Where to invest in Bali: the areas, honestly compared.
Almost every area of Bali works, and some perform better than ours. Here are the numbers for each, where they come from, and why we have chosen to concentrate on one.
Bali's areas, one by one
Bali is not one market, it is several, and almost all of them work. The table below is market data, not ours, and it makes one thing clear that is worth saying out loud: there are areas of Bali with higher occupancy and higher nightly rates than Uluwatu. We sit in one area for a specific reason, and it is not that the others are bad.
| Area of Bali | Average occupancy | Average nightly rate | Who books there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berawa and Canggu | 75-85% | $250 to $350 | Digital nomads, creators, honeymooners |
| Seminyak | 70-80% | $220 to $320 | Couples, luxury travellers, Europeans |
| Uluwatu and the Bukit | 68-78% | $200 to $300 | Surfers, wellness, Australians |
| ↳ Our portfolio in Uluwatu | over 80% | above the average | Same coast, managed differently |
| Ubud | 65-75% | $150 to $230 | Cultural travellers, retreat guests |
| Sanur and Nusa Dua | 60-70% | $140 to $200 | Families, divers, Asian market |
The first thing that table shows is that Canggu outperforms Uluwatu on both occupancy and rate. We are not hiding it. It is an excellent market and there are developers doing very well there.
So why are we only in Uluwatu?
Three specific reasons, and none of them is that the other areas are bad.
- It is the area we genuinely know. We live here, we have been building here since 2021 and we have 50 people on the ground. We can show the real booking calendar of our villas because they are ours. In an area where we do not operate, any figure we gave you would be an estimate.
- Land on the Bukit is genuinely limited. It is a limestone plateau dropping into the sea: you cannot build forever. That holds price up long term, and for us it weighs more than a point of occupancy today.
- It is where we feel safe buying. We know the landowners, the zoning and the build timelines. That confidence is what we can then pass on to an investor.
Put another way: focusing on one area is not a limitation, it is what lets us manage it well. If tomorrow we find another area where we can operate with the same knowledge of the ground, we will look at it. We built in Canggu before concentrating here.
The cheaper-entry areas
North Bali, Amed, Balian and Lombok come in a good deal cheaper, around €80,000. They are beautiful places and there are people doing very well there. The one thing to be clear about is that tourist demand is less consolidated: net yield sits around 5-7% and payback stretches to 14-20 years, against 7-10 on the Bukit. For someone who wants a home with some rental income, it makes complete sense. For someone chasing yield, the numbers decide.
€110,000 across eight destinations, same starting capital
Only three things really compare: yield, how many years to pay back and what is in your pocket at 25 years. Same capital on every row.
| €110,000 in… | Net yield | Minimum entry | Payback | At 25 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uluwatu villa | 10-14% | €110,000 | 7.1-10 years | €275,000-385,000 |
| Non-touristic Bali (Balian, Amed, north) | 5-7% | €80,000 | 14-20 years | €137,500-192,500 |
| Lombok | 5-7% | €80,000 | 14-20 years | €137,500-192,500 |
| Apartment in Spain | 3-4% | €150,000 | 25-33 years | €82,500-110,000 |
| Apartment in Dubai | 4-5% | €200,000 | 20-25 years | €110,000-137,500 |
| Dominican Republic | 6-8% | €140,000 | 13-17 years | €165,000-220,000 |
| Puerto Rico | 4-6% | €190,000 | 16.7-25 years | €110,000-165,000 |
| Paraguay | 4.5-6% | €120,000 | 17-22 years | €123,750-165,000 |
| El Salvador | 5-7% | €95,000 | 14-20 years | €137,500-192,500 |
What to look at before the entry price
Entering at €80,000 instead of €110,000 sounds like a saving until you read the payback column: 14 to 20 years instead of 7 to 10. You pay 27% less and wait twice as long to get it back. It is not that the villa is worse: it is that tourist demand in the area is not consolidated yet, and demand is what drives the rent.
And if you are comparing against a mortgage at home
You do not have to choose. Against a property you already own you can take a secured loan, up to 60% of value at around 3-4%, and that capital returns 10-14% here. The spread between what the loan costs and what the villa earns is the gain, and it is leveraged. There is no mortgage available to a foreigner in Indonesia, so financing always comes from an asset at home. Not every bank funds investment abroad: worth asking first.
What people ask us most.
Bali or Lombok?
Lombok is cheaper to enter and that is where the advantage ends: fewer international flights, less year-round demand and a thinner rental market. Net yield is 5-7% against 10-14% on the Bukit, and payback doubles.
Why Uluwatu and not Canggu?
Canggu performs very well, in fact above Uluwatu on both occupancy and nightly rate. We are on the Bukit because it is the area we know inside out, where we have our own team and where land is genuinely limited. Not because Canggu is worse.
Do you have villas outside Uluwatu?
Not today. It is a focus decision, not a judgement on the rest of the island: operating in one area is what lets us know it, manage it well and show real data instead of estimates. If we find another area where we can operate just as well, we will look at it.
Is north Bali worth it for the low price?
It depends what you are there for. If you want a home with some rental income, it makes complete sense and they are beautiful places. If you want yield, tourist demand is not consolidated yet: payback stretches to 14-20 years against 7-10 on the Bukit.
The other guides.
Want it with your own numbers?
We show you the villas available, what each one earns today and what would be left for you, with our real figures in front of you. You talk to the developer, not to a salesperson.