After 4 months of traveling and visiting Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, it was time to settle down for a few months in South East Asia. It has been our dream to live in Bali and our high expectations of moving to Canggu were exceeded! The past months have been super productive and at the same time so refreshing and if you are a digital nomad and/or starting your own online business I truly recommend moving to Canggu, since it is”the” place in Bali.
Before deciding and actually making the plunge to live in Canggu for a few months, we’ve put up 20 things you should know – both the good and the bad. Browse through them or read them carefully, depending on how close and ready you are on buying that ticket 😉
Here we go!
The ultimate dream of living in Bali is that you can enjoy that villa life you always wanted at a reasonable rate. Since there is an increasing number of expats wanting the same thing, prices are going up. Moreover, landlords are becoming more demanding and picky and do require to pay the full length on Day 1 or else rent it out to the one who’s willing to do this. And guess what, villas are very different in terms of what they offer, how they’re managed and what comes out when the lights go out!
Since ending up in the wrong villa was too big of a risk for us, we rather decided to rent out a villa through Bali Villas R Us. Having talked to them prior our visit and explaining our issue with long-term rental, we agreed to stay in a few villas at first and rent out the villa that suits us best longer term, also based on availability. This enabled us to have more flexibility, see more villas and get to know more cool neighbourhoods. We found the ultimate villa for us at Villa Briana and spent almost 2 months there.
What made our stay so great with Bali Villas R Us, is that they are also the one managing the villas, the staff is always at your disposal, there is a security guard 24/7 and take care of the cleaning. All the villas were in fact spotless which was nice. Bali Villas R Us was at our side all the time and also agreed with the owner to increase the internet package at the villa. So what was initially thought as a starting point, ended up being our home for a while 🙂
There are also various Facebook Groups that posts available villas a but it’s pretty messy and we couldn’t not find a proper place there. In any case, before committing full time for a longer period of time, I would recommend to book a few nights and see how it feels. Do you have everything you need, is mould a problem, how’s the Wi-Fi connection? In our case we didn’t have to deal with such problems, since the villa management company handled it for us and we could focus on the business and having fun.
You have to feel at home, since this is not a hotel for a few nights, it’s your home for the next few months.
Yes, you can be both productive and at the same time really enjoy your dreamy villa. You just need to set out a weekly schedule and have the discipline to deliver. Basically you shouldn’t plan out too much and shouldn’t get too comfy; finding that sweet pot is key 🙂
In our case, we’ve had a lot of things to work on in the first few days after our arrival to Bali so we jumped right into it. The villa became our working space but at the same that dreamy place we’ve always wanted to experience.
At the end of the day you have to earn a living and have enough to take on Bali’s adventures. The beauty however of having a “villa office” is that you are the one controlling the time and space. This means that if you cannot overcome that creative block, go for a swim, change the setting, go out and find inspiration on the beach, hit the gym or just hang out with friends. Make most of your unconventional lifestyle and work your ass of when at full powers and do everything else you always wanted in between. I’m sure you’ll see awesome results.
We started our day with yoga and meditation, topped it up with energizing breakfast and started our day super hyped and productive. At lunch time we exchanged ideas and agreed to the plan for the remainder of the day. This could mean hitting the beach, going to a new place on the island or fully finishing that project to get it off our back. In the past 2 months alone we got so many great ideas and projects that this villa getaway definitely covered our expenses.
Even non-vegans are flooding to some of these cafes and restaurants and are astonished how vegan can taste so delicious. To all doubters out there, go for it and prove me wrong 🙂
I admit that one of the main reasons we decided to come to Bali was due to its amazing food. As a vegan and a foodie this is my go to place on Earth. We’ve tried many places and have had great meals throughout our stay but here are the best places.
The hippest place in Canggu, co-operated by the lovely Ellie Bullen with cool fixie bikes displayed. Fully plant based restaurant with amazing fake meats, bowls, wraps and brownies. Go for the Tricken burger, the Contador salad, the Spaghetti Carbonara or the Caesar wrap and thank me later.
My favourite burger on the island, the Kynd Mac! The place opened last year and is always fully packed and there is a line. That is why they’re expanding and the new Super KYND will reduce the waiting times. But so worth it. Other amazing dishes include Macho Nachos and the best coffee on the island – Iced Caramel Latte.
The Shady Shack is vegetarian but has lots of great vegan dishes. My favourite was the Pillow Talk – homemade gnocchi in a lemony sauce with kale. Delicious!
One of the best Asian restaurant you’ll find on the island. Definitely go for the Pad Thai, thank me later. 🙂
Short, but really valuable advice, trust me. We did our research online before getting a SIM card and went with XL which is cheaper and supposedly on par with Telkomsel in terms of coverage. Wrong! XL was just bad, losing signal even in the heart of Seminyak or Canggu, whereas had no such problems with Telkomsel. Still they both have questionable practices, like daily limits. So despite having that 10 GB package per month you will have to buy extra if you want to burn more than 1 GB per day.
Even on Telkomsel though, you will experience data blackouts. This can be annoying when trying to find that cool place or wanting to text your buddies through WhatsApp.
All the restaurants and bars have their own Wi-Fi, but whether it will work is always a lottery. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the most luxury places or local cafes; sometimes it works, other times it just doesn’t. Not much you can do, but rather enjoying in the present moment 😉 Again, make sure to test out your internet connection at the villa you’re staying and agree on an upgrade if necessary.
There are of course places with speedy Wi-Fi. So you need to get some things done and have issues connecting at home, you can go to co-working spaces like District where hi-speed connection is guaranteed with every order you make.
One of the coolest things about Canggu and Bali in general it has many top notch beauty salons. Did you know that one of Paris’ Hilton hair stylist works on Bali? I went down to one of such salons at Glo at it was the best cut and coloring I’ve ever had. The hair bath as they call it, takes out all of your salt out and made my hair super soft again!
When we visited a team of Australian and Indonesian hair stylists not only took perfect care of our hair, but also spoilt us with massages, drinks and kindness.
See my before and after below:
The thing they don’t tell you about Bali is just how bad the traffic is in some places. The narrow roads just cannot handle all the cars and scooter driving in all different directions. I really don’t recommend you renting a car in Canggu or Seminyak since some streets are very narrow putting your car and money at risk. Most of all though, traveling by car even if you are not the one behind the wheel in busy cities like Seminyak or main intersections can be a nightmare. It literally takes twice as much time by car than by bike, so it’s really by far the best mode of transportation.
We rented our first scooter with the help of Bali Villas R Us. If you’re renting out for longer term you can get it really cheap, but do switch on your negotiation skills. We rented out a scooter for 2 months for only 700,000 IDR per month and got a well maintained and powerful (150cc) bike. Be sure to test it out if everything is in order.
Bikes can wear off and have problems, so also make sure the owner will be there to help you. We had flat tire and the owner was right there within minutes with the replacement bike.
We love discovering the island by bike. It takes practice to master riding the bike the locals’ way, which means overtaking at every given chance even if it means using the sidewalk 🙂 Ziga mastered this quite quickly though. Some drivers are reckless so you need to keep an eye on everything that’s going on around at all times which can be quite exhausting. It’s also a good idea face masks since you will be exposed to a lot of pollutants. When in Canggu, set your Google Maps to walking paths to find the short cuts you can drive with your motor bike.
If you do not feel comfortable driving a scooter you can call a ride with Grab or Go-Jek. They’re both super cheap and will save you a lot of time when in the cities.
Nowadays, travelers from 169 countries can receive a free 30 days Visa for Indonesia that can be obtained on arrival. This might be enough for tourists, but if you plan to stay longer you need to take a different option. You might decide to leave Indonesia every 30 days and get the free Visa again, but not sure how the custom officers look at this. On top of this, you’ll end up spending more time and money.
In any case you need to have a return ticket or a one-way ticket outside of Bali within this 30 days’ period. Staying longer than 30 days with the regular visa comes at a price – 30 EUR for each day over the limit.
To stay in Bali (or Indonesia) for 60 days straight go for the Visa-on-Arrival booth. You will need to pay 30 EUR for 30 days Visa which can be extended by another 30 days. The extension is usually done through an agent and it’s really the simplest way. An agent will save you up to 4 trips to the immigration office and waiting time in general. There are many agents out there but I can highly recommend one (comment under post if you’re interested). Everything was smooth, we just had to go to Denpasar once for just 15 minutes to give our finger prints and that was it. The cost was 40 EUR per person, so all together 70 EUR per person for staying in Bali for 2 full months straight.
After 60 days you must leave the country and do the Visa run. Some have had problems with coming back on the same day, so it’s probably best to stay at least 1 night. We had a great 3 nights stay in Singapore which is probably our favourite Asian big city.
There are many businesses in the area that are there to make your stay in the villa even more enjoyable. This means that you can order everything to your villa, be it food, groceries, massages, laundry services etc. Most of these businesses are connected with Go-Jek app, so download it and try it out.
We have had bad experience with laundry services in Thailand and Cambodia. Several clothes were missing and nobody knew much about it. In Canggu we found Family Laundry that picks up your laundry in your villa and returns it the next day. All neatly packed without using too much plastic. Very convenient and cheap.
Canggu breathes surfing and in that regard everything is really laid back. The locals are also in that relaxed mood so time is always flexible. A meeting at 5.00 pm can mean 5.30 pm. It’s not a big deal for some, but just wanted to warn those where it is 🙂
You can also find tons of surfing shops and gear, surfing schools and surfing quotes all over the Canggu area.
Officially both providers they are both operating on the island, but local taxi drivers claim that they are not allowed. You’ll also see signs on the streets with Uber and Grab logos being crossed for the sake of supporting local communities. We’ve had bad experience with taxi drivers on the island, especially in Ubud where drivers did not want to take us somewhere, since it was too far or wanting to charge us extra despite the previously agreed fare.
At the airport you will be bombarded by taxi drivers quoting ridiculous fares to take you the short way to Canggu. Grab is generally 2 times cheaper than regular taxis but they are hard to find, especially in the airport area and around Ubud. It’s easier to take one in Canggu or Seminyak so do that if you can.
There are many expats in the area and it’s easy to make friends and new connections. Just be open minded, start the small talk and get into deeper discussions and learn from each others stories.
Canggu could also be called Little Byron Bay, since there’s such a strong Aussie surfing culture here. One night in a sushi bar the whole place was packed with Australians and together with the Balinese staff we were the only ones not from the land down under. Talk about a great introduction prior our 5 week roadtrip through Australia in August 🙂
One of the advantages of staying in a villa and not in a hotel is having your own kitchen. This means that you can prepare your own healthy meals which can also be cheaper. However, this is strangely not the case in Canggu. There are many different supermarkets in the area, though Pepito / Popular is our favourite. It had everything we needed but it comes at a high price. For fresh local produce it’s better to visit the markets, while packaged foods like almond milk are more expensive than in Europe. We did prepare our own breakfast with fresh coconut, mango, dragon fruit almost everyday though. For lunch and dinner though, Canggu has so many healthy quality options of eating out or ordering in, we saved our cooking skills for some other time.
You might think that everything is much cheaper in Indonesia, but this doesn’t hold true for alcohol. Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world and therefore put in place high taxes on alcohol consumption. It’s easily accessible everywhere you go on Bali, but it’s more expensive than you’d think. A large Bintang, the country’s most renowned lager beer, costs about 2-3 EUR in stores and 3-5 EUR in bars. Considering that the freshly squeezed veg. detox juices are cheaper, we usually went for this healthier alternative 🙂
The Balinese are really nice people which is reflected in your everyday life. The joking of the staff in the supermarket, the friendly greeting if your eyes meet with a stranger on the street or a sincere apology if you bump into each other.
What we have noticed most though is how they are willing to help you. We had a flat tire and the moment Ziga starting pushing the bike, there were 2 people around him explaining the way to the closest mechanic. A security guard stepped up and called our scooter rental company explaining the situation at the same time.
Despite being away from home, you do get the feel that if things go wrong, someone will step up and help you which is a great feeling to have and something I definitely did not have when living for a year in Paris.
Everybody is trying to be nice but this sometimes also means that the locals say yes, even if they don’t completely understand what you’re saying.
We went to a sushi bar and specifically asked if a certain roll was vegan. I also explained what vegan means and the waiter reassured me that she knows the concept. After visiting the place a bunch of times another waiter warned me that this particular roll had mayo in it, so not vegan. I was truly upset. I talked with the manager and she said that the staff does not know what vegan means, several items on their menu are marked vegan tho.
And this is exactly proving my point; there will be situations when they would rather say “OK” or “I understand” then ask for some more questions.
This is the saddest news I’ve heard prior to moving here. We left our doggy Ava back home for this 2 months stay, but for longer term we would need to have her with us! It is not allowed to import or deport any pets to Bali specifically, but people have done it. The easiest way apparently is to take the ferry to Bali from Java where regulations are less strict. I did not go more into that for now though. We were told by a few Australians that they did import their dogs to Australia, but I guess it comes with a certain cost, not that there is s cost to put when it comes to spending time with your dog!
I have always been afraid of bugs so in that sense Bali is definitely not my dream destination. Bali has an amazing ecosystem and the animals are enjoying it even more than we are. The island is also famous for its open bathroom concept which I love, though a bit less at night time. All the buildings we’ve seen are not completely sealed which means that bugs, small spiders and geckos will join you in your living room. They are all harmless and they should be more afraid of you than you are of them 😀
The Balinese are one of the most religious and spiritual people in the world. This is felt throughout the island with countless of large and small temples and many celebrations. The small daily offerings prepared by every household to thank the gods known as the Canang Sari is also at every step.
The Balinese have many ceremonies tied to their families which they take very seriously. If you will find yourself doing business with the locals, you will sooner or later come across people not being in the office due to ceremonies.
That about does it! Have we forgotten anything major? Comment below 😉
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View Comments
Great job and I admire your courage. Would be really useful if you write some actual numbers about living in Bali. For example the cost of renting a villa or average cost for one day for the food. I don't think people can imagine what are these numbers. This would be really helpful.
Thanks Renata :) GReat tip, this is definitely something worth adding. You can get yourself a 1 BR villa from 400 EUR onwards with daily cleaning and private pool. But you shouldn't expect too much in terms of location, facilities, cleanliness etc. In terms of food, it really depends what you're going for. You can get eat in healthy vegan buffet for 2-3 EUR with ok food. For the restaurants we mentioned where everything is mouth-watering though, main dishes are around 4-5 EUR, healthy juices 3-4 EUR, desserts 2-3 EUR. Hope this helps ;)
Thanks for the article. Very useful for someone trying to budget for a long term stay in Bali. Any chance you have some tips on how to find a 1BR villa with small pool around 400 EUR? I only see amazing (and much more expensive obviously) luxury villas online, which would not be suitable for me to stay 2 to 3 months. thanks! Roberta
Hi Roberta! I had a problem renting out villas on the market before I got there - there are lots of FB groups, but really didn't like the options. Cheapest way to go is book a guesthouse for a few days and try to find a villa on site. However I don't think you'll be able to find a Villa with a pool for 400EUR, unless you share it. Hope that helps :)
Loved this article, seriously helpful tips in here! I am considering moving to Bali for all of 2019 starting January. I definitely think Canggu is the right place for me (vs Ubud, Seminyak, Kuta, etc). I was in Bali back in 2016 for a month and loved it, so swore to come back to live for a year! Very excited!!
Great to hear, Karen! Bali's great and Canggu is also the ultimate place for us. Let me know if you have any questions / doubts ;)
This guide is SO HELPFUL!!! I'm moving to Canggu next month and I cannot wait!!!!!
Awesome, happy to hear!! Enjoy :)
hey great read!!
was just wondering where the agent is for that visa run ?
Thanks! Her name is Ami (Exodus company) - +62 361 3 005 262. It's best that you contact him through WA.
Thanks for the tips for the Visa run!!! I just got my VOA and will need to do this :)
Cool, happy to help :)
Fantastic review. We are currently living in Sanur but you’ve convinced us to make the move to Canggu. Would you mind checking Ami’s number for me please? It doesn’t seem to work through text or WA for some reason
Thanks Kim! Oh, you'll love it there ;)
Sure, try this one +62 821 4497 6432 or try email ami@baliexodus.com. Hope this works!
Hi Nika,
Can I have the immigration agent contact please?
Thank you very much!!!!!!
Hi Nika! Thank you for the nice review. I am considering moving to Bali for two months with my one-year-old baby. I like the pictures of your villa, it looks clean and well maintained, which is very important when you have small children. Can you please share how much did the villa cost you per month and what was included/excluded from the price? Thanks a lot!
Hey! The cost really depends on the season and also on the rental period. We were quite flexible and changed villas in between and kind of adapted to the best offer of the agency. This is quite cool, since you get to see different neighborhoods. I think we paid around $50-$70 per night which is awesome considering these are nice villas.