After visiting Bali, I came back home very confused about my experience. Where were the serene beaches I had seen on Instagram? The deserted waterfalls? The amazing views I could enjoy while eating breakfast on a floating platter in the pool for cheap?

Now I can only speak about my experience in Southern Bali because that’s the area I visited. Before I start, I want to emphasize that I am not discouraging anyone from visiting Bali but I think there are some things you need to know (that I didn’t) before you go!

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1. The Instagram Lie

Unfortunately, I first heard of Bali on Instagram. I followed “influencers” and a Canadian Travel Youtuber and his girlfriend who gave me wildly unrealistic expectations of what Bali would be like. Most of the photos and videos I had seen were highly edited because everyone is dying to create “cinematic content” these days. Well most of the time the places did not actually look like that and neither did the colours. The stuff I saw on social media also misrepresented many locations as serene and calm. The truth? Bali is crowded! At least all the touristy places you’ve seen online are. The only way I’m assuming that people manage to get these photos are by going incredibly early in the morning or because they moved there from another country and have plenty of time to get that perfect shot while trying to sell you their online course. Instagram is full of fake curated content and Bali is no different, which brings me to my next point.

2. Fake photos (and big crowds)

We’ve all seen that photo of someone standing in the middle of a temple gate alone. If you google Bali Gates of Heaven, you’ll see exactly what I am talking about. Looks amazing right? The truth? That entire area is crowded. You need to buy a ticket and wait in line for your turn to get that magical photo to mislead people into thinking you were the only one there and write a caption pretending that this was an enlightening experience. Oh and that beautiful reflection that makes it look like you are standing on water? That is also fake and is achieved by the photographer holding a mirror under the camera. This sacred temple of the Balinese people is presented by many influencers as nothing more than somewhere to take a must-have photo. I truly fail to see how taking a photo of yourself outside a temple can be considered a spiritual experience.

As this traveller wrote in her blog post: “This is one of the oldest Hindu temples in Bali..I think it would be disrespectful to call this place a tourist trap, due to its importance to the local Balinese, Hindu people… I wouldn’t come back here, due to the enormous amount of tourists… If you want to take photos at the Gates of Heaven, you’ll have to wait at least a couple of hours, so be prepared. When we arrived there, our tour guide took a number for us, and in total, I think we waited around 2 hours.”

How about those photos of someone standing with a rice farmer carrying a traditional woven basket? Want to take a photo with them? Sure. You have to pay him and no, he’s not an actual farmer. He’s just someone who dressed up like one to take photos with tourist. I could go on but you get the idea.

It seems everyone’s goal in visiting Bali is to take photos for Instagram. I am happy to see the latest trend of “Instagram vs Reality” or “Expectations vs. Reality” catching on as it reveals a hidden side that many people may not be aware of. This article sums it up perfectly. I think this thread on TripAdvisor is worth a read.

3. It’s polluted!

Something else I wasn’t expecting? Bali is very polluted. The beaches are lined with plastic and trash at low tide. Bali has a huge problem with plastic waste and a quick Google search of “Bali Trash” will show you exactly what to expect. There are loads of trash at random street corners and empty fields and the smoke coming from the countless scooters and cars make it difficult to breathe. By the end of the week, my throat was burning from the smoke. Many scooter drivers wear face masks to protect themselves (this was before covid).

I visited Bangkok after Bali and I thought it looked pristine. But to my amazement, everyone I know who has visited Bangkok complained about how dirty and polluted it was. Since I visited it right after Bali, I think it’s a testament to how polluted Bali is that I thought Bangkok was pristine by comparison. My colleague visited Japan first before Bangkok and he has vastly different opinions about Bangkok.

As this tourist wrote after her visit to Bali; “Snorkeling off the coast of Bali just doesn't ring as romantically when you have to pick plastic bags out of your hair.”

4. Tourist Traps

Heard of Uluwatu Temple? This place is heavily marketed to tourists as a must visit and great place for photos but this is actually a site of important religious and cultural significance. Instead it has turned into a huge tourist trap. Yes, the view is amazing from the cliff. However, you cannot visit the temple or get close to it. What you are coming here to visit is the area around the temple, in the blistering heat and the burning sun. You also need to pay at the gate for your car or scooter. Many people seem to come here for a selfie to post on Instagram. The stairs along the hill are filled with tourists mostly posing for photos.

You might’ve heard of the must see Uluwatu Kecak & Fire Dance? The one at Uluwatu is definitely one of those things to avoid on your trip to Bali but that you see being listed as the top things to do. They only sell tickets one hour before and it gets crazy crowded. We had hired the cook from our villa to take us to some sites for the day and when we mentioned Uluwatu, he knew what to do and went to line up for us. I've never seen priests selling tickets to tourists like that before. The way they were acting, you'd think it was free tickets for a once in a lifetime chance to see Michael Jackson back from the dead. Once you have your ticket you can head to the stadium where they will cram as many people as they can and then sell even more tickets and ask people to sit on the floor next to the dancers. When we could not possibly squeeze together any closer, the men started by chanting. The dance was pretty confusing and many people started leaving after only a few minutes. It felt like such a tourist trap. As it turned out, this is a religious ceremony but many tours sell it as a “show” for tourists. I think a better approach is to attend one of these performances in a less touristy area and learn about the Kecak dance before so you understand what you are seeing. The pamphlet had some important description of the Kecak dance and its history. As a bonus there's also a ton of traffic on your way back from Uluwatu.

Hot Tip: You also cannot take a taxi or Grab here, so you must hire a driver to bring you. It seems our driver was in on the scam because he knew where to go line up and get us tickets.

Other things recommended to me was “No visit to Bali is complete without visiting the Monkey Forest” by a Canadian Youtuber. Unless you love monkeys, you can definitely complete your visit without coming here. This site has several sacred temples and might be worth a visit if you are religious or want to learn more about the local culture. Otherwise most people seemed to have come here to take selfies. The parking lot was a chaotic mess.

Another must visit place that is recommended is Goa Gajah. This site has important cultural and religious significance. But if you are not interested in either, it might be best to skip.

By this point I had noticed a clear trend; Bali is a place with many important cultural sites and religious traditions but it suffers from mass-tourism and is heavily marketed as a serene beach destination or a place to go escape the crowds and to visit untouched waterfalls and rice fields. A lot of the religious sites are only popular to tourists because they are trying to get the same typical instagram photo.

5. Sarongs are required!

The Balinese people are religious and many of their sacred sites are accessible to tourists. As a sign of respect, you are expected to wear a sarong (a fabric wrapped around your waist) before entering.

It’s understandable that you might not be aware when visiting for the first time. On arriving at Goa Gajah, several women at the entrace came up to us and wrapped sarongs around us. Then they demanded payment of $10. They warned us that we could not enter without wearing a sarong. This all felt suspicious so I decided to go in to see for myself.

Well turns out that most places that require sarongs will offer you one free of charge. You can return them as you exit. However, these vendors crowd the parking lot and will try to scam tourists by coercing them into buying one. The real entrance was further inside and we were handed free sarongs. Other tactics we noticed was that certain areas were not accessible by Grab (Southeast Asia’s version of Uber) and only by private car and thus you had to hire a driver to take you. All feels like a scam to extort money from tourists.

6. The Hotels/Villas are cheap (but not the ones you’ve seen on social media)

Many people come to Bali because it’s budget friendly and there is no doubt about it. Sure, you can find a villa with a pool for under $100 per night. But those photos of a pool with a view overlooking the rice fields? The one with the girl eating breakfast on a floating pool platter? Those easily costs a few hundred to thousands of dollars a night but nowhere did I see this mentioned by influencers. All I read constantly was that Bali was cheap and you should visit.

7. Traffic is Insane

Cars and oh-so-many scooters litter the streets everywhere. It can take a significant amount of time to get where you are going so plan ahead! Check google maps for the traffic if possible. While I saw many tourists renting scooters, I simply was not comfortable playing with my life like that. The good news? Grab (Southeast Asia’s version of Uber) is very affordable here so while you may be stuck in traffic, you won’t be the one driving!

8. Things are far

Bali is a big island! Many places you might want to visit could easily take 3 hours to get to by car and require that you either rent a car or hire a driver for the day. Check out the map ahead of time and plan your stay accordingly. I stayed in Bali for a week in the South and I would recommend instead that you pick 2 or 3 different areas that are close to the activities that you want to do. I’d like to think Northern Bali is a better area to visit.

9. The beaches are not for swimming

Aside from the garbage that lines the beaches and the plastic in the water, many of the beaches in the south were better suited for perhaps surfing. The water level was low and receded far out with a lot of waves! Many areas are also rocky, not sandy.

Key takeaway?

Now at this point you might be thinking this guy just hates everything. Of course that’s not the case, every place has its good and bad sides. I wrote this post to help others manage their expectations and not base it on Instagram “influencers”, reels or “cinematic” videos you may have seen on Youtube. If you are expecting this to be a calm and serene beach destination or the chance to get away from the crowds, you will likely be very disappointed. The Maldives is a much better option for that!.Bali seems to be the poster child for don’t believe everything you see on the internet.

So what did I like about Bali?

Bali does have some redeeming qualities. The local food is delicious (and very budget friendly). In many places, you can get a meal for a few dollars and a beer for a little over $1. There are several areas worth visiting but try to research outside of social media to get a feel for what they really look like.

The food and the rice terraces

There are so many good restaurants and many places sell fresh smoothies! I also had fresh coconut water almost every single day. The rice fields of Ubud were absolutely gorgeous! I had lunch at a restaurant there overlooking the fields. If you love curry or Asian cuisines, you're really going to indulge yourself here

Delicious Balinese Cuisine. You’ll be spoiled for choice here!

The baby sea turtles

One of the highlights of my trip to Bali was getting to release baby sea turtles on the beach and watch them run out to the sea. Due to pollution and human overdevelopment, many turtle nesting areas have been destroyed or are now crowded with humans. The Bali Sea Turtle Society digs up the nests after the female has laid them and moves them to their sanctuary to hatch. Once the babies are born, they wait until sunset to release them. As a participant, you can get a new hatchling of your own to release into the wild. Participation is by donation and I highly recommend you donate as much as you can afford to. There is no set schedule for the sea turtle release so you will have to check their facebook page in the morning to find out if they have one planned for the same day. They are located by Kuta Beach.

As the sea turtles hatch, they climb their way out of the nest to the surface and you can observe them here. These one were just a few hours old!

The Manta Rays

And the craziest thing? The most beautiful place I visited in Bali was not even in Bali! It was actually an island called Nusa Penida to the east of Bali where I did a day tour by speedboat to snorkel with giant manta rays! After that, we snorkelled at Crystal Bay; a stunning coral garden unspoiled by crowds. I used my Akaso EK7000 camera to take these shots below although I have since upgraded to the DJI Osmo Action.

Conclusion

I want to be clear that my disappointment was not with the kind hearted Balinese people nor with their rich cultural heritage and religious practices. Rather it is with how Bali is often marketed as an unspoiled beach or tropical destination and several of these religious sites are shown by many influencers as simply places to take trendy instagram photos then caption it as a spiritual experience. I truly failed to see how paying for a photo then waiting in line for 2 hours was a spiritual experience.

What I wished I would have done is hire a local guide who could show me around and explain the Balinese culture and their religion. There are numerous temples and statues all over the island and I often saw people making offerings, it would have been enriching to learn about it. I wished I had read about the temples and religious sites before I went to Bali to understand their significance. Instead, I just saw them listed as “tourist attractions” and took it at face value.

I also look forward to visiting the less ”influenced” side of Indonesia and the other islands east of Bali. They seem to be more pristine, calm and less damaged by over-tourism.

Have you been to Bali? What was your experience like? Do you agree or disagree with any of the points above? Leave a comment below.

This post was originally published on February 7, 2022 and has been updated since.