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Filming Ayung River rafting

The whole run is wet and bumpy, so a phone won't cut it. Here's the action camera and mount that get the shot, what operators let you bring, and what to leave in the locker.

Updated October 2026 · Bali Creator Gear

Paddles up, a waterfall over your shoulder, the whole raft grinning: that's the frame everyone wants off the Ayung, and it's the one a phone can't give you. The run is about two hours of Class II to III water through a jungle gorge, and it's wet from the first rapid to the last. Most people either leave the phone in the locker and come home with nothing, or bring it on the raft and watch it go overboard. The fix is simple and it's the whole point of this guide: a waterproof action camera, strapped to your body, set once before you push off. Here's exactly which camera, which mount, and what the operators will and won't let you carry.

Is rafting the Ayung worth it?

For footage, yes, and more than most Ubud day trips. The Ayung gives you three things in one run: the paddling-through-rapids shot, the jungle gorge closing in overhead, and a stretch of hand-carved Ramayana stone reliefs set into the canyon wall that you can only see from the water. It's beginner-friendly and families run it with kids, so you're filming a real adventure without real risk.

Skip it if your plan is a cinematic, perfectly framed edit. You can't control the light, the spray or the bumps, and you can't swap lenses mid-river. This is point-of-view and third-person action footage, not a tripod shoot. And skip bringing anything you can't afford to lose. The honest truth under all the operator "yes you can bring your phone" lines is that water gets everywhere and bags go overboard, so the camera that survives is the one built for it and clipped to you.

The shot on the Ayung

There are two shots worth planning for, and they want different cameras.

The POV from the raft. You, paddling, water coming over the front, the gorge walls sliding past. Both hands are on the paddle the whole time, so this has to be a camera you mount and forget: on your chest, on your head, or on the guide's helmet at the back for the reverse angle of everyone's faces.

The third-person flying-raft shot. The one that looks like a drone followed you down the rapids. You get it with a 360 camera on an invisible selfie stick held off the side of the raft, then you crop the angle you want in the edit afterwards. In a gorge where there's no room to step back, it's the only way to get the whole raft in frame.

When should you raft the Ayung?

Book the first morning trip. Operators run the Ayung in the morning, roughly 09:00 to 12:00, and again in the early afternoon, around 12:00 to 14:00. The earliest slot usually means fewer rafts stacked up ahead of you at the photo stops and the waterfall, which matters when you want a clean frame.

The Ayung runs all year. In the wet season (roughly November to March) the rapids get bigger after heavy rain, so a wet-season run is livelier and splashier on camera, while the dry season is calmer and the water clearer. The gorge is deep and shaded, so the hard overhead light that wrecks open spots like the rice terraces is much less of a problem down here. Whenever you go, have the camera rolling before the carved-wall section, because you pass it once and there's no going back for a second take.

Ayung rafting rules and cost in 2026

What operators allow is consistent: bring a phone or camera if it's in a waterproof case or dry bag, and they'll hand you a water-resistant bag and a locker for everything else. What they recommend, over and over, is a waterproof camera or a GoPro on a secure strap, and leaving jewellery, loose valuables and big towels off the raft entirely. No gate we checked charges a camera fee. If you don't want to carry your own, every operator sells a photo package shot by their team, and some rent out a GoPro for the trip.

Gear for the POV in the raft

You want a camera that's waterproof on its own, small enough to mount on your body, and running in video mode before you launch, because once you're paddling you won't touch it again. We don't rent GoPro. The DJI Osmo Action 6 does the same job: it's waterproof, and it takes the standard two-prong action mount, so GoPro-style mounts and the operator's raft and helmet mounts fit it straight on. Pair it with the chest and head mount set so it stays on you, not in a bag that can wash out of the raft.

Starting points to set before you push off, then leave alone:

• Video, not photo. Both hands are on the paddle. Hit record on the bank and don't touch it again.
• Go wide. The widest field of view pulls in the raft, the paddlers and the gorge wall at once, and it hides small aiming mistakes when you can't see the screen.
• Stabilisation on. Turn on the strong stabilisation mode so the bumps and the paddling don't shake the frame to pieces.
• Mount it so it can't fall out. A chest or head mount, or the guide's helmet for the faces, keeps the camera on a body instead of loose in the boat. A loose camera in a raft is a lost camera.
• Wipe the lens. Carry a cloth in a zipped pocket and clear the drops off between rapids, or every clip has a blob in the corner.

For the third-person flying-raft shot

If you want the angle that looks like a drone chased the raft down the river, that's a 360 camera. The Insta360 X6 films everything around the raft at once on an invisible selfie stick, and you pick the framing afterwards in the app, so you don't have to aim anything mid-rapid. It's waterproof for the splashes, and in a tight gorge where you can't physically back up, it's the only way to fit the whole raft in the shot.

Either way, an action camera or 360 beats a phone or a big mirrorless here. A larger camera can't get wet, doesn't pack into a raft, and gives you one hand to hold it with when you need both. If you're weighing up cameras before the trip, our action and 360 camera rentals lay out what each one does, and the camera rental guide covers the shops that stock GoPro if you want the name on the box.

The morning, start to finish

Book the first morning slot and leave valuables at the villa. At the start point you get a helmet, a life jacket and a paddle, and a locker for your phone and wallet. Clip the action camera to your chest or head, or hand it to the guide for the helmet angle, start recording on the bank, and go. Film the rapids as they come, and get the camera pointed at the canyon wall for the carved Ramayana stretch, because that part only exists from the river. There's a waterfall stop and a buffet lunch and a shower at the end. You raft the Ayung once on most Bali trips, so it's worth carrying the one camera that can actually get wet with you. If you want to go deeper on the rest of the area, our guide to Ubud photo spots and how to film them and the one on filming the waterfalls near Ubud round out the trip.

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