Is Bali a dangerous destination for Westerners?
Are you thinking about traveling to Bali but you are unsure about the safety of the place? You came to the right place, as we will walk you through the details of the dangers, problematic neighbourhoods and things to avoid in Bali!
Bali is a volcanic island, located towards the east of Java and belonging to the Indonesian archipelago. Bali is, actually, a province of Indonesia, divided into nine regions or localities. These include: Jembrana, Tabanan, Denpasar, Badung, Gianyar, Klungkung, Bangli, Karangasem and Buleleng.
Bali is one of the most important places in Indonesia, as the tourism industry that the island brings every year, makes the main financial richness of the Indonesia.
Bali is worldwide known as "The Island of God” and this is because most of the population in Bali is Hindu, having altars pretty much everywhere around the island.
Bali is a tropical area that enjoys a constant temperature through the year of an average of 28 Celsius degrees.
Bali is just a beautiful paradise, famous for the stunning rice fields that display incredible multilevel terraces, endless temples, volcanic mountains surrounded by forests and monkeys, great beaches and excellent food.
Bali has a wide range of places to visit and things to do, something just right for everyone. You can enjoy the best surf spots, yoga retreats, for those looking for a more spiritual and relaxed trip, sandy beaches, for the sun seekers and families, diving, snorkelling, swimming, lots of historical and cultural places, as well as, an incredible nightlife and dining culture.
It is such a popular place to travel, not only, because of the cheap prices that you can get both in food and accomodation, but also, because it is renowned for both, the party, spiritual and culturally rich times that island offers. This is the reason why this island is the favourite destination for digital nomads and location independent people, as they can enjoy the cheaper and viby lifestyle.
Even though, Bali is known for all those heavenly things, I still get asked constantly, is Bali safe? Is Bali safe at night? Is Bali safe for women?
Before we go in a bit deeper into the details of the points of concerns that you should pay attention to, I will give you the short answer.
Yes. Bali is safe at night. Bali is one of the safest destination to travel in Indonesia. There are some safety concerns to pay attention to after the sun goes down, such as, women going out alone at night. It is advised that they extreme precautions when meeting strangers. Avoiding secluded dark beaches and roads is recommended, as some sexual assaults have happened. Also, petty theft, small crimes, drink spiking and touristic scams are popular around the night time.
Is it safe to walk around Bali alone at night?
Bali is really safe. Having said that, you must know that the primary concerns are petty crime and scams. Small crimes do exist in Bali, and in fact, it was reported that they have increased in the last three years.
Petty crimes, such as, pickpocketing, bag snatching and other small thefts, are quite common around the touristic areas around Kuta and Seminyak, especially, at night.
These sort of crimes and scams, like taxi, jewellery and other tourist traps kind of scams, are extremely common, but they are usually non violent.
As mentioned above, these small criminal activities, usually, happen after the sun is down or in the later evening, so I will give you a couple of quick tips to avoid becoming a victim of these troubles.
First of all, I would suggest to not flush a lavish lifestyle, don’t show off heaps of cash or expensive jewels/clothes, don’t flush your expensive phone or devices. This will call for attention.
Pay attention to your valuables and keep them out of sight in your bag very close to you where no one can put the hand in or even get snatched out of a motorbike.
Also, beware of ATM skimming activities. Especially, around bars and clubs in the late evening, there are organised groups waiting out of sight, for tourist to take money out of the ATM to then assault them quickly and mug them.
I would say do this at the airport when you get to Bali and use your credit card when you can, always getting a receipt as a proof of transaction.
Phone and camera thefts are also a thing in Bali, especially, around crowded bars or chill out areas, when you leave your belongings out of your reach and sight.
It is very frequent to use your phone, holding it in your hand when driving in your scooter, simply, because you are using your GPS to get to your desired location. This action can be problematic around the night time, when the light is dim and snatchers can just pass by your side really fast and take it out of your hand in a second. This is a super popular tactic in Bali. Keep it tight to your body and don’t over show it, especially, in not so populated roads.
If you find yourself in a situation like this during your stay in Bali, simply, report it to the authorities. They are really helpful and friendly towards visitors and they will first of all calm you down and give you a sense of safety and protection. I can’t promise your stolen goods will reappear, but they will watch out for those people to stop them around the area.
There are definitely some areas of Bali that should be avoided or visited with care, especially, during the night time. Also, there are a couple of points of concern to pay attention to when in Bali. Those are Arak (Methanol poisoning, when going out or in bars, local mafia and female safety)
Keep reading this post where we will walk you through those areas and things you should pay attention to.
Which neighbourhoods are the most dangerous in Bali?
As we have mentioned it before, Bali is generally safe, however, there are a few places we definitely wouldn’t recommend you to spend much time around at night.
Oberoi Street
Oberoi Street is one of the iconic party life areas in Seminyak. This neighbourhood is particularly crowded during the weekends and holiday time. Cars drive super crazy around that area, many tourists are wasted and there are groups whose job is to mug them, so watch out for those things. Always, grab a taxi or a Grab to go back to your accomodation.
Batu Bolong
This area is a super busy area in Canggu, famous for its nightlife, because of Old Man’s bar. The region is also famous and popular for the beach, where there are tons of festivals, tons of good vibes, but at night it can be a bit hefty. Petty crime is really common in this place. We would recommend to never leave your bag unattended or even your bike. Don’t leave it without a chain and your helmet without a lock.
Sunset Road
Sunset Road is actually the main road that will take you from the airport to Seminyak. Already the area is very unsafe at night because there are tons of drunk drivers both by motorbike and car and you should be careful when walking around or crossing streets.
At night, petty crime in this area is at its highest. Especially, lone travellers who go out and they become a target for organised groups that will rob them.
I, actually, do have a pretty close case of a girlfriend, who was properly bag snatched in this area when partying on a Saturday night. She was actually in a Grab motorbike with her driver going back to her accomodation and another bike with two people came really close to them. They pulled from her bag and sped up. She had her cash, cards, phone and other personal belongings.
Bumbak/Umalas
With the pandemic, things started to get a bit raffled in this area around 2020 and assaults started to rise around touristic places, going out at night. These actions, were a bit more forceful, leaving some tourists with bad injuries when trying to snatch their phones or bags. There are a couple of Australian tourists, who have suffered these assaults when partying in this area, but also Singaporean, Chinese and other visitors.
There are many narrow streets and lanes that are not populated and not patrolled at all, I would 100% avoid these streets.
Denpasar Area
Bali Police released a statement at the end of 2021 acknowledging that, violent crime had increased against tourists around Badung and Denpasar areas.
Denpansar is also the poorer area of Bali, where everything is super dirty and where gangs gather. There are some edges of the area that have become more touristy, but I would avoid it all together at night.
However, in the last year, police forces have increased a lot and they patrol, especially, around the most visited clubs and bars.
Legian Street
Legian Street is the main street that runs from north to south from Kuta to Seminyak. This street at night is mega crowded and holds the best pubs, clubs and cafes in Bali. This may sound good, and it is, however, I would encourage you to not underestimate people at night, both, tourists and locals. As you know, the drug policy in Bali is really strict and entails really harsh sentences even death penalty. However, you will be harassed by drug dealers in this street like they are offering you a lolly. Be super cautious not to engage in any of this, otherwise, your dreamy holidays might turn into a nightmare very quickly.
La Favela
La Favela is by far one of the most (perhaps, even the most) popular nightclub in the entire Bali.
We are quite conflicted and mixed about how we feel about La Favela. We have had different experiences through the times we have been there when travelling Bali.
The place is amazingly decorated and the vibe, especially, at night is there, however, it not only, gets crowded, but also, it gets crazy!
There are long queues to wait to get in, particularly, on Saturdays and also, it is the place where the big troubles usually occur.
The drinks menu is really over priced (so it is the food they serve during the day time) clearly, targeting “westerners” and “asian tourists”.
The music can be pretty good and sometimes the staff are quite friendly.
But, there is certainly a rejection towards locals, favouring tourists, to obviously charge them more and sell them overpriced, low quality alcohol (and we will talk about this later in this post) and drugs causing brawls and violent fights sometimes.
We witnessed one of our Australian mates getting punched in face by the security guards, who purposely intoxicated him with arak and then they bit him up, until the point that he lost an eye. This is the exception, but extreme your precautions.
There are heaps of wasted tourists, who might engage in fights and taking advantage of these altercates, organised local gangs, will steal your belongings, whilst the fight is going on.
The good news are, that Bali police are definitely aware of these issues and they are now more active in patrolling the area.
Drink spiking and Methanol poisoning.
Drink spiking in Bali has increased in the last few years, among the tourists, visitors and nomads. This is strikingly evident around the crowded bars, nightclubs and even late evening popular restaurants. They target both men and women.
One of our Australian mates in our nomad community, was intoxicated with a substance that was similar to soap, with detergent flavour. This happened in a minute where she lost sight of her drink. She was with a group of friends, so luckily, they could assist her when she became really ill in like 30 minutes after sipping her drink. This happens regularly, particularly, targeting lone travellers to mug them.
Not only, unknown substances can be used by organised gangs or simply, individual criminals, but also, Arak, which is essentially methanol.
One of our Canadian friends went out in Bali, to a very popular club, The Bounty, which it is also famous due to the Bali bombing back in 2001. It was around 11 pm on a week day and she was with another friend dancing. She was served a “especial cocktail mix” courtesy of the staff in the club.
What initially seemed like a kind gesture, later in time, they realised that, that was their attempt to save a few buck in real drinkable alcohol and instead they served a methanol solution.
This is a very harmful chemical to be ingested and if taken in high amounts, it can cost your life. Some other outcomes can range from paralyses to blindness. This is actually, the symptoms that our friend experienced.
She suddenly couldn’t feel her right arm and it went all the way up to the right side of her face and ten minutes later she couldn’t see anything. She went blind.
In optimal cases, it only gets you stomach ill, very drunk and with a bad hungover that can last days.
I would highly recommend to never leave your drink aside, out of your guard. Also, I would encourage you to order drinks that the bar tender would have to open new in front of you, instead of a premixed drink. Even, simple things like wine or beer can be spiked at bars, hotels or restaurants.
Is Bali safe for women?
In general lines, Bali is safe for solo female travellers. Locals are fairly friendly and usually respectful towards female tourists, mainly, westerners.
There are a couple of things to know though, to nail down all the safety measures as a woman around Bali.
Assaults
There have been an increase in sexual remarks towards women from 2020, largely, from those working in building construction sites, or bar tenders or groups of locals gathered in touristic places.
Most of these situations are not problematic and those people are usually harmless, but as a woman, specifically, a young and lone woman, you should never put the guard down. This is particularly important at night, when most crimes of this sort and other sexual abuses happen.
Although, it is not the norm, rape and other sexual assaults do happen in Bali sometimes. This is more common in places where, it is dark or the light is dim, usually, after the sun goes down, in secluded places or not populated roads. But also, it happens in areas of busy nightlife, where there are organised groups or gangs in charge of intoxicating the victim/s to them assault them.
I do know of two close cases of two girls that were assaulted in the island at the time I was travelling Bali back in 2019. I have also heard some stories equally frightening.
One of the girls was travelling around Indonesia by herself, making a stop in Bali for a couple of weeks. She decided to explore the clubs in Kuta and when trying to get in a club, she met a couple of local guys, who offered an alternative club with less waiting line. She found them friendly and fun, so she agreed to go with them.
They took her to a secluded beach where it was obviously very dark, they convinced her to leave her bike back in the club, with the promise that they would bring her back. This never happened, what happened is, that she was given beer mixed with Arak (methanol) and she became very intoxicated. They then dragged her to the beach and raped her.
My other girlfriend was actually from our group of friends from our first Bali trip back in 2017. Our girlfriend took a weekend trip to Nusa Penida Island, which is like 30 mins of a ferry from Bali.
She was driving her motorbike around, in a not very visited road to watch the sunset, when she was suddenly approached by another motorbike, which pushed her out of the road. The guy grabbed her bag, still attached to her back and dragged her to the bushes where he raped her.
These horrors of sexual violence happening to female travellers do occur in Bali (and other parts of the world) so be cautious of driving in not well lighted streets. Do not trust strangers, it is fine to be friendly but exercise your friendliness with caution.
Kuta Cowboys
This is something to really be wary of. They are called the Kuta cowboys. This might sound ridiculous, but it happens all the time!
We all know and have heard about the Western guys (mostly) that travel to places in Asia to have sex with women, who seduce them in nightclubs and bars.
But it is less heard of, the phenomenon occurring in Bali that started around 2011, where, muscular, dark skinned and surfer type Indonesian men, seduce Western women (mainly) to suck their money and belongings.
This is very popular around the Kuta area but also extending to Jimbaran, Seminyak or Canggu, around the fun clubbing and bar areas. These hot guys, would take advantage of women looking for fun or vulnerable women (drunk and other ways intoxicated) to get them to pay for drinks, to pay for their rent, after having an intense conversation about how poor they are.
Our best friend travelled to Bali by herself early in 2022, staying in a local homestay around Canggu. The homestay was owned by a local young family, where the guy was very attractive. He started acting like our best friend’s best friend from the first instance. This attitude kept going on for the entire week, he even upped his game by openly flirting with my friend, giving her eye winks, not caring at all that his wife was around.
It got worse each day, exponentially, she was called a “beautiful princess”, “hot Australian surfer” and other similar remarks.
The guys showed up at 3 am in the club where our friend had gone out to. After our friend got angry at this behaviour, the guy came clean and told her the truth. Turned out he had a” girlfriend” in Australia, who came to Bali twice a year to see him. She would send him money (he would use this money to pay his kids school, rent and everything else) in exchange to be the “perfect boyfriend” and his promise of love and sex when she was around in Bali those days twice a year.
He acknowledged that this modus operandi is a thing in Bali amongst these attractive men. Some others just take whatever they can whilst the women are in Bali, like going to crazy parties, going shopping, dinning and stuff like that.
Robbery
As mentioned earlier in this post, robbery and bag snatching is common in Bali, to a great degree, towards female travellers after the sun goes down. These events, usually, take place around the heavily touristed beach areas and the hills in Ubud.
As explained earlier, they tend to pull really hard from the bag hanging out of your shoulder and sometimes, if you resist, they can lift their violence by throwing you around, beating you up and nasty actions like these.
Less common but still happening is, when women get followed back to their accomodations, where they get robbed with violence. This normally happens through organised street gangs, waiting in bars or nightclubs, where they spot their victim and follow them back to the hotel or villa.
You will hear about these sort of acts pretty much everywhere in Bali. Make sure to exercise caution around sunset. Do not carry too much cash or cards with you. Leave the important documents in the room, locked up in a safe, and don’t hang out by yourself in isolated areas.
Local mafia
Lastly, we will describe the local mafia of Bali. This group is not dangerous per se, for tourists but rather, they specialise in scamming them.
Supposedly, Uber and Go Car is not allowed, as it affects the local taxi drivers. During they day, you can get lucky and score one of these rides, but in the evening and night, it is an absolute nightmare.
The taxi mafia is in power all around Bali, but, particularly so, along the bars, restaurants and clubs. They will reject your rides from the app because the drivers are scared of going to those areas, as those gangs would become violent. If they saw a non taxi car picking up a tourist, they would trash the car, gang up and beat the driver up and stuff like that.
The reason for it is, that they would charge triple the amount to tourists. I would avoid getting a local taxi as it supports this mafia.
Conclusion
To finish off this article, just remember that Bali is a safe destination, which crime rates have decreased over the last years. Still, it is crucial that you extreme your precautions, as in this place there is a high poverty level, corrupt authorities, civil unrest, minor crimes and sexual assaults.
There are many reasons to visit Bali and the risks described here shouldn’t put you off. Simple precautions, common sense and skills to “read the room” go a long way.
The more touristy the area is, the more pickpocketing and other minor crime risks there are. Take excellent care of your personal belongings, don’t carry your valuables when visiting the island, keep them locked in the room or villa and keep a low profile.
Try not to use ATMs in secluded areas, do so during the daytime, in areas where, there are other people around and be quick about it. Watch out for the areas of highest petty crime rates, such as, Kuta and Legian areas, among others.
We strongly recommend, to never leave your drink unattended and not to get any drink from a stranger.
If openly offered Arak, do not take it. It truly can cost your life and get your permanently damaged.
Lastly, as a female traveller, extreme your precautions when hanging around isolated areas by yourself, do not explain where your accomodation is, don’t give details of your solo trip and be wary of strangers.
There you go! Now you know all about the general safety of Bali and particularly at night. Never put the guard down, exercise common sense and enjoy your trip!