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Honestly, this is an awesome place to be if you’re actually trying to get work done. It’s a bit of an older vibe than Canggu, and there’s certainly a big chunk of yogi’s kicking around — but I liked it much better than Canggu and found it less pretentious. Plus, you can drive down there in 45mins whenever you want some beach or party vibes.
As others mentioned, there’s some great coworking spaces, cheap warungs, some really nice spots to stay cheaply if you go just outside of the mad touristy areas like Hanoman/Monkey Forest/Penestan.
You’re definitely going to want a scooter, and you’ll learn quickly which roads to avoid at what times because the traffic can be pretty crazy — but that’s true for Canggu as well.
It’s green and lush, there’s great food and a handful of good bars, lots of great pools and chillout spots, good yoga and gyms, and you’re within 45mins ride of the beach, waterfalls, and jungles. Pretty damn good in my books.
1 year ago
Ubud is great for older nomads over 35 who are over the party scene. It has great amenities like coworking spaces (HUBUD and Outpost), a dope-ass gym (Titi Batu) and some of the best yoga studios in the world (Yoga Barn and Radiantly Alive). And that’s not even mentioning the food, which is incredible. Cons: no Uber or metered taxis so getting around is a total pain and the wild dogs at night can be treacherous. Overall, I don’t understand why it’s slipped in the rankings bc it really is awesome.
1 year ago
I like it here better than Canggu. It’s more walkable, more cheap warungs, more convenient. You could find all kinds of shop catering to different type of visitor, from cheap to luxurious. Not a party place if you’re looking for it, which made it even more perfect. More female than male, great for dating.
1 year ago
Agree with the other comment. Full of weirdos and yogis.
1 year ago
This used to be the hotspot for digital nomads in Bali until 2016 when Canggu took over. It’s more deserted now and mostly filled with Chinese tourbuses, older Euro families and some yoga girls and yogi’s. Not as hip as it once was. Who knows when it will make a revival. I hope.
2 years ago
Ask a question
Hi,
How much should I expect to pay for scooter hire in Ubud?
Thanks,
James
Hi,
Between 40’000 and 50’000 IDR per day, depending on how long you rent it for.
Luigi
Around 50k/day if a short amount of time and 600k/month if longer term. A new scooter costs ~16m, so you can use that as a basline to think about costs.
Hello,
Currently living in Chiang Mai and loving it.
I’m trying to figure out where I’ll go once burning season hits in late Feb, as I don’t want to be here then.
I’m definitely considering Bali – but I don’t ride motorbikes, and I don’t really want to learn if I can help it.
Is there anybody who has lived in Ubud and gotten around entirely by foot? If so, what was your experience like?
Would exercise caution about driving without a license. Paying police here and there is one thing. But if you end up in hospital, it’d be highly unlikely that your travel insurance would cover you. I’ve had a friend need to pay $50k out of pocket – sure could be worse too.
You can get an Indonesian driving license whilst in Bali but it’ll only be valid for a month (unless you have a KITAS; then it’s a year).
I’d echo @jodie_taylor – the best of Ubud is outside of the centre. There’s so much tourism in the centre that it almost has a theme park quality. To the credit of the Balinese, it retains culture and the people are very warm.
But for authenticity and peace, you need to be outside of the town, ducking in when hungry etc. – which then requires a scooter. Having a scooter takes some courage and there’s no shame in opting to skip it if you don’t feel up for it. But it is liberating.
Canggu is quieter, but more spread out – potentially viable on a push bike. There’s also an ebike firm in Ubud, not sure about in South, which could be another option.
I don’t think it takes too much courage to ride a scooter in Bali tbh. It can be a bit scary the first time, but as with most things, you’ve just got to be careful and ease your way into it. You’ll be comfortable real quick. And most of these accidents you hear about are just drunken ozzies/tourists. Be vigilant and you’ll be fine (disclaimer: no guarantees, your mileage may vary). It indeed is liberating to be able to escape the busy Ubud city centre, it’s a night and day difference in terms of beauty and tranquility.
Apologies for disagreeing with you on most accounts @kmander , but I think a scooter is even more of a necessity in Canggu. It’s so much more spread out than Ubud, as there’s no real centre. Also, good luck trying to take the shortcut (you know the one with all the cars toppled over in the sawa) on a push bike, not gonna work IMHO
Also, some of the dogs in Bali can get quite gnarly at night, so better to be on a scooter than walking on the side of the road. But that kinda depends on your bravery when it comes to street dogs.
When I first came to Bali, I had no drivers license and I was confident that I could just do it by walking, Ubering and a push bike. I tried all three, and IMO a scooter really is the only sensible, and by far the most convenient, way to really experience the island. So that’s what I resorted to in the end any way.
An alternative would be to hire a local guy, sort of like a personal (scooter) chauffer, which is about $150/mo
I lived in Ubud for 18 years. Currently travelling (and working) again through Sri Lanka and India so far.
The Ubud town centre now is pretty much gridlocked from early afternoon on to early evening. So cars getting around are out of the question. Plus there is no parking available.
To get best use of the place, if you don’t want to ride a bike yourself, hire a local to be on call so you can get bike lifts wherever you want to go. You could be some distance beween where you are living and using internet Hubs, and using the three main supermarkets.
BTW, much of central Ubud now has cable up to 100Mbits, with owners taking it at 10, 20, 50 or 100 Mbits. Nearly all cafes and restaurants have free wifi.
Walking is possible, plenty of tourists do it, but it can be exhausting. There are no real footpaths, but drain covers that rise and fall with access ways. They require your constant attention to avoid tripping and fallling. Much of Bali slopes upwards to the north, and so your walks in Ubud are either challenging going north or easy going south.
If you stay in the town centre its walkable, but I wouldnt advise that as the exterior of Ubud is what makes it special. Stay a 5 mins scooter drive outside of town in the rice fields. The town centre is very busy with traffic and tourists. Personally I prefer Canggu in the South as I think its more liveable, but Ubud is very beautiful.
I’m also in Chiang Mai trying to figure out where to go in February when the burn season starts. I was here last year, and it was terrible.
It is not easy to find a place that compares to Chiang Mai’s infrastructure and value.
In Ubud now, it is definitely walkable however there’s a huge caveat to that statement – it all depends where in Ubud you are and what your expectations are.
If you’re accustomed to large grocery stores and whatnot, you’ll need a vehicle (cheap and easy to get). If you’re happy with small shops and living near the busy tourist strip, you can walk everywhere.
You probably won’t though. Unless it’s for short trips.
(this is all based in you being used to Chiang Mai, others who haven’t lived in a SEA City would probably say it’s definitely not walkable)
Yeah, not advisable. (I lived there for a few months)
It’s not the distance, it’s the elevation changes, they humidity, the sun, the temperature, the exhaust fumes. It doesn’t make for a pleasant walk.
You can’t do bikes either (I tried). And dealing with cabs and motorbike taxis (gojek, grabcar, uber) gets old real quick.
So in that regard its nothing like CM. CM is doable on foot, especially if you stay in the centre. Ubud, not so much.
I’m looking to rent a place for 3 months (or longer) that has relatively fast, reliable Internet.
I know this is Ubud we’re talking about, but I’m not requiring Korea-like speeds. Anything that around 1MBps (= 4 to 8 megabits per second) and upload-speeds of around 100kbps (± megabits per second) will suffice, as long as it’s stable.
Can anyone point me in the right direction and/or offer up any tips?
My plan thus far is to contact airbnb owners directly and ask for rates + a screenshot of their internet speeds.
I’m not on a tight budget, so I’m willing to spend a bit more.
Thanks so much! : )
So as to answer my own question:
There’s a FB group called ‘Ubud Community’. Join and place a request for a long-term apartment (describe kind of apt you’re looking for, price indication, etc). Make sure you have a decent looking FB profile. This is how I eventually found my apartment.
An alternative is to go the Airbnb route. Some tips:
- Most of the ‘owners’ on Airbnb are just middle men, because everyone in SEA is a middle man Request an appointment, check out the place, and discuss pricing with the actual person showing you the apartment. You should get it for a lot cheaper than the asking price on Airbnb (maybe even 100% cheaper).
Villa Bhuana Alit
http://www.bhuanaalitvilla.com
Didn’t have to turn on our mobile hotspot the month that we were there. Quiet and a dude plays the gamelan every night. Walking distance into town. Banjar with a lot of Balinese ceremonies right down the alley.
Definitely possible. Find somewhere that can either be connected to Biznet (http://www.biznetnetworks.com/en/business/internet/biznet-Metronet/) or Telkom Indihome. Both fibre connections that can deliver up to 100mb (but crazy expensive). Getting a 6mb connection works fine for us.
Would this be considered relatively safe or is it advisable a single woman stick to some other accommodation?
Not sure what you mean by a “villa” but if you stick to the more populated area of Ubud and don’t let your purse dangle off your shoulder, you’ll be fine. (I did hear of a woman getting her purse snatched during a motorbike drive-by, but I’m not sure why anyone walking alone would let their purse dangle.) I think the best way to find housing in Ubud is to just show up at the bus/ shuttle stop. You’ll immediately get offers for all kinds of rooms, usually in family/ tourist compounds (that all look like temples!), which makes for an interesting experience.
Bali is generally safe. Renting villas in Bali is common for expats and nomads. I saw a lot of single female digital nomads in Bali and nobody complained it wasn’t safe for them. When I was there, I went home very late everyday (midnight) from a coworking space alone, drove through dark quiet areas, rice fields… but was always safe.
Yes. i lived in Ubud alone for fifteen months
Hi everyone, my wife, Devon, and I made it to Ubud yesterday, and have been hanging out at Hubud a bit today and otherwise wandering around. I’m wondering if anyone would like to meet up? We don’t really know anyone here and would love to make some connections. This is our first nomad stop – we’d love to hear your stories, find out more about what to do here in Bali, and otherwise get to know some new people.
Let’s meet up!
We’ll be there starting March 15. You guys still around by then?
Yup, I think we’ll be here until the end of March. Ping me when you turn up?
We’re looking for a country in South East Asia that can function as our base, mainly for tax purposes. Meaning it will have to be a place where we can stay for the 183 days required without too much hassle.
We’ve been looking at Thailand, but have heard that it’s very hard to do visa runs etc., so what other can you recommend? Indonesia looked like a good option, but the income rate is a flat 20% and very high for the region.
Hi ,
I will be staying in Canggu for approx. 3 weeks but still I havent found the place to stay yet.
I will be arriving on 5/19 and thinking of doing house search for first few days in Canggu.
If you know any good place around Canggu for short housing I would appreciate your advice!
Its my first time being nomad worker and any suggestion would appreciate.
Thank you!
Tetsushi
Best to book an Airbnb for first 2/3 nights, then drive around and find a place yourself. Many apartments have a VACANT sign. Although renting 3 weeks is quite short.
Thank you very much for your advice!
I wanted to stay longer but I have no clue of how this turns out and it may possible that i need to go back ;_;
What are the vaccinations I should get traveling from US to Indonesia? I read the CDC suggstions, but I’m curious on more anecdotal knowledge from experienced travelers to Indonesia.
I’d say Hep A & B and tetanus were essential anywhere in Asia. There is now a vaccine for Dengue fever, available in Indonesia & worth considering.
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Dengue_fever#Vaccine
I lived in Ubud for over a year and got no vaccines except Hep A and tetanus.
I got bitten by a dog there, very severe bite. It was my friend’s dog, so I knew it wasn’t rabid, however, no hospital would admit me for treatment until I got a rabies vaccine.
They run out of rabies vaccines on the island at times, but luckily they had it. I needed 3-4 in a row for possible post-exposure. I didn’t want to get it, but i had to.
Really depends on when and where you’re planning to go in Indonesia.
IMHO, the CDC and Travel Health clinic suggestions tend to be over cautious for most travelers. I think they’re written as if everyone is going to do aid work in some far off jungle village.
Routine + Hepatitis A & B + Typhoid and you’re good almost everywhere globally…
Note: the reason to get Hep B, is because if you end up in a local hospital (this is a a risk globally), plus it’s cheap and free of major side effects.
Japanese Encephalitis – Not unless you’re going somewhere rural where to JE is actively prevalent (ie. somewhere very rural…) .
Regardless of JE, take precautions against mosquitos… because there is also Dengue & Malaria…
However personally… forums are the last source I would trust on this topic… go talk to an actual doctor
Oh… and I wouldn’t do Rabies vaccine personally, but in Bali, there is a reasonable risk of Rabies from dogs and MONKEYS…
Just be aware that the rabies vaccine isn’t preventative, it just makes treatment for a possible infection easier/less severe. That’s why it’s great if you’re somewhere rural and can’t quickly get to treatment… but if you’re in Bali where you can get to a major hospital and start treatment in an hour it’s not really needed.
Oh… and I heard something about a newer JE vaccine, but as of a year or two ago, I think it was only available in Indonesia and only being given to children… but that’s why you should talk to an actual travel medicine doctor… these things do change over time.
If you’re thinking about heading to Bali, definitely get the rabies vaccine. The island has a rabies problem, there are a lot of aggressive stray dogs, and the island isn’t well equipped to deal with it.
Hello, is there anybody around with experience with “Adobe Connect” meetings?
We are thinking to move to Bali – Canggu or Ubud, however our business demands working with this Adobe platform. Our concern is if latency is good enough and connection stable to do the teaching job from Bali to European located Adobe Connect servers.
Thanks so much fore any hint on this.
You can test the connection quality with Adobe Connect from your location to different servers worldwide from this page – for Europe there is a UK-based server listed to test:
Thanks again!
Gunter
No experience with adobe connect, but I ran the test from the UK server, these are the results
it says LAN speed and:
BW Test Results: up=2382.9 kbit/s, latency=28 msec, down=605.2 kbit/s
This is from Canggu btw.
✅ Affordable to live
✅ Very safe
✅ Fast internet
✅ Warm now
✅ Warm all year round
✅ Good air quality on average
✅ Nomad List members liked going here
✅ Many Nomad List members have been
✅ Spacious and not crowded
✅ Easy to make friends
✅ Easy to do business
✅ Democratic
✅ People can speak basic English
✅ Very safe for women
✅ Family friendly
✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+
❌ Not much to do
❌ Very humid now
❌ Not many members right now
❌ Quality of education is low
❌ Hospitals are not great
❌ Roads can be dangerous
❌ Freedom of speech is weak
❌ Many people smoke tobacco
"Мудрец счастлив, довольствуясь немногим, а глупцу всего мало; вот почему почти все люди несчастны. Франсуа де Ларошфуко"