Bali has a reputation as an easy first trip for women travelling alone, and for the most part it deserves it.
The island welcomes visitors, and the locals are friendly. It is one of the few places in Asia where you can land on your own, find your feet in a day or two, and leave with a phone full of new friends.
But the fact that it’s easy doesn’t mean you should go in unprepared. A bit of knowledge before you go makes the difference between a week that feels stressful and one that feels like the trip you hoped for.
Begin with the paperwork, since it’s the dullest part and at the same time the most important.
Most nationalities need a visa on arrival, which you can pay for at the airport or apply for online in advance as an e-VOA.
Bali also charges a levy to international tourists, which you can pay online before you fly.
A few weeks before your departure, check the current rules for your passport, as they do change, and keep digital and paper copies of your passport and insurance somewhere separate from the originals.
The arrivals hall is usually the first moment solo travellers feel uncertain. It’s busy, and you’ll be offered a great many rides.
The easiest thing to do is to arrange a transfer through your accommodation before you arrive. This way there will be someone waiting for you with your name on a sign.
Once you’ve settled in, ride-hailing apps like Grab and Gojek are the easiest way to get around: the price is fixed in the app, the driver’s information is recorded, and there’s no need to negotiate.
Buy a local SIM or eSIM at the airport or before you travel so that you have data from the beginning.
Where you stay shapes the whole trip, and this is where many women travelling alone get it wrong. They end up booking a place that looks beautiful but leaves them feeling isolated.
A private villa in the rice fields sounds dreamy until you realise you’re eating dinner alone every night twenty minutes from anything.
For the first week it’s usually better to stay somewhere with other people around: a well-reviewed guesthouse in a central area, a social hostel if that’s your style, or a small retreat where the guests share meals and take part in activities together.
Areas are also important. Canggu and Seminyak are on the coast and have a busy, international atmosphere, with lots of cafés, beach clubs and nightlife.
Uluwatu is famous for its cliffs, beaches and surfing. Ubud, inland among rice fields and temples, is calmer and more focused on culture, yoga, art and food.
Many women who travel alone begin their journey in Ubud simply because it’s slower and feels more grounded, then head to the coast later in the trip.
Safety in Bali mainly comes down to common sense rather than danger. Petty theft does happen, particularly bag snatching from passing scooters.
So, carry your bag on the side away from the road and don’t hold your phone out as you walk.
Use ATMs inside banks or shops instead of standalone machines on the street, and change money only at authorised money changers with clear rates.
At night, use the apps rather than flagging down a ride, and let someone at your accommodation know if you’re going out alone.
The most common way travellers end up injured in Bali isn’t crime but scooters. Renting one is cheap and tempting, but the roads are busy, the rules are loose, and many visitors have never ridden one before.
If you’re not already a confident rider with the right licence, use drivers and apps instead. Check what your travel insurance covers too, since many policies exclude scooter accidents if you’re not properly licensed.
If you look after your stomach, you’ll look after most of your trip.
Drink bottled or filtered water only, including for brushing your teeth if you’re cautious, and be a little careful with ice in very small roadside places.
The warungs, the small local restaurants, serve some of the best food on the island and are usually safe; busy ones with a high turnover are a good sign.
Take some rehydration salts and a bit of basic medicine, so a bad day doesn’t turn into a bad week.
Your trip will be richer if you respect the local culture, and people will notice and appreciate it. Bali is mostly Hindu, and religion is part of everyday life rather than something kept for special occasions.
When you visit temples, cover your shoulders and knees and wear a sarong and sash; many temples lend them, but it’s simpler to have your own.
Traditionally, women who are menstruating are asked not to enter temples, and it’s polite to respect this.
Step around the small offerings you’ll see on pavements and doorsteps rather than over or on them, and always ask before taking photographs of people, particularly during ceremonies.
The thing that surprises many people travelling by themselves isn’t a lack of safety but loneliness. Bali is full of couples and groups, and a few days of eating alone can wear down even the most independent traveller.
The simplest solution is to take part in activities such as cooking classes, group tours, a morning yoga class or a sunrise trek. It doesn’t take long for shared experiences to turn strangers into dinner companions.
This is also why many women choose to spend at least part of their trip at a small yoga retreat in Bali. It gives the week a structure and a ready-made group, without you having to organise everything yourself.
Firefly Retreat, in the rice fields just outside Ubud, is one example. It has been running since 2013, and the majority of its guests are women travelling alone.
Everyone arrives on a Sunday and leaves the following Saturday, so the group goes through the week together, with daily yoga and meditation, vegetarian meals, a Balinese cooking class and trips to temples and villages.
With fifteen rooms and no more than twenty guests at a time, it feels more like staying with friends than in a hotel, and the shared rooms are for women only.
Pack less than you might think. In the heat and humidity, light and loose clothing works best, plus something to cover your shoulders and knees for temples.
Take a light raincoat if you’re travelling between November and March, when the wetter season brings heavy afternoon showers.
Good sandals, reef-safe sunscreen, insect repellent and a refillable water bottle will cover most of what you need, and anything you forget is easy to buy on the island.
Above all, give yourself time. Many first-time visitors try to see the entire island in a week and spend a lot of that time in traffic, because Bali is larger and slower to get around than it looks on a map.
Pick one or two bases, include a few days with no plans, and let the trip develop naturally.
Some of the best moments happen when you stop rushing: a conversation with your host over breakfast, an invitation to a village ceremony, or an afternoon watching the rain move across the rice fields.
Bali is a great destination for a woman travelling alone.
Arrive prepared, stay somewhere that connects you with other people, respect the culture around you, and you’ll quickly find out why so many women return again and again.