Vegan Bali, I’ve been following pictures of amazing-looking food for ages. Even so, I cut Bali out of my itinerary at first. There is just so much hype, and this contrarian can’t handle it. Then I realized it would cost be the same in flights to stop over in Bali on the way back from Melbourne. Might as well give it a shot, eh? So I spent a week there and declared it vacation-week. I was starting to pick up work and figured I’d go balls-to-the-wall that week before I got serious about this whole digital nomad thing.
Did vegan Bali meet my expectations? Yes and no. The food really is great, and Indonesian food is just generally pretty easy to veganize even if you’re not in a vegan restaurant. If you love tempeh, it’s everywhere and that’s awesome. However, all those peaceful pictures in rice fields are leaving a lot out. The main street in Ubud is CRAZY. There are a TON of tourists. You can certainly live in a peaceful villa overlooking rice fields if you want, but then you’ll need a motorbike, a driver, or to take frequent long walks in the hot and humid Bali heat.
Canggu is another place I heard a lot about, but I didn’t get there this time. I would definitely like to go back to Bali now that I know the lay of the land a bit more. Maybe during the Bali vegan festival? I didn’t find it as easy to make friends in Bali as Chiang Mai, but also I already had a few friends there and I stayed in a hostel filled mostly with backpackers and I only stayed a week, so your mileage may vary.
Where to Stay in Ubud
Note: Lots of places refer to themselves as a “home stay”. This usually does not mean you’re sharing the same living space with a family. I grew up with that being the meaning for the word, but in most places in Asia it generally just means it’s owned by a family who probably lives on the property, but you have your own room and/or apartment. I found this confusing in the beginning so hopefully it clarified it!
I’ve separated the where to stay options into where I stayed, all-vegetarian places, and suggested hostels and homestays. Just scroll down to find your desired situation.
Where I Stayed in Ubud
The Onion Collective – A friend recommended this place to me because I had not yet gotten over my fear of riding a motorbike while I was in Bali and needed to stay somewhere I could talk to a decent amount of places. It advertises itself as a digital nomad hostel, which I also found intriguing. I usually don’t do hostels anymore, but their private rooms were a bit pricey so I opted for a women’s dorm room since they had AC.
My room was never full, but both of my roommates seemed to have missed the memo that the hostel was for digital nomads. I also got in an AC war with one of them, who hid the remote for the AC in her bed so I couldn’t turn it on (instead of talking to me about it at all to make a compromise), which was kind of traumatic in 30 C 99% humidity heat with no fan (attached to AC) or windows in the room. The hostel dealt with it really well though, they put me in a private room with AC for the night since it wasn’t possible to turn on the AC without the remote.
I didn’t meet so many people, but I kept leaving The Onion early in the morning before people woke up. A bunch of people and one of the owners called me over to sit with them my last night, and they were also super cool, so I wish I made more of an effort.
They have a coworking space on site and as I was just picking up work at the time, this was quite useful. It was included in the price of my room, though I think they charge a bit extra now. The also have some vegan options and soymilk for coffee on the menu. Ah, and cute dogs.
It’s really in the action, though down a side road so quiet inside. Was good for me at the time as an intro to Ubud, but the main road is really overwhelming so next time I go to Ubud I’ll stay a bit more out to get the whole rice paddy experience.
Book The Onion Collective – You can view their website above for info, all bookings are done via AirBnB linked from their website. If you’re new to AirBnB, signup here to get $25 off your first booking.
Nice private room I got put in for a night during my air-conditioning crisis in the dorm
Entrance of The Onion Collective – Digital Nomad Hostel with Private Rooms
Vegan Hotels and Resorts in Ubud
Suly Vegetarian Resort and Spa – The name of the resort Suly means ‘many beautiful reasons’. Set peacefully amongst verdant Balinese rice fields and lush greenery, Suly Vegetarian Resort, Yoga and Spa has 67 rooms, a restaurant, a café, a bar, two swimming pools, a spa and offers yoga classes. The resort also offer arts and cultural activities, as well as sightseeing tours and a complimentary scheduled return shuttle service to the center of Ubud. Free Wi-Fi is available in the lobby and restaurant areas and all rooms. Since from April 1st 2017 Suly Vegetarian Resort serves exclusively vegetarian and vegan food in the resort.
Pool at Suly Vegetarian Resort and Spa in Ubud
BeingSattvaa Vegetarian Retreat Villa Ubud – Omg I wish I had stayed here, it looks amazing. From their website, “An exclusive setting of eleven Balinese garden villas where you can reconnect with yourself, nature, or a group of intimate friends. A refreshing healing routine of sunrise, yoga, meditation, spa, nature walks, swims and treks to hidden canyons, rivers, valleys, waterfalls, villages and temples… it certainly won’t feel like routine. A feast for your senses, our menus feature nutritionally balanced Asian and Western vegetarian and vegan cuisine delicately flavored with fresh produce from our garden.” They offer a large perimeter overflow pool, free WiFi access in all areas, and a free shuttle service around Ubud central area. This place is on the luxury side at about 200€ per night for a whole villa, including breakfast.
Zen level 10 achieved at this all-vegan retreat…oh my
Dekak Batuan Home – Okay I’m cheating because this place isn’t vegan itself, but it’s right next to my favorite (and the cheapest) vegan restaurant Siboghana Waroeng and has a pool! I saw an ad for it while eating there and rolling out of bed to this amazing restaurant doesn’t seem like a bad life to me. Costs about 20€ per night.
Homestays and Villas in Ubud
Let’s start with the most luxurious and get cheaper:
Villa Shamballa – If you’re coming to Bali for a special occasion, say a honeymoon or a vacation after working way too much, i.e. you’re willing to splurge but also want your privacy, this is your place. It’s so beautiful, but not cheap at over 200€ per night. What you can for that though is pretty outstanding, and they’re able to prepare vegan food for guests. You get a private infinity pool overlooking the tropical greenery. Free Wi-Fi is provided throughout the villa. Two-storey villa. Large terrazzo bathtub and outdoor rain-shower with direct access to the sun-deck and pool. Guests can arrange in-villa massages and laundry services. Complimentary daily breakfast is served at the villa with a variety of menus to choose. Complimentary afternoon tea is also served each day. Oh my.
How gorgeous is this place?!
No really.
Ubud Inn Cottage – Here’s your midrange option at around 35€ per night. You get a pool and a really nice room, it’s walking distance to the main street and close to my favorite vegan restaurant in Ubud, Siboghana Warung. All rooms come with a four-poster bed and garden views and either a fan or air conditioning. All have a refrigerator. Attached bathrooms include hot-water showers. Staff at the tour desk can help to organise activities like horse riding and volcano hiking. Guests can also enjoy a massage at the spa, or rent a car to explore Bali. Ubud Inn Cottage’s restaurant serves a selection of Western and Indonesian dishes. A daily breakfast is also available (check if vegan, though Balinese food is pretty veganizable).
Room at Ubud Inn Cottage – great location, great reviews
Salukat Guesthouse – Okay so not all of us are on luxurious holidays, haha. Some of us are traveling longer and can’t splurge for a villa with a private pool. This place is in the area of Ubud I decided I would stay next time. Out of the craziness of the main street, but you can still walk to the north of the main street, and have a couple of restaurants with good vegan options around. Featuring a garden and free WiFi, Salukat Guesthouse is near Ubud Market and Ubud Palace. At the guesthouse, all rooms are equipped with a terrace. With a private bathroom, rooms at Salukat Guesthouse also offer a garden view. The rooms include a desk, for y’all digital nomads. Private double room starts at only 12€ per night (!!).
Nice affordable private room in a chill area of Ubud
Hostels in Ubud
WW Backpackers – This is the highest rated hostel in Ubud and it looks amazing. Just have a look at that view below. The dorm rooms actually get sunlight and have terraces, seating and also a nice view. It’s also in a great area, just out of the chaos in the north, but still walking distance to tons of stuff and some good vegan spots. WW Backpackers features rooms with river views and free WiFi. It’s near Ubud Palace and the property is a 1-minute walk from Campuhan Ridge (see my images of that below). Prices start at around 12€ per night (including breakfast, gotta check for vegan options) in a dorm, beds have curtains for privacy.
Lookit that view from the WW Backpackers dorms. I really wish I stayed here.
Sunshine Vintage House – This one is right in the center if you wanna be in the action and avoid traipsing around under the hot Bali sun. It’s also near Yoga Barn if you’re coming for that. Really nice stylish rooms with curtains for privacy, and air-conditioning (important!). Rooms are equipped with a balcony and a garden view and have a seating area. An Asian breakfast is included daily at the accommodation, seems to be mostly fruit so at least some vegan options. 15€ per night for a dorm bed.
Beds at Sunshine Vintage House Hostel in Ubud, a good option right in town.
What to Do in Ubud
Campuhan Ridge Walk – This is a free little hike you can do on your own. Bring sunscreen, as lots of it has no tree cover. It’s a really nice view and there’s access to a little swing overlooking the ridge you can take a picture at. Once you get a little further there’s some restaurants and cafes that have vegan options. I made a beer stop and a lunch stop at a beautiful cafe called Karma Cafe. To find the trail, just type “Campuhan Ridge Walk” into Google Maps, bookmark it and walk to the point (you can download a google map offline if need be), and walk down the steps to begin the trail.
Campuhan Ridge Walk Views, not bad.
A blurry picture with my hair sticking up on the swing on the Campuhan Ridge Walk. This is why I’ll never be an #Influencer.
Enjoying a coconut at the beautiful Karma Cafe after sweating my balls off in the heat and humidity.
Vegan fried rice at Karma Cafe at my refuel stop.
I only went this far, but you could technically walk further. There’s some other cool shops and I spotted vegan ice cream in the tiny village on the way here too.
Midas Spa – A friend recommended this place and I can give it two thumbs up as well. I booked the Glowing Package (4 hours 15 minutes and it included the “Midas Traditional Massage”, a body scrub, the Midas Pure Natural Facial and a hair spa. All for about 15€. Yes really. Nice and clean place too, definitely recommend it.
My welcome drink and towel before my massage package at Midas Spa in Ubud
Biking Through Bali’s Hidden Beauty – My first time using AirBnB Experiences and it was a win! I like cycling and really wanted to see more of this beautiful nature Bali is famous for so I signed myself up. They picked me up at my accommodation and took us to breakfast at a Balinese Coffee plantation. For vegans there was just fruit (others got pancakes with eggs), but it was a nice fruit salad. They let us sample a bunch of different coffees and teas, and to my surprise they used soymilk for all the milk options! In the gift shop they also had dark, white and milk chocolate, all using soymilk! After breakfast they drove us into the rice paddies, gave us bikes, and then we were off!
We made some pit stops to loo at some of the ceremonial massive paper mache creatures made to ward off evil spirits during a village’s monthly (??) ceremonies. We also got to stop in a traditional Balinese family complex to try some snacks, coffee and talk about that local village’s religious calendar with the local priest. If you don’t have an AirBnB account yet and want to book this, you can sign up with my link to get $25 credit.
Vegan Bali Note: The coffee plantation serves the Kopi Luwak coffee for an extra cost. This isn’t vegan as they cage an animal called a civet, which you can see on site, and feed them coffee beans so that they poop them out. This coffee is then served after being processed by the civet’s digestive system. So yes, it’s poop coffee and you’ll see it all over in Bali. I felt quite bad for the civets and didn’t know this would be an option on the tour, but sadly very many places I saw in Ubud served this coffee.
My fruit salad breakfast with sugar syrup (coconut sugar syrup?)
All the chocolates for sale at the coffee and cacao plantation were surprisingly vegan (made with soy)!
Close up of the vegan white chocolate I bought on the Ubud cycling tour
Meeting a local Balinese priest
The vegan peanut rice cake snack they served us at the Balinese priest’s house.
Some of the views you’ll see from the Ubud cycling tour
My lunch (included) at the end of the Ubud cycling tour, pretty solid vegan options yo. Tempeh for the win! I wrote them in advance to let them know I’m vegan, but it seems the restaurant has this anyway.
Bali Vegan Festival – If you’re in Ubud in October, check this out! Unfortunately I wasn’t there that time of year, but it would have been cool. The epitome of vegan Bali hah.
Yoga in Ubud
Yoga Barn – Yoga Barn is the most famous yoga studio in Bali and is also quite well-known around the world. While some bits of the community seem to occasionally go a bit cult-ish, I took several courses there that I rather enjoyed. Mostly I liked hanging out on their campus, and they offer a free community yoga class once per week, which I took as well. Since being in all this ultra spiritual places I’ve been trying random hippy shit as a bit of a pastime and did a sound healing class here that was pretty cool too. It was basically like going to a concert and taking a nap while people shake leaves over your head and put Tiger Balm on your forehead. Anyway, the number and type of classes offered at Yoga Barn is HUGE, but they are more expensive than most of the other studios.
Inside one of the big studios at Yoga Barn
Radiantly Alive – I didn’t make it here but many people recommended it to me. They also offer an aerial yoga class that looks pretty cool (I call it circus yoga).
Coworking in Ubud
Outpost Coworking – I got a tour here and went to a meetup and can vouch that this co-working space is excellent. They have outdoor space, air-conditioned space, quiet space and more social space. You can get food and coffee delivered to your desk from the cafe next door, and they have someone come in to do chair massages. Lots of events to meet people and not too expensive. I definitely recommend checking them out if you’re in the market for a co-working space in Ubud. Since my hostel had one onsite I didn’t need to seek out another, but I went here to hang out a couple times.
Vegan Bali -Vegan Restaurants in Ubud
Siboghana Waroeng – My favorite restaurant for Indonesian and Balinese food hands down, and also the cheapest. It’s a little confusing to get to as it’s set a bit off the street in a Balinese family complex, but it’s so good. A definite vegan Bali must. They have a smaller menu and everything is prepared fresh. This vegan breaded tofu stuff is on all the dishes and it’s yummy. Each dish is only 1€, and the quality is better than all the other places I went to. I went three times in one week. ‘Nuff said. P.S. I saw this ad for this homestay literally right next to this restaurant in case you want it on your doorstep!
Vegan Nasi Goreng and some fried spring rolls from Siboghana Waroeng
Vegan Gado Gado and Vegan Nasi Goreng from Siboghana Waroeng
Vegan Balinese curry from Siboghana Waroeng
Simple Vegan Vegetable Soup from Siboghana Waroeng – was really craving this one night
Some type of salad with tempeh and papaya from Siboghana Waroeng, was different but really great
9 Angels – Another one of my favorite places and I’m sad I only ate there once. A bit of a community meeting point too, with live music and such. It’s really chill and really affordable with an all-you-can-eat vegan buffet. Help yourself and put your donation in the money jars on the table. See list of suggested donations for each item by the buffet. Afterwards, wash your own plates. If you can’t afford to buy the food, they have a sign up that you can talk to them (before eating!!) and do some sort of work exchange. A couple friends recommended doing this to get involved and meet people. They also have a little charity shop with clothing and stuff onsite. Really great vibe here, a vegan Bali must.
P.S. In case you want to stay right near this place, while walking out the front door I saw an ad for a homestay a 5 minute walk away starting at 14€ per night (with breakfast) called Ayu Homestay. Here’s the link. It has fantastic reviews on Booking.com. Good way to do Ubud on a budget with a private room since both this restaurant and the homestay are very affordable.
9 Angels Ubud Entrance
9 Angels Ubud, one of the quirky sitting areas
The vegan all-you-can-eat buffet at 9 Angels, yum!
Instructions to wash your own plate in the dishwashing area at 9 Angels
Warung Sopa – This is up there on the vegan Bali must list, one of my favorite places I went. They do a great nasi campur, a.k.a. rice with assorted other dishes on the side. In their case they have lots of dishes in a class container and you can choose which and how many of the dishes you want. Really good sweet marinated tempeh, breaded miso tofu nuggets, plus some other veggie dishes. Really really tasty, and the guy working there was super nice too. A generally chilled out place with lots of fans and cosy seating.
My super delicious nasi campur from Warung Sopa in Ubud
Special turmeric drink from Warung Sopa. Refreshing on a hot day!
The Garden Kafe (at Yoga Barn) – Part of the famous Yoga Barn, but worth going to chill in the cafe alone, plus they have good wifi. I bought a 3 day pass for Yoga Barn while I was around, and usually went for a coffee in the cafe before or after my class. They have a latte with nutmilk, but it’s a bit cheaper if you request coconut milk instead of the nutmilk. They also have food and I do a Sunday lunch buffet. Food is mostly vegan.
Nutmilk latte and raw vegan carrot cookie before my bike tour through Ubud. I expected the cookie to be a bit bigger, but I survived.
Tofu scramble with brown rice and a fresh fruit salad. Both of these were super refreshing breakfast on my last morning.
Bali Soul Warung – This place wasn’t on happy cow yet when I was there, but a friend found it and took me there. It’s a bit off the main street, right near the coworking space Outpost. It’s cheap, delicious, has clearly labeled vegan options and delicious. I got the vegan high fiber steak, which is yummy big slabs of tempeh with marinated banana flower in between. This place is definitely worth a visit on your vegan Bali list.
The aforementioned vegan steak. Slabs of tempeh with veggies and banana flower marinated in coconut sauce. Usually served with rice, but my friend suggested I order their special potatoes instead and it was a good choice.
The special potatoes. In SE Asia they have these yellow sweet potatoes that I LOVE. They’re sort of a cross between regular potatoes and orange sweet potatoes of the west. Subtly sweet, but melt in your mouth. YUM.
Green papaya salad (make sure to check no fish sauce) because I felt I needed some veg (okay it’s technically a fruit).
Sage Bali – This is one of the more famous vegan restaurants and it’s def one for the top of your vegan Bali list. Nice fresh food, airy environment, something for everyone. Slightly more expensive than the warungs, but still not too bad.
Vegan tempeh caesar salad from Sage Bali
Cauliflower fritas with chipotle dipping sauce from Sage Bali
Sawobali Cake & Coffee Shop – I didn’t try the cake or coffee here, but they have an all vegan and gluten-free buffet every day for a pretty good price. Not the best I had in Ubud, but it still good and certainly worth the money. Lots of hot and cold dishes and a couple desserts. This is def my vegan Bali pick if you’re traveling with picky eaters and all want different things.
The hot vegan and gluten-free buffet section at Sawobali Cafe & Coffee Shop in Ubud
My (first) plate from Sawobali Cafe & Coffee Shopair
Warung Semesta – This place had great reviews and lots of vegan options, but unfortunately I was not super impressed. My curry was just okay, and the prices were a bit higher here than other places. I felt I could have made a more interesting tasting curry myself at home for cheaper. They have non-vegan stuff as well, so if you’re traveling with non-vegans, I guess it’s a good option. Maybe I just went a bad time, who knows.
Fried veg chips they give you for free as an appetizer
My vegan Balinese curry from Warung Semesta – was just okay. Needs more flavor and plain raw tofu is “eh”. Sautee that tofu, yo!
The Spell Creperie – I wasn’t super impressed with this place unfortunately. The cashew milk they use for the vegan coffees was too thick, so my coffee was kind of gelatinous and tasted weird. While the crepes were good and it’s awesome they have so many vegan options, the amount of toppings was pretty sparse for the price, especially considering that stuff like mango and banana is plentiful and not very expensive in this region. Anyway, it’s a cute place, and if you’re having an intense crepe craving, I guess it’s worth a visit. If you’re only in Ubud a short time though, I’d leave it off your vegan Bali list.
Vegan Bali – Vegan Sweets and Breakfast (bring on the smoothie bowls)
I was never a huge smoothie bowl person, but then I had the most amazing smoothie bowl ever at Bom Bowls in Pai and now I’m kind of addicted. Here’s some of the sweets and smoothie bowls I had in Ubud.
Acai Queen – This is an absolute vegan Bali must. It was my first acai bowl and oh my gosh, was it good. They do bowls with raw vegan cookies in them, and I think a acai bowl without raw vegan cookies in it will never compare now. They’re a bit pricier than the average place, but totally worth it. They also have really cute swing seating.
My amazing vegan acai bowl from Acai Queen in Ubud. With granola, strawberries, banana, coconut whip, raw vegan cookies and peanut butter sauce (in a cup at the back left).
Mudra Cafe – This place was chill AF. Not all vegetarian, but plenty of vegan options. They do a really beautiful smoothie bowl as you can see below, have non-dairy milk for vegan coffees, and were playing a pretty excellent soundtrack while I was there. They also have a room next door filled with black sand you can stick your toes in while you eat and sip your drink, but I was there suuuuper early so it wasn’t open yet. Put this one on your vegan Bali smoothie bowl bucket list.
My vegan smoothie bowl from Mudra Cafe. I believe it had jackfruit and banana and some other good stuff in there.
Super tasty vegan iced latte from Mudra Cafe. They take their coffee really seriously and extra points for the glass straw!
Tukies – Best place to go for yummy vegan coconut ice cream hands down. Vegan Bali must for sweets. They do a bowl with coconut ice cream, fruit, coconut brittle, toasted coconut and coconut slivers. So good. Go. The picture doesn’t do it justice. I think they have more than one location in Ubud. They also sell some coconut products you can take home.
This special tukies bowl with vegan coconut ice cream was so delicious
Soma Cafe – This place has savory food too, but I was recommended by another vegan to specifically try out their vegan brownie with ice cream. I’m a bit of a vegan brownie connoisseur, we could say, hah. Unfortunately it’s a “healthy” vegan brownie, i.e. tasted mostly of banana. So, if you’re looking for a decadent brownie maybe not the best spot. Ice cream was good though and they have a few flavors! I’ll need to go back for savory food some other time. Cool chill out space in the garden in the back.
My healthy-tasting vegan brownie with ice cream from Soma Cafe in Ubud
Pin this Vegan Bali Guide for later:
Have you been to Bali? What did you think, did it live up to the hype for you?!
Traveling SE Asia? Browse my other vegan guides here:
- Vegan Bangkok Guide
- Super Thorough Vegan Chiang Mai Guide
- My 1st All-Vegetarian Hotel Experience in Chiang Mai!
- Vegan Kampot, Cambodia – Go Live in a Treehouse in this Hippy Mountain Town
- Koh Phangan – Vegan Heaven or New Age Hell?
- Vegan Pai Guide – I got in touch with my inner hippy in Pai
- Vegan Penang Guide – Does Georgetown, Malaysia live up to the hype?
- Vegan Street Food in Penang, Malaysia
- Taipei Guide: The Biggest Vegan Buffet in the World ?! & A Mockmeat Scandal
Tukies!! I really loved that place. We stayed out in the rice paddies because I wanted my own pool and walked into the town most days and we almost always stopped there! The closest spot to us (aside from the amazing looking Warungs that couldn’t serve me because of my allergies) was Alchemy which did amazing smoothie bowls but was definitely on the pricy side – still everything seemed cheap after Australia!