Bali for nomads

From Canggu's cafe scene to Ubud's jungle calm and the cliffs of Uluwatu, Bali remains one of the world's classic nomad bases. The island mixes a huge remote-work community with surf, ceremony, and rice-field views, and in 2026 it also comes with real crowds, rising rents, and a tourist levy at the door.

This guide covers where to live and work, what it actually costs now, the entry rules including the levy, and the visa that lets you stay a full year.

🌱 Travel health insurance for Bali

🎯 At a glance

🇮🇩 Entry requirements for Bali

• Visa on arrival: Most Western nationalities get a 30-day visa on arrival for IDR 500,000 (about €24), extendable once by another 30 days for the same fee, for a maximum of 60 days. You can pay at the airport or, better yet, buy the e-VoA in advance on the official portal evisa.imigrasi.go.id. Apply for the extension at least a week before your first 30 days expire.
• Bali tourist levy: Since February 2024, every foreign visitor pays a one-time levy of IDR 150,000 (about €7) per entry, children included. Pay before you land at the official portal lovebali.baliprov.go.id and save the QR code. Officers spot-check it at major sights like Tanah Lot and Uluwatu. Only use the .go.id site, lookalike .com sites charge double.
• Arrival documents: A passport valid for at least 6 months, a return or onward ticket, and the All Indonesia electronic arrival declaration QR code, filled in online before you fly.

✈️ How to get to Bali

• Plane: Bali's airport is I Gusti Ngurah Rai International (DPS) in Denpasar. Many long-haul routes connect through Jakarta, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, or Doha, and there are direct flights from across Asia and Australia.
• Airport to Canggu: about 19 km, 45 to 75 minutes depending on traffic. A Grab or Gojek ride costs roughly €8 to €12, a fixed-price airport taxi more.
• Airport to Ubud: about 36 km, 1 to 1.5 hours. Expect roughly €15 to €20 by app or negotiated taxi.

💰 How much does it cost to stay in Bali?

🏡 How to find a place

• Airbnb: Fine for the first weeks. Expect roughly €800 to €1,200 per month for an apartment or a private room, depending on the area and season. Prices drop when you book monthly.
• Facebook groups: The classic way to find mid-term villa rooms and apartments. Try BALI LONG TERM Yearly/Monthly Rentals, BALI CHEAP HOUSE RENT, and Bali House Apartment Villa for Rent. Never transfer a deposit before seeing a place or doing a video tour.
• On the ground: The best deals still come from booking a week somewhere central and scooter hunting for "For Rent" signs, especially in Pererenan, Ubud's side streets, and Uluwatu.
• Coliving: Outsite Bali in Pererenan runs one of the strongest nomad communities on the island, walking distance to cafes and the beach. Outsite also has an Ubud location. For something special for a weekend, look at jungle eco stays like Munduk Cabins, Bambu Indah, and Sumberkima Hill.

🚌 Public transport

• Teman Bus (Trans Metro Dewata): Bali's subsidized city bus network connects Denpasar with the surrounding towns for a flat IDR 4,400 (about €0.20) per ride, paid cashless. Useful for errands along its routes, not a substitute for a scooter. Routes and schedules are in the Teman Bus app.
• Gojek and Grab: The ride-hailing apps are how most nomads get around, for both scooter taxis and cars. Usually 30 percent cheaper than metered taxis. Note that some villages restrict app pickups. In those zones, use local drivers.
• Bluebird taxi: The reliable metered taxi company. Insist on the meter for short rides and negotiate a fixed price for long ones.

🏘 Where to stay in Canggu and Pererenan

Canggu is still the center of gravity of Bali's nomad scene: the most coworking spaces, gyms, cafes, and social events on the island, surrounded by surf beaches and the last remaining rice fields. The flip side is real: heavy traffic, construction noise, and rents that climbed sharply in the last year.

• Berawa and Batu Bolong: The busy heart, walkable to everything, priciest.
• Pererenan: One beach further north and the smart pick in 2026. You get Canggu's infrastructure 10 minutes away with a calmer pace, and it's where much of the community quietly moved. Outsite's flagship coliving is here.

🧑🏻‍💻 Where to work from in Canggu

Coworking spaces

• BWork: A big cafe plus coworking space in Berawa. The coworking area is open 24/7, the cafe from 8 am to 9 pm. Hot desk packages from roughly €80 for 50 hours.
• Tropical Nomad: A dedicated 24-hour coworking space near Batu Bolong with call booths, a cafe, and a strong community calendar.
• ZIN@Work: An open-air bamboo coworking, cafe, and hotel in one, with no membership fee for the cafe workspace.

Coffee shops

• ZIN Cafe: A large open-air space in modern tropical design, plugs everywhere and fast internet, different work zones to choose from.
• Milu by Nook: Open-air with high ceilings and rice field views in the heart of Canggu. Few power plugs, so arrive charged.

🏘 Where to stay in Ubud

Ubud is the island's cultural and wellness center, jungle instead of surf. It attracts a slightly older, quieter nomad crowd: yoga studios, ceremony culture, and cafes full of laptops. It is noticeably cheaper than Canggu and cooler at night.

• Penestanan: A walkable artist village above the center, favorite base for longer-staying nomads, home to Outpost.
• Center and Monkey Forest area: Convenient but touristy, better for short stays.
• Side villages (Sayan, Junjungan): Quieter rice field living within a scooter ride of the center.

🧑🏻‍💻 Where to work from in Ubud

Coworking spaces

• Outpost Ubud: The established nomad coworking in Penestanan, open around the clock, with a pool, events, and coliving attached. Memberships from roughly €130 per month.

Coffee shops

• Clear Cafe: A favorite among remote workers, huge, airy, with some of the fastest cafe wifi in town.
• Alchemy: A plant-based cafe close to Outpost with comfortable chairs and proper work spots.

🏘 Where to stay in Uluwatu

The Bukit peninsula in Bali's far south grew from a surf outpost into a real nomad base: cliff-top ocean views, world-class waves, and a quieter, more spread-out life than Canggu. You need a scooter for everything here.

• Uluwatu and Bingin: Close to the famous surf breaks and the cliff cafes.
• Ungasan: More residential, better value villas.

🧑🏻‍💻 Where to work from in Uluwatu

• BWork Uluwatu: The second BWork location brings a proper coworking setup to the Bukit.
• Cafes: The cliff cafes are scenic, but wifi varies. Test before you commit to a call. Many villas come with fiber, which is the more reliable setup here.

🏘 What about Seminyak and Sanur?

• Seminyak: Beach clubs, shopping, and restaurants, more holiday resort than nomad base these days. If you stay, Biliq is a flexible pay-per-minute coworking space with coliving attached.
• Sanur: Calm, flat, and family-friendly on the east coast, with sunrise beaches and a growing quiet community. A good base if Canggu sounds exhausting.

🚊 How to travel around Bali

• Scooter: The default. A decent rental costs around €8 per day or €50 to €70 per month. An international driver's license is legally required, police checks happen, and you must wear a helmet. Check brakes and tires before paying. Tip: choose the bicycle route option on Google Maps for more scenic, less trafficked rides.
• Gojek and Grab: For rides when you don't want to drive. A ride from the airport to Seminyak costs around €4 to €5, to Canggu €8 to €12.
• Private driver: For day trips and sightseeing beyond 5 km or 4 hours, hire a car with driver. A full day costs roughly €30 to €50 depending on route and hours.
• Car rentals: All major companies operate in Bali, day rates from about €20. Traffic drives on the left.

🎖 Must see

• Tanah Lot Temple: The iconic offshore temple silhouette, best at sunset. Bring your tourist levy QR code, this is a spot where it gets checked.
• Mount Batur sunrise trek: The classic pre-dawn hike, breathtaking views and an endorphin rush.
• Nusa Penida: A 30-minute speedboat ride southeast, dramatic cliffs, beaches, and jungle hills. Doable as a day trip, better with a night.
• Garuda Wisnu Kencana: The cultural park around one of the tallest statues in the world, on the way to Uluwatu.
• Waterfalls and lakes: The island's interior hides dozens, ask locals for their current favorite and you won't be disappointed.

💡 Good to know

• Internet: Fixed broadband averages around 30 Mbps nationally, but the nomad hubs punch far above that: fiber connections of 100 Mbps or more are common in villas and coworking spaces in Canggu, Ubud, and Uluwatu, and Starlink has spread as backup. Always ask for a speed test screenshot before booking a long stay.
• SIM card: Telkomsel has the best coverage and speed. Buy at the airport, in local shops, or convenience stores.
• Currency: The Indonesian Rupiah. As of mid 2026, €1 is roughly 20,500 to 20,800 IDR. Count the zeros, and only exchange money at proper offices, never on the street.
• Digital nomad community: Canggu and Pererenan carry the biggest scene, Ubud the wellness-minded one, Uluwatu the surfers. Local Facebook groups and coworking event calendars are the fastest way in.
• Climate: Tropical with two seasons. Dry from April to October, wet from November to March. It's warm year-round.
• Safety: Bali is generally safe. Petty theft exists, so keep bags under the seat on your bike and don't wave your phone around at night. Also worth knowing: Indonesia has stepped up enforcement against foreigners who overstay visas or work illegally, with hundreds of deportations a year. Keep your visa status clean.

🚧 What to avoid

• Street money changers: Use proper exchange offices or ATMs at banks, street changers are a classic scam.
• Tourist scams: Check bills, change, and added fees in heavily touristic areas.
• Late-night valuables: Snatchers are most active after midnight in party zones like Kuta and parts of Canggu.
• Traffic accidents: Scooter accidents are the number one way nomads get hurt in Bali, and most involve no helmet or no experience. Wear the helmet, ride sober, and have insurance that covers scooter riding.
• Mosquito-borne illness: Dengue exists year-round. Use repellent, especially in the wet season. Bali itself is not a malaria risk area, eastern Indonesia is.
• Tap water: Don't drink it. Use bottled or filtered water, and be careful with ice and washed raw food in cheap warungs. Bali Belly is real but usually brief.
• Air quality in the dry season: Generally moderate, worse near heavy traffic. Nothing like the burning-season problems in northern Thailand.

🚴🏻‍♀️ How to stay healthy

Stay active

• Surfing: World-class waves for every level, from Batu Bolong's gentle rollers to Uluwatu's reef breaks. Genki covers surfing, see our article Surfing & Health.
• Yoga: Ubud and Canggu have some of the highest studio densities anywhere.
• Gyms and outdoor life: Serious gyms in Canggu and Berawa, hikes, waterfalls, and diving day trips across the island.

Health risks

• Water quality: Not drinkable from the tap, stick to bottled or filtered.
• Healthcare: Good private clinics and international hospitals exist in the south (BIMC, Siloam). A serious emergency can mean evacuation to Singapore, which is exactly what travel health insurance is for.

🪪 Long stay

• Tourist route: Visa on arrival gives 30 plus 30 days. For longer, the C1 tourist visa gives 60 days, extendable twice for a maximum of about 180 days.
• E33G Remote Worker Visa: Indonesia's digital nomad visa, launched April 2024. It gives you a 1-year stay permit (KITAS) with multiple entry, and family can join. The requirements: an employment contract with a company registered outside Indonesia, an annual foreign income of about €52,500 (officially USD 60,000), a bank statement showing about €1,750 (USD 2,000) for the last 3 months, and a passport valid for 6 months. Important: income from Indonesian sources disqualifies you, and self-employed applicants without an employment contract generally don't qualify. Apply at the official portal evisa.imigrasi.go.id.
• Health insurance: Get travel health insurance that covers the entire stay, such as Genki Traveler, or Genki Native if Bali is part of a longer-term nomad life without a home country system behind you.

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