Bali, cruises, coach tours? It’s time to stop being snobs about travel

I’ve been to Bali for a grand total of three days. I went once for two days to report on the opening of the W Hotel in Seminyak; I went another time for just one night for a family wedding before racing home to help care for our newborn baby.

So I don’t feel qualified to cast judgment on Bali, and those who choose to holiday there. This is not a destination I hunger for, but I don’t know it anywhere near well enough to make any sort of call.

Certain travel destinations tend to come with their own stigma though, which is very much relative to the place you live.

Magaluf in Spain sounds quite classy to most Australians, though mention it to someone English and they’ll tell you this renowned party destination in Mallorca is nicknamed “Shagaluf”. Nassau in the Bahamas sounds idyllic to a lot of us, though to Americans it’s a place for college kids to get wasted on Spring Break.

To the people of the UK and the US, Bali seems far-flung and adventurous, a serene island that all your friends will be madly Googling as soon as they see the photos. That’s why I went to the wedding there for my English family members.

Obviously, Australians don’t see it that way.

Travel is personal … the key to a great experience is doing exactly what you enjoy and not giving a damn what everyone else thinks.

Bali, to many of us, is Kuta nightclubs and Bintang singlets. It’s Jetstar flights with more visible tattoos than a haka, overcrowded resorts, and influencers doing bikini shoots by the pools. Hardly serene, definitely not exotic.

That’s why, when someone tells you they’re going on holiday to Bali, you do a little double-take. Maybe you reassess what you think of this person. Bali huh? You’re into “that” sort of holiday?

Two issues here. One, of course, is that Bali isn’t necessarily that sort of holiday. I’ve only been to the place for three days but even I have seen plenty of aspects of Bali that don’t fit the Bintang-singlet stereotype.

The other issue is that, come on, we shouldn’t be judging others for the type of holiday they like to take.

There’s a saying, “don’t yuck my yum”, that I think we could all apply to travel: essentially, don’t criticise others’ preferences. Put aside the snobbery when you’re commenting on other people’s travel choices.

Maybe people want to go to an all-inclusive resort and spend their thousands of holiday dollars on poolside cocktails and massages. It’s not my idea of a good investment, but if that’s what you enjoy, go right ahead.

Maybe someone else wants to go on a bus tour of Europe, being led around by the hand instead of exploring on their own. If that’s how you feel you will get the best out of your holiday, then that’s the way you should go.

Travel shouldn’t be a competition, it shouldn’t be an opportunity to prove that you do things better than someone else. It should be entirely personal, something you get to do with no judgment or critique, just chasing your own enjoyment.

Some people love cruising on massive ships that drop you in a place for a few hours and then cruise on out of there again. Some people like to travel on their own, with no distractions. Some like driving holidays. Others prefer rail.

There is room for criticism, I think, when the way you’re travelling is harmful in some way. It’s OK to point out that it’s better to book with hotels and travel companies that give back to local communities. It’s fine to say that apartment rentals, though they might be your preference, can be harmful to some cities and you may want to avoid them in certain places.

That’s not judgment. It’s thinking about consequences and trying to spread the word on how things could be done better.

But are you a traveller, or a tourist? Honestly, I couldn’t care less. As long as you’re enjoying yourself and not harming others, you should travel the way you want to travel. Tell the snobs to take a seat.

I’ve got no time for competitiveness, or even for the people who say, “Oh you should have been there 10/20/30 years ago; it was way better then.” I mean sure, maybe it really was better. Objectively.

But people who are seeing this place for the first time are experiencing it as it is now, and they’re hopefully enjoying it. They’re getting a thrill from it. Trying to bring them down by letting them know you had a better experience back in the day is pointless one-upmanship. I’m not here for it.

Live and let live; don’t yuck someone’s yum – apply whichever idiom or cliche you want. The lesson is the same: travel is personal, enjoyment is personal, the key to a great experience is doing exactly what you enjoy and not giving a damn what everyone else thinks.

And not judging others who do the same.