Oct
I’m rarely an early adopter of things…like NEVER. That in itself is a whole ‘nother post which I’ll save for later. A friend, who often vacationed to Bali, mentioned this place after spending a few weeks holiday here with her family. “You’ll love it,” she said. “Beach every day, amazing villas and cheap food.” I can get used to that, I thought. Should I stay in Canggu? We think so!
When we planned for this trip, our goal was to travel slow, meaning staying in a place for a more extended period, getting to know one area well and you know, living like a local. Being that we had never heard of the place, armed with the positive review from my friend and looking up photos on Instagram (as you do), we decided on living in Canggu for three weeks.
Okay, I’ll admit, the first time I came to the beach here, I was disappointed by all the tourist stuff. And I was a little bored in Bali after a while. But after a few days of roaming the streets, eating at different cafes (yes, I said cafes and not warung in Bali) and watching the surf for hours on end I said to Josh, “I get why people don’t want to leave this place.” Here are a few of the reasons why Canggu should be your next holiday destination.
Affordable
At the moment, there are only a handful of hotels in this area (a very large hotel or building is being built along Echo Beach as I write this) so most of the accommodation you’ll find our villas ranging from ultra-luxe to boutique style. This will give you a range of options to choose from, but you can most definitely find a very stylish and spacious villa for a reasonable price.
Food scene
I have never in all my travels in Asia seen a food scene like this. Cafes, restaurants, Thai, Vietnamese, burgers, almost anything you can think of is here in this tiny spot of paradise. Once again, definitely suited to the Western traveller (we’ve met people from Australia, Estonia, France) with many places having that IKEA – Scandi look and feel. But that’s all extra because the food is delicious and wait for it…they have proper coffee. Yes, proper European style espresso and milk coffee. Shout out to my coffee snobs, your welcome.
Beach TV
I could watch this show for hours, critiquing and admiring the varying levels of surfing. Watching the sets come in whilst enjoying a drink from the balcony bar. The restaurants are great places to just waste the day, and most have sun loungers and lounge service (err, what’s the equivalent to pool service when you’re sitting on the beach?) so servers come out and bring you drinks and food. If you’re tired of this channel then do as they do, or as my uncle would say, “Stop watching and grab a board!”
Budget hack
We actually stayed mountain side in an area called Mengwi which was about 10 minutes by scooter into the Canggu area. Not really a big deal if you are well versed on scooter driving in Asia (or you could be like us and learn!) Pricing for villas here ranged from $20-$50 per night, varying in shared facilities and amenities (i.e. pool, kitchen.).