5 days in Ubud - too long?
 

I am visiting Bali and am planning to stay in Ubud for 5 days and I was wondering - is that too long? I know there are lots of nice beaches in Bali but I'm not too big on beaches. I like villages and histories more than tourist resorts. If 5 days is too long, is it possible to take day trips to other areas around Ubud?

Also, are the "Private Villas" listed on Wikitravel okay options for lodging?

http://wikitravel.org/en/Ubud

Depends on how long your trip is, but we enjoyed our 4 nights/5days in Ubud during our 10 day visit to Bali. The first and last days you'll be in transit, so that only leaves 3 full days which can be spent in Ubud itself and plenty of possible daytrips within an hour or two to see the rice terraces, temples, volcanoes, etc. I also like to just sit around and relax, so anything shorter than 3-4 nights in one place feels rushed to me.

I would be spending 4-5 days in BKK, and then heading to DPS. I haven't thought about going anywhere else in the DPS area aside from Ubud. So I guess the entire five days would be dedicated to it.

Ubud is a great base for visiting Bali if you're not really into beaches and tourist resorts. You will have plenty of choice if you want to rent a private villa (would look around beyond just the listings on wikitravel).

Not necessary to be in the city center, which is kind of crowded and touristy, but convenient to be within a 10-15 minute car or motorcycle ride away near the local rice terraces. Even though it's not really "traditional", we did enjoy the kecak dance performance at one of the local temples (there are daily performances but in different locations.)

I might still have the details of the driver we used for a day trip while in Ubud. His prices were fair and he wasn't too chatty or taking us to his "friends" shops or "craft" centers. He was also quite knowledgeable when we did have any questions, but we booked him as a driver and not as a tour guide. PM if interested.

i agree with cardesigner2000, ubud makes an excellent base for exploring the island of Bali. the whole island can be explore from here on day trips and you shouldn't have a problem arranging transportation.

Bali is small enough that you can explore with Ubud as your base.

That being said, the other parts of the island are also beautiful. Watching the dolphins at sunrise in Lovina is spectacular, Amed is beautiful and quiet on the north coast, and the south with Uluwatu is amazing as well.

Ubud is centrally located and a good place to be. Great food. Nice vibe. It's getting too popular for its own good though...so be prepared to not be alone :)

Enjoy!

All great tips, thank you. It is not difficult to just hire a driver for a day?

Using the "Search This Forum" button to look for Bali Driver turns up the fairly current http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/asia/...ht=Bali+driver thread, along with a few other Bali-related discussions where drivers are mentioned.

Good luck with your planning.

I am in the minority, but I think Bali is possibly the most overrated tourist destination on Earth. Five days in Ubud sounds dreadful.

I agree.

For me anything Disney is the most overrated tourist destination on earth... but admittedly Bali is definitely on the tourist trail if you stick to the well known destinations. That also keeps prices affordable due to competition. I loved visiting Borneo, but prices are much higher and quality of accommodations and dining much lower than in Bali. I could imagine much worse than having your own private villa with swimming pool and view of the rice fields, but agree that I would not want to spend all 5 days in central Ubud. I think OP was considering Ubud as a non-beach area base to explore the other parts of Bali, for which it is well suited.

What don't you like about Bali?

I've probably made a half dozen trips to Ubud. I always find it interesting, fun and relaxing.

I totally agree with you its packed with tourists everywhere all in search of the ultimate trip experience thats never going to happen. If you went 20 years ago it was a true heaven of a place away from Kuta. Now its a scammers paradise with everyone playing the be nice to the tourist game which gets sickening after about 2 hrs in Bali.

5 days is about 4.5 days too long in Bali

Not in my opinion.

Bali is a lovely island. Neighbouring Lombok is also very nice. So many things to see and heading north inevitably it becomes more quiet.

I visited bali over 20 years ago and yes it's changed. That said it is still a great tourist destination. It no doubt has its dives but on the scam front it is no where near Thailand.

All things said I could not personally think of anything worse than spending a week in London on vacation yet millions of people do yearly so it's all relative.

I will fly back to bali this summer and I can't wait.

Enjoy ubud.

I don't think Bali is packed with tourists everywhere, but if you single out a place like Ubud, it's easy to think otherwise.

Every time I've been I forgot how maddeningly long it takes to get around, but much of that is due to the one-lane roads in the north.