One Day Ubud Itinerary For First Time Visitors [2026]

Ubud is one of Bali's most popular tourist towns, famous for its vibrant arts scene, stunning natural landscapes, and rich cultural heritage. It's a must-visit destination on any Bali itinerary, even if you only have a day to spare.

While a single day only scratches the surface of what Ubud has to offer, it is enough time to visit its most iconic attractions. After countless visits, we've put together this ultimate one-day Ubud itinerary that will help you see the town's must-see sights in a limited amount of time.

Quick Summary

How To Use This Ubud Itinerary

For this itinerary, we'd suggest hiring a private driver for the first part of the day, and then exploring independently in the afternoon and evening.

A driver can pick you up from your accommodation in the morning and take you to explore the attractions on the outskirts of Ubud. Depending on where you're travelling from, you'll need to book a driver for roughly 6 hours.

After lunch, you'll be in Ubud Town Centre for the rest of the day, where everything is pretty walkable. You can book a taxi or a driver to pick you up and drive you back when you're done.

This one day Ubud itinerary can also be done using your own transportation, provided you have the correct licence. See our tips for renting a scooter in Bali for more info.

Travel Times To Ubud

The first stop in this itinerary is Pura Tirta Empul, which is located around 15km north of Ubud Town Centre. You'll need to leave bright and early to get to the temple before it gets too busy. Traffic shouldn't be too bad early in the morning.

Due to the long driving distance, we wouldn’t recommend taking a day trip to Ubud from Uluwatu or the Bukit Peninsula. You'll need to spend at least a night here to make the most of a visit.

Ubud One Day Itinerary

8:00am - Purification Ceremony at Pura Tirta Empul

Ubud is Bali's cultural and spiritual heart. And one of the best ways to experience this is by taking part in a traditional purification ceremony at Pura Tirta Empul, a magnificent Hindu water temple in North Ubud.

The temple holds great historical and spiritual significance, and its natural spring waters have long been used for a purification ritual called "Melukat", which helps cleanse the mind, body, and soul. The ritual involves praying and bathing under a series of fountains.

While there are many places to join a purification ceremony in Bali, Tirta Empul is the most popular among tourists and the most accessible from central Ubud. However, its current popularity does mean it can get extremely busy.

We've visited Tirta Empul on several occasions, but the best experience was defintiely when we arrived at 8am and had the springs entirely to ourselves. We'd highly recommend arriving as early as possible (before the day tours arrive) for the most peaceful experience.

To join a purification ceremony, you need to bring swimwear and hire a special Melukat sarong. There are changing rooms and lockers to leave belongings. It's also possible to hire a local guide to walk you through the ceremony, which is worth doing.

It took us around 1h30 in total to explore the temple and take part in a Melukat ceremony. If you want to visit the temple but not get into the water, you can arrive a little later, as you only need around 30-45 minutes here.

10:00am - Tegallalang Rice Terraces

Next, drive 15-20 minutes to the famous Tegallalang Rice Terraces in North Ubud. Recognised by UNESCO as part of Bali’s culturally important subak irrigation system, these lush green rice terraces cascade down the rolling hills, embraced by dense jungle on all sides.

Tegallalang is one of the most iconic and picturesque landscapes on the entire island, despite how busy it's become with restaurants, photo spots, and swings. As long as you set your expectations (it's no peaceful paradise), we think it's still worth visiting for first-timers in Bali.

You can go for a walk among the pretty rice paddies from one of the several entrances (quieter spots here and here). You do need to pay a small "donation" of around 25,000-50,000 IDR in cash to enter.

For a more relaxing experience, we like to stop for coffee or breakfast at one of the many cafes and restaurants overlooking the terraces. D Tukad Coffee Club and TIS Cafe are two of our favourite pool bars with gorgeous views, while Sai Mai Warung is a more casual local spot.

Midday - Ubud Sacred Monkey Forest

End the morning at the famous Ubud Monkey Forest, a beautiful nature reserve close to the town centre filled with ancient moss-covered temple ruins, peaceful ravines, and over a thousand free-roaming long-tailed macaques.

The huge reserve has long been one of Ubud's top attractions. It's one of the best places in Bali to see wild monkeys in their natural habitat, while enjoying a scenic walk through lush jungle surroundings.

The monkeys are very accustomed to humans, so you're guaranteed to see loads running around. You can even feed them and snap some photos together.

However, in recent years, some of the monkeys here have become a little too overconfident with humans. We've seen them steal visitors' belongings to barter for food. It's entertaining (if it's not happening to you), but not the most relaxing experience.

Ultimately, it's up to you whether to include this stop on your Ubud itinerary. But if the thought of a monkey jumping on your shoulders makes you uneasy, it might be best to give it a miss and head straight into town.

1:30pm - Lunch

If you do have a private driver, this is the time to say goodbye. Get them to drop you somewhere in central Ubud and head for lunch at one of the town's many fantastic cafes.

Here are a few of our favourite options for lunch in Ubud:

2:30pm - Explore Ubud Town Centre

After lunch, set aside a couple of hours to explore central Ubud. The town's compact, pedestrian-friendly centre makes it one of the easiest and most enjoyable places to explore on foot in Bali.

Much of Ubud town centre is filled with colourful tourist markets, selling everything from local handicrafts and artwork to t-shirts, sarongs, bags, and jewellery. The markets are a great place to pick up some souvenirs for a great price. Just make sure to haggle hard!

The main sections of Ubud Market sit along Jalan Arjuna and in a large new venue on the corner opposite Ubud Palace (here), but there are market stalls all across the town centre. There are also plenty of stylish local boutiques to browse too.

While exploring the town centre, make sure to pop into Ubud Palace. This grand palace has long been the official residence of Ubud's royal family. Today, some areas are open to the public as a free historical landmark. It's a beautiful example of traditional Balinese architecture.

Just a few doors down, you can also visit Ubud Water Palace, a picturesque temple surrounding a large lotus pond dedicated to the Hindu goddess of learning, Saraswati. You can pay a small fee to enter the water palace, but we prefer to see it over a drink at Cafe Lotus next door.

And if you need an afternoon pick-me-up while you're out shopping and sightseeing, grab some delicious coconut ice cream from Tukkies, one of our favourite spots in Ubud!

4:30pm - Campuhan Ridge or Sweet Orange Trail

When you're ready to escape the busy town centre, end the afternoon with a peaceful walk along one of Ubud's scenic walking trails. There are several short walking routes that run from the town centre into the rice terraces and jungles just to the north.

Campuhan Ridge Walk is Ubud's most famous trail. It's an easy paved walking route that starts from Campuhan Bridge in the town centre and follows a ridgeline above tropical valleys, passing palm trees, rice fields, and lush greenery along the way. It's the easiest and busiest trail.

We prefer the quieter Sweet Orange Trail, a lesser-known loop walk that begins and ends on Ubud Main Road. The route passes some abandoned houses covered in colourful graffiti before winding through beautiful rice terraces on the edge of town. The Sweet Orange Warung is a lovely spot for a drink mid-way.

Both walks take around an hour in total and are best done late afternoon, just before sunset, when the heat isn't too intense and the golden hour light makes the landscapes look extra magical.

6:00pm - Dinner

For dinner, it's best to pick a restaurant close to Ubud Palace so you can quickly grab a seat for the dance performance once you've finished. Here are a few of our top suggestions:

7:30pm - Dance Performance at Ubud Palace

Complete your day out in Ubud with a Legong dance performance at Ubud Palace, which takes place every evening at 7:30pm. This is one of our favourite traditional dances in Bali!

Legong is a traditional form of Balinese dance, characterised by intricate finger movements, complicated footwork, and intense facial expressions. It was once a form of royal entertainment and many of the dances act out traditional Balinese stories and legends.

It's best to arrive around 7pm to get a good seat for the show. The performance lasts around 1-1.5 hours, so you'll need to book your taxi home for roughly 9pm.

Things To Do With More Than One Day In Ubud

If you do find yourself with more time in Ubud, here are some more activities are attractions we think are worth adding to your itinerary.

Visiting Ubud FAQs