How to Travel Slower in Bali - and Why It Matters

Bali Gate Tours

27 May 2025

Blog & Article

There’s a certain speed to modern travel. A pace defined by checklists, GPS pins, “must-see” reels, and back-to-back activities. Even in a place as spiritually rooted as Bali, it’s easy to fall into that rhythm. Hit the waterfalls by 10, swing over the rice fields at noon, catch sunset at Tanah Lot, and maybe squeeze in a massage if time allows.

But the truth is—Bali doesn’t want you to rush.

The island was not made for itineraries. It was made for ceremony, for sunrise offerings, for long conversations beneath frangipani trees, for walking barefoot and watching clouds pass over temple roofs.

To experience Bali fully, you have to slow down.

This is a gentle guide to embracing slow travel in Bali—what it looks like, how to do it, and why it changes everything.

What Is Slow Travel, Really?

Let’s start here. Slow travel isn’t about how many days you stay. It’s about how deeply you connect.

It’s not anti-sightseeing or anti-adventure. It’s anti-surface.

To travel slowly in Bali means:

Spending more time in fewer places
Saying yes to spontaneous invitations
Learning local phrases
Eating where locals eat—more than once
Walking instead of rushing
Feeling instead of collecting

It’s the shift from What can I do here? to How can I be here?

And in a place like Bali, that question opens worlds.

Why Bali Is Perfect for Slow Travel

Bali is made for stillness. Not inaction—but intention.

It’s an island where:

The sun rises slowly and temples breathe incense before breakfast
Ceremonies unfold with no sense of urgency
Locals live with a rhythm that values offering over outcome

In Balinese culture, everything is infused with presence. Meals are shared. Prayers are daily. Community is circular, not linear. And nothing is ever just “fast.”

When you travel slowly, you begin to match that pulse. And that’s when the real Bali appears—not the one in guidebooks, but the one in glances, in greetings, in rice fields that stretch endlessly green.

Start With Where You Stay

Choosing the right base is key to slow travel in Bali. Skip the resort hopping. Instead, settle in one place for at least a week.

Try staying in:

A village homestay in Sidemen, where the pace is defined by farming and ceremony
A Balinese family compound in Ubud, where you’ll witness real daily life
A guesthouse by the sea in Amed, where sunrise and sea become your clock

These places don’t offer “luxury” by modern standards—but they offer something deeper: grounding.

And once you’re grounded, Bali begins to bloom around you.

Walk More, Ride Less

This may sound small, but walking changes everything.

When you walk through a neighborhood, you:

Hear roosters and temple bells
Smell offerings and woodsmoke
Greet elders who sit outside, watching the sky shift

On a scooter, you miss these moments. On foot, you collect them.

Walking in Bali isn’t always convenient. But it’s almost always rewarding. Especially if you’re in a village or tucked-away area where every path leads to a story, not just a site.

Reframe the Word “Adventure”

In typical travel mode, adventure means booking an ATV ride or chasing four waterfalls before lunch.

In slow travel Bali, adventure means:

Helping a family make canang sari
Sitting in on a gamelan rehearsal at the village hall
Getting lost in a rice field and asking a farmer for directions
Joining a temple ceremony, not as a spectator, but as a guest

These moments are quieter—but more alive. And you carry them longer.

Make Time for Ceremony

One of the most beautiful things about Bali is that you don’t have to search for spirituality. Ceremony finds you.

Whether it’s Galungan, a temple’s Odalan, or a family’s private ritual, you’ll stumble upon something sacred nearly every day—if you’re still enough to notice.

If you’re invited in, say yes. Borrow a sarong. Sit respectfully. Don’t worry if you don’t understand every part.

Ceremony isn’t about information. It’s about immersion. And when you travel slowly, you have the space to enter Bali’s spiritual world—not just admire it from the outside.

Eat in the Same Warung Every Day

Yes, variety is great. But when you eat in the same place daily, something shifts.

The owner starts remembering your order. You learn their name. You talk, even with limited language. And suddenly, your meals become ritual, not just fuel.

This is slow food, Balinese-style—where connection is the main ingredient.

Try ordering nasi campur and asking what each component is. Ask how it’s made. Maybe you’ll be invited to see the kitchen. Maybe you’ll be offered a new sambal to try. Maybe you’ll be asked to come back tomorrow.

Say yes.

Do Less, But Feel More

Slow travel requires resisting the temptation to do it all.

Instead of ticking off every “top 10 list,” ask:

What’s one place I can return to, more than once?
What’s one relationship I can build here?
What’s one moment I can stay in, fully?

That might mean skipping one more beach club. It might mean choosing a nap in the breeze over a scheduled tour. It might mean sitting on your veranda, watching children play.

And in those pauses, you’ll feel the essence of why traveling slowly in Bali matters.

Learn Something With Your Hands

Bali is filled with craft and tradition—and participating slows you down by design.

Try:

Learning to cook Balinese food from scratch
Weaving offerings with village women
Taking a silver jewelry or wood carving class
Joining a batik or painting workshop

These are not tourist traps (if chosen mindfully). They’re ways to enter culture through creation, not just consumption.

And when your hands are busy learning, your heart has more room to listen.

Make Time for Nothing

This might be the hardest one.

In a world obsessed with productivity, rest feels radical. But in Bali, nothingness isn’t empty. It’s sacred.

Sit by a temple pond. Lie in a bale. Watch the rain. Don’t scroll. Don’t plan.

Just be.

And if guilt creeps in, remind yourself: Bali was never meant to be conquered—it was meant to be received.

And receiving requires silence.

Slow Travel Heals the Island, Too

There’s another reason this matters—beyond personal peace.

Bali is struggling under the weight of fast tourism. More trash. More traffic. More disrespect.

But when you travel slower, you:

Spend more at local businesses
Create less waste
Foster relationships instead of transactions
Move in harmony with Balinese values of balance and gratitude

You become not just a traveler—but a temporary member of the island’s community.

That shift? It changes more than your trip. It changes the energy you leave behind.

Let the Island Set the Pace

Bali doesn’t ask for perfection. It doesn’t require a plan. It only asks that you pay attention.

To the way a leaf falls during your walk. To the child who waves at you from a gate. To the smell of clove and smoke in the morning. To the silence of the temple just before dusk.

These are the real experiences. And they don’t come with tickets or time slots. They come when you’re ready to travel slower in Bali. To let go of the rush, the noise, the need to “see it all.”

Because the truth is—you’ve already seen enough.

Now it’s time to feel.