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12 BEST THINGS TO DO IN CANGGU – The Ultimate Guide

Canggu is a trendy and laid back beach town in Bali where many expats live. Full of healthy and trendy cafes and restaurants, surf vibes and digital nomads, this small town along the west coast of Bali is perfect to chill for a few days when you’re in Bali. Or when you’re thinking about staying in Bali for a longer term, Canggu might be the best option for you! Especially Digital Nomads  find their way to Canggu with the wide range of co-working places, meet-ups and high standard of living close to the beach. This guide will show you all the best things to do in and around Canggu so you’ll know what to do in Canggu except eating and chilling. 

Book here your Canggu full day customized tour so you can create your own itinerary with things to do in and around Canggu

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General travel must haves for Bali

Before we dive into this blog post, let’s check a few things to make your travels in Bali easy and safe.

Have you thought about how to get around in Bali? A scooter is the easiest way if you’re comfortable driving one yourself.

  • Book your scooter or motorbike here to get around in Bali. This is the most convenient way to arrange your rental motorbike, especially because it gets delivered and picked up for free to your accommodation within Ubud, Canggu, Kuta, Nusa Dua, Denpasar, Seminyak, Uluwatu, Kerobokan, Jimbaran, Sanur. Requirements: 20 years old; international car (B) drivers license for scooters (or moto (A) license for motorcycles); copies of passport and drivers license.

Do you prefer a private driver for the day and the freedom to create your own itinerary?

Did you already book your accommodation? 

Are you insured during your travels?

  • Buy your travel insurance here. Safetywing not only includes coverage for travel delay, lost checked luggage, emergency response, natural disasters and personal liability. But also covers all your medical expenses for hospitalisation.

Canggu weather

Bali has two seasons: dry and wet. Although you can expect mostly warm and humid days throughout the year, the “official” dry season is from May to September. This time of the year offers sunny days and an average temperature of 31 degrees Celsius. Most consider the mid-year period to be the best time to go to Bali. You can expect a good balance between sun, sand and surfing during this time. The wet season is from October to April with occasional downpours and overcast skies. The most windy months are between June and August. We have seen the best sunsets from August until January. This also has to do with the overcast in the other months. 

Learn surfing in Canggu

Canggu is famous for its perfect circumstances to learn surfing. A lot of surf schools are scattered along the Canggu beaches. You will see motorbikes with surfboards attached driving towards one of the beaches to hit the waves all day long. This laid back digital nomad/surfers paradise has three well-known surf spots:

So if you want to learn surfing in Canggu you have to start at Batu Bolong beach. You can book your surf lesson in Canggu here to secure your spot.

For more surf information read our complete guide about Surfing in Canggu.

Surf with Aldo Bali - Promo video

Eat at the best Canggu restaurants

Canggu is a foodie heaven. There are so many healthy restaurants to choose from, you can have mouth-watering meals every day. Or even better, 2 – 3 times a day haha! From Italian, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Vegan, and of course Indonesian, all top class food is available in Canggu. You won’t get disappointed if you visit one of these restaurants! Find in our complete guide the 40 best Canggu restaurants!

Here a short list of our favorite Canggu restaurants:

  • Lusa by Suka Urban looking cafe in Berawa with a wide range of food and some of the best coffee in Canggu
  • Cafe Coach From breakfast, lunch to dinner. All the food here is just incredible with some of the best coffee. Besides being a cafe, Cafe Coach is also a co-working with airco
  • Duatiga. Great coffee, smoothie bowls and burritos
  • Shady Shack for the best vegan lunch or dinner. Even Atiba as a real meat lover has approved this restaurant and think this vegan food tastes great!
  • Ji restaurant for sushi. It’s more expensive than a normal evening in Canggu but really worth it if you want to treat yourself and loved one!
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Explore the rice fields around Canggu

If you want to escape the buzz in Canggu, you can either go to a more quiet beach, or to the rice terraces around Canggu! Explore the area from Jalan Pantai Pererenan to Jalan Raya Seseh for the best ricefield views. When you enter these street names on Google Maps you’ll see where to drive to. These terraces are not as spectacular like Jatiluweh or Tegallalang, but it’s a perfect escape to nature and especially during sunrise and sunset the rice paddies are magical! Even on a clear day you will see the Mount Agung and other mountains appear in the distance! 

Getting there: From Jalan Pantai Pererenan to Jalan Raya Seseh you will have the best ricefield views. But also if you take the shortcut road to Babakan you will drive in between ricefields with amazing views on the mountains on a clear day. 

Entrance fee: Free. 

Best time to go: With sunrise or sunset. During the day it’s too hot and there’s no shade. 

Photo tip: A drone is amazing to have here, you will have a completely different perspective from the rice terraces. We also took our telephoto lens with us one morning, and the result was very interesting. When we zoomed in, the volcano appeared closer in the frame and made it look a lot bigger. Have a look at the picture below!

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Shop at the Canggu markets and boutiques

Batu Bolong, the main road leading through Canggu, is a shopaholics heaven. From hip bikinis and boho chic dresses to board shorts, there is everything you can think of for both genders in this paradise of boutique shops. Also, there are a few weekly organic markets in Canggu where you can buy local fruits and vegetables, baked treats, fresh juices, organic coffees and chocolates. There is also music, clothes and jewellery available. It’s a nice variation to go to on a Sunday morning. All the markets are different in their own kind of way.

A few of the current markets in Canggu are:

  • Samadi organic Sunday market (every Sunday)
  • Love Anchor market (every day)
  • La Brisa Farmers Market (every Sunday)
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Eat at the local Warungs

If you’re traveling on a small budget through Bali or Indonesia, but still want to eat healthy local food, you can eat at the local restaurants called “Warungs”. Besides all the pricey instagrammable cafes in Canggu, there are also lots of great local Warungs where you can eat for under $2. But of course there are also more expensive Warungs with a better quality of meat for example. Below you will find our favorite cheap Warungs in Canggu.

  • Warung Tiga: Put your own meal together or pick a dish from their menu.
  • Warung Gouthe: This warung is a bit more expensive, but they have amazing beef and chicken on a skewer with fresh cut fries and a salad on the side.
  • Warung La Pa Nam: Cheap food for a good price. Especially their curries are good! Around $4 for a decent meal 

Read in this blog post about all the best restaurants in Canggu

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Join a beach clean up

If you want to give back to Bali and nature you can join a beach clean up. Unfortunately, they are needed all over the world as plastic pollution is a really big problem in our ocean nowadays. In rainy season there is a chance you will see the beaches in Canggu covered in trash, mainly plastic. The problem starts at the big companies of course, and the local people who are not educated and don’t realize that plastic is not biodegradable. But we can help, and luckily companies like 4Ocean, TrashHero and the Adventurebag Crew organize weekly cleanups. It is easy, you meet new people, you help Bali to become cleaner and inspire others to do the same. Find all cleanups here. And watch the promotional movie we made for Jackson Groves and the Adventurebag Crew below.

Get a massage at the Canggu Spa’s

Good news! There are some amazing day Spa’s in Canggu offering a wide range of different massages, beauty treatments and nail art. Experiencing a Balinese massage or deep tissue is a must do in Canggu and will have you relaxed for the rest of the day or evening. There is an option in affordable, basis Spa’s in Canggu which are more the traditional Balinese massage salons, or the more fancy, chic, stylish designed Spa’s. The last ones are generally more expensive and provide a complete experience. But if you’re just looking for a great massage with professional therapists, then I personally recommend Lotus. They have strong therapists that know how to treat muscles with problems. For great facials go to Goldust and if you want a bit of everything, then go to AMO Spa. They offer a wide range of treatments, including massages, body scrubs, pedicures, manicures, eyelash extensions, hair care, and facials.

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Have a drink at one of the Canggu beachclubs

The perfect way to spend a Friday & Saturday night is in a bar or beach club. Luckily there is enough choice in Canggu for everyone’s budget and taste. Some of the beach clubs work with a minimum spend if you want to rent a daybed. At others you can just have a drink or order food a la carte. Some of the best beachclubs in Canggu are:

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Visit Pura Tanah Lot temple with sunset

The Tanah Lot temple is a very popular tourist attraction only 10 km west from Canggu. During the day this site can get very busy, so we would recommend because of several reasons to go here with sunset. The view with sunset is breathtaking as the site is facing west where the sun goes down. And when the sun is set, there will start another show. Thousands of bats will fly out of their caves and put on a show you might have never seen before!

Book here your Canggu full day customized tour

As the site is pretty big, you might not know where to go the first time (as we had.. we walked to the wrong side…) When you’ve parked your bike in the car park, you have to go to the right side. There you will see the ‘main’ temple where you will have the best view on the ocean, temple and sunset. Read about the best sunset spots in Bali here!

Getting there: Easily to get there with Google Maps, this famous tourist attraction won’t be hard to reach.

Entrance fee: 60.000 IDR per person and 2.000 IDR per motorbike.

Best time to go: An hour before sunset to have enough time to walk to the spot, explore the site a bit more and get ready to shoot and enjoy the sunset!

Photo tip: When it’s low tide you can see the temple from the beach and get a completely different perspective!

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Stay fit at one of the many gyms

There is a real ‘fit, healthy and mindful lifestyle’ vibe in Canggu. With all it’s amazing healthy cafes, yoga studios and gyms there are plenty of opportunities to stay fit and healthy in Canggu. A day pass for a local gym starts around $3. Be prepared, the local gyms don’t have aircon, only a fan and the windows are open for some fresh air. Some examples are Surya Gym and Victory Gym.

Modern, airconditioned gyms in Canggu are Elite Fit, Body Factory Bali, Wrong Gym and Finns recreation Club in Berawa. 

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Watch the sunset at Pigstone beach

This long stretched black sand beach is a nice and quiet getaway from the busy beaches in Canggu. Only thing is, on this beach it is allowed to drive with motorbikes. So there are some moments where you might see, and hear, motorbikes crossing over the beach. But, the main reason why you’re going to Pigstone beach is to enjoy the beautiful view during sunset under that one palm tree on a small hill. When you’ve parked your scooter and enter the beach, you have to walk to the right side for 10 minutes. There you will see the single palm tree on top of a little hill. Another instagrammable spot in Bali

Getting there: Located 12 km west of Canggu, you will reach this beach in more less a 30 min drive.

Entrance fee: No entrance and parking fee. 

Best time to go: An hour before sunset (or even earlier if you want to escape the crowded Canggu beaches). 

Photo tip: This is a cool spot to have a single palm tree in your frame. It’s minimalistic but beautiful. You can put your camera on a tripod and frame the hill and its palm tree from a lower perspective. Or when you have a drone, you can get another perspective with the palm tree, beach and the sea during sunset. Both examples can be seen below in our pictures.  

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Watch the sunset at Pasut beach

Palm trees & sunsets, isn’t that what we all want during our tropical vacation? Pasut beach is a long black sand beach 25km west of Canggu facing the tip of Java. With a hanging palm tree on the beach and a bunch of palm trees together on a grass-field, this is the perfect spot to just sit back and enjoy the sunset. And of course snap some cliche shots of palm trees with sunset. This local beach is a great place to escape to if you don’t want to sit in between the crowds at the Canggu beaches.

Getting there: An hour drive from Canggu is Pasut beach located. When you enter the beach, you’ll see the hanging palm tree on your right. On the left side you will see a bunch of palm trees which is also a really cool place to just hang out. 

Entrance fee: No entrance, only a parking fee of 2.000 IDR.

Best time to go: Best is to leave Canggu at 4 to have enough time to explore the beach and its surroundings. Colors of the sunset might go wild when the sun disappeared behind the horizon. So don’t leave the beach directly after the sun is gone. When you’re lucky you might see the sky on fire! 

Photo tip: There are at least 3 awesome spots where you can take your sunset pictures. See our pictures below. 

Photospot 1: the hanging palm tree. Climb in the tree and find the right angle to have the palm tree, beach and sea in your frame. You need a wide angle lens here.

Photospot 2: the palm tree forest. Also here you will need a wide angle lens. 

Photospot 3: Reflection near the shore where the waves roll out. If the water pulls back into the sea, you will see that the sky reflects on the sand because its still a bit wet. That is the perfect timing to take a shot and take advantage of the reflections on the sand.   

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Relax at the Canggu beaches and watch the sunset

One of the best things to do on vacation or during traveling, is relaxing on the beach. Canggu has a few beaches which are great for relaxing, surfing and watching the sunset. Canggu is facing West so you’ll have a chance of watching the sunset every day! The beaches on the west coast don’t have white sand like the ones in Uluwatu. However, the beaches in Canggu offer a chilled vibe with a huge surfing culture. The four main beaches in Canggu are:

All are perfect to watch the sunset from. Some beaches are a bit more crowded than others. 

Berawa beach has a laid back vibe with beach bars where you can sit on bean bags, order a Bintang and just chill. It can get busy, but still is a cool place to hang and watch the surfers catch their last waves in the soft sunset light. 

Batu Balong & Echo beach are mostly very busy with sunset. There are lots of beach bars, there’s live music and also bean bags to sit on and drink a Bintang. 

Pererenan Beach is the quietest one of these. There are no beach chairs or bean bags, so it’s the best place to take a stroll or if you want some time for and with yourself (and your loved one). 

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More Bali travel inspiration

We hope you will enjoy your time in Canggu and found some inspiration here on the best things to do in Canggu.
But don’t forget to explore the rest of Bali, because only when you go up north, to Ubud and beyond, you will see the real Bali.
Get your inspiration in our other Bali blog posts to see the best waterfalls, ricefields and authentic places in Bali.

40 best Canggu restaurants

Surfing in Canggu

Best things to do in Bali

Most beautiful waterfalls of Bali

Best sunset spots in Bali

Mount Batur sunrise trekking

Best Instagram spots in Bali

Best sunrise spots in Bali

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