Arrival and an easy first evening in Ubud
Arrive at Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport
Most long-haul flights from the UK land in the afternoon at Ngurah Rai (Denpasar) after a stop in the Gulf or Singapore. Every foreign visitor must pay the Bali tourist levy of Rp 150,000 (around £7.50) per person, and it is far quicker to pay online through the official Love Bali portal before you fly than to queue at the airport counter. From here it is roughly a 1.5 to 2 hour drive north to Ubud, so arrange a hotel transfer or private driver in advance rather than sorting a car in arrivals. Book flights →
Check in around Ubud
Base yourselves in or just outside Ubud, ideally on the fringes among the rice fields rather than on the busy main road, which keeps things quiet but still walkable into town. Drop the bags and resist the urge to do much on a jet-lagged first evening. Search hotels →
Slow stroll through central Ubud
Ease in with a gentle wander through the centre, taking in Pura Taman Saraswati, the water temple with its lotus pond just off the main street, which is free to look at from the front. It is the softest possible introduction and needs no planning.
First dinner at a warung
Rather than book anything formal on your first night, eat simply at one of Ubud's warungs, the small family-run kitchens serving Balinese and Indonesian home cooking at a fraction of restaurant prices. Nasi campur, a plate of rice with a few vegetable and meat sides, is the easy, satisfying place to start.
Ubud at a gentle pace
Campuhan Ridge Walk at first light
This easy 2km ridge path just west of the centre is one of the best free things to do in Ubud, running along a spine of grassy hills above the valley. Go early, ideally soon after sunrise, when it is cool, quiet and softly lit; by mid-morning the sun is harsh and there is almost no shade. Wear a hat and take water.
Breakfast back in town
Reward the walk with a long breakfast at one of Ubud's many cafes, most of which do excellent coffee, fresh juices and fruit bowls. This is a morning to sit and take your time rather than rush on.
Ubud Palace and the Art Market
Puri Saren Agung, the Ubud royal palace, sits right in the centre and is free to enter and wander during the day, open from around 8am. Directly across the road is the Ubud Art Market, also free to browse, where you can pick up woven baskets, textiles and carvings, so long as you are happy to haggle gently.
Lunch near the centre
Keep it relaxed with lunch somewhere central; Ubud is well set up for long, unhurried meals, from Balinese warungs to the wave of plant-forward cafes the town is known for. Choose whatever looks calm rather than whatever has the longest queue.
A proper Balinese massage
Ubud is the spa heart of Bali, and a traditional Balinese massage here costs a fraction of what you would pay at home, from around £10 to £20 for an hour at a simple, good local spa. Book somewhere with genuine reviews rather than walking into the first place you pass, and go together for a slow afternoon. Search spa and massage in Ubud on GetYourGuide →
Balinese dance at the palace
Most evenings the courtyard of Ubud Palace hosts traditional Balinese dance, usually Legong or Barong, performed to live gamelan; tickets are typically around Rp 100,000 (about £5) and often sold on the night, but performances and start times shift, so check locally that day. It is an atmospheric, low-effort way to end the evening a short walk from most accommodation. Search Legong dance in Ubud on GetYourGuide →
Rice terraces, a holy spring and a quiet waterfall
Tegalalang Rice Terrace, early
The tiered terraces at Tegalalang, about 20 minutes north of Ubud, are Bali's most photographed rice fields, with an entrance fee of around Rp 25,000 (a little over £1) plus small donations to cross some of the farmers' paths. They also get swamped by tour buses from about 10am, so come right at opening around 7am while it is quiet and cool, or skip them entirely for the far calmer UNESCO terraces at Jatiluwih if you would rather avoid the crowds altogether.
Tirta Empul holy spring temple
A short drive on at Tampaksiring sits Tirta Empul, a working temple built around sacred spring-fed bathing pools where Balinese come for the melukat purification ritual. Entry is around Rp 75,000 (about £3.60) and includes a sarong, which is required; it opens at 8am and gets busier through the morning. Note that since 2025 the standard ticket only covers walking the temple grounds: to actually take part in the melukat purification in the spring pools you now need to arrange a guided ceremony package in advance, so decide beforehand whether you want to bathe or simply watch respectfully from the side.
Lunch with a view
There are simple warungs and cafes dotted along the roads back towards Ubud, several with terraces looking over rice fields or the river valley. Pick one for an easy lunch and a rest before the afternoon.
Tibumana Waterfall
Round off the day at Tibumana, a single soft curtain of water dropping into a calm pool about 30 minutes from Ubud, with an entrance fee of around Rp 25,000 (roughly £1.25). It is far quieter than the better-known Tegenungan, with an easy 15-minute walk down and a pool you can swim in, so bring swimwear and a towel.
A slow Ubud day, hands in the kitchen
Unhurried breakfast
No early alarm today. Take breakfast slowly at your accommodation or a favourite cafe from the past two days and let the morning open up gently.
Balinese cooking class
A morning cooking class is one of the loveliest things to do together in Ubud, and most start with a walk through a local market before you cook a handful of Balinese dishes such as base gede spice paste, sate lilit and black rice pudding. Sessions run around three to four hours and typically include everything you cook as lunch. Search cooking class in Ubud on GetYourGuide →
Lazy afternoon by the pool
With a market breakfast and a cooked lunch behind you, this is the afternoon to do very little: read by the pool, nap off the heat, or wander the lanes near your stay. A calm Bali trip needs at least one afternoon with nothing booked.
Sunset drink and a last Ubud dinner
Find a cafe or bar with a view over the rice fields on the edge of town for a drink as the light drops, then a final relaxed dinner in Ubud. Some of the nicest spots are on Jalan Sanggingan or out towards Penestanan, away from the busiest streets.
Ubud to the Sidemen valley
Slow morning and checkout
There is no need to rush the move east. Have a relaxed breakfast, pack, and aim to leave Ubud mid-morning so you reach Sidemen in time for lunch.
Transfer to Sidemen
The drive from Ubud to the Sidemen valley in east Bali takes roughly 1 to 1.5 hours by private car and costs from around Rp 400,000 (about £20) one way. The roads narrow and quieten as you go, climbing into a green valley that locals often call Bali as it was twenty years ago. Ask your driver to take it steady so you can watch the scenery change.
Check in among the rice fields
Sidemen accommodation ranges from simple homestays to a handful of lovely mid-range pool villas, almost all with rice-terrace or valley views and, on clear days, Mount Agung filling the skyline. Check in, settle, and let the pace drop. Search hotels →
First walk into the valley
In the cooler late afternoon, walk out from your stay along the lanes and paths that thread between the working rice terraces. You can wander freely here without a guide; expect farmers at work, ducks in lines and small temples around the corners, with very few other tourists.
Sunset over Mount Agung
Find a spot with an open view west and north for sunset, when the light softens over the terraces and, cloud permitting, Mount Agung glows above the valley. This is the whole reason to come to Sidemen, so keep the evening simple and just watch it.
A full, slow day in Sidemen
Sunrise over the terraces
Sidemen has some of the clearest views of Mount Agung anywhere on the island, and the mountain is most likely to be free of cloud at dawn. Step out early for sunrise over the valley from a ridge or viewpoint above your stay; ask locally for the nearest good spot, as several of the small hills here are known for it.
Guided walk through the rice terraces
A half-day walk with a local guide is the best way to understand the valley, taking you along the terraces and through villages where rice, chilli and clove are grown, at a gentle pace with plenty of stops. A guide also means you learn what you are looking at rather than just passing through. Search trekking in Sidemen on GetYourGuide →
Lunch with a valley view
Several small warungs and cafe-restaurants in Sidemen look straight out over the rice fields. Choose one for a long, quiet lunch out of the midday heat.
Traditional weaving workshop
Sidemen is one of Bali's great weaving villages, known for songket, a brocade shot through with gold or silver thread, and endek ikat. Several family workshops let you watch the looms at work and buy directly from the weavers, which is a far more meaningful souvenir than anything from a market stall.
Nothing at all
Leave the late afternoon completely open: a swim, a book on the terrace, a slow drink as the valley cools. Sidemen rewards doing very little, and this is the day to prove it before you move to the coast.
Sidemen to the quiet coast at Amed
Breakfast and checkout
Have a relaxed breakfast and aim to leave Sidemen by mid-morning; drivers here recommend travelling before the afternoon to keep the roads clear.
Transfer to Amed
The drive from Sidemen to Amed on Bali's far east coast takes roughly 1.5 hours by private car, from around Rp 400,000 (about £20) one way, dropping down through Karangasem to the sea. Amed is a string of quiet black-sand fishing bays with barely any nightlife, which is exactly the point.
Check in by the sea
Amed's places to stay are mostly small, calm and family-run, many with pools looking straight out over the water towards Lombok. Check in, then take it easy for what is left of the morning. Search hotels →
First swim at Jemeluk Bay
Wander down to Jemeluk Bay, the calm, curved cove that is the heart of Amed, for a first swim off the dark volcanic sand and pebble beach. The water is clear and the reef starts close in, so it is an easy, gentle introduction to the coast.
Sunset with Mount Agung behind you
Amed faces east, so evenings turn its bays a soft gold with Mount Agung rising inland behind the fishing boats. Find a warung or beach bar above Jemeluk for a drink and let the day close quietly.
Amed: reefs and a water palace
Slow breakfast by the water
Start the coast days as they mean to go on, with a long breakfast overlooking the sea before the heat builds.
Snorkel Jemeluk Bay and the Japanese wreck
Jemeluk Bay has a genuinely lovely shallow coral garden you can snorkel straight off the beach. A short drive south, in a separate cove near Lipah, a small Japanese WWII shipwreck sits in around 6 to 12 metres of clear water, its higher parts close enough to the surface for snorkellers to see from shore. Conditions here are calmest and clearest in the dry season, roughly April to October; you can snorkel the bay from shore, but a guided trip finds the best coral and keeps things safe if there is any current. Search snorkeling in Amed on GetYourGuide →
Lunch back in Amed
Come in for lunch at one of the warungs along the coast road; fresh grilled fish is the obvious order in a fishing village, and prices here are gentle.
Tirta Gangga Water Palace
About 30 minutes inland from Amed lies Tirta Gangga, the former royal water palace, a serene garden of spring-fed pools, fountains and stepping stones over ponds full of koi. Entry is around Rp 70,000 (about £3.50) for foreign visitors and it is open until early evening; go mid-to-late afternoon when the tour groups have thinned and the light is soft.
Dinner and an early night
Amed is quiet after dark, which suits a calm trip. Have a relaxed seafood dinner near your stay and turn in early, because tomorrow starts before dawn.
Sunrise on the water and the Liberty wreck
Sunrise jukung boat trip
The jukung is the slender outrigger fishing boat you see lined up on every Amed beach, and local fishermen run gentle sunrise trips out past the reef, usually from around 5:30am. Watching the sky lighten over the sea with Mount Agung behind you is the best hour of the day here; it typically costs around Rp 250,000 to 350,000 (roughly £12 to £17) per boat, not per person, and can be arranged the evening before. For a land alternative, the Lahangan Sweet viewpoint 30 to 40 minutes inland gives a spectacular dawn view of Mount Agung from around Rp 20,000 entry. Search sunrise boat trip in Amed on GetYourGuide →
Breakfast back on shore
Come back in for a proper breakfast after the early start, and take a slow hour before heading up the coast.
Snorkel the USAT Liberty wreck at Tulamben
About twenty to thirty minutes north of Amed at Tulamben lies the USAT Liberty, a 120-metre American cargo ship torpedoed in 1942 and now one of the world's most accessible wrecks, lying on a slope from around 5 metres down and only about 25 to 30 metres off a pebble beach, so snorkellers can see plenty from the surface. Go in the morning before the day-trip dive boats arrive, and use a local guide who knows the entry over the loose stones. Search snorkeling in Tulamben on GetYourGuide →
Late lunch in Amed
Head back to Amed for a late, unhurried lunch and get out of the midday sun after a morning in the water.
Last afternoon by the sea
Spend the final full afternoon doing whatever feels right: another dip at Jemeluk, a massage at a small local spa, or simply the pool and a book. This is the trip's last real stretch of calm before travel day.
Farewell dinner
Choose a warung or beach restaurant above the bay for a last dinner as the boats come in, and toast a trip that stayed slow the whole way through.
The long road back and departure
Last breakfast and a final swim
Have a relaxed breakfast and a last dip if there is time. Amed is genuinely far from the airport, so today is mostly about the journey back.
Transfer to the airport
The drive from Amed back to Ngurah Rai Airport is long, around 2.5 to 3.5 hours depending on traffic through the south, so arrange a private transfer and leave with plenty of buffer. Book an afternoon or evening flight and set off by mid-morning rather than cutting it fine.
Depart from Bali
Most UK-bound flights leave Bali in the afternoon or evening, connecting through a hub. Allow the usual generous time for an international departure once you reach the airport. Book flights →