On the 14th of February 2024, Bali will officially introduce its new tourism tax. The mandatory levy will see all international arrivals pay IDR 150,000, but many of the finer details are still up for discussion.  Initially, the tourism tax was touted to help fund the preservation of Balinese culture, heritage, and landscapes. Following the …

As hundreds of thousands of tourists are making their way home after celebrating Christmas and New Year in Bali, the island’s usual traffic chaos has gone from bad to worse. Provincial authorities are putting emergency measures in place to tackle the problem.  The Minister of Transportation, Budi Karya Sumadi, has confirmed that a temporary shuttle …

The Director General of Immigration for Indonesia is on a mission to elevate the services provided by the department. Director General Silmy Karim wants to establish a world-class immigration service that benefits Indonesian citizens, expats, and tourists.  Over the last few months, Karim and the Department of Immigration have announced a series of new services, …

New Year’s celebrations went off with a bang in Bali. With hundreds of thousands of tourists letting loose and parties spreading across beaches, venues, streets, and private homes, a big clean-up operation is underway.  Bali’s busiest beaches of Kuta, Legian, and Seminyak welcome tens of thousands of people to the shorelines to watch an incredible …

With the New Year officially over and hundreds of thousands of tourists now making their way home, it’s become apparent that it is time to reflect, once again, on the behavior of some tourists on the island. In a debate that captivated the headlines in 2023, at the beginning of 2024, ‘bules’ behaving badly in …

With hundreds of thousands of tourists making their way home again after celebrating the festive season on the Island of the Gods, the province’s roads are crumbling under pressure.  Bali is experiencing more travel chaos than perhaps ever before. A record-breaking number of vehicles have been on Bali’s roads this festive season, and as tourist …

An Australian father of two has been left fighting for his life after a moped crash in Bali. 24-year-old Kevin Malligan from Sydney was riding as a passenger on a moped when he was thrown from the bike, resulting in catastrophic injuries.  Malligan was on holiday in Bali with friends when the driver of a …

Arman Arifin, 34, from Surabaya, has been reported missing in Canggu after visiting the beach on Sunday 8th May. As the week progresses, the community and search and rescue teams are fearful that he was dragged away by the tide.  Arifin, his partner, and friends were visiting the world-famous Batu Bolong Beach in Canggu on …

Officials in Bali have confirmed that clean-up teams are ready and waiting to deal with the inevitable tides of plastic that will start washing up on the island’s most popular beaches in the coming weeks. Every year during late December, January, and February, ocean plastic washes up by the tons.  Leaders in Badung Regency have …

The number of foreigners arriving in Bali in 2023 has reached over 5.2 million people. Australian tourists are still topping the charts as the most frequent international holidaymakers to the island. Leaders want to welcome yet more Aussies to the Island of the Gods in 2024. This week, the Acting Governor of Bali, Sang Made …

Bali’s Kuta has long been the destination of choice for tourists looking for a laid-back vacation in Bali. With resorts like Uluwatu and Canggu soaring in popularity in the last 2 years, Kuta had started to be overlooked.  All that is changing. As trends ebb and flow, Kuta is about to undergo a resurgence in …

Bali is a province with so much to explore. With limited public transport options, many tourists choose to drive themselves around the island. Tragically, over the last 12 months, conditions on the island’s roads have taken a dramatic turn for the worse.  The number of recorded collisions on Bali’s road has doubled in the last …