Plan
Three days in Ubud, planned around food
Put the class on day two
IDR 350.000per guest, shared class
A three-day Ubud itinerary for people who travel to eat: arrival and a warung plate, a morning cooking class, the terraces, the herons, and a night market.
By Chef Wayan Suryana, Warung Tumang BaliLast updated
The short answer
Day one: arrive (1.5 to 2.5 hours from the airport), eat one warung plate, and rest. Day two: the 8:30am Petulu cooking class with the morning market and the lunch you cook, then the Monkey Forest around 3pm. Day three: Tegallalang at 7am, a slow afternoon, and the Gianyar night market for dinner.
Day one: arrive and eat simply
Ngurah Rai Airport is about 45 km from Ubud, 1.5 to 2.5 hours by car. Check in, find a warung near your hotel for one plate of nasi campur, and sleep early. The first-day guide has the details.
Day two: market, kitchen, forest
Book the 8:30am class at Warung Tumang Bali. You walk the morning market, then the Petulu rice fields, then cook with Chef Wayan Suryana and eat the lunch you made. Free drop-off brings you back to your hotel in the main Ubud area in the early afternoon.
Rest through the heat, then walk into the Sacred Monkey Forest around 3pm; last entry is at 5pm. Keep dinner light. After the class lunch, one warung plate is plenty.
Day three: terraces at dawn, market after dark
Leave for Tegallalang at 7am, 20 to 30 minutes north of Ubud, and walk the terraces before the tour buses arrive around mid-morning. Spend the afternoon slowly: a pool, a massage, a coffee.
In the evening, ride 25 to 35 minutes east to the Gianyar night market for babi guling, sate lilit, and a sweet from the cake stalls. Two days after the class, you will recognize what is in the sate.
Only one early start in you?
Give the dawn to Tegallalang on day two and take the 2:30pm afternoon class the same day. It ends in dinner at 5:30pm, just as the Petulu herons fly in to roost, and day three keeps its morning free. You lose the market, which only runs with the morning class.
Questions before the day
- Is 3 days enough for Ubud?
- For the food and the main sights, yes: one arrival day, one day around a cooking class, and one day for the terraces and a night market.
- Which day should I take a cooking class in Ubud?
- Day two. You are rested, and what you learn changes what you order for the rest of the trip. The 8:30am session includes the morning market.
- Do I need a driver for 3 days in Ubud?
- Not for the class: pickup is free from the main Ubud area. For Tegallalang and the Gianyar night market, hire a driver or ride a scooter.
Plan the rest of the day
- Your first day in UbudFirst day in Ubud after landing: allow 1.5–2.5 hours from the airport, eat one warung plate near your hotel, rest, and book a cooking class for day two.
- Tegallalang rice terraces and a cooking classTegallalang is 20–30 minutes north of Ubud, IDR 25.000 entry, best 7–9am. Pair it with a cooking class in Petulu, north of Ubud in the same direction.
- Monkey Forest and a cooking class in one Ubud dayMonkey Forest Ubud is open 9am–6pm, last entry 5pm, IDR 130.000 per adult. Pair it with a morning or afternoon cooking class in Petulu, 10 minutes away.
Cook the dishes from this day
- Base genepHow to make base genep (bumbu Bali): pound shallot, garlic, roots, and candlenut, then fry 8–10 minutes until the raw smell is gone. From a Petulu kitchen.
- Sate lilitHow to make sate lilit: mix fish or chicken with fried base genep and coconut, wrap it around lemongrass, and grill. Twelve skewers from a Petulu kitchen.
Where the kitchen is
Chef Wayan Suryana at Warung Tumang Bali, Banjar Laplapan, Petulu, Ubud, Gianyar, Bali 80571. The kitchen is about 10 minutes from central Ubud, depending on traffic. Pin -8.4945671, 115.2812928.