Planning to visit Tegalalang Rice Terraces from Ubud? Here’s what entrance costs ($1), the best time to go, an honest take on crowds, and what’s actually worth doing.
I’ve lived in Uluwatu for over a year. I use Grab daily, I know which beaches fill up by 9 AM, and I’ve tried most of the activities on this list myself, including ones that surprised me, like the silver jewelry workshop and the Balinese cooking class I keep coming back to once a month. This guide covers what to do in Uluwatu based on real-time here. Uluwatu sits at the southern tip of the Bukit Peninsula, 45 minutes from Ngurah Rai Airport by Grab. The main areas are Bingin, Padang Padang, Pecatu, and the cliff temple corridor. Bingin used to be the quieter alternative to the main tourist strip, which changed after the 2025 demolitions cleared out most of
Pura Luhur Uluwatu Temple sits on a 230-foot cliff at Bali’s southwestern tip, 70 meters straight down to the Indian Ocean on three sides. I’ve been twice from my base in Uluwatu, once at 7:00 AM on a Tuesday and once for the sunset Kecak dance, and they’re basically two different places. It’s one of Bali’s six main directional temples, built in the 11th century and dedicated to the spirits of the sea. Entrance is IDR 50,000 ($3), a sarong is mandatory and handed to you free at the gate, and you’ll share the clifftop with a colony of macaque monkeys who have no interest in personal boundaries. Here’s what you need before you go. Getting to Uluwatu Temple Pura
The best hostels in Nusa Penida are cheaper than most travelers expect, and based on guest sentiment across thousands of reviews, the quality has genuinely jumped over the last two years. We curated this list by location and facilities, so you know exactly what you’re getting before you arrive. Every hostel here covers the basics well: AC, free Wi-Fi, and on-site scooter or bike rental to get around the island, with no Grab or Gojek. Most can also book tours directly, snorkeling trips, manta ray dives, full-day island tours, and fast boat tickets back to Bali. What travelers tend to love most about staying here is the sense of community. Several of these hostels host daily socials, boxing classes, karaoke
Broken Beach Nusa Penida is one of those places that stops you mid-sentence when you first see it. The massive natural arch over the bay, the turquoise water churning through it, the sheer cliff walls dropping straight into the ocean it doesn’t look entirely real. I’ve visited twice now, and the second time hit just as hard as the first. Locally called Pasih Uug, this geological formation sits on the west coast of Nusa Penida, about 45 minutes from Bali by fast boat. It’s always paired with Angel’s Billabong, a natural tidal pool a two-minute walk away. If you time it right, you can try to catch both spots before the tour buses arrive and this guide shows you exactly
The best gyms in Uluwatu are spread across Bingin, Ungasan, and Pecatu, and finding the right one before you arrive will save you a lot of wasted scooter rides. After living here for over a year and training at most of these spots myself, I can tell you the options are genuinely better than most visitors expect from a surf town on the edge of a cliff. Unlike Canggu, there’s no single gym strip in Uluwatu. The nine gyms in this guide serve very different needs. Some are equipment-first facilities with recovery zones that rival those in Canggu; others are high-energy group-class venues; and a few are straightforward local gyms where a monthly membership costs less than a single drop-in
I spent over a year living in Ubud, and before that, I backpacked across Bali, hopping between hostels to save money. I also completed my yoga teacher training here, so I know this town well beyond the Monkey Forest and the rice terraces. The best hostels in Ubud, Bali, start at $4/night and are mostly clustered within a 10-15-minute walk of Ubud Palace whihc is the center of Ubud. Ubud’s hostel scene has a distinct personality. You’re not going to find the loud beach-bar energy of Canggu here. What you get instead: morning yoga at 7 AM, complimentary 15-minute massages, rice field views, wellness programming, and a crowd that’s generally there to do something beyond lying on a sun lounger.
Kelingking Beach Nusa Penida is Bali’s most iconic hidden cliff. Discover how to get there, the best time to visit, and what to expect on arrival.
The best hotels in Canggu Bali are located in the middle of the island’s most energetic neighborhood black-sand beaches, cafe culture, rooftop beach clubs, and a co-working scene, especially if you are traveling solo and want to meet new people you can travel around the island. Canggu is roughly 45 minutes northwest of the airport and its better from Seminyak’s traffic-heavy hotel strip. Hotels in Canggu here range from $55/night budget picks near Echo Beach but if you want to splurge to $775/night luxury you can check in at the newly opened Regent Bali Canggu. What makes Canggu different from Uluwatu or Ubud is that you’re as likely to eat well for $5 at a warung as you are at
I tried through every Pilates Ubud Bali studio on this list firsthand, these are my top picks for Pilates in Ubud, Bali depending on what you need. I completed my yoga teacher training in Ubud and spent extended periods living there between trips back to my base in Uluwatu. Pilates was already part of my routine, so I worked out at the studios here the same way I did in Uluwatu: by showing up and taking classes. Everything below comes from that. The Ubud Pilates scene is smaller than Uluwatu or Canggu, but what is here is genuinely good. You have a boutique reformer studio with jungle-view coffee, a sports-science-led reformer space, the most equipment-heavy studio in all of Bali,