Photos: Luang Prabang by Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Ubud by Pinterpandai, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped.
Luang Prabang or Ubud?
Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.
Choose Luang Prabang for
- getting around
- culture and sights
What lies behind each score is written up on Luang Prabang’s own page.
Choose Ubud for
- day trips
- wellness
- live music and the arts
What lies behind each score is written up on Ubud’s own page.
Scoreboard
Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Luang Prabang and Ubud.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on getting around and culture and sights with your weighting.
Wins on day trips and wellness with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
Luang Prabang in July
Ubud in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
Ubud's temperatures are measured 29 km from the centre, at Denpasar / Ngurah-Rai.
Ubud's station stands 209 m below the city centre, so the centre is likely a little cooler than the figures say.
Ubud has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Luang Prabang: 1991-2020 normals, Luang-Prabang (0.8 km from centre). Ubud: 1991-2020 normals, Denpasar / Ngurah-Rai (29 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | Luang Prabang | Ubud |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | Lao | Indonesian |
| Currency | Lao Kip (LAK) | Rupiah (IDR) |
| Sockets | ABCEF230 V, 50 Hz | CF50 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Left |
| Time zone | UTC+7 | UTC+8 |
| Emergency number | Police 191, ambulance 195, fire 190 | 112 |
| Elevation | 305 m | 210 m |
| Main airport | Luang Phabang International Airport (LPQ)4 km from centre7 non-stop destinations | Denpasar I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS)29 km from centre64 non-stop destinations |
By the numbers
| Measure | Luang Prabang | Ubud |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 53,792 | - |
| Museums within 10 km | 0 | 14 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 1 | 1 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | - | 12 months |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Luang Prabang or Ubud somewhere new.