Canggu Bali: home to fantastic brunch spots, die-hard surfers, the most colorful sunsets, and a whole lot of fruit bowl smoothies, I recently had the amazing opportunity to spend 6 days in this small, beach village.

Canggu is a small community, so much that I would often run into people that I met days before! Instead of the neighboring glitzy, resort-filled town of Seminyak, Canggu offers a quiet, more peaceful way of life.

This is a place you’d want to visit if your idea of a vacation is filled with relaxing by the pool, watching the sunset at Echo Beach and the popular Batu Bolong Beach while drinking out of a coconut and motor scooting around town.

Canggu is casual, laidback but with a consistent nightlife, and its a great way to avoid the party hubs of Kuta and Seminyak. What’s great about Canngu is that it isn’t completely overrun with tourists yet, so be sure to visit before word gets around!

If you’re a more active, adventurer, I recommend staying in Canggu for 3-4 days, as there isn’t too much to do besides surfing and eating all the delectable food. If you’re a big surfer, you’ll meet tons of expats that moved here and live in the town for the surfing and brunch spots. Welcome to Canggu!

Here’s a list of my favorite things I experienced in Canggu 🙂

Best Place to Stay in Canggu, Bali

Airbnb Accommodation: The Spare Room

Past the giant, double wooden doors is Wonderland, in all its wonder and magic. The Spare Room was one of the best places on Airbnb.com I’ve stayed in. Decorated with simple touches of  Alice in Wonderland, you’ll find colorful teacups and saucers hanging on strings, a hidden mushroom and flamingo near the clear, blue pool, and even a small wooden sign in the garden saying “shhh…fairies live here.”

Butterflies were fluttering everywhere in the garden, and it truly felt like heaven. 🙂 The staff was so sweet, planning my transportation and giving me everything I could have asked for, even engaging in a wonderful conversation about Balinese culture and Hinduism.  Fluffy towels are provided and the little touches of decor in the rooms were so adorable, I wish I could’ve stayed longer! If you’re in Canggu, check them out on Airbnb!

You will find tons of different accommodations in Canggu Bali – private villas are popular and plentiful (and cheap!). Homestays run by the locals are common and everywhere. 

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Favorite Brunch Spots in Canggu, Bali

Cafe Avocado

Vegans flock here. You’ll find loads of health food, yummy fruit smoothies, salads and raw treats. Cozy and outdoors on Jalan (street) Batu Bolong, you can’t miss it!

Cafe Organic

Oh man…my favorite place of all. Cafe Organic IS a chain of a few here in Bali, but once you eat their food, you understand why. They put love into their food, and you can tell by the presentation.

A huge menu of smoothies, toasts, sandwiches, brunch foods, and yummy treats, the food is amazing, and it’s air-conditioned indoors which allowed me to spend lots of time slowly eating and reading. They also have a cute wooden outdoor patio with a swing!

Cafe Veda

Quiet, quaint and in between several Balinese-style houses, you’ll find paradise. You can sit on the wooden floors on mats and cushions, or do as I did and sit next to a relaxing fountain and pond filled with Koi fish. Their toasts and salads are amazing, and I wanted to people watch and stare up at the flowering trees and plants all morning.

Green Ginger Noodle House

A quiet, little boho cafe on the fast-changing strip in Canggu. Past the rice fields, you’ll discover a little street filled with elegant shops, small cafes and the village resort of Desa Seni. Tucked away is a little sign saying “Noodle House.”

After biking past it, I immediately turned around and found Thai food heaven. Everything on the menu is vegetarian and completely authentic Asian food – my first time trying! Fresh and tasty and flavorful dishes from all across Asia, you’ll also find flowering plants, Asian art, and eccentric pieces of mix-and-matched furniture.

Try This!

Be sure to try the Pad Thai and Corn Fritters! They also have shots of organic wheatgrass and Jaman to boost the immune system. 

Crate Cafe

Popular among expats, Crate Cafe is a super cool and chill place to hang out and people watch. I enjoyed sitting outdoors on their wooden table looking out at all the motor scooter-ists passing back and forth. A big Australian influence here with lots of avocado toasts and, of course, smoothies, coconuts, and acai bowls (A Bali favorite).

Top Canggu Experiences

The Chillhouse

I totally fell in love with the Chillhouse. Finding out about this surf and bike retreat through Instagram, I put it high on my list of things to see in Canggu, and I am so glad I did.

Not only are their big, blue pools and lounge areas relaxing, quiet, and perfect for peaceful lounging, but they also have an outdoor, straw-covered yoga and meditation studio, a massage room, a healing room to relax above the palm trees, and a co-working space.

The Chillhouse is a lively hub of activity for bloggers and travelers on the go. They offer daily tours, bike tours, surfing lessons, yoga classes, and massage sessions, and there are tons of comfy areas to chill and get comfortable. I spent two days swimming in the pools, practicing yoga in the studio and blogging in the co-working space.

It’s the perfect place to relax and write, and I recommend every blogger to come visit and try it out!

Only $3.50 (50,000 rupiah) to enjoy the retreat for the day. You can also stay and rent one of their quaint, little villas and bungalows and it includes dinner and breakfast with the price.

Quiet and tucked away, you’ll never want to leave. I did not happen to stay at the Chillhouse, as it was a bit too expensive for my budget, but if you like to splurge on accommodation (I personally like to splurge on food more), definitely stay here.

All-you-can-eat dinner and breakfast is also included with your stay, and the food is GOOD. Although I didn’t rent a bungalow here, the nice kitchen staff offered me dinner while I was editing on my laptop! #Score

Bike Riding Along the Rice Fields

So peaceful, green and heavenly – however DO NOT bike along Raya Canggu: it’s a busy highway filled with cars and zooming motor scooters on a dirt-paved two way road.

There are no signs, no light signals, no rules. It’s every man for himself out there. I had no idea there was a back way, and I ended up dangerously biking along the congested traffic for 20 minutes before arriving to Raya Pantai Berawa.

I later found out that there was a quiet side street that goes through town – which is where the rice fields were. 

 

Desa Seni

Desa Seni comprises classic wooden Balinese homes that have been transformed into a beautiful resort with pools, renowned yoga classes, gardens and a restaurant. If you’ve got money to spend, stay here! I just did a little tour of the grounds. The man accompanying me wouldn’t let me be stroll around or snap a quick photo.

Sunset-Watching on The Lawn

Just a bike ride along Echo Beach, you’ll find the tucked away Lawn – a snazzy grassy area on the beach overlooking the horizon. You can order smoothies, drinks, and yummy food while sitting on straw mats and cushions – definitely a favorite memory of my time here.

If you’re planning on visiting Bali, make sure not to leave Canggu off your list of places to experience.

I fell in love with the relaxing, local vibe here. There are plenty of things to do and it’s a perfect place to visit when the hustle and bustle of other nearby towns of Bali get to be too overwhelming. I’m so glad I got to spend 6 days in beautiful, quaint Canggu, Cali.

A few images from my photo diaries from Canggu, Bali

All Photographs of Canggu Bali by Helena Woods 

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