Bali is booming with retreats. After the wellness wave, a healing wave, and the digital detox hype, the first writing retreats started popping up in my social feed too. Writers flocking to the island of the gods to find themselves, heal, and return home reborn with a finished manuscript. Sounds too perfect to be true, right? But hidden between the yogis of Ubud and the partying Aussies in Kuta, there’s a quieter side of Bali that’s perfect for a writer who just wants to write. A Bali writing retreat doesn’t have to cost you three thousand dollars and a week of structured workshops. With a little planning, you can build one that actually fits you.
How my Bali writing retreat happened by accident
My Bali writing retreats weren’t planned. I was in Australia on a visitor visa, which meant I was due to make a trip. My connection to Indonesia runs deep through my Dutch-Indie roots, and with Bali just a 3.5-hour flight from Perth, the choice was easy. In 2025, I visited twice for about two weeks at a time. I didn’t want to disrupt my writing flow. So, I ended up being one of those digital nomads typing away in breezy beachside cafés. On my first visit, I spent a few days in Canggu and a week in Ubud. Both places had changed enormously since my last trip in 2018. The chilled-out vibe of Canggu’s cafés was still there, and the rice paddies around Ubud were still stunning. Only the traffic noise and tourist density overwhelmed my introverted nature. I nearly wrote Bali off my writing retreat list entirely.
Then someone recommended Amed. A quiet coastal town in the east, untouched by the chaos of the south. It was in the simplicity of setting myself up on my guesthouse balcony, looking out over the ocean, that I finally wrote for hours without stopping. No curated retreat programme with creative workshops needed.
Why Bali still works for DIY writing retreats
I’ll be upfront: I’m not a fan of the commercialised wellness retreats that have taken over parts of Ubud. But that doesn’t mean Bali can’t be an incredible writing destination. If you want to experience the magic of the island without getting sucked into the hype, there’s a ton that still makes it work. A few things worth knowing:
- Cost: Despite flights, a DIY writing retreat in Bali is often more affordable than one in European countries like France or Italy. Accommodation, food, and transport are genuinely cheap once you’re there.
- Variety of stays: Bamboo huts, guesthouses with a tropical pool, cute homestays, private villas, beachside huts with ocean views. The options are wild, and you can find something for almost any budget.
- Inspiration on tap: Walking through the paddies early in the morning before the heat sets in helps the flow. Bali’s nature, colours, scents, and sounds are genuinely inspiring for fiction writers, especially if you write fantasy or anything rooted in a vivid, textured world.
- Total flexibility: You set the pace, choose the place, and build a schedule that actually suits the way you write.
How to choose the right area for your Bali writing retreat
The biggest mistake writers make when planning a Bali writing retreat is heading straight to Ubud because it sounds romantic. Ubud has a lot going for it, but the traffic and tourist density can work against you if you’re an introvert who needs quiet to write.
My personal favourite is Amed for its still-authentic feel and being a tad on the boring side that invites long writing sessions. Similar vibes can be found in Sideman, Munduk, and Lovina. If Ubud is calling you, stay in the outskirts of town rather than the centre, and you’ll have a much better shot at finding quiet. For researching which area suits you best, I always recommend picking up a copy of the Lonely Planet Bali guide. It’s rich with detail on each area and gives you a real sense of the atmosphere before you book anything.
Finding a place to stay
The Lonely Planet is a great starting point for accommodation ideas, but I always use Booking.com for a broader search. Fair warning: the choices can feel overwhelming. Bali has so many hidden gems that it’s genuinely hard to choose. Two of my personal favourites are Coral Bay Bungalows in Amed for the stunning ocean views and the warmest staff, and Vila Shantitara Bungalows in Sanur, where I had a beautiful bungalow with a proper desk and a host who made the most incredible breakfasts every morning.
If you’re feeling adventurous, the quieter parts of Bali still make it easy to find somewhere to stay on arrival, especially outside the tourist season. You can ask your driver to drop you in an area where you’ve spotted guesthouses online or in your Lonely Planet, and just walk in to check the room and haggle the price. Leaving your heavy bags in a café first helps a lot. You don’t want to look desperate. Just remember that not every guesthouse is listed on Booking.com. Some of the best ones aren’t.
Creating your writing flow in the tropics
Finding your writing flow is personal. If you’re not used to writing in the tropics, give yourself time to acclimatise before expecting to hit your stride.
What works for me: early morning ocean swims before sitting down to write, and ordering meals through Grab (the Indonesian version of Just Eat) to avoid losing writing time to going out twice a day for food. Walking routes in Bali can be tricky because of the motorcycles everywhere, so I either book a sunset yoga class or hire a driver to drop me somewhere in the paddies for my daily dose of movement and mental reset. The goal is to build a loose rhythm that keeps your creative energy topped up, not depleted.
Plan a mini adventure or two
None of my writing retreats is ever complete without a fresh dose of something to write about. If you’re in Bali, you’d be doing yourself a disservice by staying on your balcony the entire time.
The Lonely Planet is full of ideas: temples, waterfalls, sailing trips, local markets. Hiring a driver for a day is one of the best ways to get beyond the tourist spots, eat fresh satay at a local warung, and connect with a part of the island most visitors never see. You can even get your dose of Eat Pray Love vibes and visit a healer or a palm reader if that’s your thing. I’d be the last one to judge you because I tried it myself. Every single one of these experiences feeds the writing. That’s the whole point.
Is a Bali writing retreat for you?
If you want inspiration, a place to slow down and write, and an experience you’ll carry back into your story world long after you’ve left, then yes. Bali can absolutely be that. You don’t need to spend thousands on a retreat programme when a week of stunning accommodation, good food, and genuine adventure costs a fraction of that. You get to write your book and build an experience you’ll never forget at the same time.
Looking for something different? Here’s all you need to know about different kind of writing retreats.