5 best things to do in and around Canggu, Bali
Canggu is a popular destination on the island of Bali, mostly known for its surfing. Besides surfing, there are plenty of other things to do in and around Canggu. As we don’t surf, we’ll tell you about the 5 best things to do in Canggu and the area of Canggu in Bali.
1. Eat eat eat
Canggu is a foodie’s paradise. There are so many cafés and restaurants in the town that serve good (and most importantly) good-looking food. Many of the cafés and restaurants have nice interiors as well, which makes them the perfect spot for your Instagram photos. If you’re vegan, Canggu is heaven for you. They serve vegan options everywhere and many restaurants are completely vegan. Click here to read our where to eat in Canggu guide.
2. Shopping
Canggu has a few very nice boutiques. Most of the shops are located on Jalan Pantai Batu Bolong and its surrounding streets. Our favorite shop in Canggu was Les Basics where we both bought a few T-shirts. They also have an online store, but the prices in the Canggu store are lower.
There’s also a very nice market called Love Anchor where you can buy authentic Balinese souvenirs. This is the perfect place to buy the popular Bali bag. Go here if you want to buy souvenirs for your family. Bargaining is allowed.
We’d absolutely recommend to wander the streets of Canggu to check out what all the stores are offering. You might find something very nice, and best of all: unique!
3. Beach
We stayed close to Echo Beach in Canggu, but we only went there once. It’s a black sand beach and even though many people are fans of black sand beaches, it didn’t look very appealing to us. We didn’t feel like spending a day on the beach anyway, so it wasn’t a problem for us. There were many people surfing and there are a few beach clubs along the beach. However, there weren’t many people sunbathing when we were there, but that might as well be because it was in the middle of the afternoon and very hot. Unfortunately, we never went back to the beach during sunset. The combination of the black sand and a colorful sunset sky might have been very beautiful. As Canggu is so close to the beach, it’s the perfect base for a beach vacation though!
4. Sightseeing in Bali
If you’re based in Canggu for your entire Bali trip, you could also rent a scooter and drive to the beautiful spots on the island. As we already did quite some sightseeing while we were staying in Ubud and Nusa Penida, we didn’t feel like renting a scooter and driving around even more. Instead, we just relaxed during our stay in Canggu. Click here to read our things to do in Ubud post for some sightseeing suggestions in Bali. These places are all reachable from Canggu, but it will take you a bit longer.
5. Island (day) trips from Bali
Bali’s surrounding islands are absolutely worth a visit. It’s possible to get to these islands on a day trip but considering staying a few days on an island is also worth it. If you want to go on a day trip, it’s best to hire a driver who will pick you up from your hotel in Canggu and will drive you around the island once you get there. You can organize these trips at your hotel or at one of the tourist information huts on the street.
We spent a few days on the island of Nusa Penida and we can absolutely recommend going there! Click here to read about the things to do and see in Nusa Penida.
Getting around Canggu and Bali
The easiest and cheapest way to get around Canggu (and Bali in general) is to rent a scooter. At most hotels it’s possible to rent a scooter and otherwise there’s always a place nearby where it’s possible. Your hotel can help you with this. Having a scooter for a few days will give you the freedom to go when you want to. In general, traffic in Bali is very busy and chaotic though, especially in the bigger cities on the southern part of the island. Best time to drive is in the early morning, but this might not always be possible according to your schedule. Make sure to always wear a helmet, as there are lots of accidents in Bali.
If you want to go to multiple places on the same day and don’t want to drive a scooter, an alternative is to hire a driver to drive you around. You can hire a driver through your hotel or at one of the tourist information huts. With a driver you still have the freedom to go wherever and whenever you want, with the added benefit of having a guide with you. Hiring a driver is of course way more expensive as renting a scooter.
You can also go on an organized trip. You’ll lose your freedom as it’s predetermined when and where you’ll go and how long you’ll stay at a certain place. It’s a cheaper option than hiring a driver though, but not as cheap as renting a scooter.
It’s also possible to get taxis to drive you around the island. In most places there are plenty of taxis driving around, or you’ll find many huts that will offer you private taxi services. We always prefer ordering a taxi on our phones through an app. Grab operates in South East Asia and is known as an equivalent of Uber. We’ve used Grab in other places in South East Asia, but in Bali it seemed to be a bit problematic. There are areas on the island, such as Ubud, where Grab drivers aren’t allowed to come. We tried to use Grab once and the driver wouldn’t accept payment by credit card even though it was an option in the app. Moreover, he didn’t want to drive us for the amount indicated in the app, we had to pay him more. We decided to cancel it as we didn’t completely trust the situation. We never used Grab again in Bali.
One of Indonesia’s main taxi services, Blue Bird Taxi, has an app similar to Grab and Uber: My Blue Bird. We got a taxi through the Blue Bird Taxi app once and it worked perfectly. It was possible to pay by credit card through the app. We would recommend this app over Grab as Grab seemed a bit shady in Bali and there are quite a few “Grab bans” on the island. It’s not very useful if you have to go to a place where your Grab driver can’t drop you off.
Have you been to Canggu? Let us know in the comments below!
Be sure to check out more of our visual experiences on Instagram!
More Indonesia
Where to eat in Ubud, Bali: Reviewing 10 places to eat in Ubud
Things to do in Ubud, Bali: Most Instagrammable places in and around Ubud
Best things to do in Nusa Penida - Including the most Instagrammable places in Nusa Penida
Where to eat in Canggu, Bali: 8 Instagrammable places to eat in Canggu