Best Things to Do in Bali
Walk the Tegalalang rice terraces. Ubud's most photographed landscape — see our full Ubud guide.
Visit a clifftop temple. Uluwatu and Tanah Lot both perch dramatically over the ocean — see our temples guide.
Spend a day at the beach. Seminyak, Canggu, and Uluwatu each offer a different beach experience — see our beaches guide.
Take a yoga class in Ubud. The town has built a genuine wellness industry around yoga retreats and studios of every level.
Visit the Sacred Monkey Forest. A forest sanctuary in Ubud home to hundreds of long-tailed macaques — keep belongings secured.
Watch a Kecak fire dance. A traditional Balinese performance often staged at Uluwatu Temple at sunset.
Waterfalls
Several waterfalls, including Tegenungan and the more remote Sekumpul, offer a jungle-set alternative to beaches and temples, though some require a short hike to reach.
A cooking class
Several venues in Ubud combine a market visit with a hands-on Balinese cooking class, a genuinely engaging way to spend a morning beyond passive sightseeing.
Mount Batur sunrise trek
A popular pre-dawn hike up an active volcano, rewarding early risers with sunrise views over the crater and, on clear days, across to Mount Agung in the distance.
A traditional Balinese massage
Spa culture runs deep across the island, with treatments ranging from simple beachside massages to elaborate multi-hour spa rituals at upscale resorts.
Bali Swing and Instagram spots
Several purpose-built attractions near Ubud offer swings and photo installations set against rice terrace or jungle backdrops, popular though clearly commercial rather than organic sightseeing.
Snorkeling and diving
Amed and Tulamben on the island's northeast coast offer some of Bali's best diving, including a WWII shipwreck at Tulamben accessible even to shore-based snorkelers.
Nusa Penida day trip
A fast boat ride from Sanur reaches this dramatic neighboring island, known for cliff viewpoints like Kelingking Beach and clear water good for snorkeling, though the journey itself can be rough in choppy seas.
Whichever activities you choose, spacing them across your trip rather than clustering everything into the first few days tends to make for a more balanced, less exhausting visit.
Traditional markets beyond Ubud
Local morning markets in smaller towns across the island offer a genuine, unstaged look at daily Balinese life, with produce, spices, and offerings for sale well before most tourists are awake.
Pace yourself across whichever of these you pick — Bali's heat makes back-to-back full days more tiring than the activity list alone suggests.
Whatever your interests, Bali generally has a version of it — the challenge is narrowing down rather than finding enough to fill a trip.