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Where to eat, stay and play in Canggu, Bali

From fusion restaurants to traditional Indonesian digs and Bali beachside institutions, here’s where to head when you’re in Canggu.

The cool crowd is hanging out these days at Canggu (pronounced Chang-goo) which, five years ago, was a barren patch of Bali save for its die-hard surfers, romantic rice paddies and the odd warung or two.

Eat

Hotel Tugu

In a breezy bale with the sounds of the ocean outside and Javanese music inside, learn to cook Indonesian food at the Hotel Tugu with chef Ayu. Select three main dishes and one dessert to cook in this two-hour class, which focuses on Javanese and Balinese cuisine, and at the end of class, you can eat your creation for either breakfast, lunch or dinner.

 

Even more fascinating, guests here can also partake in a drink-making class with traditional herbs and spices used for healing and rejuvenation. For drinks of a different kind, partake in sunset cocktails at Tugu’s Ji Terrace by the Sea before retiring to Ji at Bale Sutra restaurant for dinner.

Learn to cook Indonesian food at the Hotel Tugu with chef Ayu

Billy Ho

One of Canggu’s newest kids on the block, Billy Ho is the latest offering from Bali’s celebrity ‘street food’ chef Will Meyrick. This open-plan restaurant features a customised leather wall designed to resemble Sumatran roof shingles on one side and a black-and-white mural by an Indonesian street artist on the other.

 

Dine under a ceiling of black bamboo, grown on a Java farm, and perch under lamps of original fishing baskets on recycled leather seats. Seating 80, the cuisine takes its inspiration from Korea, Japan and Indonesia. If you eat nothing else from this generous menu, try the sensational smoked eggplant. And should you find yourself in neighbouring Seminyak, check out Will’s flagship restaurant Sarong for some fabulous Indian-inspired food.

Billy Ho is the latest offering from Bali’s celebrity ‘street food’ chef Will Meyrick
Cocktails at Billy Ho

The Savage Kitchen

This is a dual personality dining spot with bite.

 

By day, The Savage Kitchen plays on being a ‘wild food concept’ where guests can construct their own plates by selecting from a series of eggs, bread and sides for breakfast, plus more hearty dishes for lunch.

 

By night, the same venue calls itself a ‘refined dining experience’ serving even more substantial dishes such as the 600-gram Black Angus rib eye. Whatever time you arrive, expect organic, locally sourced produce.

Expect organic, locally sourced produce
The brooding bar space

Stay

Hotel Tugu

For a true taste of Indonesia, check into the elegant Hotel Tugu and one of its traditional timber homes on stilts. A spiral staircase leads to your lofty accommodation with wrap-around verandah, wooden floors, four-poster bed and antique furniture.

 

From here you can see and hear the ocean of nearby Canguu Beach or slink into your sunken tin bath. The hotel’s towering lobby snatches centre stage with its five-metre wooden garuda statue, and is ideal for traditional cultural performances.

 

One of Canguu’s enduring accommodation options, it’s been here for 21 years, and offers 21 rooms and two suites, a 313-year-old Chinese temple and is designed to resemble an Indonesian village.

Ametis Villa

Mention Canggu and the word villa comes to mind. Yes, all the cool kids are seeking out a villa experience and the adults-only Ametis Villa is one of the more popular experiences. Stay in a Premiere, Imperial or Grand villa, all with private pools, relax in the Ruby Spa, and dine at the adjacent Billy Ho restaurant. You’ll also have your own private butler to assist with every creature comfort.

Ametis villa is a Canggu must

COMO Uma Canggu

Perched on the edge of Bali’s south coast, the luxury COMO Uma Canggu is a destination in itself, featuring accommodation, dining, wellness and a beach club in one. There are 52 rooms and suites, 55 one- and two-bedroom surfside residents, and 12 three-bedroom penthouses.

 

The COMO Beach Club likens itself to a traditional surf shack with a modern twist, serving dishes fashioned from fresh, regional ingredients, while the Glow Juice Bar is about ‘grab and go’ salads, snacks, smoothies and juices.

 

Embrace wellness at COMO Shambhala Retreat which focuses on Asian-inspired therapies, classic beauty treatments, Pilates, yoga a gym and Bali’s first Jungle Sports Studio.

COMO Uma Canggu is a destination in itself

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Finns Beach Club

Down a rustic road flanked by rice paddies and construction sites that signal Canggu is really on the move, you’ll find one of Bali’s most popular beach clubs. Finns Beach Club, which has just celebrated its third birthday, does not charge an entry fee nor minimum spend, unless you wish to hang out on a daybed or party platform, in which case your fee is 100 per cent redeemable on food and drink. Its iconic infinity pool overlooking the ocean is a drawcard here, but there’s in fact four swimming pools, nine bars and five dining options.

 

The party beds, in the middle of one pool and one of a kind in Bali, house up to 10 people and even include phone charging cables. Finns VIP Beach Club boasts an adults-only pool plus perks such as free water, tea, coffee, face mist, sunscreen, juice, fruits and cold towels. There’s also a rooftop boar, new VIP lounge, spa area and treatment room. Just five minutes away by shuttle, you’ll find Finns Recreation Club with everything from a gym, yoga room, lap pool, sports bar, co-working space and the Splash Waterpark.

Make a splash at Finns

Learn to surf

There are almost as many surf schools in Canggu as there are beach breaks which is just as well, as the waves here are pretty gnarly. Head to Batu Bolong Beach and Nengah Private Surfguiding for the 100 per cent Balinese-owned school by Nengah himself.

 

Boasting over 20 years of surf experience and trained according to the International Surfing Association curriculum and guidelines, all of Nengah’s team were born and raised in Bali, so know a thing or two about the surf conditions here.

Old Man’s

It’s a Bali beach institution and a visit to Canggu wouldn’t be complete with a sticky beak at Old Man’s, which is akin to a beer garden back home. Open from 8am to 1am, you can start with breakfast, sail through to lunch and then glide through to dinner. There are plenty of bands and events on offer here, and every Friday free beer for those who participate in a beach clean-up.

Old Man’s is a Bali beach institution

The writer travelled as a guest of Wonderful Indonesia

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These community homestays are changing how travellers experience Nepal

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    After youth-led protests in 2025, this year Nepal elected a 35-year-old former rapper as Prime Minister. In a country where tourism is its biggest industry, what’s next for travellers? 

    In 1986, Nepal changed its clock. It had used India Standard Time since 1920 so, to differentiate, it wound its clock 15 minutes ahead of, not behind, its big-brother neighbour. Boss move. “Nepal is strongly opposed to the idea that our identity is connected to India,” says Community Homestay Network (CHN) guide Bikal Khanal.  

    Tharu dance
    Tharu dance is traditionally set to hand drums. (Credit: Kate Lewis)

    Today, Nepal is the only independent country with a 45-minute deviation to universal time; an oddity that’s become a symbol of national pride. The quirk is nearly as endearing as Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan airport where carved varnished wood and shiny red bricks rule. One sign points to a ‘Travelator’ and another to a ‘Grievance Handling Desk’ while visas are noisily stamped at customs for US dollars, cash only. When am I?  

    Nepal gray langur
    Spot the endemic Nepal gray langur. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

    The 15 or 45 minute anomaly sees me tap out completely on timezone calculations. Why bend my brain calculating if it’s quarter to or quarter past elsewhere when I’m in the honking here and now of Kathmandu where the air is high-altitude crisp, the prayer flags flutter and the street dogs howl?  

    How tourism is changing in Nepal

    Bardiya National Park
    Bardiya National Park is rich with wildlife. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

    India is not the only association many Nepalis would like to shake. With eight of the world’s 10 tallest mountains, including Mount Everest and Annapurna, Nepal has long attracted mountaineers and trekkers, and expedition numbers are continuing to rise.  

    Tourism is one of the country’s biggest sources of foreign currency, so this growth is not negative, per se. But according to Ang Tshering Lama, who co-founded Phaplu Mountain Bike Club, being reduced to a mere trekking destination is limiting.  

    “Trekking is just one layer of our identity,” says Ang. “When it becomes the dominant narrative, it limits how we’re seen and how we see ourselves.” Nepal’s recent success, however, in diverting trekkers to less-trafficked areas such as Manaslu mofuntain, where visitor numbers rose by 117 per cent last year, offers hope that tourism can diversify even more radically.   

    Local men in Bhada village
    Local men in Bhada village. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

    The founder of CHN, Shiva Dhakal, wants that change. “The whole idea of the Community Homestay Network is to promote experiences outside of trekking,” he says. “Community tourism changes lives and helps kids stay home instead of coming to the city or migrating to the Middle East.”  

    Ang grew up seeing people leave, “not because they wanted to but because there weren’t enough opportunities to stay”, he states. Yet from remote villages to living traditions; food, art, music and emerging subcultures, “there’s so much that’s not being seen.” 

    CHN is opening some of those doors. It doesn’t own, or fund, any homes. Rather, it promotes homestays to travellers on a single, slick platform, while fostering entrepreneurship in places where women, marginalised castes, Indigenous people and the youth stand to benefit the most.  

    A new generation demanding more

    Dalla Town Hall
    Dalla Town Hall, where volunteers discuss anti-poaching tactics. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

    The future prospects of next-gen Nepalis can no longer be ignored. On a Kathmandu tour with 33-year-old guide Monica K.C, we pass buildings torched in the September 2025 ‘Gen Z protests’, including the Supreme Court and Parliament House. Seventy-two people died. “They were anti-corruption protests,” says Monica. “Politicians’ children are living a lavish life but the airports are crowded with youngsters leaving to find work.”  

    We stop in ‘little Tibet’ at the wondrous sixth-century Boudha Stupa. “The wheel of life is Buddhism in a nutshell,” says Monica. “Things such as hate, ignorance and anger keep you rotating around the wheel, so you must follow the principles of Buddhism to detach. If you can’t, there’s no nirvana for you.”  

    Boudha Stupa's prayer wheels
    Boudha Stupa’s prayer wheels are used to recite Buddhist prayers. (Credit: Kate Lewis)

    In a sun-drenched twist to the usual temple visit, we ascend the stupa’s sloping plinth and roam its whitewashed dome. Tendrils of diaphanous prayer flags stream from a steeple-like structure where the Buddha’s unblinking eyes stare out. No nirvana for you… 

    bouda stupa prayer flags
    Tibetan-style prayer flags embellish the whitewashed dome of Bouda Stupa, a Buddhist temple. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

    The dome is delightfully free of guard rails or chiding from security. There is, however, a stern ‘No TikTok’ sign, perhaps in response to the youth’s newly flexed power. The booted-out Prime Minister, K.P. Sharma Oli, was replaced in a resounding election victory in March by 35-year-old Balendra Shah of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) – a former rapper and mayor of Kathmandu. The RSP’s manifesto indicates tourism is a priority, and that Nepal’s cultural identity in areas such as gastronomy will be strengthened.  

    Boudha Stupa vendors
    Vibrant souvenir shops and cafes around Boudha Stupa. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

    A more confronting stop awaits at Pashupatinath Temple. Today is Bala Chaturdashi, a Hindu festival where thousands of devotees gather to honour their dead ancestors. Vendors hauling foam mattresses do a lucrative trade as people set up for a night of vigil. This includes burning the bodies of recently deceased relatives on bamboo pyres in the Bagmati River, which flows into the sacred Ganges.  

    A woman at annual Hindu festival Bala Chaturdashi
    A woman at annual Hindu festival Bala Chaturdashi, in Kathmandu. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

    Wrapped in a shroud, the bodies are positioned with their heads facing north to the Himalayas where Lord Shiva resides. They’re covered with flowers and straw and set alight by male family members.  

    Hours later, the ashes are swept into the river where devotees will take a holy dip the next day. As much as Monica assures us it’s not voyeuristic to watch, I struggle to do so. “Here you see the reality of life because everyone ends up there,” she says, gesturing to the river.  

    Life unfiltered in the Terai region

    tharu woman
    Tharu woman and master weaver Parbati Chaudhary in Bhada Village. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

    The reality of life needs processing time, which the western Terai region delivers in spades. The Terai is largely separated from India by the Karnali River and Bardiya National Park, where elephants, rhinos and the elusive Bengal tiger roam.  

    Once a nomadic tribe, the Indigenous Tharu people are now the largest ethnic group here. “They didn’t know their daily life was interesting for international travellers but they’re starting to understand now,” says CHN founder Shiva.  

    safari through Bardiya National Park
    Take a Jeep safari through Bardiya National Park. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

    We fly Buddha Air to Dhangadhi airport and drive five hours to stay in Tharu homes. The journey to Bhada village is a blur of roadside fruit stalls, traffic-stopping sacred cows and fields sown with wheat, rice, mustard, spinach, cauliflower and potatoes. Nepal’s agriculture feeds only Nepal.  

    Marigolds
    Marigolds are an important part of Hindu rituals. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

    “The only thing we export is young people,” says our guide Bikal. As the light dims and we plunge evermore rural, mysterious mounds of compacted hay – some house-sized – loom like the creatures from Where The Wild Things Are. Even our trusty driver gets flummoxed by a dirt road that abruptly ends and we find ourselves hurtling across a paddock.  

    On arrival, some are ferried to mud-walled cottages greened by gourd creepers, with thatched roofs and rustic-chic mosquito nets. Myself and two others are ushered to the home of corner store owner, mechanic and mushroom farmer Man Kumar Chilaruwa and his wife Rajkumari.  

    community homestay entrance
    A warm welcome at a community homestay. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

    They escort us to a bunker-esque back building with steel doors and a folding security gate, behind which is gleaming linoleum, dolphin-printed tiles and a shower cavity that must be gingerly stepped through to reach the toilet.  

    The ceiling lights emit a rainbow of colours (the bathroom light gets stuck in, frankly, a quite frightening red). We’re nevertheless touched that our hosts invested in all this bling when the average salary is around $275 a month.  

    In the coming days, we participate in Tharu traditions such as making moonshine, dancing, weaving straw handicrafts and gold-panning. We’re fed well with staples of rice, mustard greens, lentil pancakes, daal, curried chicken and tomato chutney served on antibacterial saal leaves.  

    food at community homestay
    Dig in. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

    Sonara community homestay president Indradevi Tharu tells us river snails are often served, and the boiled and pickled flesh of rats hunted in the rice fields. “Perhaps next time?” we say and all have a laugh.  

    The power of community homestays 

    community homestay owners in Nepal
    Barda community homestay owners Parbati Chaudhary and Ram Krishni Devi Chaudhary. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

    Immersing Western visitors in foreign cultural practices is not new. But with the Tharu, I never get that uneasy sensation that I’m being performed for. Despite being the only tourists, there’s no ‘othering’; just warm, composed and ultra-dignified welcomes. Like we’ve always been here.  

    “I love to have travellers in my village so I can see the world,” says local woman Parbati Chaudhary. “Why would I travel the world when the world comes to me?” 

    The graceful acceptance the Tharu offer, as well as the slow pace, works miracles on my frazzled nervous system. One day I even take a nap on a vacant homestay bed. 

    Sonara community room
    An authentic stay in the Sonara community. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

    Roosters strut and goats bray as we sit on the ground in al fresco kitchens, rolling rice flour into cylinders steamed to make dhikri (dumplings). When water is needed, we fetch it using a hand-operated pump as a family of ducks strolls by, side-eying us like curious neighbours.  

    Animal lovers will delight in Tharu villages. Kind and resourceful inventions are everywhere, such as snacking stations where two posts lean together, with leafy boughs dangling on rope for baby goats to forage from.  

    CHN’s CEO, Aayusha Prasain, nods knowingly when one in our group says she cried when she left her host, Shayam Chaudhary, in Bhada. Shayam’s 17-year-old son, Prashant, had translated, which deepened the connection.  

    “Community tourism turns travel into a relationship, not a transaction,” says Aayusha. “It places decision-making power in the hands of local communities, especially women and youth.” Since 2018, CHN has hosted more than 4000 travellers from 52 countries in 408 households, and estimates women’s participation has increased by 381 per cent.  

    Elephant watch
    Elephant watch. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

    In the Bardiya community, where vexing human-animal conflict has been a balancing act for decades due to elephants raiding crops, long-time homestay operator Salik Ram Chaudhary says young people keep the older ones on their toes.  

    Gathering greens
    Gathering greens. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

    “We can’t keep homestays stagnant,” he says. “We have to upgrade our service and redefine our product or young people won’t see it as an attractive business. If we can keep evolving with this travelling trend we’re confident the youths will stay and continue it.” 

    Back in Kathmandu, Monica explains that after the deaths of young protestors in September, a determination had spread to not let their sacrifice be in vain. “We want to keep holding the government accountable,” she says. “We don’t know what situation we’re facing, but we’re ready to face it.”  

    Interested in Nepal but prefer to experience it in total comfort? Read our guide to luxury travel in Nepal. 

    Where to eat, stay and play in Canggu, Bali - International Traveller