The streets around Ubud Palace, including Monkey Forest Road, Jalan Hanoman and Jalan Goutama, are the one part of Ubud where walking beats driving.
Jalan Raya Ubud runs east to west through the town. Ubud Palace, which still belongs to the royal family, stands where Monkey Forest Road meets it, and the Sacred Monkey Forest, home to about 700 long-tailed macaques, is at the southern end of Monkey Forest Road. There's dance in the palace courtyard in the evening, and at the Water Palace every night except Friday.
The streets around the palace, the Monkey Forest and Jalan Hanoman have the most cafés in town, most of them 5 to 10 minutes' walk from each other, along with boutique shops and yoga studios.
Most people who stay for months live a short ride out, in Penestanan, Nyuh Kuning, Sayan or the villages south of town, and come in for dinner and classes.
Central Ubud · massage spa with a hot and cold plunge circuit
Massage and body treatments at two central Ubud spas, each with a hot plunge, cold plunge and steam room, and 30 minutes in that circuit comes with every treatment.
Sri Wedari · sauna and plunge recovery club
A contrast-therapy club of saunas and hot and cold plunges, with steam rituals in the evening and therapists for massage and facials.
Jalan Sandat · wood-fired banya
A wood-fired Russian-style banya a few minutes from the palace, run by steam masters, with an ice plunge, a pool and an open-air bonfire between rounds.
Central Ubud · garden spa and wellness centre
A garden spa and wellness centre with GP consultations, ozone therapy and colonic hydrotherapy on the same menu as massage, facials, reflexology and sound healing.
Sri Wedari · strength gym with sauna, plunges and co-working
A strength gym with more than 80 machines from Hammer Strength, Life Fitness and Rogue, plus a Harvia sauna, hot and cold plunges, a pool and its own co-working space.
Sri Wedari · air-conditioned gym with sauna, hammam and cold plunge
An 850 m² air-conditioned gym floor zoned by muscle group, with coached classes every day and a sauna, hammam and cold plunge for afterwards.
Central Ubud · yoga school with its own vinyasa style
A Yoga Alliance school with its own method, RA Vinyasa, and more than 40 class styles across a jungle shala and an upper shala.
Central Ubud · open-air yoga studio over the rice fields
Small morning classes with Yoga Alliance-registered teachers, in open-air studios that look over the Sok Wayah rice terraces and the jungle.
Sri Wedari · boxing, Muay Thai and MMA room at Gymnasium Bali
The boxing, Muay Thai and MMA room inside Gymnasium Bali, with a ring, coached group classes and private sessions.
Sri Wedari · pickleball club with nightly open play
Pickleball on shaded, open-sided courts, with walk-in open play every evening and a round robin on Saturdays.
Central Ubud · specialty coffee roaster and café
The café of Bali specialty roaster Seniman, a short walk from Ubud Palace, with communal tables, plenty of sockets and a quieter air-conditioned room downstairs.
Central Ubud · coworking and coffee space
An air-conditioned coworking and coffee space in the middle of town, with small, medium and large meeting rooms you can book by the hour.
Sri Wedari · Indonesian heritage tasting menus
Indonesian heritage cooking from Syrco Bakker, who earned two Michelin stars at Pure C in the Netherlands, with a botanical cocktail bar and KU, a 12-seat chef's counter.
Central Ubud · regional Indonesian cooking
Regional Indonesian cooking from the Locavore Group, with each dish researched in its home region, cooked only with Indonesian ingredients and served family-style.
Monkey Forest Road · modern Indonesian restaurant and cocktail bar
Chef Blake Thornley's modern Indonesian restaurant, with an open kitchen and a cocktail bar, named Best Modern Indonesian Restaurant at the Exquisite Awards 2025.
Central Ubud · South American kitchen with a Peruvian focus
A small, chef-owned restaurant cooking South American food with a Peruvian focus, open since 2014.
In the centre, yes. It's the one part of Ubud where walking works, and on foot you beat the traffic. For trips further out, use Gojek or Grab.
Outside the peaks. The airport run is 45 to 90 minutes in good traffic, with 30 to 60 minutes more between 7 and 9am and 4 and 7pm.
MindSeat rents a height-adjustable desk at $50 a month, an ergonomic chair at $70, a 32-inch 4K screen at $160, or all of it in The Best package at $345. We deliver and set up the same day, and move it free once a month when you change villas.
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