How can you travel responsibly in Bali?

Bali's tourism industry supports a large part of the island's economy and puts real pressure on water, waste and land. A visitor cannot fix that, and a visitor can avoid being part of the worst of it.

Water, which is the real issue

Bali's water table is under genuine stress, particularly in the south and on the Bukit, where there are no rivers and villas depend on deep wells and trucked water. Tourism consumes several times what local households do per head, largely through pools, gardens and laundry.

What helps: shorter showers, reusing towels, not asking for the pool to be topped daily, and choosing accommodation that treats and reuses water. This is not a gesture; the aquifer is measurably drawn down.

Plastic and waste

Bali produces far more waste than its systems handle, and the wet-season debris on west-coast beaches comes from rivers across the region.

What helps: a refillable bottle, using the large water dispensers that almost every villa and cafe has, refusing plastic bags and straws, and taking anything unusual home rather than putting it into a system that cannot process it. Refill stations are widespread in Canggu, Ubud and Uluwatu.

Bali has repeatedly legislated against single-use plastic bags, straws and polystyrene, with enforcement that varies. Following it is easy.

Where your money goes

The single most effective thing a visitor does is choose who gets paid.

What helps: eating at warungs, hiring local drivers and guides directly, staying in locally owned guesthouses, buying crafts from the villages that make them, and paying entry fees and parking collections without haggling over a dollar.

Large foreign-owned resorts and international platforms take much of the value off the island. Small local businesses keep it here.

Animals

Avoid: elephant rides and elephant "sanctuaries" that offer riding or bathing, civet coffee plantations with caged animals, dolphin shows and swim-with-dolphin pools, any attraction where a photo with a sedated big cat or a primate is offered, and turtle handling.

Be careful with: dolphin boat tours in Lovina, which range from respectful to a fleet chasing a pod. Choose operators that keep distance.

Fine: turtle conservation and release programmes run by recognised organisations, the Ubud monkey forest, which is a temple forest with wild macaques rather than a zoo, and reputable wildlife rescue centres that do not offer handling.

The cidomo horse carts on the Gilis have been a welfare concern for years, with real improvements in recent times. Walking or cycling is the alternative.

Reefs

Reef-safe sunscreen, no touching coral, no standing on it, no chasing mantas or turtles, and no buying coral or shells. Choose dive and snorkel operators who brief on this rather than treating it as optional.

Culture

Sarong and sash at temples, no climbing on shrines, no drones over ceremonies, ask before photographing people, and step around offerings rather than over them. The province has become markedly less patient with visitors who treat sacred sites as content, and a series of deportations has followed.

Overtourism, honestly

Bali received millions of foreign visitors in 2025 and the number is rising again. The pressure shows in Canggu's traffic, the Bukit's water, the land conversion in Tabanan and the enforcement actions at Bingin in 2025.

What a visitor can actually do: travel outside July and August if you can, spend time outside the southern strip where the money is needed more, stay longer in fewer places, and use the island rather than consuming a list of viewpoints.