Gluten Free City Guide: Ubud, Bali

There are lots of different packages that you will be offered while in Ubud. There is some room for negotiation if you do some group excursions. I would highly recommend what we did, which was hire a driver for the day and get in all our wish list items. We wanted to have fun with the driver and he came into temples with us and showed us the traditions, which was exciting and more authentic. And we would take him for lunch everyday, which seemed normal for us, but I don’t think that happened a lot for him.

Yoga

I did yoga most days and the yoga scene in Ubud is amazing. Since I was staying in Ubud for so long I opted to purchase a 10 pass, so I could get the best price. I went to Radiantly Alive and got a 10 pack for a reasonable price. You can check out the classes and prices here.

Massages

Massages are very cheap in Bali. Back home I was spending $75 CAD for 1 hour and I loved it. Here I was going every 2 or 3 days and it was $9 CAD for 1 hour. I loved the traditional Balinese massages and I always left extra relaxed.

Temples

Tirta Empul Temple is where our driver and guide took us for the ultimate Balinese experience. It is a water temple famous for the holy spring water. He showed us how to do everything and arranged everything we needed to give an appropriate offering and how to go through the water temple. We left the temple feeling different and I attribute it to the healing water. It was an amazing experience.

Gunung Kawi Temple is an 11^th century temple area that is only reachable by climbing 100 steps down and up across a riverbed. They are funeral monuments that are carved into the mountain. It was pretty cool to see.

Besakih Temple is a complex of Hindu temples. There are lots of stairs to climb, but the views are beautiful.

Ulun Danu Beratan Temple is a water temple. You must use a boat or canoe to get to the temple. There are amazing picture options at this one!

Beaches

Virgin Beach is where we stopped after we went snorkeling and it is on the east side of the island. It has white soft sand and swimming in the blue water was awesome. There weren’t a lot of people there, which was nice. It was worth a stop on the way by, but likely not worth a trip on it’s own. We got some breath-taking photos there.

Activities

Monkey Forest is right in Ubud. It was a long walk, but we did walk to it. It is open daily from 8:30 am to 6 pm. We were constantly surrounded by monkeys which was an odd, but interesting experience. There were rules about not making eye contact with the monkeys or being loud and you were able to feed them bananas. I had monkeys jumping on me and I couldn’t help myself but scream – totally against the rules!

For an extensive review do not miss this awesome review of the Ubud Monkey Forest.

Bike trips are amazing. We stopped to see an amazing valley with views of volcanoes and stopped to see a family complex. We biked through a rice field with breath-taking views. While we weren’t biking uphill, there was some serious downhill biking which was exhilarating, but scary at times. At one point, we were in the forest going down a steep hilly area with trees and tree roots everywhere. A few people in our group took a tumble, but we all made it to our destination and had a great time. We used Mason Adventures and it was pretty good. While they did have lunch included, I brought my own for the day. I pre-ordered from the Ubud Gluten Free Kitchen the day before and had it waiting in my mini-fridge in our room for our early departure.

Waterfalls are in many Instagram photos for Bali. Our driver brought us to the Tegenungan waterfall. The lush greenery surrounding the waterfall was cool. But when we got to the actual waterfall, we could tell that the top was man-made, so we were a little disappointed. There were people being all spiritual and everything at this man-made fall and we had to laugh at it all. I am from Canada, which has beautiful waterfalls in the mountains, so this was a bit disappointing for me. We have also been to Norway and Switzerland, where there are waterfalls everywhere you look, so it will depend on your perspective whether this is something you want to see. I would have skipped it if I had known it wasn’t natural.

Coffee Plantation tours are free and interesting. Your driver can take you there and then you get to learn about their famous Luwak coffee. Basically, this cute little Luwak animal eats the coffee beans, poops it out and then they roast it for us to drink. It is very expensive, but it is an interesting souvenir or gift for your family. We loved calling it a ‘poopchino.’ You will get to see how they roast the beans, have a tasting and then they will expect you to buy something. We wanted to buy something, but beware, you will feel pressured to make a purchase.

Snorkeling at the sunken USS Liberty wreck was the best snorkeling that we have ever done. We rented flippers at the beach in Tulamben and the wreck was just a short 30 metre swim right off the beach. It was seriously amazing. They will try and sell you a ‘guided’ tour, but you do not need it as you swim there are on your own in a matter of 5 or 10 minutes. There are many fish swimming in and around the ship.

Are you looking for a tailored itinerary? This is a great 10 day itinerary for Bali to start with.

Here is a sneak peak at some of our adventures: