From Ubud
Ubud is where most people sleep the night before Batur, and the distance decides everything else. Sunrise trips collect you from an Ubud address while it is still dark, climb the road into the Kintamani highlands and have you back before the middle of the day — which is exactly why a waterfall, a temple or a stretch of rice terrace can be bolted onto the same outing. Daylight trips leave at a civilised hour instead and spend seven hours doing the caldera slowly. On this site the trips that run out of the Ubud area cost between $20 and $45, and this page sets out what changes between them.
Quick answer
The short answer. If you want the sunrise without a night-time climb, book $45: a private 4WD from your Ubud address to the viewpoint, then the hot spring, rated 4.8 across 4,664 reviews. If the fare matters more than the privacy, $20 does the same sunrise in a shared jeep for five hours. If you would rather sleep and see the caldera in daylight, $33 is seven private hours with a waterfall and a temple in them. And if you want the summit on foot with something afterwards, $27 adds Tibumana Waterfall to the morning.
How it works
Ubud sits below the highlands, and the drive up to the rim is the fixed cost of every trip on this page. Nothing about it is dramatic — a climbing road, villages that are still shut, the temperature dropping as you go — but it is an hour or more in each direction, and once you accept that hour the rest of the day explains itself. A Bali day tour that promises sunrise has to collect you in the dark. One that promises a waterfall and a temple can start after breakfast, because none of those things are on a clock.
The night start. $20, $45, $27 and $36 all begin while it is dark. The pickup is at your address, the road is empty, and you arrive in the highlands with time to get into position. This is the part people underestimate: the outing has already been going for over an hour before anything you booked it for begins.
Then the fork. At the top the trips split. On the jeep listings the vehicle keeps going to a viewpoint on the caldera floor and you step out into place. On the walking listings the vehicle stops and the climb begins — roughly two hours up in the dark with a guide. Both arrive for the same light. Neither can promise you a clear sky, and on a cloudy morning the cloud is simply there.
And the way back. Because the sunrise trips are finished by mid-morning, the return leg is where the extras live. This is when the hot spring beside the lake gets visited, when a waterfall gets added, and when an Ubud tour Bali operators run as a full day would only just be starting. A five-hour listing has you back at your Ubud hotel around the time the breakfast buffet is being cleared away.
Every trip, current fare
Everything on this site that either names Ubud in its title or includes pickup in the Ubud area, from the cheapest shared jeep to the longest combined day. The cost-per-hour column is the fair way to compare a five-hour sunrise with a seven-hour private day, because those are not the same purchase.
| Tour | Length | Price | What is included | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From Ubud: Mount Batur Shared Jeep Sunrise & Hot Spring TourFrom Ubud: Mount Batur Shared Jeep Sunrise & Hot Spring Tour | 5 h | $20 | A shared jeep from Ubud to the sunrise viewpoint and a hot spring | $4.00 | 4.8 · 3,857 |
| From Ubud: Mount Batur HikingFrom Ubud: Mount Batur Hiking | 5 h | $27 | Pickup in the Ubud area and the climb, meal included | $5.40 | 4.8 · 764 |
| Bali: Mount Batur Sunrise Jeep Tour with Jungle SwingBali: Mount Batur Sunrise Jeep Tour with Jungle Swing | 8 h | $26 | A small-group jeep sunrise plus the jungle swing afterwards | $3.25 | 4.8 · 343 |
| Ubud: Kintamani, Tirta Empul, Waterfall & Alas Harum TourUbud: Kintamani, Tirta Empul, Waterfall & Alas Harum Tour | 7 h | $33 | A private Ubud day: the caldera view, a waterfall, a temple | $4.71 | 5 · 169 |
| From Ubud: Mount Batur Hiking With Hot SpringFrom Ubud: Mount Batur Hiking With Hot Spring | 7 - 10 hours | $36 | Pickup in the Ubud area, the climb and a hot spring, meal included | $4.24 | 4.8 · 2,457 |
| Bali/Mount Batur: Private Sunrise Jeep Tour & Hot SpringBali/Mount Batur: Private Sunrise Jeep Tour & Hot Spring | 5 - 9 hours | $45 | A private 4WD to the viewpoint for sunrise, then a hot spring | $6.43 | 4.8 · 4,664 |
| Bali: Mount Batur Sunrise Hike and Tibumana WaterfallBali: Mount Batur Sunrise Hike and Tibumana Waterfall | 5 h | $27 | The climb at dawn, then Tibumana Waterfall, with pickup | $5.40 | 4.8 · 744 |
| Bali: Mount Batur Sunrise Trek and White Water RaftingBali: Mount Batur Sunrise Trek and White Water Rafting | 7 - 10 hours | $45 | The sunrise climb in the morning and the Ayung River after it | $5.29 | 4.8 · 197 |
Choosing between them
The private vehicle. $45 is the listing this site leads with: 5 to 9 hours, a private 4WD across volcanic terrain to the sunrise viewpoint, then the natural hot spring. Rated 4.8 across 4,664 reviews. A Bali private day tour costs more than a seat on a shared vehicle for one plain reason — the car is yours, so it collects you at your door, waits while you are slow, and does not spend forty minutes gathering other people from other hotels before it starts climbing.
The cheapest sunrise. $20 is five hours from Ubud in a shared jeep, with the sunrise viewpoint and the hot spring, rated 4.8 across 3,857 reviews. It is the lowest fare on this site, and it holds the same rating as the private version. What you trade is the pickup round and the company.
The daylight day. $33 is the outlier here and the most interesting one: seven private hours with pickup included, taking in the caldera view at Kintamani, a waterfall, the water temple at Tirta Empul and Alas Harum with its terraces and swings. Rated 5.0 across 169 reviews. There is no alarm clock in it at all, and for a lot of people that is the day they actually wanted.
The climb with a waterfall. $27 puts the summit and Tibumana Waterfall into one five-hour morning, with private transport, hotel pickup and a light breakfast, rated 4.8 across 744 reviews. If a Bali waterfall Ubud visitors can reach in the same outing as the sunrise is the appeal, this is the listing that does it.
The climb with the pools. $36 runs 7 to 10 hours from the Ubud area with the hot spring and a meal included, rated 4.8 across 2,457 reviews. $27 is the same idea stripped back to the climb, five hours, rated 4.8 across 764 reviews. The gap between them is the afternoon.
And the long ones. $45 adds white water rafting on the Ayung River to the sunrise trek, 7 to 10 hours, rated 4.8 across 197 reviews. $26 is eight hours in a small group with the jungle swing after the jeep. Both are whole days, and both start in the dark.
How the day runs
This is the shape the five-hour listings share. Exact times sit on your own confirmation, and the road is the part that moves with traffic and with where in Ubud you are staying.
| Part of the day | What happens | How it feels | What to have ready |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pickupat your Ubud address | A driver at the gate while the town is still shut | Quiet, dark and faster than you expect, because nothing else is moving | Shoes on, a warm layer in your hand rather than your bag |
| The road upan hour or more | The climbing road into the Kintamani highlands | Most people sleep through it; the air changes noticeably as you climb | Water, and whatever you want on the top of your bag |
| The forkjeep or on foot | Either the 4WD carries on to the viewpoint, or the walking starts | Two hours of climbing in the dark on the walking listings | A light if the listing does not name one; a fleece either way |
| The lightand breakfast | Sunrise over the caldera, then the breakfast named in the listing | Cold before, warm within half an hour of the sun clearing the rim | A camera you can work with cold hands |
| The way backand the extras | The hot spring, a waterfall or a temple, depending on the listing | The half of the day people remember most fondly | Swimwear and a towel if the pools are named in your fare |
Book direct
The trips above that collect from the Ubud area, with the current price, the rating and the number of reviews behind each one. Every tour on this site has free cancellation, which matters when you are booking a 2 a.m. start weeks ahead.
★ 4.8 · 4,664 reviews
★ 4.8 · 3,857 reviews
★ 5 · 169 reviews
★ 4.8 · 2,457 reviews
★ 4.8 · 744 reviews
★ 4.8 · 343 reviews
What to expect
All of it comes from what the listings themselves say, or from the shape these days have in common on the road between Ubud and the highlands.
Your five-hour listing starts when the car arrives, not when you reach the caldera. If you are staying north of the centre you are collected earlier still.
You go to bed somewhere humid and step out somewhere that needs a jumper. Every listing that sells the sunrise advises a warm layer, and it is the single thing people most often leave behind.
Tibumana on $27 and the falls on $33 are both green, low-country stops rather than volcano ones. A Bali waterfall near Ubud is half an hour of road, which is why it fits into a morning that has already been to the rim.
Tirta Empul on $33 is a working water temple with its own dress expectations, and $33 is a highland village and temple outing that includes Kehen. Neither is a quick photo stop.
Alas Harum on $33 is where the rice terrace views and the swings are. The best waterfall in Bali Ubud visitors argue about is a matter of taste; the terraces are where almost everyone ends up with the same photograph.
The five-hour listings return mid-morning. People routinely plan a second thing for the afternoon and then sleep through it instead, and there is no shame in that.
It applies to every tour on this site, and a sunrise booked a fortnight out is exactly the kind of plan that changes.
When to go up
The Kintamani road behaves differently at different hours, and the hour you book changes the day far more than the vehicle does.
Before dawn
$45 and $20 both run in the dark. The road is clear, the drive is quick, and you are in position before the sky starts working.
Mid-morning
$33 leaves at a normal hour and spends seven hours on the highlands, a waterfall and a temple. The views are a different thing in daylight, not a lesser one.
Afternoon
$45 and $36 carry on past the middle of the day. By then the road down is busy and the highlands have usually clouded over.
Evening
$27 climbs for the sunset instead, 7 to 10 hours with a picnic. It is the one listing here that turns the whole pattern around.
The verdict
For the sunrise without the climb, book $45. A private 4WD from your address to the viewpoint and then the hot spring, 5 to 9 hours, rated 4.8 across 4,664 reviews.
For the lowest fare, book $20. The same sunrise in a shared jeep, five hours, rated 4.8 across 3,857 reviews.
For a day with no alarm in it, book $33. Seven private hours with the caldera view, a waterfall, Tirta Empul and Alas Harum, rated 5.0 across 169 reviews.
For the summit and a waterfall, book $27. Five hours with the climb, Tibumana Waterfall, private transport and breakfast, rated 4.8 across 744 reviews.
For the climb and the pools, book $36. Seven to ten hours from the Ubud area with a meal included, rated 4.8 across 2,457 reviews.
And for the biggest day of all, book $45. The sunrise trek and then the Ayung River, 7 to 10 hours, rated 4.8 across 197 reviews.
Not sure whether to walk up or be driven up? The two versions of the same sunrise are compared, hour by hour, on the page about doing it without the climb.
Compare the two ways up→Common questions
On the sunrise listings it is in the small hours, and the exact time is printed on your confirmation because it depends on where in Ubud you are staying. The road up takes an hour or more, and that hour sits inside the total duration you booked.
It buys two things: no pickup round before you start, and a vehicle that runs to your pace afterwards. $45 and $33 are both private. A Bali private tour east Ubud guests book from the quieter villages outside the centre is the case where it matters most, simply because a shared round would collect you first and drop you last.
Only where the listing names it. $27 includes Tibumana, $33 includes a waterfall and Tirta Empul, and $26 finishes at the jungle swing. An Ubud Bali jungle waterfall stop is not something a driver can improvise on a fixed shared route.
No, and we would rather say so than pretend. This site covers Mount Batur and the Kintamani highlands only. A komodo island tour from Bali, a komodo tour from Bali by boat, an east java tour from Bali, an ijen crater tour from Bali 1 day long or a bromo ijen tour from Bali are all real trips sold by other operators — they just have nothing to do with the twenty-three listings here, and none of them fits inside a day out of Ubud.
The fares on this page run from $20 to $45 per person, and every figure on this site is the live listing price in dollars. Questions like Bali tour cost from india usually mean a whole package with flights, and that is not something we sell or quote — what we can tell you is exactly what the tour itself costs.
The five-hour listings put you back in Ubud mid-morning. The 7-to-10-hour ones take the day. If you have an afternoon plan, book a five-hour listing and treat the afternoon as optional.
Go deeper
Twenty-three ways up Mount Batur, by how you get there and what it costs.
Sunrise hikeThe 2 a.m. start, the two hours up, and what you see at the top.
Jeep toursRiding to the viewpoint instead of climbing in the dark.
Hot springsWhat the pools are, which tours include them and what the ticket costs.
Without hikingFor anyone who wants the light but not the climb.
ATV & quadThe lava field on four wheels, morning or after sunrise.
Bali/Mount Batur: Private Sunrise Jeep Tour & Hot Spring
★ 4.8 · 4,664 reviews · Free cancellation 24 h