r/bali

I swear, influencers have ruined Bali.

You used to go to Bali to experience Bali. Now you go to Bali so some 23-year-old with a camera hanging off his neck can stand in front of what photo-op is trending that week.

Everywhere you go it's the same shit. “Hidden gem!” Yeah, hidden from everyone except the 14,000 people who saw your TikTok yesterday. You’re standing in a line of 80 people to take a picture of yourself pretending nobody knows about the place. Meanwhile some poor Balinese guy is trying to get to work and has to wait because you're doing a f@€king retake because the first one didnt CAPTURE THE VIBE....or whatever BS lingo they parrot.

And the cafes. Jesus Christ.

Every cafe looks like it was designed specifically so a woman can sit next to a $14 smoothie bowl and stare out the window while someone photographs her pretending to read a book she hasn't opened.

And then you get the captions.

“Bali healed me.”

No it didn't. You had a bad relationship and a job you hated. You flew to Indonesia, took 400 pictures of yourself in a linen outfit and now you think you've achieved spiritual enlightenment.

And the worst part is everybody's trying to have the EXACT same experience. Same beach club. Same swing. Same waterfall. Same fucking floating breakfast. You could blindfold me, drop me in Bali, and I'd know exactly where I was based entirely on the number of people holding iPhones vertically.

I don't even blame Bali. Bali's beautiful.

It's the human race that showed up with ring lights.

At this point I'm waiting for someone to discover a “secret” temple, post it online, and then complain in the comments that tourists have ruined it.

Buddy, YOU ARE THE TOURIST.

You filmed it in 4K.

While browsing airbnb for private villas, I noticed that villas in Seminyak, Kuta, Canggu, and the surrounding areas are much more expensive than the ones in Ubud. Even more, even though some are listed as "entire place", when looking at the details, it often turns out that at least the pool is shared with other accommodations, while in Ubud it seems to be much easier to find an entire villa with a private pool.

I was wondering what the reason for this is, since Ubud is still a very popular destination. Is it that demand around Kuta/Canggu is much higher? Is it because the space is much larger around Ubud to build private villas? Or is there some historical explanation?

I've read plenty of info on the climb and know I'm fit/experienced enough and will hire a guide. But I didn't bring boots on this trip, only tennis sneakers that are quite worn out so lacking some grip on the soles. For those who have hiked it, a) would this be overly risky even though it's still very dry atm, and b) do any of the guides/agencies offer boot rental by any chance?

If anyone can recommend local guides or agencies please share :)

Hi experts of Bali. I hope to travel to Bali this october for 10 days. I saw that most of the tourists rent a bike in Bali and travel along the island.

I am just curious how is the process and what things I need to be aware of. Please help me get them straight.

I’m planning on traveling to Bali in March and looking at coming just after Ramadan which may overlap with the Hindu holiday Day of Silence. What happens to resort operations on this day? Is everything as usual like swimming & eating at the resort or do we need to stay in the confides of our hotel room?

Sorry if this is long. I would just like to know if similar incidents have happened to other visitors. I was recently in Bali and had read up on how to appropriately dress for temples beforehand.

I had understood that sometimes they specifically give you a sarong and sash to wear, usually at the bigger temples. At some temples you will also find a sign outside telling you to only enter if you're wearing sarong but usually, if you're dressed modestly with a skirt below the knee and shoulder covered and there's no specific sign, it should be fine. Locals at my hotel confirmed this when I asked.

So I was in Ubud and there's this lovely little temple just in front of the Ubud Art Market complex. I was wearing a long skirt that came to my calves and a long-sleeved UV jacket, so I was pretty modestly dressed in my eyes. There was also no visible sign requiring sarong so I stepped inside and quietly observed the offerings for a moment. Then suddenly I hear a rather abrasive female voice saying "Lady" from the side. It seemed to be a local woman praying in another corner of the temple and she proceeded to say "Need sarong". I was very surprised as I had not been out to offend anyone but of course I said "Oh sorry, I didn't know" and left.

Still, her tone left a bitter taste. Since I wasn't out to disobey any rules and was very covered up compared to most tourists around me.

Has anyone had similar incidents?

Tl;dr: Wore a calf-length skirt and long-sleeved UV jacket to a temple with no visible sarong signs and was called out for not wearing sarong.

Edit: For anyone feeling the need to attack me, thanks! I absolutely don't mind her telling me, I minded the tone. Kindness never killed anyone. Even in Bali.

Me and my partner are hoping to travel to Ubud for our honeymoon in August 2027. Does anyone have any tried and tested routes to get there?

I looked on Skyscanner and the layover is often Dubai and I very much don’t want to go to Dubai.

Me and my partner are both women, so if anyone has any advice on travel/ safety regarding that too I’d be grateful.

Thanks!

Hello, I am desperately looking for a vegan /vegetarian burger with beyond meat patties in the Uluwatu / Kuta area. Does anyone have a place for me where they use beyond meat? Preferably also a place that serves meat burgers as well.

My flight is in this week and I am still a little confused on how I planned my trip. The goal of my trip is to relax and take it slow.

Do you think as solo It is worth going through so many stations. I paid sidemen booking of a resort which messed up my whole plan as I wanted to stay there, and only these dates were available. All the paid hotels are great so I would not like to cancel them but the major issue is if managing Ubud for a week is better or try to squeeze in Lombok too. My new plan is

• 10th - 13th Canggu (Already paid booking) Goal is to relax after long flight and try cafes
• 13th - 14th Ubud (Can change)
• 14th - 18th Lombok through ferry (Can change) Goal is to see Sembulan and Tetebatu.
• 18th - 21st Sidemen (Paid booking)
• 21st - 24th Ubud (Can change) Goal is to do Mount Batur, Relax in Ubud, Cafes, Activities
• 24th - 27th Uluwatu and Fly Back (Paid Booking)

I'll be taking cars for all my transfers, that's not the issue. My options are that I eliminate Lombok completely and stay longer in Ubud, or be an adventurer and opt for Lombok as per to this plan.

What to do you guys suggest?

Hi everyone, we will be in Bali in 69 days for my friends Bday. Haven't been back to Bali in 15 years so I have a couple of questions.

What's a fair price for a taxi ride from the airport to ubud,?

And is 400 US which is around 7,000,000

Rupiah enough for a daily spend limit?

Ty

We have planned a 10 day trip to Bali: 5 days in Ubud, 2 in Nusa Penida, and 5 in Nusa Dua and Uluwatu. We have more or less figured out places to explore but what confuses me is Transportation in Nusa Penida. Could someone guide us as to how to find reliable drivers because I realised it only yesterday that Grab and Gojek aren't available there and apparently hotels charge you a lot for the drivers.

Also any reliable Currency Exchange shops in Central Ubud/near airport.

We dont plan to rent scooters/Bikes. We'd like our own private Car/Cab for Penida

Does anybody know of any hostels or co-living places where there are guitars just lying around for anyone to play? I will be staying in Bali for one week and dont want to pay to bring my guitar with me on the plane but I like to play every other day regardless of whether I'm travelling or not. I also hate going to guitar shops and playing guitars with no intention of buying, thats a last resort thing for me when travelling.

Any recs?

Anyone here who stayed at Outpost Penestanan Ubud? Is it a good accommodation? I’m planning to stay there for 8 nights. Not much activity planned. Need a great place where I can have a peaceful yet enjoyable vacation.

Hello everyone! First time Bali traveler here. I’m arriving LATE December 12 at 11:55 pm (gonna pay for an extra night Dec 12 so room is ready when I arrive from airport). So far I have 4 days in Ubud Dec 13-17 and 4 days in Uluwatu Dec 17-21. Currently at Viceroy in Ubud and Umana in Uluwatu.

Ubud:
I plan on doing some exploring activities such as seeing Cretya, rice terraces, waterfalls, temple, jungle ATV. I realized Viceroy is a little out there and kind of far from town. Now I’m not revolving being around town my entire stay in Ubud, but when I am done with my activities or in between activities, I don’t want to just sit in my room or at the hotel. I want to be able to kill time and explore what’s near me, check out a bar/cafe/shop/restaurant. So I’ve been looking at these locations near town, still very nice, and even cheaper than viceroy. So far I’ve looked into these and these seem like great options except Komaneka Monkey Forest has no gym :/ open to more suggestions!

Bisma Eight
Komaneka Monkey forest

Uluwatu:
For Uluwatu, I’m staying at Umana through the Amex fine resort and hotels. I got a partial ocean view villa and I’m looking forward to the luxury with amenities etc. at least this one time. I like the fact there’s beach access as well. That’s what I really was aiming for here was a spot that sits on a cliff top that overlooks the ocean with beach access.

I see that there’s some beach clubs around there, and savaya isn’t too far but it’s also far from Ulu Cliff House, Uluwatu Temple, and Il Salotto because I’m also looking to experience some of the music aspect and see the temple. Really open to suggestions for Uluwatu that are close to some of these spots. I have no idea where the “main town” is from Umana. Thank you all so much in advance 🙏🏼

Hi! We’ll be staying in Ubud soon and I’m trying to figure out whether we actually need to prebook private drivers or if scheduling through Grab would be reliable.
We have two early morning trips.

Ubud to Sanur Harbour: We would need to leave around 5:30 or 6:00 AM to catch a fast boat to Nusa Penida. Grab is currently showing around $15 USD and allows me to schedule the ride in advance.

Ubud to Sekumpul Waterfall: We want to leave around 4:00 AM. It’s roughly a 2 hour drive and Grab is currently showing around $35 USD one way.

Has anyone actually scheduled a Grab this early from Ubud, especially for a longer trip like Ubud to Sekumpul? Did a driver accept ahead of time and actually show up?

For Sekumpul, would you recommend using a private full day driver instead so they can wait for us and bring us back to Ubud later that day? Or is it realistic to use Grab there and arrange another ride back?

I don’t mind paying more for a private driver if it’s genuinely more reliable or convenient. I’m mainly trying to figure out if it’s necessary or if I’m overcomplicating transportation.
Thank you!

Hi.

We (couple) will be in Ubud for about 5 days in November. Would love some of your favorite places to visit outside of Ubud. We plan to hire a driver and visit sites such as: waterfall/hikes, temples, Coffee Plantation all appeal to us, but many options in those categories. We have no interest in various swings I see on package tours. Thanks in advance. 🙏

Any official battery disposal containers or companies in bali. I have a bag full of batteries and disposable vapes. Anyone that i asked tells me to just dump in trash. Id like to know if there is some. Im in Tampaksiring.

Also the vape shops that market as eco friendly accepting back empty vapes for recycling is all fake. They all told me "just throw it anywhere it okay"

Indonesia is pretty fucked as it is trash wise and i wanna make it better not worse.

Thanks for the help🙏