Ubud: this all green district of Bali surrounded by tropical forest, rice terraces and temples is by far one of the most famous view of Bali, where everything looks like a postcard… There you can enjoy a real zen Balinese vibe while taking a yoga class, having a massage and taking a flower bath.
Ububd was our 2nd destination after spending a few days in Uluwatu. I was expecting so much of this area and got really frustrated to only stay a day and half… You definitely need more time to relax and enjoy all the beautiful sceneries, or at least get ready to wake up very early and have a day fuuuull of visits ! We honestly wanted to do so but then our cute little hotel pool, and breakfast in the room made us change our minds… 🙈
Still we had the chance to enjoy great places described below:
Sapodilla Hotel & White Ginger Restaurant
Sapodilla was the lovely hotel we stayed at, south of the city center. Everything was quite perfect there from the room, to the pool and the breakfast in bed service. They even provided us with a phone to call the reception so that a car could come and pick us freely from the center back to the hotel. I would totally recommend to stay there if you want to be in the city. But would I have to go back I’d certainly chose a hotel in the forest to actually relax and enjoy the nature since you can’t really walk in the city with all the cars and tiny sidewalks.
They also had this very cute restaurant named White Ginger serving Indonesian and Thaï food. We had dinner there on our first night, my curry was super tasty and not too spicy and the atmosphere was quiet and lovely. Exactly what you might need after a long travel and don’t want to move from the hotel.
Tegallalang Rice Terrace
Tegallalang rice terrace is definitely THE unmissable place when in Ubud. You see it all over Instagram so often that you feel like you almost already know this place, yet reality is still so much more breathtaking !
A small fee will be asked at the entrance, then all along the paths people will ask you for some donations, just know that you are absolutely not obligated to give at every corner if not you’d go out of here completely ruined. Then just enjoy the many paths, the place is large enough to easily avoid the crowd.
And if you’re a child like me you can enjoy a nice giant swing above the rice fields (ok you have to pay about 100k rupiahs and feel like a complete tourist but who cares if you have fun !)
Campuhan Ridge Walk
Campuhan Ridge Walk is a nice hike to do if you don’t have much time like us and still want to see a bit of nature while not taking the car out of the city center. The walk is actually pretty long if you wanna walk the whole loop, so most of the visitors turn around after Karsa Café just like we did. We went there pretty early (between 8am and 9:30am) and it was already super hot with no shadow where to rest. Those of you who know me, know that I really enjoy the heat but I finished this walk all sweaty and tired so I strongly recommend you bring some bottles of water with you and go there early !
Watercress
This restaurant is a nice little oasis of cuteness. We were wandering across the city not knowing where to eat (also because there is so much choice of nice place you don’t want to be mistaking) and we finally ended up at Watercress that many other blogs recommend. They made a lot of breakfast, brunch-like comfort food and their juices taste delicious – having a ball of sorbet in mine was the best thing that could happen during such a hot day !
Clear Cafe
First thing to know: you may want to book a table before showing up to Clear Cafe since this place is simply amazing and everyone wants to go. Here it is all about “Clean food for Clear minds”, the dishes are healthy and tasty, and you have tons of gluten free, veggie or even raw food options. (Although I wouldn’t recommend a raw dessert for someone not used to it, I was pretty… surprised let’s say ! 😂)
Last detail: you need to take off your shoes to enter the place, and it suddenly feel so comfortable you wish it was a rule everywhere
Cantika Zest
Last but not least.
Of course you’re gonna want a massage when coming to Bali, and you should definitely visit Cantika Zest to do so – a cocoon of nature and wellness. We had a full body massage and scrub during an hour and a half, followed by a flower bath facing the tropical forest, needless to say it was just amazing. Why is it even better than any other place ? Because you are surrounded by some rice fields and forest, because they make their own beauty treatments with natural components and because it is traditional, remote and still kind of secret.
My small advice would be not to go there by walking because the road really isn’t made for pedestrians and you’ll arrive completely sweaty at the spa… (Seriously don’t be like me and don’t try to walk everywhere, it is a car place and distance are much more longer than you might think!)
Nana GoodWeather 