Is Bali Safe?

1. Scooter and traffic accidents. The number one cause of tourist injuries and deaths in Bali, well ahead of everything else on this list.
2. Bali belly. Stomach illness from food, water or ice affects a large share of visitors. For most people it is unpleasant rather than dangerous, but it can cost you a few days of your trip.
3. Tourist scams. Taxis that skip the meter, rigged money changers, rental shops that charge you for old scooter damage, and fake fines. They cost you money but rarely put you in danger.
4. Petty theft. Bags and phones snatched by thieves on scooters, pickpockets in crowded bars, and the occasional villa break-in.
5. Rip currents and rough surf. The beaches on the south and west coasts have strong currents that pull swimmers out fast. Drowning is a significant cause of tourist deaths in Bali.
6. Counterfeit alcohol. Rare but serious. Cheap, unbranded spirits laced with methanol can blind or kill you.
7. Natural disasters. Earthquakes are common but rarely do damage. Volcanic eruptions mostly disrupt flights rather than the tourist areas.

• Bag snatching from scooters. This is a common Bali theft: a passing rider grabs a bag off your shoulder or off your scooter's hook. Wear your bag across your body on the side away from the road, and never hang one on the handlebars.
• Keep your phone away from the road. Thieves snatch phones on foot and from passing scooters. Don't text while walking along busy roads, and hold your phone on the side away from traffic.
• Watch for pickpockets in crowds. Wallets and phones go missing in bars, clubs, markets and packed events. Keep valuables in a front pocket or a zipped bag.
• Lock up at your villa. Break-ins happen at ground-floor and poorly secured villas. Use the safe, lock doors and windows, and don't leave cash or passports on show.
• Don't leave things on the beach. Bags left on the sand while you swim are easy targets. Take turns watching them, or leave valuables at your accommodation.

As anywhere, the risk is not zero, so check your government's Indonesia travel advisory before you go.

• Always wear a helmet. Wear it on every ride, however short, and fasten the strap. Refuse rental helmets with cracked shells or broken straps. Police also fine riders without helmets on the spot.
• Don't learn to ride here. If you've never ridden a scooter, Bali's traffic is the wrong place to start. Hire a driver or use Grab or Gojek (the ride-hailing apps, which book both cars and motorbike taxis) instead.
• Photograph the scooter before you ride off. Shoot every panel, the tires and the fuel gauge, so the shop can't charge you for old damage. Never leave your passport as a deposit.
• Never ride drunk. Many of the serious crashes happen on the ride home after drinks. Take a car.
• Take a car for longer trips. For airport runs, day trips and heavy rain, a Grab car or a driver hired for the day is cheap and far safer than a scooter.

• Never swim alone or after drinking. Most drownings involve someone swimming alone, at dusk, or after drinking.
• Don't turn your back on the ocean. Bigger sets of waves and the occasional sneaker wave (a much larger wave that surges far up the beach) knock people over at the shoreline.
• Know how to escape a rip. If a current pulls you out, don't swim against it. Stay calm, float, and swim parallel to the beach until you're out of it, then head back to shore.
• Swim at the calmer beaches. Sanur, Nusa Dua and Jimbaran are far gentler than Kuta, Echo Beach, Balangan or the Uluwatu surf breaks, which are better left to experienced surfers.

• Ice is usually fine at established places. Restaurants and cafes use ice made from filtered water. Take more care at small street stalls, and with salads or fruit that may have been washed in tap water.
• Eat where it's busy. Busy kitchens turn food over fast, so it's fresher. A packed warung (a small family-run eatery) is a safer bet than a quiet tourist restaurant with food sitting out.
• Pack a kit. Bring rehydration salts, Imodium for travel days and something for nausea. The salts matter most, because dehydration is what makes Bali belly miserable.
• See a doctor if it gets worse. Go if you have a high fever or blood in your stool, or if it lasts more than a couple of days. Clinics in every tourist area treat Bali belly all the time.

Mosquitoes are the other health risk. Dengue fever occurs year-round, and the mosquitoes that carry it bite in the daytime, so use repellent, especially in the early morning and late afternoon. The US CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has a Zika notice open after cases turned up in travelers returning from Bali, and it advises pregnant travelers not to travel to Bali. Bali's own health office says it has recorded no confirmed local cases. If you are pregnant or trying to be, talk to a doctor before you book. This is general information, not medical advice.

• Give street dogs space. Bali has a lot of free-roaming dogs. Most are harmless, but don't pet, corner or startle them, especially around food or puppies. They often chase scooters, causing both bites and crashes, so slow down near loose dogs instead of speeding past.
• Dog bites are common. Plenty of travelers get nipped by a dog in Bali, more than by monkeys. Bites are one of the more frequent reasons tourists end up in a clinic.
• Plan for the shots. Hospitals and clinics in the tourist areas give post-exposure treatment, but stock and prices vary, and you may need several doses over a couple of weeks. Buy travel insurance that covers it.
• Ask about a vaccine before long or rural trips. If you're staying a while, riding remote roads or traveling with kids, ask a travel clinic about the pre-exposure rabies vaccine. You still need treatment after a bite, but the treatment is simpler.

• Stick to sealed, branded bottles. Buy spirits and beer from established bars, restaurants and shops. A factory seal is the best sign a bottle is safe.
• Avoid very cheap cocktails and free pours. The risk is highest with cheap buckets, unlimited-drink deals and unlabeled arak (a local rice or palm spirit).
• You cannot taste or smell methanol. Checking the glass in front of you won't protect you. Sealed bottles from a place with a reputation to protect will.
• Know the warning signs. Symptoms can take hours to appear: severe headache, blurred or fading vision, nausea and confusion. If you suspect methanol, go to a hospital immediately. It is treatable if caught early.

• Earthquakes are frequent, but serious damage is rare. Most are small. In a strong one, drop, cover and hold on.
• Volcanoes mostly disrupt flights. Eruptions of Mount Agung have closed Denpasar airport before. If a volcano is active, watch your flight status and the Magma Indonesia alerts (the government's volcano warnings), and stay outside any official exclusion zone.
• Move to high ground after a strong quake on the coast. Indonesia has tsunami sirens and alerts, but don't wait for one. If you feel a strong earthquake near the coast, head uphill or inland straight away.
• Know your exits. Find your accommodation's emergency exits when you check in, and follow staff instructions if something happens.

See the strongest recent earthquakes near Bali ↑

• Don't accept drugs from strangers. The person offering them may be setting you up.
• Don't overstay your visa. Overstays are fined for each day. A long overstay can lead to detention, deportation and a ban on coming back. Track your expiry date and apply to extend early, because processing takes time.
• Respect local customs and religion. Cover up at temples and don't touch the offerings on the ground. On Nyepi (the Balinese Day of Silence), everyone stays indoors, tourists included.
• Vaping is legal, cannabis is not. Nicotine vapes are sold openly. Cannabis and other recreational drugs are completely illegal and treated as seriously as any narcotic.

• Get home with Grab or Gojek. A car booked in the app beats walking along dark roads with no sidewalk or haggling with street taxis. In a few areas, local driver groups (the "taxi mafia") try to stop app pickups. Book anyway, and meet your driver a short walk away if needed.
• Watch your drink. Drink spiking happens in the Kuta, Seminyak and Canggu nightlife. Don't leave drinks unattended, and be wary of overly generous free pours.
• Kuta and Legian are the rowdiest. Drunk driving, pickpockets and the odd fight are most common there. Keep your belongings close.
• Don't walk home drunk. Drunk pedestrians on dark roads with no sidewalk are in a lot of the accidents too, not just riders.
• Travel light on a night out. Take only what you need and leave the rest, passport included, in the room safe.

• Use ride apps after dark. Grab and Gojek track the route in the app, and you skip haggling with drivers late at night.
• Dress for the setting. Beachwear is fine at the beach and the pool. Cover your shoulders and knees at temples and in villages, which also draws less unwanted attention.
• Be firm with touts and "guides". Say a confident "no thank you" and keep walking. Unasked-for help at ATMs, transport hubs and temples usually comes with an expected tip or a catch.
• Share your plans. Before a day trip or a long scooter ride, tell someone your route and when you expect to be back.

• Keep kids off scooters. You'll see whole families on one bike here, but in Bali's traffic scooters are the biggest risk to your children. Use cars with seatbelts. Most rental cars and drivers don't include a child seat unless you ask, so arrange one in advance.
• Watch the water. Many villa and hotel pools are unfenced, and the surf beaches have strong currents. Supervise closely, and swim at calmer beaches like Sanur and Nusa Dua.
• Mind the monkeys. At places like the Ubud Monkey Forest, monkeys grab food, bags and sunglasses, and they can bite or scratch, which carries a rabies risk. Don't feed them, keep food out of sight, and keep small children close.
• Sun, heat and upset stomachs. Kids dehydrate faster, so keep up the water, sunscreen and shade. Be extra strict about clean drinking water and food hygiene.

• Rainy season (November to March). Heavy rain brings flash floods in low-lying areas and slippery roads, which make scooters riskier. Onshore winds make the sea on the west coast rough and murky, and fast boats to the Nusa islands are canceled more often. More mosquitoes mean a higher dengue risk, and mountain roads get the occasional landslide.
• Dry season (April to October). This is the busy, sunny season. The main risks are heat, dehydration and strong sun, plus bigger crowds at the popular beaches and sights. The biggest swells of the year reach the west coast and the reefs around Uluwatu, and rip currents are there all year.

• Single emergency line112
• Police110
• Ambulance118 / 119
• Fire113
• Search & rescue (Basarnas)115

Operators don't always speak English, so it's often faster to ask your accommodation or a local contact to call for you. For advisories issued at country level, see the full Indonesia advisories.