Bali

Canggu is usually the simplest base for a first time: coworkings, cafés, gyms and events a few minutes away. The trade-off is traffic, scooter noise and construction everywhere. Monthly Airbnb in Canggu.

• Batu Bolong: the centre of it all, lively and noisy. 7,000,000–12,500,000 IDR. Map
• Berawa: newer and more polished, a bit quieter. 9,000,000–14,000,000 IDR. Map · Monthly Airbnb
• Pererenan: rice fields and more calm, a short hop from the action. 6,000,000–10,500,000 IDR. Map · Monthly Airbnb

Ubud sits among jungle and rice fields, with quiet nights, yoga and some of the island’s loveliest walks. Less nightlife, and 1.5–2 hours from the airport. 5,500,000–10,500,000 IDR, less on the outskirts. Monthly Airbnb

Sanur is a coastal town on the east side, with a long beachfront path, light traffic, families and people staying for months. A good option if you don’t ride a scooter. 5,500,000–9,500,000 IDR. Monthly Airbnb

Uluwatu and Bingin have world-class waves and clifftop sunsets, but everything is spread out: without a scooter it doesn’t work, and there are very few coworkings. 6,000,000–12,500,000 IDR. Airbnb Uluwatu · Airbnb Bingin

• Kuta and Legian: package tourism and partying next to the airport. Fine for one night after a late arrival, not as a base to work from.
• Seminyak: shops, restaurants and beach clubs; pricier (9,000,000–17,500,000 IDR) and with less of a nomad community.

• Ask for a speed test screenshot taken from the work desk, and a photo of that desk.
• Ask about construction nearby, roosters or a temple next door: those are the noises that ruin a call.
• A room with air conditioning and a desk beats a pretty pool villa with no table.

With a data eSIM (Holafly or Airalo) you’re online from the moment you land, and you have a plan B when the wifi fails. Coverage is good in Canggu, Ubud, Sanur and Uluwatu; in rice fields, on inland roads and at some southern coves it drops sharply, so test the signal before planning a call on foot.

Villas and apartments aimed at nomads usually have fiber good enough for video calls, but it depends on the street: two neighbouring houses can have very different connections. Ask for a speed test before booking and, if it isn’t good on day one, complain straight away.

• In the rainy season there are one- or two-hour power cuts; no power means no router, so your eSIM and a power bank keep you working.
• Know where the nearest coworking is for deadline days or important calls.
• On Nyepi day, mobile data is switched off across the island for 24 hours.

For several months, a local Telkomsel SIM (the network with the best coverage on the island) makes a good second line, and look for a house that already has fiber installed (Biznet or IndiHome): a new installation can take weeks.

• Outpost: 240,000 IDR a day, 3,100,000 IDR a month, and the same pass works at its Canggu and Ubud sites. One of the most reliable connections on the island, with call booths.
• Tropical Nomad: 2,700,000 IDR a month, rice-field views and weekly events; a good place to meet people.
• BWork: about 35,000 IDR an hour, with packs from 25 hours that suit two or three days a week.
• Kinship Studio: 250,000 IDR a day, 2,000,000 IDR a month, with a design-studio feel.
• SETTER: 300,000 IDR a day, 3,700,000 IDR a month, the most corporate.

• Ubud: Outpost Ubud, at the same prices, and Beluna, 200,000–250,000 IDR a day with a podcast studio for recording without noise.
• Sanur: Livit Hub, a bit cheaper than Canggu.
• Uluwatu: very little on offer; people mostly work from their rental and cafés.

Crate Café in Canggu is huge and always packed: fine for a morning of email, bad for calls. In Ubud, Seniman Coffee Studio is the specialty-coffee reference. Laptops are normal in Canggu and Ubud cafés, but order something every hour or two.

• For dictating and calls, look for booths or semi-open garden areas; silent rooms aren’t for talking.
• Many people use their rental as the main studio and the coworking two or three days a week, to socialise and as plan B when power or wifi fails.
• Dojo Bali (Canggu) and Hubud (Ubud) have closed, even though some lists still include them.

For getting around alone without luggage, an app motorbike taxi (GrabBike or GoRide) is the most practical: cheap, it slips through traffic and the driver hands you a helmet. For the airport, rain, or a laptop and bags, take a car (GrabCar or GoCar). Keep both apps: when one can’t find a driver, the other usually can.

• In some spots (parts of Canggu and central Ubud, beach and beach club entrances) local cooperatives put up “no online taxi” signs. Walk a few minutes out of the zone, or take the local driver and agree the price first.
• Blue Bluebird taxis are metered; there are lookalikes, so check the logo or book in their app.

It’s how almost everyone who lives here gets around, but only if you already ride confidently: an International Driving Permit with the motorcycle category, a helmet, and photos of the scooter when you rent it. If you want to learn, there are lessons such as Canggu Scooter Lessons.

GoBoat links Canggu and Uluwatu in about 35 minutes for 255,000 IDR, and Sanur with Nusa Penida in about 45 minutes, from 250,000 IDR. In high season, book online: boats fill up (The Bali Sun, July 2026).

There are hardly any sidewalks, and the ones that exist have holes and open drains. Walking works in central Ubud, along the Sanur beachfront and on the beach in Canggu; for everything else, use an app.

• From the airport to Sanur, 25–40 minutes; to Canggu, 45–90; to Uluwatu, 45–75; to Ubud, 1.5–2 hours.
• From Canggu to Ubud or Uluwatu, 1–1.5 hours, longer between 16:00 and 19:00.
• If you have a call at a fixed time, leave with double the margin or join from wherever you are.

For temples, waterfalls or rice terraces, the norm is a private driver by the day, booked on WhatsApp or through your host. Agree the hours beforehand and whether fuel and parking are included.

• Campuhan Ridge Walk: about 2 km of paved path along a ridge between two valleys, traffic-free. There’s no shade and it gets busy after 9:00, so go early.
• Kajeng rice fields: a narrow path through the paddies that starts from Jalan Kajeng, right in the centre. Quiet, with patches of weak signal: test it before a call.
• The Tegallalang terraces are beautiful but come with crowds, steps and entry fees: go to see them, not to dictate.

The Sanur beach walk runs for about 5 km of flat, paved coast between Matahari Terbit and Mertasari. It’s one of the best places in Bali to walk and talk; early on you share it with cyclists and runners.

At low tide you can walk along the sand from Batu Bolong to Berawa. Early morning is quiet; at sunset it fills up and the beach clubs’ music kicks in. Canggu’s roads aren’t for strolling.

• There’s little walking in Uluwatu: beaches such as Bingin or Padang Padang have long staircases, and the cliffs have no continuous path.
• At Uluwatu temple and Ubud’s Monkey Forest, monkeys steal glasses, phones and earbuds: put them away before you go in.
• At dawn, rice-field dogs can be territorial: keep your distance and take another path.

• Tight (Sanur, Ubud or Pererenan): a room or studio at 5,500,000–9,500,000 IDR; about 17,000,000–28,000,000 IDR in total. Sanur · Ubud · Pererenan
• Mid-range (Canggu or Uluwatu): a one-bedroom at 7,000,000–12,500,000 IDR; about 20,000,000–32,000,000 IDR in total. Canggu · Uluwatu
• Comfortable (Berawa, Seminyak or a pool villa): rent of 12,000,000–20,000,000 IDR or more; 25,000,000–45,000,000 IDR in total. Berawa · Seminyak

Nomads.com, which uses Airbnb prices, gives higher figures: about 2,000 USD a month in Ubud and 3,300 USD in Canggu (September 2026).

• Staying on Airbnb the whole time instead of negotiating with a local once you arrive.
• Air conditioning: electricity is separate in many rentals, 800,000–1,500,000 IDR a month with AC.
• Brunch, beach clubs and Western cafés, at near-European prices.
• Always taking app cars instead of motorbike taxis or a scooter.
• Using an agency for visa extensions.

The warung is the Balinese family eatery: you point at what you want with your rice (nasi campur) and pay 25,000–50,000 IDR. Balinese dishes to look for: babi guling (spiced roast suckling pig), bebek betutu (duck slow-cooked in spice paste), sate lilit (minced fish skewered on lemongrass) and lawar (a chopped mix of vegetables, coconut and spices, sometimes with meat). Two decades-old classics: Warung Mak Beng in Sanur, for fish soup and fried fish, and Babi Guling Ibu Oka in Ubud.

• Sindhu night market in Sanur: sate, martabak and juice stalls, shared tables and local prices.
• Gianyar night market, half an hour from Ubud: where Balinese people go for babi guling.
• Ubud market: fruit and fresh produce early in the morning, before the souvenir stalls take over.

Canggu and Ubud are full of specialty cafés, bowls and brunch at near-European prices (a coffee, 30,000–50,000 IDR). They’re comfortable for breakfast and a bit of work; the ones under “Where to work” are the best set up for laptops.

Finns Beach Club in Berawa, Single Fin on the Uluwatu cliff and Potato Head in Seminyak are for sunsets, with minimum spends on daybeds and loud music: a good weekend plan, never a place to work.

Pepito stocks local and imported products in Canggu, Ubud and Sanur, and Indomaret and Alfamart minimarts are on every corner for water, snacks, top-ups and electricity tokens. GoFood and GrabFood deliver from almost any restaurant.

• Pay-by-the-kilo laundry: drop it off in the morning, pick it up the next day.
• Water comes in 19-litre jugs (galon): order them through your host or at the neighbourhood water shop.
• Gyms and yoga studios with day passes are easy to find in Canggu, Ubud and Uluwatu.
• Don’t step on the offerings on the ground (canang sari), and ceremonies close streets: take it easy.

• Get the e-VOA on evisa.imigrasi.go.id (500,000 IDR) and fill in All Indonesia within the 72 hours before landing: save both QR codes on your phone.
• Pay the Bali tourist levy (150,000 IDR) on Love Bali; the receipt arrives by email.
• Install and activate your eSIM at home (Holafly or Airalo), ready to switch data on when you land.
• Download Grab and Gojek and add your card in Grab; also WhatsApp and an offline Google Maps area.
• Ask your host for their exact Google Maps pin and WhatsApp number: many villas sit on unnamed lanes.
• No need to bring rupiah: withdraw just enough for day one at a bank ATM in the terminal, 500,000–1,000,000 IDR.

• Immigration: with an e-VOA you go straight to passport control; without one, you first pay for the VOA at the counter (cash or card). They may ask for your onward ticket and your accommodation address.
• Customs: show your All Indonesia QR code.
• Grab or Gojek car: book it once you’re out and walk to the signposted app pickup point; the price is fixed in the app before you confirm.
• Driver booked through your host: waits with a sign bearing your name. The most comfortable choice if you land at night or are heading to Ubud; agree the price on WhatsApp before flying.
• Airport taxi: official counter with fixed fares by zone, usually pricier than the app. Useful if the app can’t find a car.
• Ignore anyone offering “taxi, transport” at the exit, and don’t get into unmarked cars.

Sanur is 25–40 minutes away, Canggu 45–90 and Ubud 1.5–2 hours, depending on traffic.

• Run a speed test at your desk as soon as you arrive; if it’s not good, tell the host that same day.
• Buy water (or order a galon), some food and, if the meter is prepaid, an electricity token at the nearest Indomaret or Alfamart.
• For your first working morning, get a day pass at a nearby coworking while you check the rental’s wifi.
• Get around by GoRide or GrabBike; leave the rental scooter until you know the streets.
• Don’t drink tap water.