January – March
The green months
The terraces run their most electric green, the afternoon rain is warm and brief, and the whole island slows to a walk.
The Ubud Journal · Peliatan, Bali
Ubud, in every season
Field notes on Bali from a villa in the Peliatan rice terraces.
Come any time of year
There is no wrong month for Ubud
Every season here has its own colour and its own reason. Here is what each part of the year quietly does best.
April – June
The golden shoulder
Long, clear mornings and warm afternoons. Soft crowds, and festival season quietly building.
July – August
The bright peak
Luminous dry days and the island at its most sociable, the paddies lit from a low morning sun.
September – December
The quiet turn
Dramatic skies, gentler crowds, and Galungan and Kuningan colouring every village with penjor and offerings.
Field notes
From the journal
6 min read
Three perfect days in Ubud
A slow, honest itinerary for a first Ubud stay: one dawn at the rice terraces, a slow afternoon, a museum, a cooking class, dinners you'll remember.
6 min read
Getting around Ubud: scooter, driver, or on foot
How we actually move around Ubud: when a private driver earns its keep, when a scooter is the joy of the trip, and where your own two feet win. Honest, practical, and safety first.
5 min read
Ten things to do in Peliatan, on Ubud's quieter side
A palace, three good museums, dance stages, paddy walks and local warungs. Peliatan rewards the guests who walk out the door.
Understand Bali
Read into the island before you come
The stories, beliefs and words that make a Bali trip land differently. This is what the island rewards you for knowing.
Belief
How Balinese Hinduism works
The gods, the offerings, the temple calendar. The quiet logic behind almost everything you will see on the island.
Language
50 Indonesian words for Bali
The small handful of phrases that change how every day of a trip goes, and earn a warmer welcome everywhere.
Culture
Where Western travellers meet Bali
The cultural differences worth knowing before you arrive, for American and European visitors alike.
History
A short history of Bali
How the island became what it is today, from old kingdoms to the Ubud of now, in about an hour of reading.
Plan the trip
Three tools to time it right
Bali, any month
Spin the wheel and see what any month gives you: the rice cycle, the light, the ceremonies.
Open the wheel →Trip cost estimator
A transparent, honest estimate for a week in Bali, line by line, in your own currency.
Estimate a trip →Ceremonies countdown
The next Balinese ceremonies, counting down. Time your stay to Galungan, Kuningan or a temple odalan.
See what's coming →
Where we write from
Villa Samaddhi
A three-bedroom villa built into protected rice terraces in Peliatan, six minutes from central Ubud. Private L-shaped infinity pool, open-air living pavilion, sleeps six.
Sleeps 6 Rice terraces on three sides 6 min to Ubud