Halvdags Ubud elektrisk cykeltur til Tirta Empul Water Temple

TOURISTS BEWARE — enjoyable tour, but a deeply disappointing and deceptive ending. The tour itself began very positively. We genuinely enjoyed much of the experience and felt that we had built a warm rapport with our guide. He shared aspects of Balinese culture with us, spoke about sincerity and karma, and created what initially felt like an authentic and thoughtful experience. Unfortunately, that trust made what happened next even more disappointing. Towards the end of the tour, we were taken on a supposed “surprise” visit to a coffee plantation. We were told this was a real plantation where coffee was grown, processed and produced. In reality, it appeared to be a small staged garden display rather than a genuine working coffee plantation. The experience felt carefully designed to give tourists the impression that they were seeing authentic local production, when the products being sold appeared to be mass-produced packaged goods rather than coffee and teas genuinely produced from that site. We were given a “free tasting” of very sweet teas and coffees, then directed towards purchasing expensive packaged products and kopi luwak represented as wild-sourced. The samples we were served did not seem to match the products being sold. The packaged teas and coffees appeared to contain large amounts of sugar, flavourings, fillers and artificial or non-premium ingredients, rather than the pure local products they were presented as. This made the whole experience feel misleading. After researching kopi luwak tourism in Bali afterwards, I became even more uncomfortable with what we had been shown and told. There are well-documented concerns around captive civets, misleading “wild-sourced” claims, and coffee tastings being used as a sales mechanism for tourists. Most distressing was the animal welfare. There was a snake described as a “rescue”, two civets being kept in conditions that appeared completely inappropriate, and a nocturnal fruit bat that looked visibly distressed. Seeing animals used in this way as part of a tourist sales stop was upsetting and completely changed how we felt about the day. What was most disappointing, however, was the feeling of being knowingly exploited after trust and rapport had already been established. We had spent the day believing our guide was being sincere with us, only to then be taken to a place that felt deceptive, unethical and commercially motivated. We later learnt that drivers and guides in Bali are commonly reported to receive commission for bringing tourists to these types of businesses. The experience certainly left us feeling that our trust had been used for someone else’s personal gain. That is what felt most disheartening. After speaking with us about culture, sincerity and karma, it felt incredibly contradictory to then knowingly take customers to a place like this, where tourists are given the impression they are visiting an authentic plantation, pressured into buying overpriced mass-produced products under questionable pretences, and exposed to animals that appear to be exploited for profit. Had this stop been disclosed honestly beforehand, we would have declined. Instead, it was introduced after rapport had already been built, which made the whole experience feel manipulative. The earlier parts of the tour were enjoyable, but I cannot recommend any tour operator that takes guests to places like this. Tourists should be very cautious of “surprise” coffee plantation visits, especially those involving kopi luwak, caged civets, distressed wildlife, free tastings, inflated prices, questionable product claims and high-pressure sales. Very disappointing.

We had an awesome day with Ubud Cycling Tours. It was all very well organised, starting from when we sent a booking enquiry, to the point where we were dropped off at our hotel again. Ketut, our guide was very knowledgeable and taught as many things about Bali and the Balinese culture. It was great, to have two guides as well so we were able to cross streets safely. The cycle tour through the back streets of Ubud through the rice fields was also beautiful. It was great to cycle through some old villages as well and visit a house to see how a Balinese family actually lives. As we didn't want to take the cleansing at the temple as it was very busy, we went to a coffee place next door, which was also great. Degung our driver was also great in driving us around safely and waiting for us while we explored Ubud a bit more after the tour. So can highly recommend the company and this tour.

This tour is highly recommended. You can see the rural life of Bali, rice fields and the Tirta empul water temple as the end point. Ajus and Hari have guided us very well. When crossing a busy road, Hari stopped traffic so we could cross safely. There was also a third person behind us in a golf cart in case there was a bike breakdown. Ajus has given us a lot of explanations about Hinduism and how the people in Bali live. Also a few things about the water supply of the rice fields. At the temple we also got extensive explanations. Everything was well taken care of, ponchos, bottle of water and pictures were always taken of us. We are very grateful to them for this nice morning, for us the highlight of Ubud.

Fantastic bike tour in Bali! Everything was perfectly organized, from hotel pick-up to the temple visit. Our guides were amazing — very knowledgeable and friendly. The visit to a traditional Balinese house was a real highlight, and Tirta Empul was a unique experience. The coffee plantation stop was a great bonus. Highly recommend!

Absolutely excellent. The bikes are great! It’s true don’t need to pedal if you don’t want to. There were some steep sections in the jungle section and we were well guided and walked the bike a few metres (15) when I felt might be better to do so. Scenery was magical amongst the rice fields. Thanks to all our guides and support vehicle too!!!!

Great ride through the rice fields and hidden villages on small paths with mostly no vehicle traffic. Operators have an excellent setup for safety where they follow you in a golf cart type buggie where you can leave personal items. My wife didn’t want to ride on the high traffic streets at all so when those moments occurred they loaded her bike onto the buggie and she rode with them. Perfect solution. Guides where very knowledgeable in all things Bali including the history, customs, traditions, rice growing and more. Well worth it.

Ketuk and the team were so much fun. They imparted lots of great facts, checked in to make sure we were going ok and kept us safe. The experience was amazing, we got to see a beautiful part of the Bali community. The purification ceremony was an uplifting experience. We highly recommend this tour, the e-bikes were easy to operate and made the tour do-able for all ages and fitness levels

Absolutely recommend this company. We did the Tirta Empul ride. This is the best way to see the stunning scenery and gain a little insight into the culture and beautiful community. The team were professional, informative and we felt safe in their guidance. Thank you for an amazing day.😊🙏🏼

The tour exceeded my expectations. The bikes were fabulous; I had no idea how easy they were to use and get up hills. We enjoyed the route and the variety of experiences on the tour. The guides were exemplary catering to all our needs and giving us plenty of useful and interesting information. The only thing that let the tour down was the weather but that’s in the lap of the gods and we were just unlucky. We were provided with rain ponchos were worked reasonably well!

Wonderful ebike tour of Bali Ubud and our guides Gusti and Suar (Komang) were exceptional in taking care of us to ensure our safety and sharing Bali cultural information. We biked along roads to see local rice fields, the water purification Tirta Empul temple and ceremony, visited a local Balinese family compound, and had a Balinese lunch. Definitely recommend! We had a private tour with 2 guides and the vehicle following our small group which came in handy when one wanted to end their ride so they were able to take them into the vehicle and their bike. We learned about Balinese family life and even their funeral and cremation rituals as well as the purification ceremonies. Excellent tour company for ebiking in Ubud