Travel Guide

8 Best Things To Do in Ubud with Kids for a Fun Family Holiday

9 September 2026 · 12 min read
Family walking together in Ubud Bali

Not every popular Ubud attraction is actually a good fit for young kids, even when it gets called family-friendly. The things to do in Ubud with kids on this list were chosen because they genuinely work for children, not just because adults happen to enjoy them too.

Summary Table

Here’s a quick look at the best things to do in Ubud with kids before the detail on each one.

Activity Location Opening Hours Age Suitability Best For
Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary Monkey Forest Rd, Ubud 9am to 5pm daily Most ages with close supervision Kids who understand not to touch or feed
Kid-Safe Swings at Alas Harum Tegallalang 7am to 7pm daily Rice terrace suits all ages, bigger rides need height and confidence A photo-friendly outing with adjustable thrill level
Campuhan Ridge Walk Campuhan, Ubud Open access, no fixed hours All ages, stroller-friendly near the start A free, low-effort outing
Bali Zoo Singapadu 9am to 5pm daily All ages, hands-on areas suit younger kids too A full day built around animals
Bali Family Hangout Singakerta 8.30am to 9pm daily Babies to older kids Letting kids burn off energy in one spot
Pondok Pekak Library and Learning Centre Monkey Forest Rd, Ubud 9am to 5pm daily All ages, siblings can work together A quieter, hands-on cultural activity
Ubud Palace Dance Performance Central Ubud Grounds 7am to 5pm, show around 7.30pm All ages, evening timing worth weighing An easy cultural evening
Mason Elephant Park and Lodge Taro 10am to 5pm daily All ages for viewing, washing needs more confidence A dedicated wildlife day

Visit Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary

Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary is home to hundreds of long-tailed macaques living freely across a shaded forest reserve dotted with centuries-old temples. Kids get to see the monkeys up close without a cage or barrier in sight, which is exactly what makes it exciting and exactly why it needs a bit of supervision.

Among the genuinely kid friendly things to do in Ubud, this one comes with real rules worth explaining before you arrive. Zip up bags, keep food and water bottles out of sight, and stay close to young children, since the monkeys will investigate anything that looks like a snack.

Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud

Try the Kid-Safe Swings at Alas Harum

Alas Harum is best known for its jungle swing, though the property is really a working paddy landscape with several separate activities layered on top of it. Not every swing here is an extreme one. Some sit low and gentle enough for a young child with a parent, while others are built for a bigger thrill and a taller rider.

The rice terrace itself is worth walking even without touching a single ride, since the tiered paddies give kids a real sense of how rice actually gets grown, not just a photo backdrop. Ask staff directly which rides suit your child’s age and height before queuing, since the answer varies more than the entrance ticket suggests.

Walk Campuhan Ridge

  • Location: Jl. Raya Ubud, Kelusa, Kec. Payangan, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali
  • Opening Hours: no gates or fixed hours, open access, best walked in daylight
  • Age Suitability: suits any age, with the paved section near the start manageable for a stroller
  • Best For: families wanting a free, low-effort outing between bigger activities

Campuhan Ridge Walk follows an open path along a ridge between two jungle valleys, with no entrance fee, no vendors and nowhere for a young child to wander into traffic. It’s flat enough near the start for a stroller and opens up into wider views the further you walk.

It’s one of the easier things to do in Ubud with kids precisely because there’s nothing to plan around, no tickets, no set start time and no minimum age. Turning back early is always an option if energy runs out before the full walk does.

Campuhan Ridge Walk in Ubud

Meet the Animals at Bali Zoo

Bali Zoo is a genuine wildlife park rather than a roadside animal photo stop, with enclosures set through a tropical garden layout rather than rows of cages. Younger kids in particular get real value from the hands-on areas, feeding and touching animals like capybaras under staff supervision.

It sits further out than most of Ubud’s central attractions, closer to Sukawati than Ubud itself, so it works best as a dedicated half or full day rather than a quick stop between other things. Bring a change of clothes if your child plans to get involved in any of the mud or water activities.

Spend an Afternoon at Bali Family Hangout

Bali Family Hangout is built specifically as a kids playground and pool venue rather than a sight to look at, with a sandpit, an outdoor playground, an indoor play area and pools sized for different ages. Parents get proper seating and food rather than standing around waiting.

It works particularly well as the one stop where kids do most of the deciding, since there’s enough variety on-site that a toddler and a ten-year-old can both find something without either one getting bored. Some visitors report spending five or six hours here without meaning to.

Bali Family Hangout in Ubud

Make Something at Pondok Pekak Library and Learning Centre

Pondok Pekak runs as both a children’s library and a cultural centre, offering a craft workshop most days alongside shelves of books in several languages. Ring-making and Balinese offering-making are both hands-on enough to hold a child’s attention without needing much prior skill.

It’s a smaller, quieter stop than most of the other entries on this list, which makes it a genuinely useful one to slot in after a more physically demanding morning. Siblings of different ages can usually sit at the same table and work on the same craft together, rather than needing separate activities.

Watch a Dance Performance at Ubud Palace

  • Location: Jl. Raya Ubud No.8, Ubud, Bali
  • Opening Hours: the grounds are open 7am to 5pm daily and free to enter, with the evening dance performance starting around 7.30pm on a ticketed basis (schedule varies by day, worth confirming before you go)
  • Age Suitability: suits any age, though the evening timing is worth weighing up against a younger child’s bedtime
  • Best For: a cultural evening that doesn’t ask much of the kids beyond sitting and watching

Ubud Palace hosts a Balinese dance performance most evenings in an open courtyard, with dancers in bright costumes moving to live gamelan music. It’s a passive kind of entertainment, which makes it one of the easier evening activities to bring young kids along to.

Arriving around 7pm rather than right at showtime is worth it, since seating fills up and latecomers often end up standing or on the floor. The show runs a little over an hour, short enough that most kids can sit through it without needing a break.

Ubud Palace. Temple in Bali, Indonesia

Meet the Elephants at Mason Elephant Park and Lodge

Mason Elephant Park and Lodge is a rescue-based elephant park rather than a performance venue, with feeding and washing experiences that put kids in genuine close contact with the animals under staff guidance. It sits in Taro, a fair drive north of central Ubud, which makes it worth treating as its own outing.

The elephant washing option is the one worth thinking through for younger or more nervous kids, since it involves getting close to a genuinely enormous animal in water. Feeding, by contrast, is a gentler way in for a child who isn’t quite ready for the full washing experience.

How to Plan a Kid-Friendly Day in Ubud

Good Ubud family activities work best mixed rather than stacked, one higher-energy stop in the morning, a proper break at midday, and something calmer to close the day. Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary or Campuhan Ridge Walk both suit an active morning, while the afternoon is the right place for a genuine rest, back at the villa for lunch and pool time, not another activity squeezed in.

Among the things to do in Ubud with kids on this list, Bali Family Hangout and Pondok Pekak both work well once energy has come back after the midday break, one for pure play, the other for something quieter and more hands-on. Save the Ubud Palace dance performance for the evening, since it asks little of tired kids beyond sitting still and watching. Avoid pairing two high-energy stops, like Alas Harum and Bali Zoo, on the same day, since both involve a fair amount of walking and heat.

Family walking together in Ubud Bali

Which of These Actually Suit Toddlers vs. Older Kids

Not every entry on this list works equally well for Ubud with toddlers specifically. Campuhan Ridge Walk, Bali Family Hangout and Pondok Pekak are the safest bets for the youngest kids, since none require following complex rules or facing a genuinely large animal up close.

Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, Bali Zoo and Mason Elephant Park all suit older kids more comfortably, simply because they involve either wild animals that need respectful distance or large ones that need real confidence. Alas Harum’s bigger rides and the Ubud Palace evening show sit somewhere in between, fine for most ages with the right supervision or timing.

Plan Your Family Days in Ubud

Whichever of these things to do in Ubud with kids make the cut, the honest measure of a good family day here isn’t how many stops you fit in, it’s whether everyone, adults included, still has energy left for dinner.

Coming back to a private estate after a day exploring Ubud gives families the space to slow down, with a private pool, shared living areas and room for everyone to relax together. At Amala Villas Ubud, our three-house estate offers dedicated cooks, a private chauffeur and personalised support to make family stays more comfortable. Explore our full rooms, rates and inclusions before you enquire.

If you’d like help mapping these out around your children’s ages, send us an enquiry and we’ll help you build a day that actually works.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Ubud safe for young children?

Generally yes, though a few of the things to do in Ubud with kids on this list need more caution than others. Wild monkeys and elephant interactions both require following staff instructions closely, while a walk like Campuhan Ridge or a stop at Bali Family Hangout carries little real risk beyond normal supervision.

What age is suitable for Alas Harum’s swings and rides?

It depends on the specific ride rather than the venue as a whole. The rice terrace walk suits any age, but the bigger swings, sky bike and zipline usually have a minimum height or age set by staff on the day, so it’s worth checking at the counter rather than assuming everything is open to every child.

Do we need to book Sacred Monkey Forest or Bali Zoo in advance?

Not strictly, since both sell tickets on arrival, though booking ahead online can save queueing time during busier periods. Arriving close to opening also helps avoid both the crowds and the midday heat.

Is one day enough to see the highlights with kids?

One day covers two or three of these comfortably, not all eight. Spreading the list across two or three days, with a proper midday break each time, makes for a far less exhausting trip than trying to fit everything into one long day.

What should we pack for a day out with kids in Ubud?

Sun protection, water, a change of clothes if visiting Bali Zoo or Mason Elephant Park, and closed shoes for anywhere involving a walk through forest or rice paddies. Cash is worth carrying too, since not every ticket counter takes cards reliably.

Are there kid-friendly places to eat near these attractions?

Yes, most of these sights sit within a short drive of a cafe or restaurant used to families, and Bali Family Hangout specifically doubles as a place to eat rather than just play. For a tired evening, though, eating back at your villa often beats finding a table for a group with kids who are ready for bed.

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