Bali’s Breathtaking Ubud Named As Must-Visit Destination For Solo Travelers In 2022

Share The Article

Every year Forbes Magazine releases a new set of lists of top travel destinations for all kinds of travelers. This year is no exception and Bali is once again featured on the list. Ubud has been placed as the 6th best place for solo travelers in 2022.

The ranking system isn’t simply based on favoritism, the team behind the list used a total of twelve different metrics to ensure that travelers can rely on the rankings to make informed decisions about where they should travel. Forbes worked with three different solo travel specialists known by their travel blog names, Adventurous Kate, Vicky Flip Flop Travels, and Global Grasshopper, to comprise the list. 

The trio worked together to identify what are the essential elements needed to create the perfect solo adventure. The metrics they came up with include the number of hostels, the average price of a meal, WiFi quality, and of course crime rates. The team creates a list of 40 top destinations for solo travelers with a special focus on solo female travelers too.  

The top five destinations have been ranked as Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Marrakech in Morocco, Istanbul in Turkey, Cario in Egypt, and Istanbul in Turkey. Bali’s spiritual and yoga hotspot Ubud came in a respectable sixth place beating New Dehli, India, Bangkok, and Phuket in Thailand and Cusco in Peru to complete the top ten. 

Each destination was given a ranking and a score based on unto 40-points for each metric. With a maximum possible score of 480, Ubud achieved 314. Top place Ho Chi Minh City scored 355, only a 41-point difference. 

Ubud has long been hailed as a safe, fun, and welcoming destination for solo travelers, digital nomads, working ex-pats, and single retirees. The abundance of social events, as well as close cross-cultural communities, have led Ubud to become a home from home for thousands of international wanderers who came for a few days and decided to stay.

The news of Ubud ranking in the top ten top travel destinations for solo travelers will be welcomed and celebrated by the local tourism industry. Bali’s Governor Koster has yet to release a statement but is always proud of such accolades for his community. The news will be a reason for small and medium businesses in Ubud who are hoping to see tourism numbers return to pre-pandemic levels during this peak season. 

In recent weeks tourism villages in Tabanan and Gianyar Regency have shared how nature, adventure, and cultural travel have been slower to bounce back from the pandemic than coastal getaways and beach resort vacations in areas like Kuta, Legian, and Seminyak.

Ubud is often considered the cultural tourism capital of Bali and offers tourists the chance to experience a whole different side of the island than along the southern coast. In Ubud, travelers are spoiled with temples and cultural arts aplenty.

There are dozens of retreat and yoga spaces that are celebrated as some of the best wellness facilities anywhere in the world. Ubud is just a stone through away from the stunning agricultural villages that are dotted around Gianyar Regency. 

Travelers come from all over the world to visit iconic landscapes like the Tegalalang Rice Terraces and the Sacred Monkey Forest. Some of Bali’s most famous and spiritually significant temples are found a matter of minutes away from Ubud’s central high street like Goa Gajah Temple, Ubud Palace, and Pura Tirta Empul.

Ubud was one of the destinations in the hit film Eat, Pray, Love which sees Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts play Elizabeth Gilbert in a screenplay of her memoir by the same name. Since the release of the film over ten years ago Ubud has become synonymous with solo female travelers seeking a spiritual experience, finding a new sense of self, and hopefully falling in love.

Julia Roberts returns to Bali, and Ubud, in a new film Ticket To Paradise that will be released in cinemas in October this year. Ubud is ideal for solo travelers of all kinds and being recognized as such by highly regarded Forbes Magazine will help give the destination a welcome boost.