View of idyllic paddy fields? Check. Cute (and healthy) restaurants, cafes, and bakeries? Check. Wellness centers and yoga studios? Check. The chance to find your best self and meet the love of your life when the stars align a la Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love? Check (The chance, we mean).
There’s something about Ubud that attracts travelers from all around the globe – including solo travelers. While Ubud does not offer sunset beaches like Kuta or Canggu, the small town is known for its healing vibes (the name “ubud” itself is derived from a local word that literally translates to “medicine”) – making it popular not only as a tourism destination, but also as a place to let one’s hair down and focus on both physical and spiritual health.
For those reasons, American business magazine Forbes recently ranked Ubud 6th among the 40 best international destinations for solo travelers this year. Using Tripadvisor ratings as the base to score the destinations, the magazine also compared the number of hostels, annual visitors, review, and average prices for its ranking. They also specifically compared each destinations’ average cost of a restaurant meal, as well as beer, a bottle of water, and public transport.
Ubud was awarded 314 points out of a maximum score of 480. The five cities placed ahead of Ubud are, in first place, Ho Chi Minh City with 355 pointes, then followed by Marrakech, Istanbul, Cairo, and Hong Kong.
Interestingly, New Delhi and Ubud both scored 314, but the Bali village was listed ahead of the Indian capital. Ubud is also the only Indonesian destination listed on Forbes’ list this year
Forbes also employed the help of three independent solo travel experts – Adventurous Kate, Vicky Flip Flop Travels, and Global Grasshopper – to find the vital aspects of a successful solo trip.
Global Grasshoper wrote that checking internet speed is something that they always do before heading out to a destination.
“As a digital nomad [….] a reliable WiFi is so important for me that I even go as far as conducting a speed test before arriving,” she said.
As Coconuts Bali reported a few times before, the central government is looking to woo more sun-seekers to travel to the Island of Gods, such as by introducing a special visa for digital nomads that’s currently in the works.
That being said, there are other challenges for digital nomads in Bali to make Ubud their place to be.
Twenty-nine-year-old Natalie Clare, a Filipina Dubai resident who works remotely in the digital sales and marketing business, moved to Ubud in early April but left two months later due to unsatisfactory internet speeds in the area.
“I wanted to love Ubud because I love connecting with nature and I was intrigued by the spiritual vibes, but being a digital nomad, the spotty internet was a deal-breaker for me so I had to leave the peaceful jungle, sadly,” Natalie told Coconuts Bali.
“I suppose we can’t always have the best of both worlds.”
To be fair, there are places in Ubud where you can get steady internet access – as Natalie herself pointed out. However, expensive restaurants or coffee shops provide most of the blazing internet in the area.
“Unlike regular restaurants in Canggu,” she added.
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