Hi, I'm Utfia

I live in Ubud and I co-founded SERAYA. I write the guide on this site, and I'm the one who goes and checks the villas, rides with the drivers and drinks far too much matcha in the name of research.

SERAYA started with a simple complaint: we could find a good head spa, a decent matcha and a desk with working Wi-Fi in Ubud, but never in the same place, and never without a taxi in between. So we built it.

The guide came from the questions women kept asking us. Which villa actually locks. Which driver will wait for you. Where you can eat alone without being stared at. I answer them here, the way I'd answer a friend.

How I check what I recommend

I go in person. Every villa, driver and café on this site has been visited or used by me or our team.
Each page shows a date. You can see when something was last checked. Prices and rules in Bali change, and so will our pages.
I say what I didn't check. If we haven't tested something, the page says so.
Paid partnerships are labelled. If we earn a commission from a recommendation, you'll see it next to the link. It never decides what gets recommended.
Nothing here is a safety guarantee. It's careful, current, first-hand advice. Use it together with your own judgement.

Write to me

Found something out of date, or a place I should check? Use the contact form or tell me in the SERAYA Circle.