a day ago
Why Aussies are ditching the Bali dream
Aussies say they are rethinking their trips to Bali after a clip exposed the dire reality of the holiday destination.
For years, Bali has had a longstanding friendship with Aussies and their Bintang shirts – but that may all be coming to a heartbreaking end.
Fed-up Aussies are now revealing their plans to ditch the holiday island as overcrowding and two-hour traffic jams take over.
In a clip posted to social media, hundreds of bikes and cars can be seen flooding a street in Canggu in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
With almost half-a-million views, people were quick to brand the scenes an 'absolute hell hole.'
'This has me rethinking staying in Canggu in a few weeks,' said one.
'I was going to Canggu tomorrow. I'm going to Bangkok, Thailand now. I literally changed my plans overnight,' said another.
'Bali is destroyed,' wrote a third.
'It makes no sense to go to Bali anymore. It's too touristy,' said a fourth.
The once-sleepy Canggu has burst onto the world stage in recent years due to its pristine beaches and bustling night-life.
Just 45 minutes from Seminyak, the beach town has experience a rapid growth in popularity as tourists and locals attempt to venture into less-crowded places.
Earlier this year, leaders in Canggu came together to discuss the biggest issue the community is facing: traffic.
During the meeting held in January, the Badung Regency Government met with Canggu Traditional Village Leaders and local police.
The meeting was also attended by the Head of the Traffic Unit of Badung Police, AKP I Wayan Sugianta, and the Head of North Kuta Police, AKP Yusuf Dwi Admodjo.
They revealed a range of solutions have been offered to ease the problem.
'Solutions discussed included conducting traffic engineering at several key points around the resort area, implementing a one-way system, and increasing road capacity,' reported The Bali Sun.
A senior commissioner revealed that authorities have been conducting traffic engineering at several key points around the area.
'Next, the Transportation Agency and the Badung Police Traffic Unit will discuss with relevant stakeholders to determine which points,' he added.
'Currently, what we can do is deploy a traffic jam relief team that goes around to the congestion points. We hope for support from the community so that all efforts made, run well.'
The implementation of sea taxi services has also been proposed with the new services operating between Bali Airport, Sanur, Seminyak, Kuta, Canggu, Benoa and Nusa Penida.
In 2024, over 1.5 million Australian tourists visited Bali. In November last year alone, foreign tourist visits to Bali reached 72,900 people, with Aussies contributing to 24 per cent of all international arrivals, specifically 118,182 visits, according to The Bali Sun.
Despite this, over 12 per cent of Aussies are projected to visit Japan in 2025, a number which Japan's National Tourism Organization says will continue to grow.
Between the congestion and over-tourism, Aussies may well be making the switch from Bintang to Sake.
