The traffic jams on the island are getting to be bad enough that they harm Bali’s reputation, but does this problem occur in Canggu and if so, what can you do minimize the impact of traffic jams on your Canggu holiday?
Our guide will run you through everything you need to know about this problem affecting tourism in the island’s South West.
What’s The Traffic Like In Canggu Right Now?
It depends on the time of day. It’s about a 10 minute drive in clear traffic conditions from the author’s home in Canggu to the author’s office here.
In the middle of rush hour, it can take 30-60 minutes to do the return trip along the very same roads!
Are There Regular Traffic Jams In Canggu?
Yes, the routes around the emerald green rice fields, town’s hotels, restaurants, world’s biggest beach clubs, etc. regularly see traffic jams.
What Causes This Bad Traffic?
There are two main causes of this issue:
Appalling Standards Of Driving
There are almost no local standards of driving whatsoever. While traffic laws exist, in theory, they are usually ignored completely and if you’re unlucky enough to be stopped for bad driving? A small fee to the police officer will see you get off scot free.
This sees scooters on footpaths force pedestrians into the roads, reducing the flow of traffic and making everyone’s life more dangerous.
Accidents are all too common and the only good news is that the relatively slow traffic speeds result in fewer fatalities than they might.
A Tourism-Driven Construction Boom Centred On One Part Of The Island
The Southwest Coast of Bali has seen a huge explosion of development on this Indonesian island and sadly, infrastructure hasn’t kept pace with the development.
Much of the current traffic jams in Canggu are being caused by the expansion of utilities – roads are dug up to lay internet cables, water pipes, electricity cables, etc. but when there are only narrow single lane highways with very few alternative routes, this can make already busy roads impassable.
How Do Deal With Bad Traffic In Canggu
Don’t despair! It’s still worth staying in the Canggu area and you can learn to avoid spending too much time in the traffic on the island by following a few small rules:
Stay Near To The Places That You Most Want To See
One of the great things about economic development for mass tourism is that many of the sights you want to see in Canggu are all very close to each other.
If you stay near to the places you want to see, you can often walk to them or even if you must drive, it won’t take too long to get there.
Take A Long Route Detour
This might sound silly, but you will often find that if you play around in Google Maps, you can find a long way around that takes less time because it’s much less congested.
There are three different major routes between the author’s office and his home and by cleverly alternating between them as necessary, you can often cut the commute time in half even at rush hour.
Think About Hiring A Private Car With A Local Driver
One of the best ways to deal with the inconvenience of the traffic is to let someone else handle it for you. Hiring a private car with a driver is pretty cheap (500,000 IDR a day – that’s $35 USD or $50 AUD and that includes gas/petrol charges).
It won’t keep you out of the traffic but it does mean you won’t be the one handling it.
Cars Vs Motorbikes
Scooters can get around Bali faster than cars. But we don’t recommend that you become motorbike drivers to avoid the traffic.
You are much more likely to have a serious accident on a scooter than in a car.
Ride-Sharing Apps
Grab and Gojek can pick you up almost anywhere on the island and while they can’t make the traffic go away – many of the drivers know the fastest route between A and B and can cut down on the time you spend in traffic.
Local Shuttle Services
FINNS and Grab sponsor a shuttle service in the Berawa Area which is completely free to use and while it won’t cut down the time in traffic, at least, you won’t have to pay to be stuck in traffic.
Food Delivery Services
Food delivery services won’t minimize the impact of traffic on the roads but they do minimize the problem for you.
The food comes to you and the Grab or Gojek driver deals with the traffic.
What Could Solve The Traffic Jams On Canggu In The Long Term?
Tackling congestion in Bali before meaningful public transport exists will almost certainly require some strict and meaningful action from the local government.
And don’t get us started on why we don’t walk most places (See Is Canggu Walkable? and Is Canggu Safe?)
They could carry out any or all of the following measures:
Traffic Policing
A lot of the problems on the roads here are simply due to the terrible driving standards. If there were effective policing and enforcement of the rules of the road – some of the traffic flow would be improved.
The island’s governors are already examining this solution. However, to make it effective the police will have to stop looking the other way when offered a little cash to do so.
Tourist Taxes
Bali is now collecting tourism taxes and this could be used for national strategic projects such as the creation of an eight-lane highway or putting lines underground to reduce Bali’s congestion.
However, as a developing island, there are a lot of demands on this tax revenue in addition to better urban planning.
Driving Schemes (Plates, Alternate Days, Etc.)
Some other countries have introduce number plate lotteries to reduce the overall number of vehicles on the roads.
And others have opted to allow vehicles to only be allowed to drive on certain days of the week.
However, there are two problems with these approaches in Bali. The first is that they all too often make it harder for the poorest people to use their own transport and the second is enforcement which is weak enough with respect to existing laws without adding more.
FAQs
Is Traffic In Canggu Bad?
It can be. If you’re on the road during rush hour, there’s no getting away from the fact that you can spend quite a lot of time in traffic jams.
However, if you’re driving around the Canggu area in the early part of the day then this surf and entertainment hub is usually not very busy at all.
The area’s status as an international tourism destination has brought a lot of people to Bali but the local government has yet to run out a major road improvement project or public transport network to the major tourist towns of the island’s West coast.
Bali’s proposed LRT network broke ground this year, but it appears this Southwest Metro Project is still on the backburner and Bali’s traffic woes are unlikely to be solved by rail any time soon.
Is Canggu Really Busy?
Canggu is one of four major tourist towns in Bali linked to Bali’s traffic-choked capital city, Denpasar. There are often chronic traffic jams at busy times of day and while small local efforts such as the second shortcut in Canggu have seen traffic flow improved marginally, but there’s a lot to do before Bali’s nightmarish traffic is brought under control.
We should note that traffic jams in Canggu are nothing like the horrors on Indonesia’s central island Java and particularly in Jakarta but things can get bad at busy times in Bali. Abandoning taxis to get to the airport on time became an international news item in late 2023 and early 2024 in the busiest period of the year in Bali.
Is Canggu A Party Town?
To some extent, yes. While not all of the Canggu area is for partying, the areas around the two main beaches – Berawa Beach and Batu Bolong Beach are popular party destinations.
Places like FINNS Beach Club are considered some of the best places to party on the island and you can always have a good time in Canggu.
What Time Is Rush Hour In Bali?
Rush hour times can vary a lot depending on the day of the week, whether there’s a local holiday and any roadworks, etc. that contribute to traffic congestion.
Overall, you will find the roads start to get busy around 8 in the morning and stay that way until around 10/10.30, things quieten down before the late afternoon/evening rush hour gets going around 4 p.m. and this can run as late as 8 pm.
And traffic accidents or slow-moving traffic can quickly cause the traffic to back up a long way. There’s no light rail network or even a single dedicated bicycle lane to alleviate this traffic and the Indonesian Transportation Agency has yet to deliver plans to make things better in any meaningful way.
Final Thoughts On Traffic Jams In Canggu
The price of development is nearly always increased traffic flow and the Canggu area has seen incredible development in recent years.
The best way to avoid the frustrations of being caught in traffic regularly, it to stay as close to the things you want to see as possible.
Staying in Canggu means that you will be able to see most of the town and beaches, without spending forever in traffic jams.
If you’re wondering how to cope with the traffic jams here in Canggu, we’d recommend you check out our guide to Canggu Transport.