Can you do Ubud and Uluwatu in one day?
Yes, but only if you leave Ubud by 12:45 PM. The two are just 54 km apart, yet the day can put you in a car for 4 to 8 hours. If you can, do it one way and sleep in the south.
Is It Doable? · October 30, 2026 · 3 min read · By TripMazer
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Only if you leave Ubud by 12:45 PM.
The numbers.Checked for a Tuesday in November.
- Distance
- 54 km each way
- Ubud to Uluwatu
- 1 hr 40 min to 3 hr 40 min, leaving around 1 PM
- Uluwatu to Ubud
- 1 hr 50 min to 3 hr 30 min, leaving at 7:15 PM
- Uluwatu Temple
- Open 7 AM to 7 PM
- Sunset
- 6:18 PM on 10 November
- Kecak dance
- Usually 6 PM, with a 7 PM show also listed
The day.Hour by hour.
- 8:30 AM
Tegallalang Rice Terrace
Open from 8 AM, so you beat the midday heat.
- 10:30 AM
Drive to Ubud
28 to 50 min
- 11:20 AM
Sacred Monkey Forest
One hour. It opens at 9 AM.
- 12:20 PM
A quick lunch near the forest
You have 25 minutes.
- 12:45 PM
Leave Ubud. This is the deadline.
1 hr 40 min to 3 hr 40 min to Uluwatu. You arrive between 2:25 and 4:25 PM.
- 4:30 PM
Uluwatu Temple and the cliff walk
Guides suggest arriving by 4:30 PM to get a seat for the dance.
- 6:00 PM
Kecak dance at sunset
The sun sets at 6:18 PM.
- 7:15 PM
Drive back to Ubud
1 hr 50 min to 3 hr 30 min, in the dark. You’re back between 9:05 and 10:45 PM.
Where it breaks.
The afternoon drive has no margin
The same road can take two hours longer depending on the day. Leave at 12:45 PM and a slow run still gets you there by 4:25 PM. Leave at 2:30 PM and a slow run gets you in after 6 PM, when the dance has started.
Something in Ubud gets cut
This day gives you two hours at the terraces, one at the forest and 25 minutes for lunch. Add a temple or a long lunch, and you’re past the deadline.
The way home is the worst part
After a full day, you may still have three and a half hours in the car, at night. That’s the part most plans leave out.
Do it one way instead.
Spend the morning in Ubud, check out, and drive south once. Stay near Uluwatu or Jimbaran, watch the sunset, and you’re a short ride from your bed.
Same sights, and the main drive drops from up to 7 hr 10 min to up to 3 hr 40 min.
Keep reading.
6 of 10 hold up. Most are a long drive.
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