All About My Solo Bali Trip

I’m sure most of you are here from my youtube video on the same topic, (if for some reason you missed that, click HERE) so I’m going to jump right into your questions about my travels! (More to come tomorrow! I ran out of time writing today)

Travelling as a SOLO female… Is it safe?

Lots of you have asked me similar questions over the years, so I thought I’d touch on a few points. I think the biggest thing to remember, is to exercise common sense. If YOU don’t feel safe- get out. Never drink too much– you always need to be aware of your surroundings. Always have a bit of a plan & never leave your hotel / air BNB without a little cash on you. Another tip would be to not tag where your location is or ‘check-in’ publicly until you have actually left that hotel or spot. I commonly post my stories a few hours after I am there, just to be safe. When a taxi driver or someone asks if I am travelling solo, I always lie & say I’m with friends or my partner and that I’m on my way to meet them. For this reason, I commonly wear a fake wedding ring on my left hand.

I also have all of my documents like my passport, travel itinerary and flight info on a digital platform (dropbox), so I’m able to access it wherever, whenever. Sometimes, if I’m unfamiliar with the area, I’ll pre-download the map, in case I can’t use data on my phone. I also will look out for useful apps (Uber, postmates, or in the case of Bali, an app called Gojek) because sometimes you don’t feel like going out for dinner (maybe it’s later at night and there’s nothing around your area) so you can have food delivered- just have cash ready.

Phone snatching is a thing– so be careful of where your phone and wallet are (ie. don’t insta story along a busy road- someone on a scooter could snatch it and keep driving). Try to not look down at your phone while walking on the sidewalk- you really need to pay attention to where you are going and your surroundings. It is a safe place, but don’t tempt people. I don’t carry designer bags etc. with me when I travel to 3d world countries- just in case.

Bottom line: You just have to be prepared, aware and use common sense, and likely you’ll never run into a problem 🙂 Surprisingly I feel quite bold travelling alone! It’s really a powerful feeling.

What/ Where did I eat?

Bali has fantastic plant-based food options and everything is very reasonably priced- you really are not limited at all. Most of the time, you can find great places to eat by just walking along the street and checking out what looks cool!

Some of my favourite places were:

Penny Lane – WOW! This place reminded me of restaurants you’d see in L.A- it was large, very modern and had a great range of choices on the menu. The truffle fries and gnocchi were definite standouts. Great mixed drinks, and a decent wine menu. Loved that the owners were cheeky with the names on their food and drink menu (StarWars and LOTR references will always make my heart happy)

KYND Community – Such a great plant-based spot for breakfast, brunch and lunch! (You can also order this on Gojek) I really enjoyed my salad bowl and my friend breakfast bowls looked fantastic. They also have a super cute ice cream and merchandise shop attached to the restaurant- worth checking out!

Nude Cafe – Hands down my favourite breakfast- I ended up going back 3 times lol! Try the Crushed Green Peas (basically a pesto sauce eggs benny) OR a veggie version of the Potato Rosti Stack. Great fresh juice, and people watching out in Canggu.

Peoloton Supershop – Loved their plant-based menu! I ended up going twice 🙂 They have a cozy little balcony up top where you can watch the chaos of the traffic below. Bright, fresh food and a great selection of juices, mocktails and iced coffees- this would be ideal for lunch or dinner.

La Baracca – Super yummy Italian! They use real dairy tho- so watch out. It gets cheezy.

Slightly over rated places….

Earth Cafe– Good deserts, but I feel like the food was meh all the times I’ve been there. They do have a great little market inside selling plant-based and eco-friendly items.

Cafe Organic – Looked really great from the outside & images of the food were gorgeous, but ALL of us disliked what we ordered. Something was off with every meal & we def. do not recommend it there.

Accommodation

I was invited on this trip and did not pay for my accommodation. On previous trips to Bali, we found most spots are quite reasonably priced- it really just depends on the area, and the quality of the hotel or Air BNB you choose to stay in. If you’re interested in the Air BNB where I stayed during the final few nights of my trip, HERE is the link 🙂

Travelling within Bali

I used the Gojek App to get a car (or a scooter) right to where ever I was. SUPER simple. Cash only, and have close to the amount, as drivers don’t have a ton of change on them. Double check the licence plate before you get in (same as if you were using Uber).

I also used ‘Your Man In Bali’ car service to go to and from the airport and for day trips. Putu, the main driver was lovely and spoke decent English. His brother Wayan also drives for him and is a sweetheart. Wayan has less English, but that didn’t stop us from trying to chat 🙂

All about getting my tattoo in Bali

Last-minute decided to get a small tattoo to commemorate my trip! I decided on Charlie Rose in Canggu- I found them via your suggestions on instagram & funny enough, it ended up being LITERALLY across the street from my air BNB. I thought I gave the driver the wrong address LOL. Loved the guy who did my tattoo, he was pleasant, professional and it was such a quick lil tattoo to do. Many tattoo shops over there are Aussie owned, so you know they are clean & quality work. I had to be aware to keep my tattoo out of the sun as much as I could & to not submerge it when I swam the final few days.