I kinda f*cked up my Bali trip. Here’s how you can avoid my mistakes

Who hasn’t made sucky mistakes when travel planning? I’ve definitely made more than my fair share of them. From overpacking and losing my boarding pass in the airport to overestimating my ability to wake up on time with just two hours of sleep under my belt, I’ve learned a lot about what not to do over the years. So, when travelling to the Asiatic island gem that is Bali, I should’ve planned better and avoided any mistakes, right?

Alas, my friends! A solo trip-turned-family vacation, Bali was rewarding and exhilarating. It was also extremely chaotic and the exact opposite of a relaxing getaway, thanks to some questionable decisions I made. I’m sharing the mistakes I made in Bali so that you can avoid them. 😇

1. Underestimating Bali’s size

The first of my many mistakes in Bali was in terms of its size. Do not fall for its seemingly teeny size as the internet will have you believe. Bali is over 5,700 sq. kilometres, with vastly varying terrain as you travel north to south, east to west. Telling yourself that Bali isn’t as big as India (or where you’re from) and thus adding multiple places across the island to your itinerary as I did, will have you cursing yourself, as I did. Many places aren’t at all close to each other, so you’ll find yourself spending a lot of time simply getting from one place to another.

Divide Bali into sections – north, south, east, west and centre – and stick to one or two sections. There’s plenty to see and do in each section, and every experience is rewarding, as long as you spend a good amount of time at each place (and not on the road 🥲).

The lesson? Size matters.

2. Not accounting for Bali’s traffic

If your friends and family who’ve travelled to Bali haven’t warned you about the traffic, have they really been to Bali? 🤔

Note: You need a valid motorcycle licence and insurance to legally ride a two-wheeler in Bali. The former isn’t needed if the bike is under 50CC. Riding with a helmet is compulsory.

Ubud, Sanur, Denpasar, Seminyak and Kuta are packed with mopeds and cars, especially during the tourist season that runs from April through August. Expect clogged roads and snail-pace movement with a sprinkle of annoyance, as you bake in the generous tropical heat of the island. That said, the Balinese diligently follow traffic rules. The traffic isn’t caused by skipped signals or speeding, but because there are just too many vehicles!

Forget about making it in time anywhere unless you give at least a 30-minute buffer for the traffic. We relied only on Google Maps for our arrival at Tanah Lot temple and ended up missing the famous Balinese sunset by over an hour! I did see the sunset over a moped rider’s helmet; does that count?

3. Spending too little time in a place

My intense FOMO (thanks to Instagram’s endless lists of ‘must-visit places’) led to an itinerary that had us visiting Sanur, Nusa Penida, Ubud, Lovina, Gili Islands, Jimbaran and Denpasar in ten days. The result? Constant commute at ungodly hours, less than a day to experience each destination, and an exhausted and irritated family of four.

There’s no way you can experience Bali’s destinations, history, culture and heartwarming people if you don’t slow down. Spend at least two days in each place of your choosing. Accept that you won’t be able to check off everything on your list, at least in one visit.

4. Cramming too many things-to-do

One of the most common mistakes we make in Bali is overstuffing our itineraries. Like #3, I crammed MANY places to visit and things to do. And then I wondered why I didn’t have the time to relax and unwind!

आहिस्ता (aahista – slowly) is what I now tell myself when I’m tempted to create a jam-packed itinerary. Give yourself the time and space to truly dive into each marvel of Bali. Walk leisurely through the jewelled greens of Tegalalang Rice Terraces. Lose track of the century at the Ubud Palace and at Bali’s myriad temples. Forget earthly cares as you dive into crystal clear waters in Gili Meno. Let the flavours of galangal, kaffir lime and Balinese 8-spice slowly unfold on your palate during meals. Pat yourself on the back for having made it to the summit of Mt. Batur, and allow your mind and muscles the pleasure of an unhurried traditional Balinese massage after.

Most importantly, give yourself enough time to enjoy these experiences.

5. Travelling during peak season

You know how, when hunger isn’t satiated soon, it goes away? A similar phenomenon happened with my travels. As soon as Bali crossed my mind, I knew I’d lose the ‘hunger’ if I wasn’t quick enough in getting there.

I ended up in Bali during peak tourist season. The result? Long queues, overcrowded sights, unpredictable traffic jams, higher tariffs and almost losing out on our spa appointment due to overbooking!

When planning your Bali travels, don’t make my mistakes, you. The shoulder season is your bestie. For Bali, this is before May and after August. You may want to avoid the rainy season, from December to March. Time your travels for the section you choose. Bukit Peninsula and North Bali get a lot less rain than other parts, while central and mountain regions can burst into showers at any time.

6. Expecting on-time arrival and departure

Most transport in Bali is either via hired vehicles like scooters and cars, where you have a certain degree of control and by transit vehicles such as boats and vessels, where all you can do is hope that your ride will arrive on time.

More often than not, your vessel will be delayed. Let this be a fair warning that, while it is important that you turn up at the ports a little ahead of the departure time, arriving too early can be a bummer because the waiting area may not have opened! I arrived 40 minutes pre-departure but had to wait for two hours for the boat to actually arrive, and then another 30 minutes to be able to board!

Check out my favourite books that help me travel from my couch to another place or another era

Carry snacks, water and some form of entertainment (a book, music, anything really) to keep you occupied. Let go of the expectation that your vessel will arrive early. It’ll save you from feeling frustrated and bored.

7. Not packing enough long skirts

To enter any active temple in Bali, a modest dress code is mandated – all must wear sarongs to cover their legs below the knee.

If you don’t have your own sarong, you will need to rent one at the temple, which would mean coughing up a few extra Rp (Indonesian Rupiah). While I didn’t really make a mistake, I didn’t plan well enough to avoid the sarong rentals at some temples.

Pack enough modest, full-length skirts to wear to temples that allow them, or buy a sarong for yourself in Bali – this will also make for a great keepsake of your travels!

Note: Avoid stepping on or touching offerings (canang sari) kept outside temples, shops and homes, as it is offensive to the locals.

8. Completely relying on your chauffeur

My family and I were promised an English-speaking driver for our Bali trip; a relief since the only Indonesian word we knew was Selamat (a greeting). Imagine our faces when we realized that our driver knew about five words of English, his favourite being ‘Yes’. 😅

No qualms with him – he was the sweetest man ever – and we eventually used Google Translate to help us communicate. That said, we struggled to find certain places and items (like a last-minute headlamp for my trek to Mount Batur) due to the communication gap. While there’s nothing we can do about this, being mentally prepared to handle such situations will alleviate some frustration.

9. Bargaining too little, or too much

I have a staunch belief – we don’t bargain in malls and on websites, so why haggle with vendors and small shops who could use the money more? My rigidity with this belief would’ve led me to cough up triple the price for a few clothes in Bali, had my mother not stepped in and bargained a bit.

That said, it’s equally unwise, and downright rude, to bargain too much. Bali isn’t exactly known for its high GDP. Most locals rely on tourism, agriculture and fishing to put food on the table. So, while they do expect tourists to bargain, it isn’t nice to haggle too much. Treat others as you’d like to be treated. ❤️

Note: You can take pictures of farmers in the rice terraces and fields (with their consent), but offer them some amount for their cooperation, especially in private property.

10. Not eating at the warungs

Unhappy is he who has not dined at a warung, for he hasn’t tasted the truest of Balinese flavours.

I made that quote up but it’s true! The best and cheapest meals are the ones at warungs – small traditional shops or kiosks, either retail or eateries, which are typically family-owned and run. In the Indian context, think of warungs as your local mess.

My family and I had eaten nearly all of our meals in the hotels we were staying at, or in premium restaurants since our driver (and our tour operator) assumed we’d like to eat in such establishments. At first, we were puzzled as to why we aren’t being taken to a warung since they are the heart of the Balinese culinary experience. Eventually, we asked our driver why he was taking us only to prim places, to which he enthusiastically responded ‘Yes!’. Some translation later, he took us to a warung, where we had a delicious dinner for just Rp 27,000 (roughly ₹150) per head!

Even if you’ve to go out of your way, have a meal or two at a warung. You won’t be disappointed.

11. Chasing Instagram hotspots

Few things disappoint me as much as social media ‘must-do’ sights and hotspots, because they’re almost always nothing like what’s portrayed. And believe me when I say that Bali has its fair share of these places.

I have no hate for these hotspots; they all started off as beautiful, serene sights for both locals and travellers. Some are naturally formed, while others have been carefully constructed in harmony with nature. And nearly all of them are now overrun with vehicles, crowds, vendors (again, nothing against this, because livelihoods need to be made), and general cacophony.

Read: Why the Goat Village in India’s Uttarakhand is perfect for an Insta-hotspot detox

Take Bali’s waterfalls, for example. The island is home to some of the most spectacular ones in the world. But many have become places I’d never recommend. The Tegenungan waterfall is a gorgeous waterfall inside a jungle. Step into the place and you will first come across a parking ground filled with vehicles, then rows of shops, followed by one too many swings and photo corners with long lines at each. When you finally get to the waterfall, it’s overrun with people, while loud thumping music blares from speakers above you.

This is one of those mistakes in Bali that can be easily avoided, by heading to lesser-known waterfalls. The internet may give you some information, but it’s best to ask the locals – they know the hidden spots better than anyone else.

Else, make your way to Tegenungan and other popular waterfalls just as they open for the day.

Another example is the Pura Lempuyang temple. You know, the Insta-famous Gates of Heaven with Mount Agung in the background and a perfectly still reflective pool in the foreground?

One of Bali’s oldest and most revered temples, Pura Lempuyang is beautiful. But photo-op seekers beware! Unless you want to be supremely disappointed by a queue that lasts about 2 hours till you get your picture clicked at the Gates, only to be further heartbroken at the realization that there is no reflective pool (it’s just a piece of mirror held under a phone), it’s best to skip Pura Lempuyang. You may be able to avoid the bee-line of tourists by visiting in the late afternoon for sunset.

12. Going for a dolphin-watching ride

While my Bali planning mistakes kept adding up, this one was a triple whammy – a colossal waste of money and time (especially those precious hours of sleep that I was craving due to constant travel), plus the trauma it caused the dolphins.

I knew better than to opt for a dolphin-watching, or rather, a dolphin-hounding-and-chasing boat ride. I’ve been to these things in Goa before, and they’re terrible – a bunch of motorboats packed with loud, rambunctious people chasing after a pod of dolphins. The entire episode seemed quite traumatic for the poor dolphins. Still, folly prevailed as I tried to create a family-friendly itinerary that included watching these beautiful mammals in Lovina from what I assumed would be a respectable distance.

The one in Lovina was no better. The pattern repeated itself, and I found myself feeling terrible – loathing myself for supporting an unethical animal tourism practice, upset at having signed my family on for this activity when we could’ve spent the time catching up on sleep instead of waking up at 5 AM, and cringing at the amount of trash floating in the waters.

Save yourself the guilt, the time and money, and skip dolphin-watching. Instead, head to Nusa Penida or Gili Islands and snorkel or dive, to watch aquatic life in its natural glory.

13. Signing up for water sports

While not a deal-breaker, you can save time and cash by avoiding water sports in Bali, simply because you can engage in these adventures back home. There’s nothing special about any of the water sports here.

If you’re from India, head to Goa, Malpe or Varkala for sea-side adventures, or to Dandeli and Mulki for river-rafting and river-kayaking respectively. They’re closer to home, so you save dough while also exploring your own backyard.

14. Expecting a jaw-dropping sunrise at Mount Batur

Possibly the most painful of my mistakes in Bali was the Mount Batur trek, and I don’t mean the muscle pain and exhaustion.

It was due to heartbreak, caused by the crashing fall of my high expectation.

I did not get to see the famed sunrise overlooking Mount Agung.

Expecting Bali’s weather to cooperate is like expecting a dog not to wag its tail. In fact, the sky was clear the night of the trek – an inky blue canvas dotted by many stars and an almost-full moon! However, at dawn, the weather decided to take another course. The fog never lifted, the sky was overcast, and it even rained that day!

Read: My Mount Batur trekking experience with a female trek guide

That said, the Mount Batur trek is definitely worthwhile. I encourage everyone to sign up for it, with the caveat that you may not always get the sunrise you seek.

15. Not embracing the unplanned

I wouldn’t term this as one of the mistakes we made in Bali. In fact, it was the other way around, and I’m so proud of how we made the best of all the unplanned situations we found ourselves in.

From losing a suitcase at the Denpasar airport to missing the sunset at Tanah Lot, we found ourselves in moments that were less than ideal. But we embraced the chaos and went with the flow.

Had we made it in time for the sunset at Tanah lot, we wouldn’t have witnessed the beautiful Purnama ceremony at the temple. Had we not made early morning journeys, we wouldn’t have been offered a glimpse into the local life at Bali by way of their weekly 4 AM market in Ubud. Had we stuck to our plan of spending just one day at Nusa Penida, we would’ve never seen Diamond Beach. And had I seen the sunrise from Mount Batur, I would have never appreciated how truly beautiful Lake Batur and Mount Agung looked when the clouds finally parted.

We embraced our mistakes in Bali and learnt that it’s fine to let go of the reins sometimes and allow the universe to chart our journey.

Bonus – Being purely a tourist

The harried and hurried travel made me realize that I don’t particularly enjoy hopping from one place to another to merely check off tourist sights. Of all the mistakes I made in Bali, this was the most transformative.

I no longer want to cross off several countries before I die. Instead, I want to savour each place, travelling slowly, sustainably and purposefully. Diving deep into a village, town, city or country is my chosen path for my present and future travels. Learning local ways of living, and allowing the history, culture and beauty of a place to slowly wash over me is the way forward, for me.

Being a tourist is great! It’s not something I’m going to put behind me completely. But embracing slow travel is what I now crave. Translation: Bali will be revisited.

Each of us will make several mistakes while planning our travels, and even more so when we actually travel. And while this is not only normal but also completely fine, I urge you to avoid making the same mistakes in Bali as I did! I hope your travels here are filled with beauty, spontaneity and serendipity. ✨