Morning
Land at DPS
Ngurah Rai International, Tuban. Arrange the car before you clear customs; the arrivals kerb is a scrum otherwise.
Drive up to Ubud
Around 90 minutes north through Denpasar and the Gianyar rice country. Longer if you land into rush hour.
Afternoon / Day
Check in: Komaneka at Bisma
Jl. Bisma, Ubud. Suites step down a slope above the Campuhan river valley; ask for one facing the rice fields.
Late lunch at Seneng Kitchen
Komaneka's own restaurant on Jl. Bisma, open to the valley. Nasi campur and a cold drink while the room is turned down.
Puri Saren Agung (Ubud Palace)
Jl. Raya Ubud 8. The royal family still lives here, and the front courtyards are open to walk through during the day.
Evening
Dinner at Bebek Bengil
Jl. Hanoman, Padangtegal. The Dirty Duck has fried its crispy bebek here since 1990; pavilions sit out over the paddy.
Balinese dance at Ubud Palace
Performances run most evenings in the palace forecourt; tickets are sold at the gate and from touts on Jl. Raya Ubud. The troupe and the story change nightly.
Morning
Campuhan Ridge Walk at sunrise
Start beside Pura Gunung Lebah on Jl. Raya Campuhan. A paved spine between two river gorges, roughly 2 km out and no shade after 8.
Couples massage at Karsa Spa
Jl. Markandiya II, Bangkiang Sidem, at the far end of the ridge walk. Open 9 to 7; book a week ahead, it fills.
Afternoon / Day
Lunch at Clear Cafe
Jl. Hanoman 8. Shoes off at the door, organic bowls and shakes upstairs. This is the original Ubud branch.
Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary
Jl. Monkey Forest, Padangtegal. Grounds open 9 to 6 but ticketing shuts at 5. Carry nothing loose: the macaques take sunglasses.
Ubud Art Market
Jl. Raya Ubud 35, across from the palace. Sarongs, rattan bags and batik; open haggling, and prices soften late in the day.
Evening
Tasting menu at Mozaic
Jl. Raya Sanggingan. Ubud's pioneering fine-dining garden; the dining room runs 6 to 10 PM and you must reserve.
Nightcap in the Tipple Room
Mozaic's bar beside the dining room stays open to 1 AM, so you can linger after the last course without moving.
Morning
Ubud market run with Paon Bali
The 8:30 class opens with a walk through the produce market on Jl. Raya Ubud to buy the spices and greens you will cook.
Paon Bali cooking class
Jl. Raya Laplapan, Petulu. A family compound kitchen; you grind base gede by hand after a walk out through the padi.
Afternoon / Day
Lunch is what you cooked
Sate lilit, gado-gado and chicken steamed in banana leaf, eaten at the long table. The recipe book goes home with you.
Goa Gajah, the Elephant Cave
Bedulu, 15 minutes east. A carved cave mouth and bathing pools below the road; there is a ticket booth at the gate, and knees and shoulders must be covered.
Evening
Dinner at Hujan Locale
Jl. Sri Wedari 5. Will Meyrick's modern Indonesian in a colonial-style house; adults only, kitchen open to 10 PM.
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Morning
Hired car north to Tampaksiring
Leave by 6:30. The loop up through Tegallalang is only about 25 km, but the single road clogs with tour vans after 9.
Tegallalang Rice Terrace
Jl. Raya Tegallalang, 9 km north of Ubud. There is an entry fee at the top, and you also need small notes for the donation boxes on the paths down.
Melukat at Tirta Empul
Manukaya, Tampaksiring. Bathing sarongs are handed out at the changing rooms, and you queue along the spouts in turn. Go early -- by mid-morning the line is long.
Afternoon / Day
Late lunch at Naughty Nuri's
Jl. Raya Sanggingan, Kedewatan, across from the Neka Museum. Charcoal-pit pork ribs and a famously stiff martini, going since the mid-1990s. Arrive before the queue.
Wana Jiwa Spa at Komaneka
The resort's own spa on Jl. Bisma. Take a late-afternoon couples slot so you can walk back to the room barefoot.
Evening
Last Ubud dinner at Seneng Kitchen
Back at Komaneka, tables above the valley and the frogs starting up. A quiet night before the drive south.
Morning
Check out and repack for the coast
Keep one covered outfit near the top of the bag; you need shoulders and knees covered again at the cliff temple tonight.
Drive Ubud to Uluwatu
Two to two and a half hours, about 60 km, via the Mandara toll road across Benoa Bay. Leave before 9 to miss the Kuta crawl.
Afternoon / Day
Check in: Anantara Uluwatu
Jl. Pemutih - Labuan Sait. Seventy-odd suites and pool villas on the cliff above Impossible Beach, all of them facing west.
Lunch at Botol Biru Bar and Grill
The resort's Mediterranean grill. Eat late and slowly; the rest of the afternoon belongs to the infinity pool.
Down the steps to Impossible Beach
The cliff stairs drop straight onto the sand below the resort. Check the tide first: the beach vanishes at high water.
Evening
Kecak fire dance at Pura Luhur Uluwatu
Jl. Raya Uluwatu, Pecatu. The kecak is timed to sunset in the clifftop amphitheatre, so aim for the earlier of whatever is running. Book a few days ahead.
Dinner at El Kabron
Jl. Pantai Cemongkak, Pecatu. Mediterranean cooking on a clifftop terrace, open since 2011 and ten minutes back from the temple.
Morning
Breakfast at 360 Rooftop
Anantara's top-floor buffet with the whole Indian Ocean in front of it. Eat early and get to the beaches before the day-trippers.
Padang Padang Beach
Jl. Labuan Sait, Pecatu. You climb down through a cleft in the rock to a cove the size of a tennis court. Small entry fee, cash.
Bingin Beach
A long staircase down past cliff bungalows to reef and sand. No road reaches the bottom, which is the whole point.
Afternoon / Day
Warung lunch on Bingin sand
Grilled fish and nasi goreng at whichever cliff warung still has shade. Bring cash; there is no card machine down there.
Suluban Beach sea cave
Reached through a limestone cave below Single Fin, and only walkable around low tide. Check the chart before you take the steps.
Evening
Sunset drinks at Single Fin
Pantai Suluban, Pecatu. Open from 8 AM on the cliff over the Uluwatu break; most nights it shuts at 10, but Wednesday and Sunday run until 2 AM.
Teppanyaki at Sono
Back at Anantara: one hot plate, one counter, and whatever came off the boat. Book it at check-in, there are few seats.
Morning
Couples ritual at Anantara Spa
The cliffside spa runs traditional Balinese bodywork plus sauna and steam. Ask for the treatment room facing the water.
Afternoon / Day
Sundays Beach Club
Jl. Pantai Selatan Gau, Ungasan, 20 minutes east. Daily 7:30 AM to 10 PM; an inclinator lowers you to the private cove.
Long lunch at Sundays
The day pass is redeemable against food and drink, and kayaks and snorkel gear come with it. Eat between swims.
Melasti Beach
Ungasan. A road cut down through the limestone to white sand and flat water: far better for swimming than the surf beaches.
Evening
Seafood on the sand at Menega Cafe
Jl. Four Seasons, Muaya Beach, Jimbaran. Pick your fish off the ice; it is grilled over coconut husks and eaten at a table on the beach.
Walk Jimbaran Bay after dinner
The bay curves for kilometres of flat sand. Walk off the crab, then take a car back over the hill to the Bukit.
The Bukit, Then Home
Morning
Sunrise swim, then breakfast at 360
Last look at the Indian Ocean from the top floor of Anantara before the bags come down.
Check out and store the bags
Ask about a day-use room if you are on a late flight. There is nowhere on the Bukit to leave luggage otherwise.
Afternoon / Day
Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park
Ungasan, on the way north. The colossal Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue stands over a plaza cut out of an old limestone quarry.
Drive to DPS
Forty-five minutes to an hour from the Bukit. Allow more: the Jimbaran road backs up through the afternoon.
Evening
Fly out of DPS
International departures at Ngurah Rai. Most long-haul out of Bali leaves late in the evening, so eat before you clear security.
