Here, we take safety incredibly seriously. As Bali remains one of the most in-demand vacation destinations in the world, safety on the island is a concern for both tourists and the tourism sector.
We have good news: in the last week, Bali has felt even safer than usual, based on our team’s observations and those of real tourists on vacation here.
For those not yet in the know, we have teamed up with our partners at Travel Off Path to develop our Traveler Safety Index.
This is a new traveler-driven tool that uses real-time, subjective user feedback to generate safety scores for every destination worldwide. Of course, we’ve created a version that homes in directly on Bali.
The Travel Safety Index uses a Hybrid Verification Model. What does that mean, we hear you ask?! While our proprietary algorithm calculates real-time sentiment based on recency, every single data trend is subject to a Mandatory 24-Hour Editorial Audit. In practical terms, this means that it is real humans (e.g., our editorial team) who review the data spikes every single day to ensure anomalies are filtered out before they impact the final safety grade. These kinds of anomalies include bot attacks or viral misinformation.
We take this data and combine it with our on-the-ground reporting and meta-analysis of all local news outlets, government announcements, citizen journalist reports, and community news account updates, which means that we have access to a fully comprehensive picture of the safety situation in Bali at any given moment.
It’s worth mentioning that, like our news reporting, the Traveler Safety Index is not generated or even influenced by AI. Our daily news articles and Travel Safety Index are 100% human, and always will be.
Looking at this week’s data, it is clear that travelers are feeling increasingly safe in Bali. For two weeks, the index has stayed at 82/100. This has put Bali firmly in the green zone, reading as ‘Stable’ in terms of safety. This week, we have seen the ranking improve to 84/100. Only a small change, admittedly, but in real terms this is great news. If more tourists are feeling dafe, it means that first-time and returning tourists can book their next vacation in Bali with more confidence.
The Bali Sun Traveler Safety Index ranks a range of safety concerns, including theft, issues with transport, harassment, assault, and robbery. Each of these categories has received no more than four reports in the last 30 days, which is incredibly low given the tens of thousands of tourists who arrive on the island every day. Four too many nonetheless.
The biggest safety violation reported by tourists in Bali right now is scams. This has consistently been the highest reported issue over the last 30 days, with a concerning 26 reports. One of the most common scams reported in Bali right now is the money exchange scam. This is a scam that has been recorded in top tourism resorts all around the world for decades, and one that leaders in Bali have this week reiterated their commitment to stamping out once and for all.
Earlier this week, Bali Governor Waya Koster held a meeting with Bank Indonesia and the Bali Foreign Exchange Affiliation (APVA) in Denpasar. During the meeting, the leaders discussed strengthening cross-institutional collaboration to finally curb illegal money changers, which remain alarmingly prevalent in several tourist areas in Bali, including Kuta, Legian, and Seminyak.
Data from Bank Indonesia shows that by the end of 2025, there were 601 licensed non-bank money changer (KUPVA) offices in Bali, making the province the second-largest in Indonesia in terms of its official money changer network.
With Bali welcoming more than 7 million international tourists in 2025, these are among the most important tourist service businesses in the province.
Most of these money exchange outlets are concentrated in key tourist destinations, namely Badung Regency, Gianyar Regency, and Denpasar City. These regencies are home to the island’s biggest resorts, including Sanur, Canggu, Uluwatu, and Ubud.
Governor Koster and the banking officials have suggested that using licensed outlets is a sufficient safeguard for tourists. While scams can still occur at licensed venues, unlicensed venues are repeatedly reported for scamming tourists and for operating illegally by not being licensed in the first place.
Tourists are reminded to report any incidence of crime to the authorities as quickly as possible. Bali Police can be reached on 110.
