About SmartBali

SmartBali is a guide to Bali written by people who live here: warungs, restaurants, cafés, beach clubs, gyms, padel courts and everything else that makes island life good.

It was started by Nami Shams, @namiatik on Instagram, as a private record of the places he goes to. Other people who live on the island write for it too. Every post says who wrote it, with their photo and Instagram profile.

What makes SmartBali different

• Private and non-commercial. No company, no income, no ads, no paid content. Details in our non-commercial statement.
• Self-paid. Every review comes from a visit the author paid for with their own money. No invitations, no free meals, no collaborations, no influencer deals.
• Recommendations only. We publish places we would recommend to a friend. Places none of us has visited yet are marked "not tested yet" and carry no score.

How we rate places is explained under How we test. Live in Bali and want to share your places? Write for SmartBali.