A look into our 3 night stay in Ubud on honeymoon in Indonesia

As we approach our wedding anniversary, I wanted to share our 12-day honeymoon in Indonesia! We started in Ubud then ventured to Sumba Island and ended our trip in the bustling Seminyak. This was my husband’s first time out of North America, so we wanted to go somewhere that was new to both of us, allowed us to explore outside, and visitor friendly. Indonesia checked off all of the criteria and we are already wondering when we can go back!

GETTING THERE:

We left SFO and headed to Hong Kong on Cathay Airlines before our layover to Bali the Monday after our wedding. My husband is 6’5”, so we upgraded to the exit row, which was a game changer. Luckily, we had put everything wedding related on our Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, so we could book the flight on miles and pay cash for the upgrade.

Our layover in Hong Kong was intended to be longer, but a flight delay meant we did not arrive until after midnight. I originally planned to have us go to a night market, take the ferry and go to the roof of the IFC mall. Instead, we walked out to their ride share lot trying to find the bus to our hotel. Oops. We eventually found that bus after a solid thirty minutes and made our way to the hotel in time to get a few hours of sleep before a very early flight to Bali!

WHERE WE STAYED:
We enjoyed an incredible 3-night stay at Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in a One Bedroom Pool Villa and it exceeded all expectation. We arrived when it was dark, so we woke up to a stunning, humid, foggy blanketed rainforest view, which was magical.

This villa made it really hard to want to even leave the room, but their breakfast buffet was absolutely worth it. Sean still talks about this breakfast buffet and dining experience - there is no other way to describe it. They had a full buffet along with a la carte items prepared fresh. Our servers quickly memorized our coffee orders and would have them prepared as we sat down each morning.

We ended up enjoying dinner at the hotel each night as we were exhausted from exploring and the time change. If we had had more time, we definitely would have planned more dinners out, but the resort also made it east to not venture out. This is not our usual travel habit, but we figured we could give ourselves a break since it was a special trip, we only had two full days in Ubud and we were spending the days exploring off property. The property is a world of it’s own and we were could not have asked for a better place to kick off the trip (and kick the jet lag)!

WHAT TO DO:
Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary - This is kind of a must when in Ubud. We were happy to check this off the list and the monkeys are pretty cute, but I also was not loving how aggressive some of them were. They see people and know that they can get food or other treats from them.

Greenbike Cycling Tour & Rafting - We had the best time being driven around to a coffee farm for a tasting and amazing vista points before starting our bike ride through the rice fields and remote neighborhoods of Ubud. Somehow, we were the ONLY people on the tour, so to our surprise, we had a completely private guide and experience. We kept expecting to pick up more people at the various stops, but nope! The bike ride ended and we were transported to lunch at Green Kubu Restaurant to fuel up for our river rafting trip that was a blast and such a great way to be outside and see more of the incredible foliage in Ubud.

Massages - cheap ones are all over town and a nice way to break up the day. Our feet were soo sore from the wedding weekend, long flight and general humidity that a mid afternoon foot massage was the best money spent all day!

Explore - We got dropped off at Jl.Raya Ubud and made a big loop down Jl. Monkey Forest to Jl. Hanoman. There are so many great shops, cafes and alleyways to explore. The town is gorgeous and full of temples, friendly locals, and a lot of visitors. We stumbled upon the Puri Saren Agung (Ubud Palace), which was stunning even from afar. If we had had more time (and a husband that wanted to do yoga class), I would have signed up for a class at The Yoga Barn.

Eat - Kafe (great upstairs dining for a view!), Gelato Secrets, Who’s Who (We needed a pick me up and this did the trick!). We stopped into Folk Ubud, but it was just opening and we were not quite ready for a cocktail at 10:00am. My list of spots was long, but we definitely didn’t have as much time in Ubud to enjoy it all - other spots recommended to me: Locavore, Gaya Gelato, Seniman Coffee. I think half the fun of traveling is stumbling into spots and hidden gems, so enjoy exploring and finding spots that suit your style and taste!

Other Day Trips & Activities - Hike Mt. Batur, Explore Tegenunguan Waterfall, The Bali Swing

SNAPSHOT OF OUR ITINERARY:

Day 1: Arrive late, private car from airport to hotel, massage (definitely recommend setting this up for your arrival night - amazing reward after a long journey), quick dinner at Sawah Terrace at Mandapa

Day 2: Explored Ubud - Monkey Forest, walked around town, Ubud Palace, massages, Happy Hour Dinner at The Pool Bar at Mandapa

Day 3: All Day Biking and River Rafting Tour with Greenbike Cycling Tour, Dinner at Kubu in a Private Dining Cocoon

Day 4: Check-out, off to Sumba Island!

Have you been to Ubud? What were some of your favorite spots! Comment below: