If You Ever Go to Bali This Year, Avoid This One Place at All Cost

There are better places to spend your money on, I can assure you that

Last December, I had a group call with some friends in Toronto. One of them didn’t know that I recently moved back to Bali and will be here at least until Summer.

He commented, “Sam showed me the pictures you sent me. I didn’t know Indonesia has those beautiful beaches!”

To then Sam replied, “Why don’t you pack your bag and travel to Bali too? Everything’s so cheap down there!”

I looked at them both and felt bad that I had to break the truth.

Bali has changed — a lot.

Yes, some are still cheap (like, how you can get fresh coconut for $1) but that doesn’t mean everything.

No no, far from it. Especially in Canggu area.

Why Canggu has become the worst place to visit in Bali

I don’t want to burst your bubbles but if Bali is on your bucket list, you’d better avoid Canggu with something that’s more make sense — financially.

Unless you’re a millionaire and not traveling on a budget, then you can skip this entire article.

Traffic jam has gotten worse and worse

Back in 2019 when I started living in Bali, I chose Canggu because of how close it was to the beaches. It took less than 15 driving on a scooter to reach there.

Now? It can take you hours. You won’t make it to see Sunset.

A friend of mine wanted to go to Batu Bolong (one of the beaches in Canggu) last week and it took her 2 hours from Seminyak.

Mind you, Seminyak to Canggu isn’t that far.

But because of the traffic, it’s impossible to get there in just 30 mins. Those days are gone. And I’m talking about getting stuck in traffic on a motorbike here, not cars.

It can take a half day on weekends to get to Canggu if you use the car. I’m not joking.

As I stayed for a couple of days in Canggu before New Year 2022, it pissed me off on how long did I spend just doing errands like grocery shopping.

Sometimes, I already got tired from dealing with the traffic jam after I reached a cafe or a beach that I no longer had the energy to do my walk.

It’s mentally draining and felt like I was living in Jakarta all over again.

The unbelievably expensive price for a place to stay

I met Yassine on Instagram. He’s one of those digital nomads you’ve seen on Social Media.

I knew he was so excited about coming back to Bali but his comment when we met in person shocked me.

“I now paid three times more expensive for the same villa I had a year ago”.

So instead of paying $1000/month for two bedrooms villa, he’s now paying about $3500/month.

It might be more expensive than that in the Canggu area now. It’s extremely hard to find a decent one-bedroom and one-bathroom rent for under $500.

I used to live in such a place where everything was included. Plus, I got a nice pool too!

Now? I had to pay at least $800-$1000/month — for JUST a room.

If you like cooking and not sharing with anyone, it’ll be a little harder to find that offer now in the Canggu.

Aside from the price, you also need to think about how noisy the place is and how close the road is.

I’ve had several experiences where the pictures looked just perfect on Airbnb so I booked it for a month.

Yes, no complaints about the room but it was very very close to the main road. It drove me crazy and it didn’t stop until midnight.

If you’ve been to Asia, you know how crazily loud and annoying the road sounds.

The overrated beach clubs, cafes, co-working spaces, and less quiet places to relax

Everything’s overrated.

People go to the same beach clubs and post the same thing on Insta. It’s like many people just do it for the sake of checking the bucket list, not actually going to the places that make them happy.

I’m so sick of it.

If Kelingking beach in Nusa Penida, the most popular beach in Bali has become this crowded, imagine what coffee shops in Canggu look like now.

I used to enjoy my time in Sari Kitchen a lot back then. I could work for hours there quietly but now, it’s more crowded than ever.

The same goes for the beaches in Canggu. There’s loud music and it’s always packed with people holding a beer in their hands.

Maybe it’s me who has a different purpose while going to the beach. I want to feel peace and listen to the wave — not worrying whether someone would take my wallet or not.

Do you have a better recommendation, you ask? Of course, I do!

There are some areas where traffic is still very much manageable.

Sanur and Nusa Dua can be your go-to options. It’s a lot quiet there and you can actually find some peaceful places to unwind.

If you want to take a bit extreme decision like me, you can move 30 minutes away (by fast boat) to an island. It’s either Nusa Lembongan or Nusa Penida.

They both are close to each other and pretty developed that you can find almost everything there.

The downside is probably there aren’t night clubs or malls. It all depends on what you’re looking for in your travel plans.

If you don’t want to move out from the main Bali island, you can explore more of the Singaraja area or maybe even Candidasa.

I know they have some turquoise beaches in there and some incredible waterfalls.

If you’re thinking why I don’t recommend Ubud, that’s because it’s almost as crowded as Canggu nowadays.

It’s also not practical to just visit Ubud for a day because the traffic jam can be truly mentally exhausting.

So if you want to go to Ubud and visit some spots, I highly recommend staying there for at least a couple of days or a week.

With all that being said, traveling to Bali (or anywhere really) can be smooth if you do your research beforehand.

You don’t want to end up spending money and getting unpleasant experiences. The more we know, the better our journey will be.

At least that’s what we hope in traveling.

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