What to pack for Bali

Pack four days of clothes for ten days in Bali — laundry costs about a dollar a kilo and comes back the next morning. What's worth carrying is a sarong, reef-safe sunscreen, and a stomach kit you trust.

69 items · 10-day beach holiday, hot and humid weather, with a checked bag · tick them off, print, or adjust the list to your trip below

A sarong is the single most useful item

Temples require a sarong and sash for everyone, regardless of what else you're wearing. Larger sites lend them, smaller ones don't, and the lent ones have been worn by a lot of people in a humid climate. Buying your own for a few dollars on day one means you can visit anything on impulse — and it doubles as a beach towel, a shoulder cover, and a shade for a bus window.

Pack for four days, not ten

Laundry services are everywhere at roughly a dollar a kilo, usually returned within 24 hours. Packing a full ten days of clothes into a humid climate means carrying a heavier bag so you can wear damp clothes. Bring quick-dry fabrics, expect nothing cotton to fully dry, and accept the wash.

Scooters are how Bali moves, and how people get hurt

If you're going to ride, wear a helmet that fastens, cover your legs, and check your travel insurance covers you — most policies require a licence valid for the engine size, and most claims that get refused are scooter claims. Long trousers and closed shoes on a scooter is not caution, it's the difference between a wobble and a skin graft.

The stomach kit and the sunscreen

Bring rehydration sachets, an anti-diarrheal, and the confidence to use them, because a couple of rough days is common enough to have a nickname. Drink bottled or filtered water and skip ice only where the place looks improvised. Sunscreen is expensive locally and reef-safe versions are scarce — several Indonesian dive sites now ask for it, so bring your own.

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Frequently asked questions

Do I need my own sarong for Balinese temples?

Every temple requires a sarong and sash, and while most lend them out, the shared ones are heavily used in a hot and humid climate. Your own costs very little locally, dries fast, and doubles as a beach towel, a shoulder cover and a picnic blanket — which is why it is the single most useful item on the list.

Should I bring sunscreen to Bali?

Yes, and reef-safe if you plan to snorkel. Sunscreen is expensive in Bali relative to everything else, reef-safe versions are hard to find outside a few tourist shops, and many local products contain whitening agents. Bring enough for the whole trip rather than planning to restock.

What do I need to ride a scooter in Bali?

Long trousers and closed shoes, plus a licence that actually covers motorcycles and insurance that knows about it. Scooters are how Bali moves and road rash is the most common injury travellers pick up here — shorts and flip-flops turn a low-speed slide into weeks of healing.

Each one is a full list with advice specific to that trip — and the generator underneath it, so you can adjust it to yours.

What to pack for Bali

A sarong is the single most useful item

Pack for four days, not ten

Scooters are how Bali moves, and how people get hurt

The stomach kit and the sunscreen

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