9 of the Top Day Trips on Bali

Many travelers spend a full week exploring Ubud, but the island’s spiritual and cultural capital is also one of the top Bali day trip destinations. Whether your interests run to food or adrenaline, history or Instagram, there’s an Ubud day trip with your name on it.

Ubud is known for its adventure tours, especially all-terrain vehicle (ATV or quad bike) rides or white-water rafting. Visiting the Beji Guwang Hidden Canyon and Tirta Empul Temple are popular activities to do during a day trip to Ubud. You can also enjoy natural wonders like Tegenungan Waterfall and Tegalalang Rice Terrace, capture photos on a jungle swing, or craft the ultimate souvenir at a silversmithing class.

Long ignored by travelers, east Bali is now one of the must-visit day-trip destinations on Bali. With statue-lined pools, shady pavilions, and swimming koi fish, the Tirta Gangga Water Garden in east Bali is a landscape fit for the king who built it. Most Bali day trips include visits to some or all of Lempuyang Temple’s Gates of Heaven, Bali’s top Instagram spot; the Ujung Water Palace, built by the same royal family that created Tirta Gangga; Tenganan Village, a Bali Aga minority village; and Virgin Beach, named for its off-white sands.

Set on a crater lake in Bali’s cool and rainy north-central highlands, Bedugul offers a complete change of pace from the chaos of south Bali. The thatched towers of Ulun Danu Beratan Temple seem to float on the lake, vendors sell farm-fresh strawberries on every corner, and the Bali Botanic Garden offers exotic trees and orchids, plus there’s a lively market.

Photographers will also appreciate the picturesque Vihara Mahavira Bedugul Baturiti Buddhist temple, the abandoned hotel known as the Ghost Palace, and the Handara Iconic Gate, which is actually part of a golf course.

One of the all-time top-rated Bali day excursions, there’s a degree to which Mt. Batur, an active volcano toward the north of the island, has been a victim of its own success: The classic sunrise climb can be a slow and uncomfortable ordeal (especially during peak travel season) that culminates on an overcrowded crater rim. An alternative plan is to hike during the day or at sunset, take a Jeep tour, add in the hot springs on the lake below, or visit the Trunyan Cemetery, where a Bali Aga minority community lay their dead to rest in the open air.

The scale of Nusa Penida, an island off Bali, often takes travelers by surprise. It spans around 80 square miles (200 square kilometers), meaning it has almost four times the area of Manhattan Island. While many visitors spend several days exploring, Penida is also one of the top day tours from Bali.

Snorkelers and scuba divers can see giant mantas, beachcombers can admire the soaring cliffs framing Instagram-worthy beaches (like Kelingking Beach and Diamond Beach), and photographers will want to whip out their cameras to snap the natural pools at Angel’s Billabong and the arched rock formation at Pasih Uug Beach (also known as Broken Beach).

Linked to tiny Nusa Ceningan by a photogenic yellow bridge, Nusa Lembongan is a satisfying boating day trip for anyone looking to explore Bali’s nearby attractions. From kayaking or stand-up paddleboarding through the mangroves to admiring the wave-pounded Devil’s Tears Cove, this laid-back little place has lots to offer. Bicycle and e-bike tours are an easy way to cover a lot of ground if you only have a day, but be aware that snorkeling trips generally spend most of their time off neighboring Nusa Penida.

Nestled in Bali’s far south, Uluwatu is one of Bali’s most up-and-coming destinations, with an increasing number of travelers choosing to base there for some or all of their vacation. It’s also a popular day or half-day trip from elsewhere on the island. The key draw is the cliff-top Uluwatu Temple, an important sea temple that’s home to groups of kleptomaniac monkeys, plus a sunset kecak (Balinese dance) and fire dance performance. Many Uluwatu trips pair time at the temple and the sunset dance show with one or more of the nearby beaches and a seafood dinner on Jimbaran Beach.

One of the hidden gems among Bali's day trips, the Kintamani highlands offer timeless, rolling agricultural landscapes replete with orchards, coffee farms, spice plantations, and volcanic peaks. A bike ride, which runs almost entirely downhill, is a great way to discover the area. Kintamani is also a common stop on Bali sightseeing tours, which often break for buffet lunches at restaurants with views over Lake Batur to the volcano.

One of the areas that earned Bali’s subak rice farming system its UNESCO World Heritage site status, Jatiluwih has plenty of accommodation, but many travelers prefer to visit on a day trip. Well-signed walks through organic rice terraces are a highlight, while the region’s picturesque beauty is a photographer’s dream. Many Jatiluwih tours also visit the Batukaru Temple, a mountainside shrine that’s one of Bali’s most important places of worship after Besakih Temple.