Bali Safe for Young Solo Female Traveler?

Bali is fine.

I'm a guy, but my travels in Bali convince me that Bali is as safe as anywhere else for a savvy and smart, 18 year old, blonde, American woman. With a little common sense and awareness of her surroundings (the same as needed for travel anywhere), it'll be at least as safe as your hometown (wherever that is, and perhaps safer). As long as she is indeed as savvy and smart as you say (perhaps not typical in many 18 year olds, wherever they might be) I'd have no hesitation sending off a family member to travel there - other than she may like it so much she won't want to come back.

Hi. I'll add my two cents here. I can't speak about Bali, but I would not want my daughter traveling alone at that age to a foreign country. 18, but smart, is still 18. I did a lot of things I thought were safe in my 18 year old mind, but as an adults I can see that I didn't always make the best decisions in the interest of safety, was way too trusting, easily deceived, etc. I personally, would not be comfortable with it.

If she does end up going, I would suggest making technology your friend and putting tracking on her phone so you can see where she is at any given time for what that may be worth. There are many apps that work for this as you may already know.

You could also try trying to talk her in to taking an older adult or at least a friend.

I have considered your question for over an hour. The following is blunt. It might offend some.
Eighteen is too young to travel alone. Especially an attractive sports physique blond woman. Halfway around the world. In a foreign, beach local which attracts lots of partying, alcohol drinking young [but older than 18] people. A location in which sex work is common. A location in which police protection or response is minimal.
A high school project sounds like a week or two? Or is it a month or two? Better to put it off for two years and do it as a university credit. Every month of life increases her maturity, sensibility, and stability; it increases her knowledge and experience upon which she will conduct such a project; and benefit fully from that effort.
If she persists then it needs to be part of an organized group, or at least two friends. Better if they are several years older. Better if they are trustworthy male. Better if it is you.
If she persists to go on her own, then prepare her with full vaccinations, including Hep A&B; self defense training, preparation for sexual intercourse that might be consensual or involuntary and violent. Active contraception, preferably the pill plus condoms.

Prepare her for alcohol. Spend an evening with her drinking a sweet mixed drink with at least 2 ounces of alcohol, every 20 minutes, for at least 6 drinks. Let her experience drunkenness. Let her experience hangover. Let her experience vomiting resulting from excessive alcohol.

If she is going with one female friend of same age, then the above should still be done.
This is prudent preparation for such a trip.
If she is unable to talk about these matters with you then she is too young.

If she has not had an active sex life and/or emotional life for at least a year, and dealt with some heartbreak, then she is immature for a trip of this type, alone.
She may respond with "You don't trust me"; but that is not the problem.

It is the other people, some of whom are foolish, and some of whom are malicious.

It is the alcohol and drugs, voluntary and involuntary, that can impair her judgement.
I hope she waits a few years, at which point the journey will have greater meaning and significance.
Harvey

Harvey's advice above seems quite sound (and perhaps awkwardly detailed for some parents). But good advice worth heeding.

I will just add that while I can't argue with anything Harvey says above, that Bali is a "safe" place to travel - as safe as most. While it's true that one part of the island is known for heavy partying by youth (not the corner of the island that would interest me), the island overall is not dangerous to travelers. There are separate questions about safety of a young woman as described above, but almost all of those questions would be just as valid in London, Rome or Los Angeles. I would consider Bali more-or-less as safe/dangerous as those places. So if the question is about the place, it's not a major worry. If the question is about a very young woman traveling alone, that's another thing altogether.

Might I add, she should never let her drink out of her eye sight. Drink spiking and date rape drugs are well documented and done thru out the world. There is documented evidence this is done in Bali too.

If it helps, Bali in no way compares with India. Bali depends on tourism, and authorities know if something bad happens, the whole island suffers. Having traveled all over Asia (including Bali) in my 20s and living there for nearly a decade, I'll offer a slightly contrarian view: all of East Asia and South East Asia is safe for solo travelers, with the possible exception of the Philippines, and young solo travelers (female and male) have been doing the old hippy trail there for decades. Bali is no exception. If your daughter is indeed 'savvy and smart', she'll be fine. (The big caveat: as parents, we're never completely sure how our children present themselves is the way they really are.) The dangers may be more from indiscretion on her part, esp. drinking, but if you're reasonably sure she's not like that, I wouldn't be too concerned.

The simplest approach is usually the best. Go with her.

Hi all, and thank you for the thoughtful and helpful comments. We found a solution that we are comfortable with: two, possibly three friends of friends, who live there and have their families there, as local contacts. Thanks again for all the good input!

I am happy to read that you AND your daughter found a solution that satisfies both of you.
I hope the trip is a wonderful experience for your daughter.
Will her essay on "Pollution and Tourism" include a consideration of airplane atmospheric pollution?
It is a difficult issue for all of us who love to travel and therefore need to reconcile the damage we do with the benefit we and others receive.
After your daughter has returned please inform us, and pass on any hints for other parents in a similar position.
Harvey

You raise a great point Harvey. For those of us who love to travel, there always is the issue of the ecological (and sometimes cultural) footprint we leave behind. For years in my family and in my small consulting business we always bought 2x carbon offsets for our air travel (and in the company, work commutes). 2x because we realize no offsets really make up for the impact, but at least it's something. I have friends who are more ecologically righteous than I, who never travel by anything other than hybrid car, typically in state, or train. But I'm not there yet - the world is just too enticing to not go see.

For those interested, a good resource for offsets: http://www.b-e-f.org/environmental-products/carbon-offsets/

Also, the project - a global travel webzine has offered to publish an article on what she learns, under her byline, with the support of their editorial staff. This will provide a good amount of "free PR" to the NGOs she is visiting. Not saying that fully justifies the impact of first-world tourism overseas, but at least it's something. And, while she conceptually could do the whole thing by Skype, our view (as parents) is there is something invaluable to be gained by the experience. I know the year I spent traveling in India, Nepal, Tibet, Pakistan after grad school informed my views of the world and life forever. That is part of the intention.

Thank you, BTR, for this post. It indicates that your daughter is being raised to be a conscientious citizen of our world.
One concern I have is that if this is her first in-depth exposure to poverty that it can be disconcerting and disorienting. She may need some "talking" time when she arrives home to reconcile her experience of luxury in USA and this poverty. Perhaps she has studied income differentials, class differentials; and the political and social aspects and results of them? But to have them "in your face" can be a shock.
I should add that I have not, yet, been to Bali, so it may not be as destitute as other places I have been. Or it might not be as visible.
Thank you for raising your children to think of the entire world as their home, in regards to both humans and nature [Gaia].
My experience is that when this occurs then care and compassion for the people [and nature] of their world-home increases.
Harvey

I should add that I have not, yet, been to Bali, so it may not be as destitute as other places I have been.

If you want to see destitute people, you don't need to go to Bali. I see a lot more destitute people every day where I live, on the streets of a booming American city. I'm not so sure that anyone who has spent more than an hour with their eyes open in a major American city in the past decade is likely to be shocked by any poverty they encounter in Indonesia or much of the world.

Yes,no,maybe,too complex to address in one paragraph.

That is why books are written on the matter of "How do we measure economic well-being?"
That is why books are written on "How do we compare poverty?"
That is why any good university library will have hundreds of thousands of pages of pertinent material.

Please submit a reply that is pertinent to the original poster question and replies.
I am puzzled. What did you wish to achieve by your post?