Bali vs Spain and Portugal: Where Should European Retirees Actually Go?

Bali wins on monthly cost, year-round warmth and affordable daily help; Spain and Portugal win on proximity to family, EU healthcare rights and, for Britons, an unfrozen state pension. A comfortable couple needs roughly USD 2,350 to 3,450 a month in Sanur, typically less than the equivalent lifestyle on the Costa del Sol or Algarve.

How do the visas compare now the golden visas are gone?

All three destinations now run on income-tested residence permits rather than property-purchase visas. Portugal removed real estate from its golden visa in October 2023, Spain terminated its golden visa in April 2025, and Indonesia's routes were never property-based to begin with.

For over-60s, Indonesia's E33F Retirement KITAS requires proof of USD 3,000 a month in pension or passive income, health insurance and accommodation, applied for via evisa.imigrasi.go.id and renewed annually, with KITAP permanent residence possible after three to four years. Those under 60, or anyone wanting a five or ten-year horizon in one go, use the E33 Second Home Visa with an IDR 2 billion (about USD 125,000) deposit at an Indonesian state-owned bank; the mechanics are set out in our complete E33 Second Home Visa guide.

Spain's non-lucrative visa requires passive income of roughly EUR 2,400 a month for the main applicant (it is pegged to 400% of the IPREM index, so check current figures), no work allowed, renewable towards long-term residence. Portugal's D7 is friendlier on paper, income of roughly the Portuguese minimum wage, but processing backlogs at AIMA, Portugal's migration agency, have stretched timelines badly in recent years. None of the three is difficult for a genuinely funded retiree; the difference is that Indonesia's permits are transactional and quick through licensed agents, while Iberian consular queues move at their own pace.

Which is cheaper: Bali, Spain or Portugal?

Bali, for most lifestyles. A retired couple lives comfortably in Sanur on roughly USD 2,350 to 3,450 a month, per bali.com's 2026 cost guides, with premium living at USD 4,000 to 6,000. Comparable coastal comfort in Marbella, Alicante or the central Algarve tends to run higher once housing and winter utilities are counted.

The structural difference is labour. A cleaner, gardener, massage at home or a driver for the evening are everyday purchases in Bali and luxury purchases in Western Europe. Dining out follows the same pattern: a good restaurant meal for two in Sanur costs what two coffees and a pastry cost in Cascais. Where Iberia claws back ground is health insurance, cars and imported goods, and where it clearly wins is flights home. The full line-item budget is in our cost of living in Sanur for a retired couple.

What about climate?

Bali is warm all year, 27 to 31°C by day in every month, split into a dry season (roughly April to October) and a wet season with heavy afternoon downpours. Southern Spain and Portugal give you a real winter: mild by northern European standards, but cool, damp and short-dayed from November to February.

Which you prefer is personal. Retirees who moved to Iberia for the sun are often surprised to spend January in a jumper next to an inadequate heater; tiled Mediterranean houses are built for summer. Sanur's compensation runs the other way: you trade four seasons for two, and the wet season is warm rain rather than cold grey. Sanur also sits on the drier east coast, where mornings during the wet season are frequently clear, which is when the town walks and cycles its 7 km car-free promenade.

Which wins on healthcare?

Iberia, on breadth. Residents in Spain and Portugal can access well-regarded public systems, and UK state pensioners can use the S1 scheme to have the UK fund their state healthcare there. Bali is private-only for foreigners, so insurance is compulsory in practice, but the top end has improved fast.

The Bali International Hospital opened in Sanur on 25 June 2025 and anchors KEK Sanur, Indonesia's first health special economic zone, 41.26 hectares with around USD 620 million in projected investment under Government Regulation 41 of 2022. BIMC and the JCI-accredited Siloam Hospital Bali cover the south of the island, and Singapore is under three hours away. For routine care, private appointments in Bali are fast and inexpensive; for complex chronic conditions, Europe's systems remain deeper. That is the honest trade.

So who should pick which?

Pick Iberia if being within a three-hour flight of children and grandchildren is non-negotiable, if you rely on public healthcare, or if a frozen UK state pension would materially hurt you. Pick Bali if budget, warmth, service and a more adventurous chapter matter more than proximity.

Language and integration deserve a sentence of honesty in each direction. In Spain and Portugal you will eventually need functional Spanish or Portuguese to deal with clinics, town halls and tradespeople outside the expat bubble. In Sanur, English is the working language of daily expat life, and learning Bahasa Indonesia is a courtesy rather than a survival requirement, which lowers the friction of the first year considerably.

The numbers behind Bali's pull are not subtle: 6.9 million foreign arrivals in 2025, up 9.7% on 2024, according to BPS Bali, and a growing share of them are over-60s doing exactly this arithmetic. British readers weighing the move should start with our UK-specific guide to retiring in Bali, which covers the pension freeze, flight logistics and where to live. Many couples split the difference: a Sanur base for most of the year, rented out through a managed complex such as Sanuuri Residences while they summer in Europe, which is a model Iberian holiday lets rarely match on net returns; agents advertise 7 to 10% gross yields for well-located Sanur villas, though gross figures deserve caution and net modelling.