How Solo Travelers Actually Meet People in Bali

The idea of going to Bali by yourself seems like the difficult part, but in reality it's one of the easiest places in the world to find yourself surrounded by people within a few days, since a large part of the island assumes that you've turned up without having made any plans. The hostels have shared tables rather than private rooms, the coworking spaces function as social clubs as well, and whole areas in Canggu and Ubud exist mostly to provide travelers with things to do together. The issue isn't about finding people; it's about deciding which of these rooms to go into first.

You show up to Bali alone. This is what week two looks like.

Hostels remain the best way to get started, though people don't realise how important the choice is. A private room in a boutique guesthouse can leave you just as lonely as in a hotel. The hostels that really succeed at getting people to meet each other have built this aspect into their setup: Tribal Bali in Canggu operates its own coworking floor so that the same people are seen at breakfast and then again at their desks the following day. At Pillow Inn in Ubud, free yoga is held twice a week and there is also a weekend event with drinks, something which does more to get people to meet than any ordinary common room could. KARMA Backpacker House in Uluwatu relies on regular communal dinners and barbecues, the type where you're given a plate and a seat next to someone you don't know. All of this is simply a matter of intention, and it's something you should look for before making your booking.

After hostels, the true connectors are those activities that take place repeatedly. A single beach club event seldom leads to anything substantial, but if you attend the same free yoga class, the same coworking space, or the same running club for three days running, things do happen because you begin to know the people and they start to know you. In Canggu there are a few coworking spaces, such as Tropical Nomad and Nebula, in which the number of people is small enough that within a week you'll know half of them. Sa'Mesa serves its dinners in the family style by deliberately seating strangers at the same long table. Knights, a chess bar in Canggu, operates in a similar way but using a chessboard rather than a plate. In all these cases you don't need to be good at small talk; all they require is that you sit next to someone else frequently enough and interaction will occur naturally.

For someone who doesn't want to leave a week to chance, retreats offer a direct solution since they form a group for the trip before you get there. This is precisely what Firefly Retreat Bali, a retreat with 15 rooms located in Ubud which has been operating since 2013, was set up to do. The retreat operates on weekly Sunday-to-Saturday groups consisting completely of people who have come on their own, so rather than having to assemble a social life from a series of separate events, you arrive on a Sunday and spend the week living with a group of strangers and then leave on the following Saturday. It isn't suitable for everybody and it is a different type of trip from the one you would take by staying in Canggu and putting your week together yourself. However, for solo travellers who specifically do not want to be doing that sort of thing, this is exactly the kind of trip it is designed for.

If you don't choose the retreat option, then the various community groups cover the same gap without having a set structure. In Ubud the WhatsApp groups are more active than anywhere else on the island, and ShambAllah is the one you should join first since it's simply a daily list of events, organised by the administrators rather than being open to everyone. Bali Travel Buddies operates all over the island for those who want to combine for a day trip or a dive. In Canggu the Facebook group Canggu Community Bali deals with everything from flat shares to last-minute plans, and Girls in Bali is something you should be aware of if you're travelling as a woman and are looking for a group that's specifically designed for that situation. Although none of these arrangements guarantee a good night out, they do address the real issue, which is knowing that there's something going on.

It doesn't happen every week; some hostels become empty, some WhatsApp groups lose their vitality, and some retreats end up with fewer people than normal. Yet because there are so many people on the island who are trying to do the same thing you are, it is rare for loneliness to last in Bali for more than a day or two, provided you choose a place that is actually designed for that purpose.