5 Destinations To Avoid In Bali If You Hate Crowds

There was once a time when the thought of Bali would conjure an image of forest streets frequented by strolling monks and of plumes of incense fumes sending calming scents spiraling slowly in the heavy tropical air. The "land of 1000 temples" was once associated with tranquility, with rich culture and tradition. Its waterfalls were hidden, its sacred sites conserved, and its beaches predominantly patronized by the Balinese. That romanticized Bali, it seems, is long gone, if it ever existed at all. In its contemporary iteration, Bali is Indonesia's premier party destination. A cheap flight destination from Australia, many of its towns have sunk to a debauchery unimaginable in its neighboring conservative islands. Other parts of Bali have become uninhabitable to anybody making a typical Indonesian wage, the private recluse of rich outsiders. 

Indonesia's government has been enacting strict measures to cut down on the misbehaving foreigners who flock to Bali.  Overstaying a visa, a common crime in the digital nomad hotspot, can now result in a 20-year prison sentence. There are strict crackdowns on disrespectful behavior at temples, after visitors stripped naked in sacred spaces. The local police have had to deal with cybercrime rings and narcotics smugglers, as well as unruly and intoxicated drivers all over the roads. Tourism has had a huge negative impact on many aspects of Balinese life, and by avoiding these overrun tourist zones you avoid contributing to their struggle. 

On the streets of Kuta, you're going to see fewer temples and peaceful worshippers, more heaving holidaymakers attempting to chuck up the bucket of bright blue vodka they just sucked through a silly straw. Imagine if Bangkok's infamous Khao San Road stayed rowdy through the day and the night, or if the Vegas strip somehow got sleazier. It's predominantly populated by foreigners seeking a cheap boozy retreat, often not bringing with them any respect for the local people or culture.

The beach, once a beautiful stretch of sand on the south of the isle, is covered in trash. Swimming in the surrounding sea involves frequent battles with floating plastic, accompanied by the unerring sound of 24/7 sleazy parties. If you heed any essential travel hack for your tropical vacation to Bali, make it be this tip — if you're not looking for a skeevy party, avoid Kuta at all costs. 

There are a number of different crowds in Bali that the locals have come to resent. The raucous partiers, the spend-happy instagrammers, the faux hippies. But one of the most damaging to the day-to-day fabric of Bali is the enormous wave of digital nomads. Canggu is the favored hub of the remote working crowd, an area almost entirely devoid of Balinese culture and instead transformed into the suburbia of the wannabe roamers. Filled with cafes with plenty of plugs, sleek air-conditioned gyms, and indistinguishable co-working stations, the small beach front town is like a large open-air office.

Remote workers tendency to overstay visas, avoid paying tax, pay vastly over the asking for rental properties, and to price locals out of Canggu entirely has built a tremendous amount of resentment on the island. It's also resulted in huge swathes of digital nomads congregating in Canggu, leaving it crowded and distinctly uninteresting for any traveler seeking a semblance of authenticity in Bali. Canggu's popularity also comes with perpetual standstill traffic and motorbike fumes that choke the already thick tropical air. 

If, at the beach, you'd rather wear several thousand dollars' worth of designer garb and focus on your social cred than spend any time in the sea, you might just love Seminyak. An area populated by restaurants charging half an average Balinese month's wage for a mediocre meal and exclusive high-end beach clubs, it attracts a wealthier crowd than nearby Kuta. Like the glitzy, celebrity-friendly Ibiza clubs they attempt to emulate, the beach party destination is overrated and expensive. Segmenting the beach into different club crowds, the great surf doesn't make up for the volume of tourists that populate the luxurious lounges along Seminyak's shores. 

It's not often that a traveler's ideal Balinese itinerary revolves around not interacting with any Balinese people, but that seems to be the trend in Seminyak. Businesses list their wares in English or in Russian rather than Bahasa and most excursions out to nicer parts of the island are undertaken in an afternoon. Stay inside a splashy suite to avoid the tourist-chocked streets or avoid the area altogether and go find an authentic experience on the island.

If any part of Bali encapsulates the aggrandized and mythicized land of serene temples and silent bamboo forests of the tourist brochures, it's Ubud. Or, it was. Its surge in popularity started after its trite portrayal as the land of love in "Eat, Pray, Love," but in the same way that the movie was wrong about visiting Italy, it also birthed many a misconception about Ubud. Travelers flocked to find themselves amid the paddy fields and Hindu temples, and stayed to reshape the small town to fit their liking.

These days, you're more likely to be offered canine reiki by a dreadlocked Californian or off-brand ayahuasca in an amenity-fitted tent than a genuine spiritual connection. Crowds have flocked to spots like the famed monkey temple to connect with nature, only to be exposed to rabies upon realizing the wild animals aren't taking part in their spiritual journey. They swing over the paddy fields and pull yoga poses in the mirrored temples, not disclosing in the Instagram caption how many other tourists are stood in an hours-long line behind the lens. A few years ago, many might have told you to visit Ubud in order to get away from the coastal crowds, but no more.

Largely known as the airport access point, Denpasar isn't high on the radar of anybody looking for a luxurious villa retreat or scenic surfing beach. However, it suffers all the same trappings of the rest of the over-touristed island. Don't attempt to subvert expectation and stay in the more local side of town, this smog-clogged city in the south has been severely impacted by tourism. It's most notable in the streets. Bali has almost one-to-one ratio of vehicles to people, it has minimal public transport. The congestion in Denpasar is so bad that it prevents visitors from catching their flights, with traffic frequently halted for hours on end.

Susceptible to severe environmental damage from the fossil-fuel glugging airport in the city and reminded daily of the harm by the ceaseless traffic, the quality of life in Denpasar is impacted. Excessive plastic waste and drought caused by the shifting of resources to major hotels are also major environmental issues in Bali, brought by the tourist crowds and impacting the average Balinese life in Denpasar. Avoid the small city and try traveling via on a less environmentally impactful boat from one of Indonesia's 17,000+ islands instead.