3 Days in Bali: Ubud and One Sunset in the South
With three days, give Ubud two of them and finish in the south. Day 1: Tegallalang before 8:30, Tirta Empul, the Monkey Forest late. Day 2: the Mount Batur sunrise trek from a 2am pickup, hot springs, waterfalls in the afternoon. Day 3: drive to Uluwatu, a cliff cove at the right tide, and the Kecak fire dance at the temple at sunset. Three days is enough for the interior and one coast evening, not for Nusa Penida.
3 days in Indonesia at a glance
| Day | Based in | What you do | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ubud | Terraces early, temples after, Monkey Forest at the end | Airport to Ubud about 1 |
| 2 | Ubud | Batur sunrise, hot springs, and an afternoon of waterfalls | Ubud to the Batur trailhead about 1 |
| 3 | Uluwatu | South to the cliffs, a cove, and the Kecak at sunset | Ubud to Uluwatu about 2 hours |
Three days in Bali is enough for the interior and one evening on the coast, and not enough for the islands. This route gives Ubud two days, because that is where the terraces, the temples and the volcano are, and finishes at Uluwatu for a sunset that the whole island is arranged around. Nusa Penida is left out on purpose: from Ubud it is a twelve-hour day, and on a three-day trip that day is a third of your holiday spent in a van and a boat.
Two things to check before anything is booked. First, the date of Nyepi, the Balinese day of silence in March, when the airport closes and no one may leave their hotel for twenty-four hours; a three-day trip that lands on it loses a day. Second, whether your dates are dry season, April to October, when the Batur sunrise is a good bet, or wet season, when it is a gamble on cloud and the jeep is the fallback.
Stopovers, long weekends, and first visits where the interior matters more than the beach.
Terraces early, temples after, Monkey Forest at the end
Be at Tegallalang before 8:30, when the light is low across the wet paddies and the road above them is still empty of coaches; by ten it is a queue for the swings. Walk down into the terraces rather than photographing them from the cafes. Then north-east along the Pakerisan river to Tirta Empul, where the purification pools are calm before the late-morning crowd, and if the legs allow it, Gunung Kawi's rock-cut shrines at the bottom of three hundred steps.
Back in Ubud for a late lunch and the Monkey Forest in the last two hours of the afternoon, when the macaques are active again after the heat. Zip the bag, put the sunglasses inside it, and do not carry food. Early night: tomorrow starts at two.
Wear a sarong-friendly outfit for the temples; sarongs are provided at the gate but shoulders should already be covered.
Batur sunrise, hot springs, and an afternoon of waterfalls
Pickup at two in the morning for the drive to Toya Bungkah and a two-hour climb by torchlight to the rim of Mount Batur at 1,717 metres. Bring a real jacket: the summit before dawn is regularly under 12°C and you will stand still in it. Sunrise comes up behind Mount Agung across the lake, breakfast is eggs cooked in the steam vents, and the walk down is in full sun by half past seven. The hot springs on the lake shore are where the morning becomes worth it for whoever did not enjoy the cold. Anyone who does not want the climb takes the jeep to the flank viewpoint for the same sunrise.
Sleep until early afternoon. Then the eastern waterfalls: Tibumana for the pretty one, Kanto Lampo for the photograph, and skip Tukad Cepung today because its light beams only work between nine and eleven in the morning.
Trekking on Batur is guided-only through the village association; every tour includes it, so a quote that seems to exclude the trek fee is a quote to question.
South to the cliffs, a cove, and the Kecak at sunset
Leave Ubud by nine for the two-hour drive to the Bukit peninsula, and go straight to a cove while the tide is right: Padang Padang or Balangan at mid to high tide for swimming, both reached by cliff stairs with no shade, so carry water down. Lunch above Suluban watching the surfers on the Uluwatu reef.
Be through the temple gate by half past four. Sunglasses and hats go in the bag before you enter; the macaques here take them off heads and trade them for food. Walk the cliff path while the light is good, then be in the amphitheatre by five for a seat on the left side, which faces the sun. The Kecak starts around six: fifty men chanting in rings, the Ramayana acted out in front of them, and Hanuman kicking real fire around the arena as the sun goes into the sea.
Kecak tickets are separate from temple entry and sell out on busy evenings; the tours listed here include them.
Planning this trip
Getting around
Bali's roads are slow: thirty kilometres is an hour, and the lanes out of Ubud and into the Bukit jam from mid-morning. The whole route works on a private driver for eight to ten hours a day, usually forty to sixty US dollars for the car with fuel, which is what every driver-based tour on this site is built on. Ride-hailing apps drop you in Ubud but often refuse pickups in the centre; they work normally in the south.
Where to stay
Two nights in Ubud and the last night in Uluwatu, or fly out that evening if the flight is late; Uluwatu is thirty to forty minutes from the airport before the traffic builds. If the flight is early morning, sleep in Jimbaran or Seminyak instead, which are closer still.
Nyepi
The Balinese day of silence falls in March on a date that moves with the lunar calendar. The airport closes, no one leaves their hotel, and lights and noise are forbidden for twenty-four hours. The parade of demon effigies the night before is spectacular; the day itself is a day of hotel. Check the date before booking March.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 3 days enough for Bali?
Enough for Ubud and one evening in the south, which is what this route does. It is not enough for Nusa Penida, which is a twelve-hour day from Ubud, or for the east coast. Treat three days as a first look and plan to come back.
Should I stay in Ubud or on the coast for 3 days?
Ubud, for two of the three nights. The terraces, temples and Batur are all there, and the south coast is best done as a final afternoon and evening ending at the Uluwatu temple.
Can I do Nusa Penida in a 3 day Bali trip?
Only by giving up a full day to it: an hour to Sanur, a 45-minute boat, the island's rough roads, and the same back. On three days that is a third of the trip in transit. Five days is where Penida fits.
What if my 3 days include Nyepi?
One of them is spent inside your hotel: no going out, no lights, no airport. Either move the dates or accept it and see the ogoh-ogoh parade the evening before, which is worth the trade for some people.
Book the guided parts of this trip
Every tour above runs with a verified local operator.
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