Christmas in Bali: Tips for Beating the Traffic and Enjoying the Island’s Best Attractions

Published on November 28, 2025

Every holiday season, Bali becomes one of the busiest holiday travel destinations in the world, with millions of people traveling to the island to enjoy its spectacular beaches, rich culture, and lively nightlife. Spending the holidays in Bali comes with a few challenges, the most notable one being the traffic.

During the holidays, the island’s main roads and highways become especially slow and congested in popular tourist regions like Kuta, Seminyak, Ubud, and Canggu. The holidays are also a peak travel time, which adds more travelers to the road. To help alleviate the stress of sitting in traffic for hours, travellers to Bali should understand how to best deal with the island’s roadways and traffic. Knowing how to navigate Bali’s holiday traffic the best, will ultimately give holiday travelers the opportunity to spend more time doing what they want.

Bali’s Seasonal Rush Hour

One of the recurring problems that Bali faces each year is the road congestion, especially during the peak seasons, one of which includes the holidays of Christmas and the New Year. Bali has very little road systems, especially for the traffic that is proportional to the number of tourists that come each year. After each holiday, the number of rental transportation that is available also increases. The location of hospitality and commercial establishments clustering to one location also create traffic congestion. This is especially evident in Kuta and Seminyak where narrow streets get clogged by automobiles, bikes, and other forms of vehicles.

During the Christmas holiday, there is also an increase of foreign tourists along with domestic tourists. Many of these tourists arrive as family’s that are going on vacation or for some holiday activities. The road situation is especially busy during meal times when tourists and locals are trying to get to their hotels, beaches, restaurants, and other attractions.

Traffic Impact on Tourists’ Itinerary

It is wise for tourists arriving in Bali for the busy Christmas season to plan in advance and consider the delays that might occur as a result of traffic. Traveling to a destination is likely to take longer than expected, especially when it is late afternoon and evening and people are going to dinners, cultural events and beach clubs. Tourists intending to stop at highly frequented areas like Tanah Lot, Temple of Uluwatu, and Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud should consider potential delays on the journey.

Longer wait times for taxis, ride-hailing apps Grab and Gojek, and hotel shuttles should also be anticipated. Due to the high demand for transport at busy times, delays are unavoidable even if an advance booking is made. Also, areas like Legian and Sanur are often heavily congested, so passengers may want to take alternate paths, or times that are less busy as a means to travel.

How to Get Around Bali’s Traffic at Christmas

Bali’s Christmas traffic is unavoidable. Luckily there are a few tricks to help minimize the interferences during your vacation:

Make Traffic Assumptions: You should always assume extra travel time, as you plan out your day. Things that generally will only take a few minutes will end up taking 10 minutes, so be sure to give yourself a significant amount of extra time to prevent being late to anything.

Alternative Travel Methods: While cars and taxis are always an option for travel, you should also consider renting a motorbike, as they are faster and cheaper and you fully avoid the traffic problem. Just remember to travel safely, always wear a helmet, and be sure to drive with caution.

Pick a Reasonable Accommodation: When booking your place to stay, try to book a place to stay that is as close as you can get to the Kuta, Seminyak, or Ubud area. You will be able to easily get to all of the main beaches, shops, and cultural places and this will help you minimize the time you are stuck in traffic.

Public Transport: Trans Sarbagita and other transport options in Bali are a work in progress, since it may not yet reach all tourist destinations, but it remain a cheaper and less claustrophobic way of getting around Bali, especially between hubs like Denpasar and Nusa Dua.

Travel During Off-Peak: Take your activities out of the morning and evening peak hours, and travel during early morning and evening as this is generally a less congested period across Bali, meaning it may be a good idea to visit Uluwatu Temple and/or Besakih Temple during the off-peak periods as to have the quieter experience with not as many people.

Walk or Cycle: Walking or cycling for the short distances is not at all hassle-free by traffic, and a lot of tourists who are renting bicycles to be able to go explore the street hassle-free are not at all by traffic.

Coping with Balinese Traffic: Other than Traffic

Bali does offer a lot of experiences other than just traffic, leaving aside the traffic for a minute, Bali is a top travel destination, with rich culture, stunning, and numerous experiences it offers a lot for the efforts to be placed to navigate through the busy roads of Bali, with vibrant markets and beautiful nature like Jimbaran Bay, and stunning beaches like Nusa Dua, Bali is worth all the efforts and it is a top travel destination to enjoy the unique charm and hooked to it.

It’s still very much possible to enjoy Bali even during the high season with a little patience and flexibility. Activities such as spa treatments, surfing, trekking, and cultural tours are still very possible to enjoy, regardless of the high traffic on the island.

Conclusion

Bali experiences heavy traffic every Christmas season, with locals and tourists spilling onto the roadways. However, with a little planning and extra travel time, tourists should still be able to have an uninterrupted Bali experience. Although traffic is a real issue on the island, the beautiful scenery, rich culture, and overall amazing experience will likely make Bali a highly sought-after destination.