We recently returned from our trip to Bali, where we spent 3 nights in Canggu – so I wanted to share (what I think would be) the ideal 3 day itinerary!
The total length of our Bali trip was technically only 12 days, so we tried to pack in as much as we could while we were there. Sadly, this only left us with 3 nights (and 2 full days) to enjoy Canggu – where I think we could have used an extra day or two to realistically do everything we wanted.
BUT we still had an amazing time, so I thought I’d share some of what we got up to, plus list it into a 3 day Canggu itinerary so that you can do all the best bits too!
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Where to stay in Canggu, Bali
Canggu is a popular and upcoming tourist destination in Bali, so there is a huge range of different accommodation options for all types of budgets in this area – from hostels and homestays, to airbnbs and luxury hotels.
We booked our trip with the help of our travel agent (Kate from Not Just Travel) who was amazing at finding us great places to stay! She also helped us plan our Japan trip a few years ago too. Below are couple of options though…
Low Budget Stay in Canggu
Dip & Doze Boutique Hostel *(from £10 per night in a shared dorm, or £46 for a private room)
This top-rated hostel is located in the heart of Canggu, and offers private rooms, mixed dorms and female dorms, along with pool, communal kitchen, wifi and more!
Luxury Stay in Canggu
LV8 Resort Hotel *(from £97 per night)
This is where we stayed and we had a great time! Our room was HUGE and the hotel’s pool area and location right on the beach was amazing. For visiting Finn’s Beach club and walking around Canggu it was the perfect spot too.
When is the best time to visit Canggu, Bali?
Bali’s dry season is typically considered being between April and October, but of course you can never guarantee the weather anywhere you go!
Canggu is a town on the south coast of Bali, and is well known for its beaches, nightlife, and surfing, so you’ll probably want to try and visit during dry season if you can! However of course this is Bali’s most popular time of year, so will typically be more expensive to visit.
We visited Canggu at the end of September / start of October and it was beautifully sunny and very hot, over 30 degrees celsius most days!
Day 1 in Canggu
On your first day in Canggu you’ll be arriving at your accommodation, and depending on how far you’ve had to travel, you’re probably going to want to take it fairly easy!
If you don’t fancy walking, the accommodation you’re staying at might be able to help you book a taxi, or you can sign up for the GoJek app which works like Uber to order a taxi on there. Just be aware that the traffic in Canggu is SO busy, so cars take much longer to get to places than Google Maps tells you…
Lunch at Penny Lane
Penny Lane is one of Canggu’s most popular restaurants, and I’m gutted we didn’t have time to go during our stay. BUT I’ve heard great things; the food and the decor look fantastic!
You don’t need to book (walk-ins only), but you can see the menu and learn more on their website.
Balinese Massage at a Day Spa
You can’t come to Bali without indulging in a Balinese massage! Just remember they tend to be very strong, so don’t be shy about asking it to be ‘softer’ 🤣
Koya Spa – This is where we went and it was a really beautiful, minimal space. The massages were great value, although Alex forgot to ask for ‘soft’ and felt a bit battered afterwards 🙈
Jamu Spa – I’ve seen lots of great reviews about Jamu and the offer some great price massages here as well.
Tonic Spa – This is the spa that everyone seems to be talking about over on Instagram and TikTok because the building and decor is so beautiful! Their massages are a little bit more expensive, but I’ve heard it’s great here too.
Dinner at Sushimi Berawa
Sushimi Berawa is right in the heart of Canggu and has some really amazing value sushi plates! Delicious salmon sushi rolls starting from 30k IDR (just under £2 per plate, if you add on taxes).
Cocktails at The Mailroom
Just down the road from Sushimi Berawa you’ll find a fun, hidden speakeasy style cocktail bar – The Mailroom! You have to message them (aka RSVP) to get the key and location which is such a fun idea. Sadly we didn’t have time to try this but it looks so cool!
Day 2 in Canggu
So if we had an extra in Canggu, this would be what it would have looked like! As we were in Bali for (realistically) a very short time, we didn’t have time during our Canggu stay for some of these activities but they were high up on my itinerary list if we had…
Visit Love Anchor Market
This is Bali’s most famous market and runs every day of the week! Love Anchor is inside its own bazaar and features a mix of traditional trinkets and modern, bohemian fashion and jewellery shops.
Early lunch at La Brisa
La Brisa is one of Canggu’s iconic beach clubs, but this one is known for its eco-friendly and chilled out atmosphere rather than its party vibes. We didn’t get to visit here but I’ve seen amazing reviews of the food (especially seafood!) here.
An afternoon at Waterbom Waterpark
This might seem like a cheesy thing to do while you’re in Bali, but everyone I’ve spoken to who has been here said it was great fun! It’s sad that we didn’t have time but I hope you mange to squeeze this in :)
Book Waterbom tickets online via a website like Klook* for around ~£25 per person.
Dinner at Milano
You may be thinking – why would I eat Italian food when I’m in Bali? But honestly, Bali seems to have some of the tastiest Italian food for some reason! Milano serves some delicious Italian dishes, plus the perfect woodfired pizzas for all your cheesy cravings.
Day 3 in Canggu
For your final day in Canggu, you may as well fit in all the fun activities!
Brunch at Milk & Madu
This was our fave breakfast spot in Bali and we ended up eating here a couple of times as they have a few restaurants in different areas of the island. Milk & Madu serves some incredible all day breakfasts & brunches, as well as other dishes too, but we generally loved the laidback Aussie vibe in here.
Surf Lesson
Due to being low on time and the size of the swell while we were in Canggu, we actually didn’t end up surfing here (Alex surfed during our stay in Uluwatu instead!), BUT if the timings work out for you, there are plenty of places to catch a surf lesson here.
Try this top-rated surfing lesson at Old Man’s beach in Canggu via Klook*!
An Afternoon & Evening at Finn’s Beach Club
Finn’s is well known as being one of the world’s top beach clubs, so we couldn’t NOT book a day here when we were staying just next door at the LV8 resort.
Honestly this was SO much fun! We booked 2 x Single VIP beds direct online about 2 weeks before visiting (they sell out quite quickly for weekends especially!) and had the best time.
When you book online, you pay for your bed and this becomes your ‘minimum spend’ for the night – meaning any drinks or food you ‘buy’ during your time there go towards this amount.
We paid 1.5 million IDR (roughly ~£80GBP) per person for arriving before 2pm on Saturday at the end of September, and even being there all day until around 9.30pm ordering plenty of food & drink, we only went over our minimum spend by a few £! This is realistically less than we’d typically spend on a night out in England and wayyy more fun.
The VIP sunbeds also meant you get your own exclusive entrance, welcome mimosa, free flow water all day, face towel, wifi, complementary tea, coffee & refreshments and more! The food was delicious and the service was great too… can’t recommend it enough!
I did a full review video on my TikTok here too if you want to see more:
@thecornishlife Prawn tempura sushi rolls 4 lyf ✌🏼🍱 #finns #finnsbeachclub #finnsbali #canggu #canggubali #balibeachclub @FINNS Beach Club ♬ Praise You – Fatboy Slim
Tips for visiting Canggu, Bali
Need a local SIM card? Visit Telkomsel in Canggu
If it’s your first time in Bali, you’ll probably want to buy a pre-paid local SIM card on your phone so you can use local data throughout your stay. This is much faster and cheaper than using your UK data roaming!
We visited this Telkomsel stand in Canggu and the lady was great! It took a while to get the SIM card set up but she was really helpful and it worked great throughout our stay.
I bought a 25GB SIM for around £14 but I only ended up using less than 10GB for the 12 days we were in Bali (with using it lots every day!), so just bear that in mind.
Walking around is hard work but doable!
The traffic in Canggu is INSANE. It was definitely the worst we saw in all areas of Bali, and apparently this is because of how busy and touristy it’s getting here in this town which doesn’t really have the infrastructure.
It therefore does take ages to drive anywhere, so you may be tempted to walk instead. But just be warned that walking around Canggu is hard work, because there aren’t really any proper pavements, and where there are pavements, the scooters just drive over them anyway! So just watch your back when you’re walking…
Be careful of tides and waves on the beach!
I didn’t realise that – much like Cornwall – Bali’s beaches are tidal, which means there is less beach at high tide than there is at low tide. This makes sense as to why surfing is such a big deal here… so excuse my stupid brain!
One evening we thought we’d try and walk back to our hotel along the beach but thank GOD we didn’t because just as we got to the edge of the beach, we saw how high the tide was (nearly at the edge of the beach), and this HUGE wave came and nearly swept two women out to sea. It was actually really scary, so PLEASE be careful walking home – especially at night – along the beach. Yikes!
Get bottled water (+ anything else you need!) delivered with GoJek
If you download the GoJek app, you’ll see it is essentially like Bali’s answer to Uber and Uber Eats, and you can pretty much order anything on there – from restaurant takeaway and taxis, to all your supermarket needs.
This is GREAT for ordering large bottles of water so you don’t have to pay lots for small bottles at your hotel. Just remember to tip the drivers in cash as generously as you’re able to, as they don’t get paid a huge amount per journey!
So that’s my perfect 3 day Canggu itinerary! Will you be adding this to your Bali bucket list?
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