What is Canggu like to visit?

Canggu was rice fields with a surf break fifteen years ago. It is now the densest concentration of cafes, gyms, co-working spaces and beach clubs in Indonesia, and the traffic to match.

What it is actually like

A grid of narrow lanes between the main roads of Batu Bolong, Berawa and Pererenan, packed with low-rise cafes, boutiques, villas behind walls and construction sites. Everyone is on a scooter. The average age is about 30.

The upside is convenience: whatever you want at 9am — a flat white, a gym class, a laptop desk with fibre, a surfboard — is within five minutes. The downside is that it has outgrown its roads, and the 4pm to 7pm crawl on Batu Bolong is genuinely bad.

The beaches

Batu Bolong, the main beach, with a long gentle beginner-friendly break, surf schools, board hire and sunset crowds. Dark volcanic sand, which is hot at midday and photographs less prettily than white.

Echo Beach (Batu Mejan), a right-hand reef break for more experienced surfers, with a row of bars along the sand.

Berawa, wider and quieter, home to the largest beach clubs.

Pererenan, at the western end, the most pleasant strip of sand in the area and the reason people now stay there rather than in Canggu proper.

Currents are strong and the patrols are limited. Read rip currents and beach safety before swimming here.

Surfing

Canggu is one of the best places in the world to learn. Batu Bolong is a forgiving sand and rock bottom break with schools running lessons all day, boards for hire at every entrance, and waves that work at most tides.

Dry season, roughly April to October, is the season for the west coast. The lineup at Batu Bolong is extremely crowded by mid-morning; go at dawn.

Eating and drinking

The strongest cafe culture in Southeast Asia, whatever you think of that. Brunch, specialty coffee, poke, vegan, sourdough, and all of it priced closer to Sydney than to Indonesia. Balance it with the warungs on the back lanes, where a full meal is under three dollars and better.

Evenings run from beach clubs at sunset through to a night market, and then to a small number of late venues. It is not a nightlife destination in the Kuta sense; it is a dinner-and-drinks destination that occasionally goes long.

Getting around

Scooter or nothing, realistically. Walking is unpleasant: no footpaths, no shade, and lanes with two-way scooter traffic. Grab and Gojek work, with the usual local restrictions on some pickups, and a car takes three times as long as a bike in the evening.

From the airport, budget 45 to 90 minutes. To Ubud, 90 minutes. To Uluwatu, 90 minutes.

Where to stay within Canggu

• Batu Bolong for walkability to the beach and the main cafes, and the most noise.
• Berawa for the beach clubs, wider roads and more hotels.
• Pererenan for a quieter version of the same thing, which is where a lot of the scene has moved.
• Tumbak Bayuh and Padonan, inland, for villas at lower prices and a scooter ride to everything.

What Canggu is not

It is not quiet, not undiscovered, and not cheap by Indonesian standards. It is also not culturally representative of Bali: you can spend a week here and interact almost entirely with other foreigners. That is exactly what some people want and precisely what disappoints others.

The construction is relentless, and a villa booking that looked idyllic can be next to a site by the time you arrive. Check recent reviews rather than the listing photographs.

If you are looking at property here

Canggu is the most liquid market in Bali and the most heavily scrutinised on zoning and licensing. The relevant pages are Canggu and Berawa property and is Canggu oversupplied.