A Restful Weekend in Ubud: A Simple Two-Day Itinerary

Two days in Ubud done well is enough to actually feel different by the time you leave. Done badly, with a packed schedule and a driver waiting at 8am, it’s just a different kind of tired. This restful weekend in Ubud itinerary is built around the second problem rather than the first.

The rule: two things per day maximum.

Day One

Morning: Campuhan Ridge Walk, Early

Leave before 7am. The ridge walk from the Campuhan temple takes 45 minutes at an easy pace and returns you to the road before the heat or the crowds have properly arrived. Breakfast afterward at one of the cafes near the trailhead, taken slowly. No agenda until 10am.

Mid-Morning: Penestanan Village

From the ridge, continue into Penestanan rather than heading straight back. The village sits just beyond the tourist corridor and operates at its own pace. Walk the lanes without a destination. This is the part of the morning most people skip and shouldn’t.

Afternoon: Nothing Scheduled

Seriously. Return to your accommodation after lunch and let the afternoon be what it is. A pool, a book, a nap that goes longer than expected. The Ubud afternoon is best surrendered to rather than programmed.

Evening: Dinner and an Early Night

Find a warung off the main road for dinner. Order more than seems necessary. Be back before 9pm. The value of this itinerary compounds with sleep.

Day Two

Morning: Rice Fields South of Nyuh Kuning

The fields beyond the Monkey Forest see almost no tourist traffic before 8am. The paths are narrow and occasionally muddy and the light across the flooded paddies is worth the alarm. One hour, no guide needed, no plan required beyond showing up and walking slowly.

Mid-Morning: Ubud Market and Palace Area

Walk the main Jalan Raya Ubud toward the Art Market and Ubud Palace while the morning is still cool. The market is best browsed without the intention to buy, which takes the pressure off and makes it considerably more interesting. The palace exterior and the Pura Taman Saraswati lotus pond beside it are free to look at and worth the time.

Afternoon: Tirta Empul

This is the one place in the itinerary that requires a driver, about 30 minutes north of Ubud. Tirta Empul is a sacred spring temple where Balinese Hindus come for ritual purification. Visit it as the active religious site it is, not as a tourist attraction, and it gives something back that most temples don’t.

Return by 4pm and let the last part of the day go.

Evening: Kecak Performance

Performances near the Ubud Palace begin around 6:30pm and run an hour. Tickets at the gate. Walk home afterward through streets that are quieter than they were at noon.

Where to Stay

A restful weekend in Ubud itinerary only holds together if the accommodation does too. Radha Phala Resort & Spa sits in the quieter edge of Ubud, close enough to the walks and the center to make this itinerary walkable in parts, quiet enough that the unscheduled hours actually deliver what they’re supposed to.

For this kind of weekend, Radha Phala Resort & Spa is the right base.