guling (spit-roasted pork), Bali’s most popular local dish, spicy local treats, and lots of Indonesian sweets.

14. Join a fireflies tour of Taro Village

Around 30 minutes north of Ubud, Taro Village is known for its stunning nature, authentic cultural experiences, and, after dark, its many fireflies. Taro is one of the few places in Bali where pesticides aren't used on the fields, meaning the local firefly population has flourished!

We took an evening walking tour and firefly experience in Taro. Our tour started with a visit to a traditional Balinese home to learn about local village life, followed by a delicious local dinner overlooking the terraces at sunset. After dark, we headed into the fields to find the fireflies.

While we couldn't capture much with our camera, we saw loads of fireflies and even had some come land right on us. Our private guide was fantastic at teaching us all about fireflies, like why they light up, their lifecycle, and mating patterns.

The fireflies tour is definitely one of the most unique evening experiences in Ubud, and something we'd recommend for something a little different from the normal after-dark activities.