3 Days in Ubud: Balinese Culture and Food

I first visited Bali in 2013 as an exchange student and absolutely loved the island. This year, I had the opportunity to return with my husband for a more luxurious and romantic adventure. We split our time on Bali between Ubud and Uluwatu and this post will share the best attractions, restaurants, and sound healing class for the perfect 3 days in Ubud.

TRIP TIME: December 2025
Trip type: Couples Trip (Honeymoon)
Budget: $1,300

Day 1: Relax + Explore Town

We always try to take things easy for the first day as we fight jet lag and get acquainted to the new city. Luckily, Ubud is full of spas for a fraction of the cost in Canada. In the morning, we strolled around town and went for a one hour massage for only $20 (Some good options for a modern but basic spa are Terakota and NUSA Therapy). Or you can splurge for a more luxurious spa experience and expect to pay $40 an hour.

My favorite streets to walk around in Ubud Town Center are:

Jl. Jembawan
Jl. Goutama

A word of caution, Bali is not the most walkable destination. The sidewalk is often broken and since the streets are so narrow, you’ll likely be dodging cars and scooters. We still explored Ubud town on foot quite a bit but it’s not the most relaxing experience.

For your first day in Bali, you’ll definitely want to try authentic Indonesian food at a warung. We kept it pretty safe and went go to a warung that’s suited for tourists to avoid Bali Belly at the start of our trip. We really liked Compound Warung or Sun Sun Warung (~$5 for Nasi Goreng or Nasi Lemak).For a nice dinner out, we tried out Hujan Locale. The service and decor was very nice but considering how cheap food was in Bali, I’m not sure if the price was worth it. (Or maybe our Indonesian food taste palette is not very well developed)

We always forget to spend time to relax in our hotels so make sure you scope out some pool time! There are countless beautiful hotels to choose from in Ubud. We decided on the Kaamala resort for it’s beautiful infinity pool overlooking the jungle. The breakfast was delicious and check out the cute monkey latte art! I’d highly recommend this hotel!

Day 2: Day Trip Bali Highlights

Many of Bali’s tourist attractions are outside of Ubud’s town centers, so you’ll likely go on a day trip. Luckily, hiring a driver is very easy and cheap! Don’t worry about not having a driver booked before you arrive as every Grab driver was trying to get more business. If you have three days in Ubud, make sure to do a day trip with your top attractions.

Stop 1: 830am Rice Terrace

You’ll definitely want to visit a Rice Terrace as it’s iconic to Bali. The main one to visit is Tegallalang Rice Terrace. One thing to know before you go is that there’s no official entrance to the rice terrace. Instead, each of the restaurant/cafes along the road will charge an entrance fee and then you can feel free to meander.

Bali reminds me of Thailand a lot! I find that Bali is a bit cheaper but Thailand had some more unique experiences. Make sure to read my Chiang Mai guide so you can decide which southeast Asia destination is best for you!

Stop 2: 10am Coffee Tasting

There are many coffee plantations along the same road as Tegallalang Rice Terrace. I am actually impartial on this activity as the coffee themselves don’t taste that good. Also, luwak coffee feels overpriced. Although I can taste the difference, I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s yummy. We went to Umaoko1 which offers free tastings and $5 luwak coffees. We felt a bit obligated to buy something from the gift shop but all the teas and coffees are sweet and made from powders. I’ll leave this up to you if you choose to add to your itienary.

Stop 3: Noon Lunch with a view of Kintamani

This was the highlight of the day as this is a bit of a hidden gem find! Most tours offer the same sunrise hike on Mount Batur. But skip the hassle and enjoy the beautiful views by having lunch at one of the cafes with stunning views. Akasa took my breathe away with their beautiful decor, dramatic views, and surprisingly delicious coffee and food. Other options are Paperhills and LUNAMOON.

Stop 4: 3pm Ulun Danu Beratan Temples

This last spot takes some commitment to get to because it’s an almost 3 hour drive from Kintamani. However, this temple is another one of Bali’s icons and we thought it’ll be nice to see. Unless you have kids and plan to take lots of amusement park style photos, you’ll only need to spend an hour at Ulun Danu Beratan giving you plenty of time to return to Ubud.

Day 3: Tirta Empul + Sound Healing

There was one more spot that we couldn’t fit on our day trip so we visited Tirta Empul separately the next day. It costed 350k IDR to hire a driver from Ubud which is about the same price as getting Grab but more convenient. Tirta Empul (75k IDR entry fee) is one of the most famous purification temples in Bali. You’ll see locals and tourists dipping their heads into the fountains for the water purification ritual. We did not participate but really enjoyed watching. The whole area only took about an hour to see.

Ubud is a hot spot for wellness and we took advantage of multiple sound healing classes being offered at various boutique yoga studios. We found a Cacao Ceremony + Sound Healing + Yoga combo class at Heartspace and I was very impressed by the intimate design of the studio. It was my first time having ceremonial cacao (which was like a thick hot chocolate) and was a bit unsure whether I felt the effects. I still really enjoyed the sound bowls which were way louder than I’ve previously heard in yoga classes. I loved it as I can actually feel the vibrations in my body. If you have 3 days in Ubud, I’d definitely recommend visiting a boutique yoga studio.