The Grand Ubud & Beyond is the complete Bali highland experience — nine days moving through three entirely different worlds, each with its own landscape, culture and character. This is Bali as few travellers see it: not just a resort, but an island of extraordinary depth and diversity.
Begin in Ubud's rice terrace heartland — temples, healers, Kecak fire dance and a full cultural immersion. Then summit the active volcano Mount Batur at dawn, watching the sun rise above the crater rim with clouds below you. Move north to Munduk's cool misty highlands, trekking past waterfalls through coffee and clove plantations. Finish at Amed on Bali's wild east coast — black volcanic sand beaches, world-class snorkelling on the coral reef, and the legendary USAT Liberty shipwreck. Three stays, one unforgettable island.
Route: Arrival → Ubud Villa → Temples & Culture → Mount Batur Sunrise Trek → Munduk Highland → Waterfall Trek → Amed East Coast → Liberty Wreck Dive → Departure
Wake at 2:00 AM and hike by torchlight through volcanic landscape to the summit of Bali's most active volcano — 1,717 metres above sea level. Arrive at the crater rim just as the sun appears over the Lombok Strait, flooding the clouds below you with pink and gold light. Cook eggs in volcanic steam vents. A once-in-a-lifetime morning.
Trek through Munduk's cool, misty highlands past four stunning waterfalls hidden in dense jungle. Visit a working coffee, cacao and clove plantation — taste luwak coffee, see vanilla orchids growing wild, and buy fresh spices directly from the grower. The north Bali highlands feel like a different island entirely.
Amed is Bali's best-kept secret — a string of fishing villages on the wild east coast, with jet-black volcanic sand beaches, crystal-clear water and one of Bali's richest coral reefs just metres offshore. Snorkel among sea turtles, napoleon wrasse and vivid soft corals in waters that feel like an aquarium.
The USAT Liberty is one of the world's most accessible shipwrecks — a WWII US cargo ship now resting in just 5 metres of water just off Tulamben beach, completely encrusted with coral and teeming with marine life. Snorkel or dive over and through this extraordinary living reef. No experience required.
Tirta Empul's sacred water blessing, a private Balian healer session, the Sacred Monkey Forest, a sunset Kecak fire dance at Uluwatu — the best of Ubud's spiritual and cultural experiences in a richly curated full day with your personal guide.
Three completely different accommodation experiences: a lush jungle pool villa above Ubud's rice terraces; a cool highland guesthouse in Munduk's misty tea and coffee country; and a simple, beautiful beachfront bungalow on Amed's black volcanic shore. Each one a world of its own.
Arrive at Ngurah Rai Airport. Private driver takes you north through Bali's interior to your jungle pool villa above the rice terraces (approx. 75 min). Check in and settle in. Welcome with fresh flowers, fruit basket and tropical drinks. Evening stroll through Ubud's night market, dinner overlooking the jungle gorge. A gentle start to a grand adventure.
Early morning walk through the Tegallalang rice terraces as the sun rises. Return for breakfast. Full cultural day with your guide: visit Pura Tirta Empul for a sacred water blessing, continue to Goa Gajah Elephant Cave, explore the Ubud Royal Palace and traditional art market, and end the day with the Kecak fire dance at Uluwatu cliff. Dinner at a beachside restaurant near the cliff.
Morning: a private Balian traditional healer session — bring flowers and an open heart. Afternoon: village cooking class inside a family compound, beginning at the morning market, through the spice garden and into the kitchen for a full Balinese meal cooked from scratch. Evening: 90-minute Balinese massage and flower bath at the villa spa. Rest well — tomorrow starts at 2:00 AM.
2:00 AM wake-up call. Drive north to the base of Mount Batur (45 min) and begin the 2-hour guided ascent by torchlight through volcanic rock and black sand. Arrive at the caldera rim just as the sky begins to pale. Watch the Indian Ocean and Lombok's Rinjani volcano emerge from the darkness as the sun rises above the clouds. Cook eggs in the volcanic steam vents at the summit. Descend by mid-morning. Hot springs soak to recover. Return to Ubud villa for an afternoon rest. Evening: final Ubud dinner.
Check out from Ubud and drive north into Bali's interior highlands, climbing through clove and coffee country to the village of Munduk at 900 metres elevation — misty, cool and extraordinarily beautiful. Check in to your highland guesthouse with views of the north coast. Afternoon: guided trek through the Munduk waterfall trail — four separate waterfalls in the jungle, each more dramatic than the last, with Yeh Mampeh waterfall dropping 20 metres through dense bamboo forest. Dinner with sweeping north coast views.
Morning: a guided tour of a working coffee, cacao and spice plantation in the Munduk highlands — learn how kopi luwak is produced, taste single-origin Balinese arabica, see cacao pods on the tree and smell fresh cloves drying on bamboo mats. Afternoon: drive east through Bali's mountainous interior to the Amed coast (approx. 2.5 hrs) — a spectacular road through volcanic landscape with Lake Batur visible below. Check in to your beachfront bungalow on the black sand. Sunset over the sea. Dinner at a simple local warung with the freshest fish on the island.
Morning: guided snorkelling on Amed's house reef — giant sea fans, bumphead parrotfish, blue-spotted stingrays and sea turtles in crystal-clear water just 30 metres from shore. Afternoon at leisure on the black volcanic sand beach — watch the jukung fishing boats return with their catch, swim in the calm water, read under a coconut palm. Sunset looking east towards Lombok's Mount Rinjani. Dinner at a candlelit beachfront restaurant. One of Bali's most peaceful evenings.
Morning: drive 20 minutes to Tulamben to snorkel the legendary USAT Liberty — a 120-metre American cargo ship torpedoed in WWII and now lying in 5–30 metres of water, completely encrusted with coral and home to over 400 species of fish. One of the world's most famous dive sites, accessible to snorkellers. Afternoon: return to Amed for a final beach afternoon. Sunset swim and farewell dinner on the beachfront — share stories of the days past over grilled fish, cold Bintang and a sky full of stars.
Final morning on Amed's black beach. After breakfast, our driver collects you for the journey back across Bali to Ngurah Rai Airport (approx. 2.5 hrs) — through volcanic landscape, past Batur crater, through the highlands and rice terraces of the south. Tour ends here. You leave Bali with memories of three worlds: Ubud's spirit, Munduk's mist and Amed's silence. And perhaps already planning to return.
"Standing on the Batur crater rim as the sun came up with clouds below us — that is a moment I will carry for the rest of my life. The guide was exceptional. Worth getting up at 2 AM ten times over."
Mar 2026"Amed was a complete revelation. I had no idea Bali had something this peaceful and real. The Liberty shipwreck snorkel was otherworldly — fish everywhere, incredible coral, and almost no one else in the water."
Feb 2026"Munduk is Bali's best-kept secret. The waterfall trek in the mist, the coffee plantation with luwak cats everywhere, waking up at altitude in a cool highland guesthouse — completely different to the rest of the island."
Jan 2026"This is the only Bali package you need. After this trip I understood what people mean when they say Bali changes you. The healer session, the volcano, the wreck, the terraces. Everything. Perfect from start to finish."
Dec 2026