Lonely Planet co-founder Tony Wheeler has revealed four destinations he doesn’t plan to revisit — and among the likes of Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, Bali makes a surprising appearance.
Wheeler, whose travel guides helped shape the global backpacking boom from the 1970s onward, is widely credited with changing the way millions of people explore the world. Lonely Planet became the go-to reference for independent travelers across generations, and its coverage of Southeast Asia — including Indonesia — was foundational for budget-conscious explorers headed to Bali.
But despite that deep connection, Bali now finds itself on Wheeler’s personal no-go list.
“Sorry Bali,” Wheeler writes in a recent blog post titled “I’m Not Going There Anymore”.
“There are so many good things about that Indonesian island and I’ve just had a great travel writers reunion trip there, but until they sort out the ridiculous traffic I never want to go back. Unless there’s a very good reason to drag me there.”
A fondness that couldn’t beat the gridlock
Wheeler’s critique wasn’t personal. He acknowledged Bali’s enduring appeal: “Bali has great places to stay, wonderful art and dance, terrific food, great shopping if that’s your thing,” he wrote, before adding, “but no way I ever want to spend another two hours of my life travelling between the Kuta beach strip and Ubud.”
It’s a sentiment that will ring true for many who live on or frequently visit the island, where congested roads and long travel times are a daily reality — especially between Bali’s popular south and central areas.
For someone who first traveled to Bali decades ago — even planting rice with farmers in 1999 as part of research for Rice Trails, a book he co-authored — the mounting gridlock appears to have worn thin.
Others on the list
Bali, in some ways, got off lightly. The other destinations Wheeler names were struck off for far weightier reasons.
He condemned Russia’s military actions and its alliance with North Korea and the U.S. in the Ukraine conflict, writing, “I’m not going back to Russia for certain… as long as Putin continues to kill innocent people.”
He cited both the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines MH17 and the 2018 Salisbury poisoning as examples of what he calls “Putin’s silly boys.”
Saudi Arabia was ruled out over human rights abuses, including the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and reports of mistreatment of East African domestic workers. Wheeler also recounted seeing cheetahs rescued from being trafficked to Saudi Arabia to be kept as pets.
“Who would be so stupid to think they might make good pets? Saudi Arabia? No thank you,” he wrote.
As for the U.S., a country he once called home, Wheeler noted: “Right now with the orange one (AKA Liz Trump, or even Donald Trump to some people) and his associated scoundrels running the place I really don’t want to go there anymore.”
He said he’s “happy to leave the USA at the bottom of my dance card,” especially with what he sees as its alignment with “Russia and North Korea in causing chaos in the world.”
Critics push back on political judgments
Not everyone has applauded Wheeler’s stance. Some online readers have accused him of letting personal politics cloud what should be a more objective lens on travel.
One user, “Njay,” commenting on The Independent’s coverage of Wheeler’s remarks, wrote: “‘Don’t want to travel to USA because Trump is president’ — is this guy a traveler or a politician? He should stick to writing about travel and not mix it with politics. They are two totally separate things unless there’s risk of safety involved”
Another commenter, “JMO,” wrote: “His U.S. boycott over ‘polarization’ is lazy moral posturing, ignoring the complexity of a nation of 330 million.”
Still, Wheeler is no stranger to controversy — and in this case, the inclusion of Bali stands apart.
Bali’s inclusion stands apart
Among these politically fraught or ethically charged destinations, Bali is an outlier. Wheeler’s frustration isn’t rooted in ideology or moral objection, but in logistics — a reflection, perhaps, of how quality-of-life concerns can weigh just as heavily in travel decisions, even for someone with decades of globe-trotting experience.
