Many people who visit Bali choose to visit Canggu that’s because the area is super popular for its beach clubs, surf lessons, hotels with private pool options, some of the best restaurants on the island and of course, access to the rice fields.
But how do you get around if you’re staying in Canggu? What if you want to get from Echo Beach to Batu Bolong Beach or Berawa Beach?
Our guide to transport in this area will ensure you can get from your yoga class to your surf lesson to the smoothie bowls in your personal favourite restaurant with the least hassle possible.
Your 10 Transportation Options In Canggu
There are ten options for transport in Canggu, Bali but we confess, they’re not all created equally and some are much better than others for getting around.
We don’t pull any punches in our run down below and we try to make it very clear when a method of transport has more risks than rewards in Canggu.
Walking
Canggu Bali is not famous for its walkability and while you can easily walk down to Batu Bolong Beach or Berawa Beach for a surf lesson from a nearby hotel.
If you intend to go much further afield, you may find that the pavements/sidewalks are broken, impeded, etc. and that you’re forced to walk in the road which is also broken and potentially impeded with traffic that obeys no rules of the road.
Worse, at rush hour, if you’re on the pavements, you may find that you’re sharing them with hundreds of scooter drivers bearing down on you to use them as a shortcut to avoid the congestion.
The author of this piece does walk a lot in Canggu. It’s not impossible, but it is challenging and at rush hour it can be almost impossible. (See Is Canggu Walkable for more details).
Cycling
The only place we’d go cycling in Canggu, Bali is in the rice fields. These are super picturesque and it’s nice to capture a shot of yourself by some shady shack in the paddies.
However, we’d never go cycling on the roads here and we never see cyclists on the roads, either.
That’s because the roads are horribly maintained, there are no cycle paths and you have absolutely no right of way in the traffic chaos of Bali’s streets.
We regularly see deep holes (not pot holes, more like mini-sink holes) in Balinese roads too. If you were to turn a corner and run into one of these a serious injury is the likely outcome.
If you want to cycle, we’d recommend heading out into the countryside or up a mountain to do it.
Public Shuttle Bus
FINNS Beach Club have teamed up with Grab to offer the first shuttle bus service in Canggu, Bali.
This bus is completely free to ride and stops at a dozen destinations in the Berawa Beach area.
The shuttles are very distinctive and run every 20 minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
We love these shuttles and our only complaint is that they don’t go to more destinations.
The drivers are very friendly and professional and the shuttles are more than comfortable enough for the few minutes that you will spend on them.
Taxi Services
Taxi services in Canggu, Bali are a bit of a risk. There is only one well-regarded taxi firm on the island – Bluebird Taxis.
While other taxi drivers may try and cheat you, Bluebird does not and their drivers use the meter in their cars and treat customers fairly.,
Unfortunately, the disreputable taxi drivers know this and thus, many have created fake versions of the Bluebird Taxi which look like the Bluebird but aren’t.
If you do want to use a taxi, we recommend that you download the Bluebird app and that you check the car is exactly the right one before you get in.
Grab Or Gojek – The Ride-Sharing Apps
The reason that we don’t recommend taxis is simply that ride-sharing is easier and cheaper and there are far more ride-share drivers in Canggu, Bali than taxis.
If you want to get from Batu Bolong Beach to your yoga class in the rice fields, these services can have a driver to your location within a few minutes.
Grab and Gojek both clearly state the fare in the app and you won’t be expected to pay any hidden charges.
However, if you have to pay in cash, you should carry the exact money – the drivers rarely have any change, so you can end up leaving a hefty tip if you don’t have the exact money.
These services are very safe and they even have an emergency tracking system so that if there’s an unintended stop, their call centre checks in with you to see if you’re OK.
Rent A Scooter
One of the most popular ways to get around Canggu, Bali is to rent a scooter. This is because scooters are cheap and can wind in and out of the traffic.
We don’t recommend using scooters in Bali. That’s because it’s hard to be road-legal (you need a current International Driver’ Permit – IDP – and a current driving license which must have a motorbike endorsement, if it doesn’t, it’s not legal) and if you’re not legal you can’t be ensured.
It’s also because the road surfaces are terrible and the driving here is worse. Even highly experience motorbike drivers find driving in Bali stressful and dangerous.
Canggu, Bali is definitely not a place to learn to pilot a scooter past a shady shack in the rice fields as accidents are horribly common.
And if you’re not insured and get into an accident, you will fin that one thing that is not cheap in Bali is healthcare. We regularly see Go-Fund-Me campaigns for injured scooter drivers that run to $100,000 or more for medical bills. It’s just not worth it.
Rent A Car
You can rent a car if you have an IDP and a current driver’s license to get around Canggu, Bali.
However, while you’re less likely to have a serious accident in a car, the roads are still terrible and local driving standards are dire.
You may also find that the excess on your insurance doesn’t cover all the damages if you get into a scrape.
We’d only recommend driving a car here if you were staying long-term and needed to get to work or your kids to school every day. It’s easier not to drive yourself in Canggu, Bali on holiday and it’s not expensive to use ride-shares or to hire a private driver and car.
Hire A Driver With A Private Car
If you’ve had enough of the two pools at your hotel and are looking to get out of Canggu, Bali for a day or want to go to a lot of different places in the town, why not hire a car with a driver?
This costs roughly 500,000 IDR (that’s $35 USD or $50 AUD) for an 8-hour stretch and it includes the driver, the car, and any gas/petrol.
You will be expected to buy the driver lunch (this doesn’t need to be where you are eating, you can give them 50,000 IDR and they will be happy to eat nearby).
And any additional hours will cost 100,000 IDR per hour on top.
That means you can rent a car for the day for less money than a short cab ride back home.
And a local driver will know how to handle the roads, the traffic, etc. keeping your stress to a minimum.
Public Buses?
There are some public bus services on the island and some fo them even pass through Canggu, Bali.
Unfortunately, they seem to have been designed by someone who wanted to ensure that no bus ever came near anywhere that a tourist is likely to stay at, visit or want to go to.
Thus, the public buses are essentially invisible and even if you did stumble over them, you probably wouldn’t find them very convenient.
Even if you did want to use them, you will find that paying the fare is not as simple as handing over some cash to a bus driver and being on your way.
You have to buy a card to travel from one place, then top it up with credit in another… and it’s all simply too much work for a visitor on holiday for a week or two.
In fact, we don’t know anyone who uses these buses regularly, not expats, not tourists and not locals.
This is a real shame and we’re hoping that sooner or later, someone with vision will take control of this project and make it more accessible to those who need buses.
GoBoat?
GoBoat is a ferry taxi service that runs from Canggu to Uluwatu. We don’t recommend this service and would strongly encourage you to take a Grab or Gojek and endure the Bali traffic to get between these two towns.
Why? Well, the waters beyond the beach here in Bali can get very choppy indeed and even on this 40-minute ride, it’s possible to end up with extreme seasickness.
But there is something worse than seasickness and that’s when your boat sinks and takes you and your luggage with it.
While nobody’s died on this route, to date, one of the very first shuttle services did sink without a trace and some unlucky group of holidaymakers got to bob around in the ocean wondering how they would replace their passports and possessions if anyone came out to rescue them.
It’s GoBoat’s track record that makes it easy for us to see that boat taxis are never going to be the answer to Bali’s traffic woes. (See our guide to Canggu traffic).
What About The New Light Railway?
People have been talking about the new light railway in Bali for over a decade now, and recently the local government put out a press release about “breaking ground on this project”.
This got a lot of people very excited about being able to zip around the island on a train.
There are, unfortunately, quite a few sticking points regarding this. The first is that the proposed service isn’t intended to go very far, it will span the most popular beach towns and that’s about it.
But the second problem is that “breaking ground” is not the same as “starting construction” and since the ground was broken, no construction has taken place, whatsoever.
We’d be really pleased to see a light railway system, even one with fairly limited scope, but we don’t think it’s going to happen any time soon.
FAQs
Is There Uber In Canggu?
No, there is no Uber in Canggu, exactly. Uber pulled out of the market in Southeast Asia several years ago.
However, when you visit Canggu, Bali you will find that there are two ride-share services that are similar to Uber – Grab and Gojek which you can use by downloading an app onto your phone.
Grab is partially owned by Uber. Uber took a stake in the business as part of a deal to leave the region and Grab also took a stake in Uber.
So, while there’s no Uber service, if you want an Uber-approved service, you can use Grab.
Is Canggu Walkable?
We’ve got a big article on this here. However, if you want to walk around Canggu, Bali then it’s certainly possible to do so.
However, we should note that in the rush hour, walking can be extremely unpleasant and walking from your hotel to your personal favorite cafes, even if they’re relatively close by can be a bit of a nightmare.
You may find that you want to use a Grab or Gojek service if you’re travelling any distance at this time of day.
How Much Is A Taxi From Denpasar To Canggu?
It depends on where you’re travelling from in Denpasar. A cab from the city to Canggu is usually quite cheap and can be as little as 40-50,000 IDR (around $3 USD or $5 AUD).
However, if you’re coming from Denpasar Airport then there tends to be a fairly hefty premium applied to fares and you will find that 150-200,000 IDR is more normal (around $10-£13 USD or $15-20 AUD).
This is still very reasonable compared to taxi fares in the West, mind you, and it won’t be long before you’re passing through the green rice fields, local markets and surf camps, to your hotel when you use Grab or Gojek at the airport.
Final Thoughts On Getting Around When You Visit Canggu
Canggu is quite compact and you can often walk from one place to another. However, you may find that you need Grab and Gojek ride-share apps to get around safely during the rush hour.
The shuttle service in the Berawa Area is very handy, it’s also free to use and can make it easy to get to the best restaurants, bars and beach clubs around Canggu.
For day trips, you may find that it’s best to engage a private car and driver to take you from the beach town and bring you back again. The author is a big fan of this approach as it’s very cost-effective for long-distance travel in Bali.