Bali has been named as one of the best islands for travel in the world…yet again! For the last 20 years, Bali has been topping the charts as one of the world’s leading travel destinations, and in 2025, the momentum is not slowing down.
The prestigious Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards have just been announced, and Bali has won big again.
The awards are based on feedback and survey answers from real travellers, and in 2025, the destinations listed in the top 25 best islands category span over 18 countries.
In first place in 2025 in the World’s Best Islands category is Páros in Greece, followed closely by Palawan in the Philippines.
Completing the top three for 2025 is Bali. Travel + Leisure Magazine says, “This perennially popular island is known for its unique culture and religion, 10,000-plus temples, and fabulous places to stay, including the new Anantara Ubud Bali Resort, which recently made its way to T+L’s It List.
Though relatively small, Bali has many sides; on one trip, travelers can visit both seaside areas like Uluwatu and Seminyak, and the mountains and rice paddies of the interior.”
The top ten best islands in the world were completed by Ischia in Italy, the Fiji Islands, the Maldives, the Galapagos Islands, Hvar and the Dalmatian Islands in Croatia, Madeira, and Mallorca.
As referenced by T+L, the Anantara Ubud Bali Resort has quickly become one of the island’s most impressive hotels. As described by one T+L travel journalist, “The 85-room resort sits in a valley inside the Payangan rainforest, about a 30-minute drive north of Ubud.”
“The primary building, a glassy hilltop structure, houses Kirana, an all-day Indonesian restaurant, and Amerta, which serves fire-roasted entrées. The resort also has a spa, two pools, a lounge, and a bar that serves cocktails made with arrack, a local cousin of rum.”
It is not only Travel + Leisure who have named Bali amongst the best travel destinations in the world in 2025. TripAdvisor has also honoured Bali in the upper echelons of travel glory in 2025, too.
The TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards names its winners at the beginning of each year. For 2025, Bali was positioned in second place in the world’s best destinations list for the second year running.
TripAdvisor explains, “The Travellers’ Choice Awards Best of the Best title celebrates the highest level of excellence in travel.” Adding “It’s awarded to those who receive a high volume of above-and-beyond reviews and opinions from the Tripadvisor community over a 12-month period. Out of our 8 million listings, fewer than 1% achieve this milestone.”
The top ten best destinations for travel in 2025 made for inspiring reading. In first place, TripAdvisor named London, followed by Bali, and Dubai was placed in third.
Sicily was ranked fourth, followed by Paris, Rome, and Hanoi; Marrakesh was placed eighth, and Crete in ninth, with Bangkok completing the top ten.
Bali’s popularity is only growing in 2025, and is a trend that is set to continue long into 2026 and beyond. Leaders are now working to promote lesser-visited areas of the island to help reduce the risk of overtourism in areas of the central south.
Tourists will notice more promotion and hype around destinations across the west, north, and east of the island. Destinations like Amed, Lovina, and West Bali National Park are all incredible areas for culture-curious tourists to explore without the stress of large crowds or even traffic congestion.
Nevertheless, Bali’s most popular tourist resorts remain worthy destinations in their own right. From Seminyak to Ubud, Kuta to Uluwatu, from Canggu and Nusa Dua and let’s not forget the Nusa Islands too.
Bali’s well earned places at the most prestigious travel awards are a sure sign that the Island of the Gods must remain a classic bucket list destination for tourists and travellers for a long while to come.
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Steve bm
Monday 14th of July 2025
The tourists tax now pays for these awards in cash deals
J West
Sunday 13th of July 2025
Greece...famous for year round hellfires....Palawan...kidnapping common...Bali...what's the worry about volcanoes, earthquakes and the Russian mob? Tourists aren't supposed to notice these things. Go Tourism....
Swen
Friday 11th of July 2025
The dirtiest and most polluted island in Asia is suddenly top 3? Shows how skewed or bought these awards are. Completely disconnected from reality.
Bali is probably the worst place to visit these days.
Viktor Z
Monday 14th of July 2025
@Swen,
Now you’re just projecting as you are the one who fell into a trap..you’re reacting dear troll.. Seems that your treatment has some effect…
Changing names on this forum is at least no Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) as those patients chance also their attitude, mannerisms and even gender..that’s not the case with Sven as his biased mantra is always the same and predictable… So that’s good news for his therapists. Projecting however is a defensive mechanism and no disorder so that’s good news too..
Projecting his own racism on others is ofcourse hilarious and popular among populists and other lovers of negative romanticism…no news here..
Our Nordic troll has questions too, it thinks that I’m Balinese as he thinks that all Balinese are racists, now that is really hilarious…
And yes I defend, the Balinese against the biased stupidity of too many on this forum..no that they are holy but they are not really active here and part of a discussion
Reading between the lines one could have figured that I’m European. Living in Europe’s most secular country and spending significant time in SE and East Asia..
‘Living of the handouts of outsiders’ is most likely another projection…our Sven calculated that ‘the god’s’ of Bali would hand out to him, representing himself as a son of Thor and Frigg [ Chief of the Nordic god’s and his wife]
Thyr, the god of war and justice, however, messaged the Balinese chapter that Sven was actually Loki, a trickster god and shapeshifter associated with chaos and mischief ..
🥱
Swen
Sunday 13th of July 2025
@Viktor Z, how easily you fall into a trap. Today I'm Swen, tomorrow I'm Made, or Helen, next day I can be John, or Bruno or Mohamed.
Your racism though is ever present towards everyone. Just like the Balinese who see themselves as gods on their little dirty island. Even the neighbors from Java are considered as outsiders, because the world only exists in the little corrupt rock called Bali. Do you happen to be one of them Viktor? One of the self-proclaimed gods from Bali? The chosen one, above everyone else, while swimming in dog shit and used condoms, living off of handouts from outsiders?
Viktor Z
Saturday 12th of July 2025
@Swen,
‘Swen ’ a Nordic loser, once barking his biased nonsense on this forum as Sven is currently under treatment for severe mental issues in his home country.
The pathetic loser, still frustrated that the locals laughed about this Nordic troll who tried to spread the IKEA way of life on the island of the gods..
He was friendly in the beginning, probably even wearing a sarong occasionally saying hello to the kids etc etc..
As times passed and locals didn’t cope with his way of thinking his attitude changed and he started barking nonsense based on white superiority..
It seems that treatment is not hitting in as the poor soul still visits this site..
Helen
Thursday 10th of July 2025
I am sorry Bali, but I don’t recommend Bali anymore. The traffic is absolute hell. I spent two third of my holiday in traffic. At 1km per hour in a lot of areas. Had to skip Ubud too because of traffic. The quality of the food is very mediocre from most expensive to the cheapest. Only one place was worth the visit. 'Sate Babi Majapahit' apart from this one nothing exciting. Unless you are into burgers and more burgers. Amenities for disabled people are also appalling. This is a stressful holiday. Unless you are under 50 and fit. It will be back to a more civilised area for me next time around. Fiji, Vanuatu or even Thailand and the Malaysian islands are much more pleasant.
Cable guy
Monday 14th of July 2025
@Helen, Dont listen to the half witted it's a comments section where opinions are invited.
J West
Sunday 13th of July 2025
@Helen, On point with the traffic and food comment. Tourist adverts show bearded wild ones riding motorcycles along empty beaches....no traffic problems mentioned....? The food ?...delicious twenty years ago when Balinese cooked in the warung...but today's inedible Sumatra-Russo-Euro Swill...no thanks. Thank God for Burger King.
Viktor Z
Saturday 12th of July 2025
@JR,
You’ve been here 39 years too long…
A frustrated creature as the ‘little monkeys’ are not that cooperative anymore to meet it’s needs as they once did in the 1980s and 90s ..
Time to go home
Viktor Z
Saturday 12th of July 2025
@Helen,
Fiji, Vanuatu or Thailand are not waiting for you either..
So please stay in the Penal State where the can wheel you around among the likes of you..
JR
Friday 11th of July 2025
@Michael, The traffic needs to be fixed asap.I have been here for 39 years and I am looking elsewhere.It is no longer the islanf of the gods. Unless the gods are greedy little monkeys
WAYAN BO
Thursday 10th of July 2025
Nikola Tesla numbers are 3, 6 and 9