chloedickensonLast Updated on 18th November 2022
This post about why I didn’t love Bali may contain affiliate links.
For many years, Bali sat near the very top of my travel bucket list as a place that I was desperate to visit one day, so you can imagine my immense surprise when I arrived and discovered that I didn’t love Bali as much as I initially thought I would.
I just want to make it abundantly clear that this blog post is written purely from my personal experience in Bali and how it made me feel.
There were numerous things that threw me off about the supposedly idyllic island and as ever, I try to keep it as real as I can around these parts. Our time overall in Bali taught me so many things and I enjoyed so much of it, but I just wanted to get the slight downsides out of the way first!
If you want to know why I didn’t love Bali as much as I thought I would and you’re wondering whether it really does live up to the hype, then read my post for all my truthful thoughts and opinions!
Read more: My Top 13 Favourite Experiences in Indonesia
Why I didn’t love Bali as much as I wanted to
1. Instagrammers and tourists have somewhat “ruined” it
Now, I know this seems quite hypocritical of me to say as technically I fall into that category of “Instagrammers and tourists” but I like to think that whenever I travel anywhere, I do so mindfully and respectfully of the place I’m visiting.
However, after spending almost two months on the island, I can safely say that very few travellers offer the same respect for their environments.
Every single picture and video I saw portrayed Bali island in a beatific and idyllic light when in fact, that’s not quite the case. Furthermore, I’ve seen so many travellers being pretty disrespectful in important places such as temples and religious buildings.
It’s quite shocking and not something that I expected to see so heavily throughout the entire island.
Read more: Lempuyang Temple And Gates Of Heaven Bali Reality – The Truth About The Gates Of Heaven
2. The beaches – why I didn’t love Bali
Being an island, one of the things that I thought Bali was so famous for was its abundance of beatific beaches and while it does have some awesome beaches, they’re still not quite what I had anticipated.
The beaches in Kuta and Seminyak, for example, are great for surfing, but not so much for swimming or relaxing on the beach. The sand is pretty rough and there’s a tonne of washed-up dead coral and rocks punctuating the space between where the sand meets the sea.
Compared to some of the other beaches I’ve been to around the world, Bali’s offering really didn’t live up to my expectations.
Read more: The Best Beaches In The World (In My Opinion)
3. The “scams”
This point seems a little harsh to name it “scams”, but I couldn’t really think of another word for what I was trying to explain.
For the most part, the people we’ve met in Indonesia have been so unbelievably lovely and welcoming; most people really can’t do enough for you and are so humble and friendly.
However, you do still get the people who chance their luck and try to “con” you (still not quite the right word but I hope you get the point I’m trying to get across) when it comes to selling tours, boat trips and even meals.
Many times throughout our trip we’ve had to specifically request change from our purchases; I’m all for tipping and most of the time we do leave a tip, even if it’s just a tiny 1000IDR note, but we’ve had instances where people have tried to keep the change even though it’s been the equivalent of a whole other meal!
Taxi drivers also often try to “con” you out of more money; Grab and Go Jek are the Indonesian equivalent to Uber and they’re infinitely cheaper than paying a local taxi (literally like 6 times cheaper!). However, many taxi drivers try to charge you more but then complain when you don’t want to use the local services.
It’s really sad and usually, I’m all for supporting locals, especially when travelling somewhere new that’s not quite as well off as where I’m from, but I simply can’t justify spending 6 times the price on a short car journey.
There are many more examples that we experienced, but these are just a few that I can think of off the top of my head.
Read more: 16 Things To Know Before Visiting Gili Trawangan
4. The bugs and insects – reasons why I didn’t love Bali
I think whenever you go to a hot country, you can expect to see your fair share of bugs, mosquitoes and ants, however, I was certainly not prepared for the sheer amount of them that I saw in Bali.
Before we landed in Indonesia, I’d never been bitten by anything in my life; not even sandflies or mosquitoes when I’d been abroad before! However, the little buggers seemed to love me in Bali and I was bitten so many times all over my arms and legs!
Thankfully I had bite cream and they usually cleared up within a few days so it’s not the end of the world, it’s just not very nice!
There were two things that I really didn’t enjoy however and that was the ants and the geckos/lizards! In a few of the places we stayed in Bali, we had ants in our bed which made the entire experience just bloody awful. We had bug spray and the staff were fully aware of it but it’s an absolute nightmare waking up and seeing ants right next to your head!
The issues we had with geckos were quite funny at first; they seem to pop up wherever you are, regardless of the type of accommodation you’re staying in. However, when we were staying pretty much on top of a mountain in Singaraja while we were waiting for our visa extensions, we had so many encounters with geckos and lizards that it really started to take its toll on me.
First of all, we had a gecko poo on our bed three times in the exact same spot on consecutive nights while we were sleeping and then we had a giant lizard above our bed for a few nights as well. They’re not harmful in any way and they’re actually pretty intriguing but I just didn’t enjoy sleeping in such close proximity to massive reptiles!
5. Bali Belly
Unfortunately, the things I’d heard about Bali Belly were very true, at least in my case they were!
We’d only been on the island for 10 days when we came down with an intense bought of the tummy bug that’s renowned as Bali Belly; a horrific sickness bug that renders you unable to be too far away from a toilet for a good few days.
We’re still not entirely sure what we ate that caused it, but I think some dodgy meat in a kebab we ate was likely the culprit. It’s not really something that you can avoid when visiting Bali; you can be as careful as you like, avoid drinking tap water and wash your hands as often as you can (like we did) but unfortunately, that just isn’t always enough.
On the bright side, having to spend 3 days in bed meant that we could binge-watch Netflix guilt free!
6. The visa extension process
I’ve written an entire post on how to extend your visa in Bali as when you arrive in Indonesia, you only have 30 days before you either have to leave or go to the immigration office to extend your visa.
The process can take as long as 10 working days (it took us exactly one week and 4 different trips to the immigration office to get it sorted!). It’s a pain in the arse and the process could definitely be altered so it’s much more streamlined but if you want to stay for longer than 30 days in Indonesia, then it’s just something you have to endure!
Read more: How To Extend Your Visa in Bali – Visa On Arrival & Extension
I really hope this post doesn’t come across as too negative; I just really wanted to share my honest opinions with you guys on how it wasn’t all that I expected it to be and why I didn’t love Bali quite as much as I thought I would!
Related posts:
- The Truth About The Gate To Heaven (Lempuyang Temple) Bali
- How Instagram Gives An Inaccurate Representation Of Bali
- My 13 Favourite Experiences In Indonesia
- How To Extend Your Visa In Bali – Visa On Arrival & Extension
- Where To Stay In Bali For Every Budget
Pin for later – why I didn’t love Bali
Have you ever been to Bali? Were you surprised that I didn’t love Bali? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter at @imjustagirl_16.
I can’t wait to read your post about the relationship between Instagram and travel! My big pet peeve is people not respecting cultural ideals of modesty/dressing when visiting a very religious country.
http://www.theemeralddove.co.uk
Thank you Lauren! And yes, that really irritates me too, it’s so direspectful! x
This post was really eye-opening, I’ve wanted to visit Bali for a while now – even more so after seeing the recent rise of so many beautiful photos – and I’ve been trying to prepare myself for the fact that the reality isn’t quite the same. Now I know what to expect! I’ll still be visiting of course, but this has helped keep my ideas in check 🙂
Thank you Louise! You definitely need to go with an open mind as it really isn’t as mind blowing as people give it credit for! I do really hope you enjoy it though!
I found this interesting because my travel friends find it odd that Bali is NOT on my list of destinations. Nothing about it appeals to me. And for many of the reasons you listed and a few of my own. The food and water are not always friendly to our bodies (3 of my friends who have went at different times all got sick), the water looks dirty in many areas, the former beauty spots overworn by disrespect and over exploitation, and yes the cons. They run from little harmless but annoying cons to scary. Ibiza and Bali both have issues with trafficking of college-age tourists who are usually drunk and carousing the party scene. No thanks to all of the above lol!
Thank you for your comment Deanna! Bali does seem to be a place that many people have vastly opposing views of! It was certainly an eye-opening experience to see it myself!
Interestingly aI had exactly the opposite experience. I have avoided Nali for years and almost dreaded going but circumstances meant I needed to go there rather than my beloved Thailand or Vietnam. I steered away from the beach areas and spent time in the central highlands and Ubud. The insect and animal life never bothers me at all. In fact exactly the opposite except for the few mosquitoes which were easily held at bay with powerful Deet applications. Love the geckos and they are very efficient insect hunters. I spent a lot of time photographing the birds and insects.
I have never had a problem with Taxi overcharging as I only use Bluebird and rent a scooter. Money exchange scams are easily avoided by going to the larger exchange places. The people are a delight and I planing my next trip to include Nusa Penida.
I’m glad to hear you had a very positive experience, it’s strange how people can have just different opinions on places!
I completely agree with you Steve. Its a no brainer to do your research properly before travelling anywhere, instead of basing your travel decisions on a few pretty photos on Instagram. I also only use Bluebird taxis in Bali and I’m really careful about where I choose to eat. I only drink (and brush my teeth) with bottled water. I love Bali, the people, the place, the energy and plan to return there and respectfully enjoy it as soon as things become easier. I just hope that the pandemic has been a part blessing in allowing the Balinese to enjoy and clean up their beautiful country without mass tourism, but I know it will have been devastating economically for those already trapped in poverty.