City guides Indonesia
Ubud
Bali's green, inland town: rice fields, temples, yoga and a coworking space open 24 hours a day. A warung lunch can be under IDR 30,000. The catches are getting around without a scooter, a national broadband average of about 47 Mbps, and a tax rule that since December 2025 can make a remote worker on the E33G visa tax resident whatever their day count.
Every figure checked 15 Oct 2026
- USD 849 to 1,149 a month, plus 15% Coliving room with coworking
- IDR 4,400 a trip Bus to Kuta
- IDR 5,000 to 60,000 Nasi campur at a warung
- Country Indonesia
- Time zone UTC+8 13:22 there now
- Language Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia)
- Currency Indonesian rupiah (IDR)
- Plugs Type C and F, 230V
How far English gets you In central Ubud English gets you through cafes, coworking spaces, yoga studios, villa managers and the Monkey Forest, and the operators' own sites are in English. It stops in three places: local warungs outside the centre, where menus are often Indonesian only; dealings with the banjar (village council) and landlords who are not agencies; and any immigration or police paperwork, which is done in Indonesian.
Honestly
Is this your kind of place?
It suits you if
Remote employees of foreign companies earning USD 60,000 a year or more, who can get the E33G and want a quiet, green base with yoga, walking and cheap warung food rather than a beach or nightlife. It suits people who will work from a cowork rather than their villa. If a coliving room from about USD 850 to 1,150 a month plus 15 per cent looks like fair value for a desk and a ready-made community, Ubud makes the first month easy.
It does not suit you if
Anyone who won't ride a scooter: Ubud shrinks to the walkable centre plus one bus line, and Bali capped online taxi drivers in 2025. Anyone who needs fast internet: Indonesia's fixed average is about 47 Mbps, 117th in the world. Anyone coming for December to February, when it rains on most days, about 388mm on average in January. Anyone on an E33G who assumed under 183 days meant no Indonesian tax. Unmarried couples, since the new criminal code lets close family report sex outside marriage. Anyone who needs Adderall or Vyvanse, which are illegal. And anyone expecting a big nomad scene: we could not confirm a single meetup running in 2026.
Money
What everything else costs
| Furnished apartment | USD 500 to 1,200 a month | A blog range, not split by area. No checked figure |
|---|---|---|
| Coworking monthly | About IDR 700,000 to 2,700,000 | Campus Ubud to Outpost, from a 2025 travel blog. Outpost's own site shows no prices |
| Coworking day pass | About IDR 50,000 to 220,000 | The Onion Collective to Outpost, from the same blog |
| Tipat cantok | IDR 9,000 | Rice cakes in peanut sauce, at a warung in Mas |
| Bali tourist levy | IDR 150,000 | Per person, paid at lovebali.baliprov.go.id |
| Visa on arrival | Check the current fee | The fee may have changed in 2026 |
| Coffee | Price not checked | No sourced figure for Ubud |
Paperwork
Can you legally stay?
| Savings | A personal bank statement showing at least USD 2,000 across the last three months |
|---|---|
| Official name | E33G remote worker visa (Visa Rumah Kedua Pekerja Jarak Jauh), for employees of companies abroad who work remotely in Indonesia |
| Who it is for | You need an employment contract with a company established outside Indonesia. Immigration has not said whether freelancers can use it |
| Cost | 7,000,000, as shown on the official e-visa portal, which does not state the currency |
| How long | One year. How renewals work is disputed, so ask when you apply |
| What you cannot do | Sell goods or services in Indonesia, or take any payment from Indonesian individuals or companies. One local client breaks it |
| Permanent residence and citizenship | The E33G leads to neither |
| Without a visa | British passports: a 30-day visa on arrival or e-VOA, extendable once. American passports: a 30-day visa on arrival or e-visa, extendable once. Check the current fee before you go |
| Overstay | IDR 1,000,000 a day |
| Tax residency | More than 183 days in any twelve months, living there, or being there during the year intending to stay. Since 9 December 2025, under tax office regulation PER-23/PJ/2025, a stay permit valid for more than 183 days can count as that intention, so an E33G holder can be tax resident whatever their day count |
| Tax exemption | Whether E33G holders are exempt on foreign income is not confirmed by any official source |
Where to live
Where to base yourself
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Central Ubud (Jl. Monkey Forest, Jl. Raya Ubud)
No checked figure yetEverything is walkable, and it has the only stop for the public bus to Kuta
The catch It is the tour-bus centre: the Monkey Forest draws crowds every day, and the Writers and Readers Festival fills the town in late October
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Penestanan
Coliving from USD 1,149 a month plus 15%, coworking includedIts own Outpost cowork and coliving, with a rooftop yoga and sunset deck
The catch The dearest area we could price: Outpost charges USD 300 a month more here than in Nyuh Kuning
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Nyuh Kuning
Coliving from USD 849 a month plus 15%, coworking includedNext to the Sacred Monkey Forest, with the original Outpost cowork, an air-conditioned focus zone and call booths
The catch You live beside the macaques, and the Forest itself warns that they snatch bags and hats
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Peliatan and Mas
No checked figure yetThe local, cheaper-eating side: a Mas warung sells tipat cantok for IDR 9,000
The catch No bus stop we could confirm, so without a scooter you rely on ride-hailing, which Bali capped in 2025
Timing
The best time to come
- Jan Wettest month, 388mm
- Feb 299mm, still monsoon
- Mar 214mm; Nyepi 8 March 2027
- Apr Dry season starts, 115mm
- May 73mm; Ubud Food Festival
- Jun 51mm, cooler nights
- Jul 30mm, dry season
- Aug Driest month, 16mm
- Sep 41mm, still dry
- Oct 68mm; festival fills town
- Nov 149mm, rains returning
- Dec 299mm, wet season
Come now Fine Avoid
April to September is the dry season. August is the driest month, with 16mm of rain, against 388mm in January. The rainy season usually runs from October to March, with flash floods possible. The Ubud Writers and Readers Festival fills the centre from 21 to 25 October 2026. On Nyepi, 8 March 2027, everyone in Bali must stay indoors for the day and the airport closes. The averages are for Denpasar airport on the coast; Ubud is inland and higher, so treat them as a guide.
Connectivity
The internet, honestly
That is Indonesia's average fixed download from Ookla for May 2026, 117th of 149 countries. There is no figure for Ubud.
A cafe on shared wifi is fine for email but not something to rely on for video. For calls, use a cowork with booths: Outpost in Nyuh Kuning has them and is open 24 hours, though it publishes no speed figure, only "high-speed internet". Ask a villa for a speed test before you pay.
Work
Remote roles open to someone in Indonesia
A remote job is not in any one city. These are roles whose employer will hire someone living here, pulled from the board as you load the page.
Eating
What to eat, and what it costs
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Nasi campur
IDR 5,000 to 60,000Rice with a spoonful of each side dish, the standard warung lunch. IDR 5,000 to 30,000 at Warung Rama, IDR 15,000 to 60,000 at Sun Sun Warung
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Nasi ayam Kedewatan
IDR 8,000 to 45,000 on the menuUbud's famous spiced shredded-chicken rice plate, at Ibu Mangku. It opens at 7am
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Tipat cantok
IDR 9,000Rice cakes and vegetables in peanut sauce, a cheap filling lunch, at Warung Kuah Pindang in Mas
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Tipat kare or tipat pindang
IDR 15,000Rice cakes in curry or fish broth, at the same Mas warung
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Bebek goreng
IDR 45,000Fried duck, the Ubud treat lunch, at about five times a tipat price
Days off
Worth a Saturday
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Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary
IDR 130,000, child IDR 100,000A temple forest with free-roaming macaques in the middle of town. Open 9am to 6pm, last entry 5pm. No feeding, and pack away sunglasses and loose things
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Pura Tirta Empul
IDR 50,000 for foreign adults, IDR 30,000 for Indonesians (2023)A water temple where Balinese come for ritual purification. Foreigners pay more
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Campuhan Ridge
Free (2021 figure)A ridge walk through grass and palms, starting from central Ubud
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Tegallalang rice terraces
Free from the road (2021 figure). Walk-in fee not checkedUbud's postcard terraces
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Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave)
Price not checkedA 9th-century cave temple near Peliatan
The rest
Things the other guides leave out
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A long permit can make you tax resident
Since 9 December 2025 (PER-23/PJ/2025), a stay permit valid for more than 183 days can count as intending to live there, so an E33G can make you tax resident even under 183 days
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There is a bus
Trans Metro Dewata Corridor 4 runs from Kuta to central Ubud for IDR 4,400, paid by QRIS QR scan. It was off the road from January to April 2025
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The levy is per person
The IDR 150,000 Bali tourist levy is paid per person at lovebali.baliprov.go.id
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Mind the monkeys
The Monkey Forest bans feeding the macaques and warns they take bags and hats
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Carry ID
You must always carry your passport or KITAS
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A UK licence is not enough
To ride a scooter you need a UK-issued International Driving Permit as well
Work out whether you can actually afford to go
Every role on the board says which countries you can live in and still take it, so remote means remote.
Every figure on this page was checked on 15 Oct 2026. Prices move and rules change; tell us when something is wrong and we will fix it.