Planning a trip to Bali is exciting—but it can also feel a little overwhelming once you realise how many small things there are to organise before you go. Visas, transport, accommodation, money, packing lists… it adds up quickly.
After visiting Bali more than 30 times (through every phase of life—schoolies, solo travel, wellness retreats, family trips, honeymoon and even our wedding), we’ve refined our Bali planning checklist into something simple and practical that we now use for every trip.
I’ve actually just had this check list in my notes app for years and would add to it after every trip but i decided to expand it and turn it into something super helpful, as these are some of the questions we get asked all the time in our DMs! I also pretti-fied it in canva and made it a downloadable pdf so you can have a easy visually when it comes time to actually planning your Bali trip!
This guide walks you through everything you need to organise before your trip—and if you’d like the easy printable version, you can download our free Bali planning checklist PDF below.
Set Flight Alerts Before Booking Your Bali Flights
Flights are usually the biggest expense when planning a trip to Bali, so it’s worth setting up price alerts as early as possible. We used to always grab very cheap flights during Jetstar sales, but the last two times we have opted to fly Qantas, we were able to get cheap flights using mainly points!
We make sure to first set alerts using tools like:
• Google Flights
• Skyscanner
• airline email alerts
This lets you track price drops and book when fares are at their best. If you’re travelling during school holidays or peak season (June–September or December), flights can sell out quickly — so booking early makes a big difference to your overall Bali trip cost.
Choose the Right Areas to Stay in Bali
Choosing the right locations makes a huge difference to your trip experience, which is why we created our full guide to the Best Areas in Bali to help you decide where to base yourself.
Areas like Canggu and Seminyak are especially popular for first-time visitors thanks to the café culture, villas and relaxed surf-town atmosphere.
If you’re planning some island time, our Nusa Lembongan guide is a great starting point when deciding where to stay and what to do.We especially recommend adding time to explore the best beaches on Nusa Lembongan, which are some of the calmest and most family-friendly in Bali.
Before booking accommodation, one of the most important steps in your Bali travel checklist is deciding where you want to stay.
Bali may look small on a map, but travel times can be long due to traffic, so choosing the right locations early helps you avoid spending hours in the car during your holiday.
For most trips we recommend splitting your stay between 2–3 areas, such as:
• Uluwatu for beaches and sunsets
• Ubud for culture and rice paddies
• Seseh or Canggu for cafés and villas
• Nusa Lembongan for island time
This mix gives you a much better experience of Bali than staying in just one place the whole trip.
Map Out a Rough Bali Itinerary First
Before locking in accommodation, it helps to sketch out a simple plan for your trip.
We usually decide:
• how many nights we have
• which areas we want to visit
• travel order between destinations
• where we want slower days vs activity days
Even a rough version of your itinerary makes booking accommodation and drivers much easier later on — and helps avoid backtracking across the island.
If you’re not sure how to structure your time across the island, our Bali Itinerary for 10 Days is a great starting point for planning your route. I always recommend a mix for beach, relaxing, culture and adventure.
If you’re including Ubud in your trip, it helps to shortlist a few Ubud attractions early so you can plan your days around waterfalls, temples and rice terrace walks.
We also usually do a mix of familiar spots and a few days of exploring somewhere we have never been before. Last time this was Sidemen, and I have to say it was easily the highlight of our trip! It’s an extremely peaceful rice paddy region that feels like what Ubud did 20 years ago.
We stayed at Wapa di Ume Sidemen, which was the perfect place with 2 little kids! They even have a playground with a trampoline.
If you’re feeling adventurous and have extra time, consider exploring places like Sulawesi or other regions of Indonesia beyond Bali for a completely different travel experience.
Book Your Accommodation Early
Accommodation plays a huge role in your overall Bali trip planning guide.
Bali has everything from budget guesthouses to luxury villas with private pools—but the best places book out early (especially Uluwatu, Seseh, Ubud and family villas).
For most trips, we recommend splitting your stay between 2–3 areas such as:
• Uluwatu (beaches + sunsets)
• Ubud (culture + jungle)
• Seseh or Canggu (cafes + villas)
Private villas are often surprisingly affordable for families and groups, and they make a big difference to your overall Bali experience.
If you’re planning time on the Bukit Peninsula, our guide to Uluwatu accommodation helps narrow down the best areas and stays depending on your travel style.
When travelling with kids, we often recommend choosing from some of the best resorts in Bali for families, which make the whole trip feel much easier and more relaxing.
Book Your Driver
After a long flight into Bali, the last thing you want is negotiating transport at the airport.
We always organise:
✔ Villa transfers
✔ Hotel pick-ups
✔ Or a private driver in advance
It makes arrival much smoother—especially when travelling with kids or arriving late at night.
Start Researching and Saving Places Before Your Trip
One of the most helpful things you can do early when working through your Bali planning checklist is start saving the places that catch your eye. Even before your itinerary is locked in, it’s worth building a simple list of accommodation, cafés, beaches, restaurants and experiences you’d love to visit.
We usually start a shared notes list or Google Map and pin things as we go — villas we love, cafés we want to try, beach clubs for sunset, playgrounds for the kids, spas for date days, and any must-see experiences along the way. By the time the trip gets closer, we already have a shortlist of favourites ready to go.
As you build your list, it also helps to browse the best things to do in Bali so you don’t miss experiences you might want to book ahead.
If visiting during peak season, it’s worth booking ahead for sunset at the best beach club in Uluwatu, like Sundays Beach Club, which often fills up early.
This step makes planning a trip to Bali so much easier because the island has so many options. Having your own saved list means you’re not scrambling for ideas once you arrive — and it helps you choose the best areas to stay in Bali based on the places you’re most excited about visiting.
It’s also worth making a short list of the best Indonesian food to try before you arrive so you don’t miss some of the island’s most iconic dishes.
Some of the things we always recommend saving early include:
• accommodation options (especially villas — the best ones book quickly)
• Uluwatu cafés and Uluwatu restaurants (especially if travelling in a bigger group)
• beach clubs
• playgrounds or kids clubs if travelling with family
• waterfalls and temples
• spa experiences
• day trips and tours
It’s a small step, but it makes a huge difference later when you’re finalising your itinerary — and it’s something we do before every trip ourselves.
Book a Nanny Before Your Trip (If Travelling With Kids)
If you’re planning a family trip to Bali, booking a nanny is one of the best decisions you can make — and something we now organise before almost every trip.
Having a nanny in Bali is incredibly common, affordable compared to many other destinations, and makes travelling with kids so much more relaxing. Whether it’s helping during villa time, coming along on day trips, or simply giving you a couple of hours for a dinner or spa treatment, it can completely change the pace of your trip in the best way.
On our recent trips, having a nanny meant we could still enjoy slow lunches, sunset drinks, and even the occasional date afternoon while knowing the kids were happy and cared for. It’s one of those things that really helps balance family time with a bit of adult time — especially on longer stays.
We recommend booking your nanny before arrival, where possible, particularly during school holidays or peak travel periods. Many families organise nannies through their villa or hotel, or through trusted local agencies.
Tip: If you’re staying in a private villa, ask whether nanny services can be arranged directly — many villas already have trusted carers they work with regularly.
For us, this is now a non-negotiable step in our Bali planning checklist for families, and something that makes travelling to Bali with kids feel genuinely easy.
Planning ahead also helps you prioritise the best things to do in Bali with kids, especially if you’re balancing sightseeing with pool and beach time.
Book Airport Parking Before Your Trip
If you live outside Sydney like we do (we’re about 1.5 hours away), booking airport parking ahead of time makes a huge difference when planning a trip to Bali with kids. We’ve found it far easier than organising airport shuttles or juggling public transport with luggage, prams and tired little travellers.
For our recent trip, we booked undercover airport parking for almost three weeks and paid around $240 total, which worked out surprisingly cost-effective — especially compared to transfer options for a family. Booking early usually gives you the best price, so it’s worth adding this to your Bali planning checklist as soon as your flights are confirmed.
One of the biggest benefits is the trip home. Our return flight landed at 6 am after a long overnight journey, and being able to walk straight to the car and head home made everything so much easier with the kids. No waiting around, no coordinating transport — just straight into the car and back to bed (well… for them at least). And I’ll admit, it also helps that my husband does the drive home while I recover from the flight 😅
Confirm All Bookings Before Departure
One step we never skip when working through our Bali planning checklist is doing a full booking check about 1–2 weeks before departure.
Trust us — this matters more than you think.
On one trip, my husband was in charge of organising our airport transfer, and we both assumed everything was sorted… until we landed in Bali and realised we had no transport booked from the airport to our hotel 😅 It worked out fine in the end (although we paid double and didnt have a car sear for Zadi) but it was definitely the last time I skipped doing a final checklist review before flying. Honestly, that experience is one of the reasons I created this checklist in the first place.
Before every trip now, we go through and confirm:
• airport transfers
• accommodation bookings
• driver bookings
• nanny arrangements
• tours or activities
• travel insurance
• flight details
• visa setup
We also double-check that names, dates and arrival times are correct across every booking — especially important when travelling with kids.
Email Your Hotels Before Arrival (Especially With Kids)
About two weeks before arriving in Bali, I always send a quick email to each hotel or villa we’re staying at. It only takes a few minutes, but it can make a big difference to how smoothly your trip starts.
In the email, I usually:
• confirm our arrival date and time
• mention we’re travelling with kids
• request a cot or extra bed setup
• confirm airport transfer details (if included)
This helps the property prepare properly for your stay — and sometimes leads to earlier check-ins or even room upgrades.
If you’re staying somewhere family-friendly, they’ll often arrange small touches like toys, kids activities, or suitable bedding before you arrive, which makes settling in so much easier after a long travel day.
It’s one of those simple steps that makes your family trip to Bali budget feel even more worthwhile, because you start your holiday relaxed instead of scrambling to organise things on arrival.
Check Your Passport & Bali Entry Requirements
One of the most important steps when planning a trip to Bali is checking your passport validity early.
To enter Bali, your passport must:
• Be valid for at least 6 months from arrival
• Have at least one blank page
• Be in good condition
Most travellers entering Bali will also need:
✔ Visa on Arrival (VOA)
✔ Customs declaration (completed online)
✔ Tourist tax payment
We always recommend organising the eVisa before arrival if possible—it makes airport entry much faster, especially after a long flight with kids.
Organise Your Bali Visa Before You Arrive
For most travellers visiting Bali for a short holiday, the Visa on Arrival (VOA) is the easiest option.
Cost:
Approx. IDR 500,000 (~$50 AUD/USD equivalent)
You can:
• Pay at the airport on arrival
• Or apply online before your trip (recommended)
Applying online saves time and means you can skip one of the longest queues at Denpasar Airport.
Set Up an eSIM Before You Travel
One of the easiest things you can do to make your trip to Bali smoother is organise a travel eSIM before you leave home. We use SIMOVO eSIM for Indonesia and activate it as soon as we arrive. It’s quick to set up, affordable, and saves time compared to buying a SIM card at the airport after a long flight.
This allows me, as soon as we land, to message our driver and let me know our status so he can be ready to help us as soon as we walk outside. We also use it for Google Maps, check your accommodation details, or order transport. It’s now a non-negotiable step on our Bali planning checklist, especially when travelling with kids.
We use our phones constantly in Bali — booking rides through Gojek, messaging villas and drivers on WhatsApp, navigating with Google Maps, managing bookings through Booking.com and Airbnb, and even paying for things using Wise. Having data immediately available makes everything easier and removes that slightly stressful “first hour after landing” feeling.
Download These Essential Bali Apps
These apps make travelling in Bali significantly easier:
Gojek – transport & food delivery
WhatsApp – communication with drivers & villas
Google Maps – navigation
Wise – travel-friendly payments
Booking.com / Airbnb – accommodation access
Organise Travel Insurance for Bali Before You Go
Travel insurance is one thing we never skip when planning a trip to Bali — especially now that we’re travelling with kids. It might not be the most exciting part of your Bali planning checklist, but it’s easily one of the most important. From scooter accidents to unexpected illness, flight delays or lost luggage, travel insurance for Bali gives you peace of mind so you can actually relax once you arrive.
Bali is very easy to travel around, but like anywhere overseas, things don’t always go to plan. Even something simple like needing medical treatment for Bali Belly, a surf injury, or a last-minute flight change can become expensive quickly without cover. Because we often move between different areas of the island and stay in villas as well as resorts, we always make sure our policy covers medical care, transport disruptions and activities we’re planning to do on the trip.
If you’re travelling as a family, this step becomes even more important. Having the right cover means you can confidently enjoy beach days, waterfalls, day trips and exploring new areas without worrying about the “what ifs.” It’s one of those small planning steps that makes a huge difference to how relaxed your trip feels from the moment you land ✈️🌴
Start Packing Early (And Pack Smarter, Not More)
Packing is one part of our Bali planning checklist that we always start earlier than you’d think — usually about a week before departure. Instead of leaving everything to the last minute, I pull out the suitcases early and start creating little packing piles around the house. It makes the whole process feel calmer (especially with kids), and gives you time to notice anything you still need to buy before the trip.
One thing that has completely changed the way we pack as a family is using packing cubes. Each person has their own colour, and I label them with things like swimmers, clothes, pyjamas and spares. It makes unpacking at villas so much easier, but honestly the biggest benefit is that my husband can actually find things for the kids without needing me to direct suitcase traffic every morning 😅
If you’re travelling with a baby, packing becomes its own category entirely. I actually created a separate packing list specifically for travelling to Bali with a baby because there are a few things that are much easier to bring from home — especially items your little one is already comfortable with.
Buy Last-Minute Essentials Before You Leave
A few days before departure, we always double-check whether we need to pick up travel essentials like:
• sunscreen (especially reef-safe brands you already trust)
• nappies
• baby wipes
• food pouches
• medications
• insect repellent
While most things are available in Bali, specific brands can sometimes be harder to find or more expensive than at home. Doing a quick check before you go saves you having to hunt things down after arrival.
Re-Pack Before You Zip the Suitcase
This is my most important packing tip — and one I still have to remind myself of every trip.
A day or two before we leave, I go back through everything and remove anything we don’t realistically need. I’m definitely someone who packs for every possible scenario (ADHD packing brain is real 😅). I’ll catch myself thinking: “Maybe I’ll suddenly wear those shoes I haven’t touched in five years…” — and the answer is always no.
Taking 10 minutes to edit your suitcase makes a huge difference.
Check Luggage Weight Before Leaving Home
Before we leave for the airport, we always weigh our suitcases. It sounds simple, but it avoids stressful airport repacking sessions (we’ve all seen them happen).
It also gives you space for shopping on the way home — which is very important when Bali markets and boutiques are involved.
Pack Your Carry-On Thoughtfully
Your carry-on bag matters more than you think — especially on a flight to Bali.
We always include:
• passports and documents
• travel insurance details
• a change of clothes for the kids
• snacks
• chargers
• medications
• baby essentials if travelling with little ones
Having everything you need easily accessible makes the flight — and arrival — so much smoother, and it’s one of those small steps that makes a big difference when working through your Bali travel checklist.
Planning a trip to Bali doesn’t have to feel overwhelming — once you work through a simple Bali planning checklist, everything starts to fall into place. From booking flights and choosing where to stay, to organising drivers, packing smart and setting up your eSIM before arrival, these small steps make a huge difference to how relaxed your trip feels from the moment you land.
After more than 30 trips to Bali across every stage of life — from schoolies days to wellness retreats, family holidays with little ones, and even getting married in Uluwatu — this is the exact checklist we personally follow before every trip. It’s helped us avoid common travel mistakes, settle in faster when we arrive, and make the most of our time exploring the island each visit.
If you’d like an easy version you can tick off as you go, download our free Bali planning checklist PDF below. It’s the same checklist we use ourselves before every Bali trip — and it makes planning your holiday so much simpler.
