Breathtaking scenery, endless rice paddies and palm forests, summer temperatures, and white dream beaches are attracting more and more people to Bali. The Indonesian island has been one of the most popular travel destinations in recent years. The ever-increasing number of visitors has turned into mass tourism, which has left its mark. Littered beaches are just one example. One or two doubts can easily catch up with you whether you should follow the Bali trend or not.

Like so many things, there are two sides to a vacation in Bali because the locals live from tourism. So it’s up to you to shape your Bali vacation. With these ideas and eco accommodations, you can travel green to Bali and give something back at the same time.

5 reasons not to travel to Bali

There are a few things that speak against a trip to Bali – starting with the journey: Getting to an island is costly, and flights, as well as boat trips, are not very climate-friendly. Bali, in particular, is one of the destinations that people visit again and again because of cheap flights and only for a short stay – although for many it is a long-distance trip.

Info: You can stay in Bali for 30 days without a visa. A visa for 60 days currently costs 87 euros and can be extended to six months. Find out more here.

#1 Garbage problem in Bali

The beautiful white sandy beaches for which Bali is so famous sometimes resemble more carpets of plastic waste than paradise. This is marine plastic, which washes up in huge quantities during a constellation of strong westerly winds and currents. In just a few days, over 100 tons can lie in the sand at once. Local garbage collectors and volunteers then spend days cleaning up the beaches. As the newspaper “Bali Sun” reports, some tourists also take part in such clean-ups.

Mass tourism has significantly increased the garbage problem on the island. Because where there are more people, there is also more garbage. On top of that, they also want to be fed and need resources, which are scarce on an island per se.

Since February 2024, tourists have had to pay an entry tax of 150,000 rupiah (approx. 9 euros) when entering the country. According to Al Jazeera, this tax was introduced specifically to combat the waste problem.

#2 Damage to the culture

When traveling, people don’t always consider that the authentic culture of a region often suffers from the tourists’ urge to experience it.

Since 2023, you have been asked to download a catalog of etiquette rules to your cell phone via QR code when entering the country, where you are specifically asked to treat the shrines with respect. (You can find out more about this in the section “7 things tourists do wrong in Bali”)

One reason for this new code of conduct is said to be Russian expats in particular. Since the Russia-Ukraine war, many Russians have made their way to the surfers’ paradise before they could be drafted into military service. Ukrainians have also come for the same reason.

#3 Water shortage on the dream island

Back in 2012, Stroma Cole pointed out in her study “A Political Ecology of Water Equity and Tourism – A Case Study from Bali” that tourism consumed over 65 percent of the water and that hotels and luxury resorts used groundwater for their pools while the locals’ wells dried up.

As Al Jazeera English reported in this video in 2019, too low a groundwater level on the island causes the freshwater lenses to mix with the salty seawater. The IDEP’s Bali Water Protection project is working on the ground. Among other things, they are building cisterns for the population to use rainwater.

#4 “Sex ban” in Bali?

This is no reason to miss out on a trip to Bali (because it’s not true at all), but since there have been headlines about it, we’d like to clear things up here:

In 2025, a law came into force in Indonesia that prohibits a man and a woman who are neither related nor married from booking a hotel room together. However, due to various hurdles (who can report whom, when and how), this law is designed from the outset in such a way that it only affects Indonesians themselves and not tourists and certainly not tourists in Bali.

As you probably know, Indonesia is an Islamic country, but in Bali most of the inhabitants are Hindus.

#5 In Bali, you are a mass tourist

There’s no other way to put it because Bali is one of the most famous tourist islands in the world. Many people find this mix of surfers, expats, honeymooners and locals so exciting. However, wanting to go exactly where everyone else is going has many downsides, as we explain in more detail in our blog article on over-tourism.

In the long term, it would be best if tourism were spread out over more islands. Many people are already traveling to the Gili Islands. The neighboring island of Lombok is still a little quieter.

The solution? Plan, inform, and act consciously

If you plan a few things in advance, you can easily implement environmentally friendly actions during your vacation.

• Book sustainable accommodation that is environmentally conscious and socially committed.
• Make sure you choose excursions that are organized by locals and small ethical organizations.
• Find out about traditions and customs and respect them so that Bali remains authentic and is not westernized.
• Avoid crowded places, such as trendy bars, and stop at a small, owner-run restaurant instead. This way you support the locals in a meaningful way and experience the real Bali.
• Avoid trips to questionable animal attractions such as cockfights.

Slow travel instead of Instagram hopping

And another important keyword for your green trip is slow travel. Take your time for your vacation on the island and don’t just go there for a few days. You can find more tips on how to travel eco-friendly and green in general (which are of course also Bali-friendly) in our blog articles on social sustainability and animal welfare when traveling.

7 things tourists do wrong in Bali

In 2023, the Indonesian Lucienne Anhar, who lives in Bali, reported on Buisness Insider how Bali has changed since the 1980s as a result of tourists. She points out things that many tourists unfortunately don’t know, but which Balinese consider to be disrespectful or unwise:

1. Don’t show too much bare skin: Balinese are too polite to say anything, but it is considered inappropriate for tourists to wear tight shorts or lie topless on the beach.
2. Respect the sanctity of nature: In Bali, not only the temples but also nature is sacred. Tourists who cling half-naked to sacred banyan trees for the perfect photo or pose in suggestive poses in front of the sacred Mount Agung are disrespectful.
3. No intimacies in public: While holding hands or hugging is not a problem, Indonesians consider it inappropriate for couples to kiss in public (or go even further).
4. Don’t just lay on the beach: Most tourists come for the beautiful beaches and magical sunsets, she says, but Lucienne Anhar always recommends that tourists also check out the temples, rice paddies and waterfalls inland.
5. Respect that ceremonies determine the schedules of Balinese people: Throughout the year, Balinese perform various ceremonies that are very important to them and for which they do not come to work. You should respect this and not demand that they are there for you during these times.
6. Avoid tourist traps: There would be two tourist traps that you should be wary of: 1.) Fake “healers”, 2.) Drivers who take you to jewelry stores (since they work on commission, tourists would often feel pressured to buy something)
7. Driving a car or scooter without swearing and honking: Even though traffic in Bali is getting heavier and heavier, it is not customary in Bali to get upset or honk your horn. Instead, go with the flow 🙂

The government-run website Love Bali has published a update in 2025 on the “desired behavior” of visitors to Bali. This includes, for example, a ban on disposable plastic and a ban on the use of “swear words”.

Ecotourism with a dream beach in Puri Dajuma

Choosing the right accommodation is significant if you decide to travel to Bali.

In the west of Bali, you will find the Puri Dajuma eco-resort with a hotel and cottages located directly on a beautiful beach. The cottages were built from local materials in the Balinese architectural style and are scattered among tropical trees.

In addition to traditional Balinese massages and wellness treatments, you can take cooking classes and get to know the traditional cuisine. Authentic experiences like these help you to better understand and appreciate the region, as you gain insights into its characteristics and thus better understand the traditions and people. Of course, the cooking here is organic.

In addition to many other activities such as yoga, you can also book eco-tours to Pekutatan in the Pulukan eco-tourism area. Explore plantations of rubber trees, coconuts, and bananas and learn how cloves and vanilla grow. You enjoy your packed lunch at an altitude of 300 meters with a view of rice fields and the ocean.

As you can see, with the right preparation, you can always find responsible alternatives to classic mass tourism – even in Bali.

This is an update of our article on Bali from 21.09.2018 and includes all new tourism developments (and problems).

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