Chapter Six
Custom & Courtesy
Bali is a Hindu island that happens to have tourists on it
Reviewed August 2026 · Fees, forms and fines change. Ask us to confirm before you fly.
Almost every visitor who upsets someone here does it by accident, and almost every accident is one of about six things. Balinese people are extremely forgiving of a foreigner who is visibly trying, and much less so of one who is not. The provincial government published a formal code of conduct for foreign visitors in 2025; the essentials below are drawn from it and from ordinary daily manners.
The offerings on the ground
Those little palm-leaf trays of flowers and incense are canang sari, laid out fresh several times a day on doorsteps, shrines, dashboards and pavements. Step around them, never over them, and never kick one aside. If you tread on one by accident nobody will say anything — but they will notice.
Dressing for a temple
A sarong and a sash at the waist, for men and women, adults and children alike, with shoulders covered. Temples that receive visitors lend both at the entrance, usually free. Balinese custom, restated in the 2025 code, asks that women who are menstruating do not enter temple courtyards.
Do
- Sarong and sash at every temple, shoulders covered
- Step aside and wait for a procession — they always have priority
- Ask before photographing people, and always during a ceremony
- Give and receive with the right hand, or both
- Cover up away from the beach — a swimsuit in a shop reads badly
- Take your shoes off where you see shoes at the door
Don’t
- Climb on shrines, sacred trees or temple structures for a photograph
- Stand above or in front of someone praying to take a picture
- Touch an adult on the head, or point at anyone with your foot
- Raise your voice or lose your temper in public — it ends badly here
- Enter the inner temple courtyards unless you are there to worship
- Litter, or take single-use plastic where you could take none
Ceremonies
You will meet them constantly — a road closed by a procession, a village full of penjor poles, gamelan at eleven at night. They are not put on for visitors and they are not an inconvenience to be got around; they are the actual point of the place. If your day is interrupted by one, you have been lucky. Stand back, stay quiet, keep your camera low, and let people past.
Reviewed August 2026. This chapter carries figures that expire — fees, levies, fines and phone numbers. They were checked against current sources in August 2026, and the hedging in the copy above is deliberate. Message us and we will confirm what is current for your dates.