Exploring Timor-Leste
Bondia! Come explore Timor-Leste, one of the world's youngest and least-visited countries. From world-class snorkeling and diving to hiking through spectacular landscapes, this podcast uncovers the natural beauty and cultural richness of this remarkable country.
Your host Jonty spent a year living in Timor-Leste, promoting the country on TikTok and YouTube, and published five books about it. Exploring Timor-Leste offers firsthand insights, expert interviews, and practical travel tips.
Whether you're planning a trip or simply curious about a place few have seen, this podcast brings Timor-Leste to life in a way you won’t find anywhere else.
#timorleste #easttimor #travelguide #travel #travels #traveladdict #adventure #traveltips #exploretheundiscovered
Exploring Timor-Leste
Is it safe to visit Timor-Leste?
When most people think of Timor-Leste, safety is often a concern. That perception is rooted in the country's history of conflict and political unrest, especially surrounding its hard-won independence in 2002. But how accurate is that view today?
I spent a year living in Dili, the capital, and travelled extensively around the country. What I found was a peaceful, welcoming place — much safer than I had expected. That’s not to say there aren’t challenges, but most concerns are manageable with some common sense and awareness. My key takeaway from this episode is that Timor-Leste is a safe place to visit, and the chances of a visitor having any issues is very low.
This episode is based on my own experiences, conversations with locals, expats, and travellers, and guidance from official sources. It is structured in 5 areas - Current Travel Advisories, Crime & Personal Safety, Civil Unrest & Political Stability, Transport & Road Safety, and Natural Hazards & Health
More safety information - https://exploringtimor.com/plan-your-journey-to-timor-leste/#safety
Website - www.exploringtimor.com
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@exploringtimor
Bondi. Welcome to exploring Tim Este, the podcast that talks about Southeast Asia's best kept travel secret. I'm your host Jte, and I'll share firsthand insights, expert interviews and practical travel tips. Whether you're a traveler, a cultural lover, or just curious about places rarely covered in the mainstream. You're in the right place. Let's explore two more. Less day. when most people think of Timor-Leste, safety is often a question they ask. That perception is rooted in the country's history of conflict and political unrest, especially surroundings hard won independence in 2002. But how accurate is that view today? I spent a year living in dili the capital and traveled extensively around the country. What I found was a peaceful, welcoming place, much safer than I'd expected based on what I'd heard before I arrived. That's not to say there aren't challenges, but most concerns are manageable with some common sense and awareness. My key takeaway from this episode is that Timor Lesser is a safe place to visit, and the chances of a visitor having any issues is very low. This is based on my own experiences, conversations with locals, expats, and travelers, and guidance from official sources. I'm gonna break it down into five areas. First I'll talk about the current travel advisories, then about crime and personal safety, civil unrest, and political stability. Transport and road safety and finish with natural hazards and health. So starting with the current travel advisories, this is the official word from governments. Governments issue, travel guidance and advisories for other countries, it's generally on a four point scale with somewhere like Norway being treated as a one as very safe to visit and somewhere like Afghanistan will be a four, just do not travel. Now as of June, 2025, the governments of New Zealand, Australia, the UK, and the us. Rate Timor effectively a level two. So exercise increased caution on that four point scale. These advisories tend to be very conservative, and if you just read them without any context around the country or checking other sources, you probably would not go anywhere because they tend to talk about if there was. Isolated instances or infrequent activities, they will obviously talk about those in their advisories and those are the main things that they might talk about a country. So in the case of Timor-Leste, the US State Department talks about the police responding to protests with force and the use of tear gas. It talks about stone throwing attacks on vehicles that can occur during. Gang conflicts and period of unrest. Sex based violence is high in
team
Jonty:leste and sexual harassment is fairly common. That's what the US State Department says. New Zealand's safe travel urges, caution, especially due to petty crime and occasional civil unrest, and they suggest not to take public transport. The Australian government says, exercise a high degree of caution. Due to the threat of crime and limited healthcare options, local unrest does occur, including street gang fighting and political demonstrations and minor disputes can become violent. Large public gatherings should be avoided, violent and petty crime is not uncommon in dili. However, the risk increases at night and traveling alone. So that sounds quite, scary in terms of some of the advice that's given there. I have to say, from my experience and speaking to many other people and just the experience of living in, Timor
less day,
Jonty:those do not represent the day-to-day reality or the experience the visitors will have. Those things may happen. They have happened in the past. But that is not the general experience. Now, to put things in context, as I said at the beginning, Timor is rated of two out of four in terms of safety. Now other countries that are also rated two out of four include the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, and Canada. Use that to put things in perspective These advisories tend to be quite doom laden and they definitely veer on the side of caution. So just put that into context now move on to section two, which is around crime and personal safety. Crime in Timor,
less estate
Jonty:is relatively low compared to other parts of Southeast Asia. So it's safer than if you visit Cambodia
or
Jonty:Vietnam or Thailand, which many people do. Timor
less estate
Jonty:is safer than those countries. Petty theft such as bag or phone snatching or pickpocketing. Can occur, but it's definitely not something that's organized. Personally, I felt safer in DHI than many European cities where pickpockets are common and there aren't really enough tourists in Timor-Leste to attract issues, but it is a poor country. Solo travelers, particularly women, should take the usual precautions. Sexual harassment has been reported and like in many countries, it is advisable to avoid walking alone after duck, particularly due to the lack of street lighting and there are holes in the pavement, which are probably a greater risk than anything anybody might do to you. Keep to places where other people around, which is pretty easy in Timor-Leste'cause there are a lot of people in Timor-Leste. And so generally in most places there are quite a lot of people around. So if you use that as a common rule, you're generally gonna be fine. Granted I am a white tallish man but I walked alone through every neighborhood in Dili and the only issues I had with dogs, I had no issues with anything else. It's also worth noting that I haven't personally heard of or encountered any scams here. No dodgy currency exchanges, no. People approaching with a story to get money. No organized pickpockets. Again, unlike many of the more popular parts of Europe, so if you visited Barcelona or Florence or Lisbon, I would feel much greater risk of having something happen to me or stolen from me than they would being in Timor. Almost all visitors and expats I've spoken to feel very safe in Tim Leste. Now civil unrest and political stability. Tim Leste is a young and generally peaceful democracy. However, political rallies and gang related incidents can happen primarily during election periods, which are once every five years. So pretty uncommon, and those are usually localized and avoidable. So smart move is to obviously avoid demonstrations and large gatherings, but it's not a country on the edge. Last year, over half a million people peacefully attended the mass with Pope Francis and Dili with no issues at all. If unrest does happen, the expat and tourism communities are quick to show information and embassies issue alerts. So stay connected through registering with your home country travel safety guidance. For example travel Safe in New Zealand, and keep an eye on Timor Este Facebook groups like Timor Este Tourism, or the Dili expats Bracket. Timor Este Group. Section four, transport and Road Safety. Now, honestly, the biggest safety concern in Timor isn't crime. It's the roads. So road conditions outside Dili can be very poor, although there is a lot of work underway at the moment to improve the situation. But even in Dili, potholes and erratic traffic are common. There is a lot of congestion in the capital, but very little outside of it. And you'll certainly find less traffic compared to other Southeast Asian cities like Bangkok or Hanoi. It just hasn't got the scale,
but you know,
Jonty:there's a lot going on and if you're not familiar with Southeast Asian traffic with a lot of motorbikes and a lot of scooters and cars, then it can be a bit overwhelming. So I highly recommend you don't drive at night due to the, potholes, the lack of street lighting, and also just being generally aware that there is likely to be livestock, less so in dili, but certainly when you get outside of the capitol, you will come across chickens, goats, cows, water buffalos, and dogs, all of which can run into the road at short notice. So you just need to have your wits about you. Accidents involving motorbikes are definitely possible. So if you're planning to rent one, make sure you're confident and well equipped if you're moving to Timor
less day
Jonty:and plan on riding a scooter or a motorbike. I'd recommend that you bring your own helmet as they would have better safety standards than ones you can buy locally. So the ones in Timor imported from Indonesia. I also recommend gear for longer bike ride suitable for mountain biking as the motorbike gear with the leathers and everything. It's just too hot, but the lightweight gear that you can get for kind of mountain biking works well in the heat and will provide some protection if anything happens. In terms of ferry services, the services to at rural Island generally don't run in rough weather, and they do have life jackets, but small boats like those you take to
Jacko
Jonty:Island usually don't have life jackets. You might wanna bring your own, the New Zealand embassy says don't use public transport, which I would disagree with in terms of getting around dili using the Mik, which are the local buses as
their
Jonty:frequent, cheap and popular. No kind of real safety issues there. They're not particularly comfortable'cause they're quite loud and quite cramp. But other than that they're safe to travel around. If you're traveling outside Dili, they do have more of a point because the buses that go between the towns
and
Jonty:Timor are usually overcrowded. They leave once they're over full. So expect to see three or four people hanging out the door. They're not particularly comfortable. They tend to play very loud music and the drivers often speed. So I would be cautious about using those buses between towns and that's one of the challenges in terms of getting around Timor
less day.
Jonty:hiring a driver is a better way to do that. It's obviously more expensive, but it's a lot safer way to travel. Now traveling in the wet season, which is from December to April, can be difficult due to heavy rain and landslides, particularly down to the south coast. But the northern coastal road that basically runs from the West Timor border in Bobro through to calm and LA term. That's generally fine all year round. If you're heading off that road either further to the east, out to Jaco or heading south across the country to the south coast, then those roads tend to have more challenges. You just need to be aware that. Those roads can be impossible at times. But generally the wet season, not the time that most people will visit Tibor and final sections around natural hazards and health. During the wet season, as I mentioned, heavy rains can cause floods and landslides. Earthquakes and tsunami are rare, but not impossible. Health wise, medical facilities are limited. Stanford Medical and DHI Medical Center are probably your two best options, but outside the capital resources are scarce and medicine is often in short supply. So bring any essential medication with you and make sure your insurance covers emergency evacuation. If you have a tropical disease, SIL has lots of experience with that, but if you have anything. Serious. Anything that's like dental related, there's not really a lot of dental treatment available. Anything to do with your eyes. There are very limited coverage for any kind of eyecare. You will need to leave the country to get the treatment that you require. Mosquito-borne diseases are an issue, particularly during the wet season. So pack insect repellent, wear long sleeves, and sleep under a mosquito net.
If your room isn't sealed,
Jonty:Malaria isn't a risk, so you don't need to bring malaria tablets with you, but dengue fever and
chicken gya
Jonty:are, and unfortunately, there's no vaccines really available for those, so you just need to take precautions against mosquitoes. Dawn and dusk are generally the worst times, but it depends on the type of mosquito and where you are. Don't drink the tap water, but safe bottled water is easily available and take care to avoid heat. Stroke is a hot and humid country. Hydration and some protection is important, particularly when hiking or spending long days outside. Now, crocodile attacks do happen. Avoid swimming in rivers or lagoons unless locals say it's safe. Aru Island is perfectly safe from crocodiles. They've never really seen their crocodiles around Aru, the stretch between a UBA in Leisa through to$1 Beach in
uh,
Jonty:Tutu, which is basically dili and an hour or two to the east and west of Dili is generally safe. It's very kind of low risk. A few crocodiles have been spotted, but it's pretty uncommon. Assume everywhere else in Timor less day if you're around water, that there are crocodiles. So while people do swim at Waterproof beach in Baal. At the beach in com and at Jao Island. Personally I wouldn't because I've seen crocodiles at Waterproof Beach and I've heard from people who've seen crocodiles at jao. So enjoy the beaches, but I think it's best stay on land. And finally, dogs. Every household has them. And while most are harmless, aggressive ones can be a nuisance. So if a dog threatens you, pick up a stone, and that will generally do the trick and just move away from the house it can be a bit confronting at first. But they're just there to protect the house. So final thoughts, is Timor less day safe in general? Yes, especially for travelers who take basic precautions. Dili feels much safer than many larger cities. If you're the kind of person considering a trip to Timor less day, you probably already traveled to much more challenging places. The risk of anything serious happening to you as a tourist is very low. The bigger concerns tend to affect residents, more things like healthcare access and mosquito-borne diseases because you're spending just more time if you're on Timor less day for a week or two, the chance of something happening to
a
Jonty:a relatively low. If you're living here, then the chance of getting bitten by a mosquito and catching a disease is obviously higher, but Timor less day is much safer than many people assume, and safety concerns really should not stop you from experiencing this unique, beautiful, and unforgettable country. Thank you so much for listening to exploring Timor Less Day. If you've enjoyed today's episode, please consider leaving a rating or review. It really helps more people discover the show. If you have any questions or feedback, I'd love to hear from you. Drop me an email at exploring Timor lessDay@gmail.com. Until next time, or Bodo ADEs.