Digital Nomads in Sanur, Bali - Part 2
Hi guys!
We have left Bali at the beginning of June, and we are now in Koh Lanta, Thailand until July 2017, but since we posted our first blog post about Sanur, Bali and month ago, we wanted to share with you even more tips about this amazing place! Don't forget also to check out our Youtube vlog about a typical day in Sanur.
If you haven't read Part 1 of our Sanur Guide for Digital Nomads, then do it now ;) Here, we will share a bit more information that might be interesting for Digital Nomads interested in visiting Sanur one day.
Coworking
As mentioned in part 1 of this guide, we were usually working at Genius Cafe which is right on the beach in Sanur, serves amazing food, hosts cool entrepreneurial events and has an incredibly decent membership cost compared to other coworking spaces around the world. The only catch is that Genius is not 100% a coworking space: It's also just a cafe, so there are tourists eating there during day and night, which sometimes not really helps when you are focusing on work.Other than that, it truly is a great place, and as they are still new, the team at Genius cafe do really make an effort to attract digital nomads and make them feel welcome, which we appreciated a lot.There is also another coworking space in Sanur called Kumpul. However, we have heard that it is not very nice, as it is completely deserted it seems and no one is actually there to greet you. So we wouldn't recommend going there.
Things to do
Sanur was the first real developed touristy area in Bali when tourists first started coming to this magical island. But now, places such as Seminyak, Ubud and Canggu seem to be current hotspots. This makes Sanur nowadays a bit more local and relaxed, while still having a good infrastructure, available accommodations and a great food scene.Sanur is very quiet, and there is a very long beaches that stretches out for about 7 kilometres, so there are plenty of activities to do along the beach, such as windsurfing, paddle boarding, and much more. As Sanur is the coastal area of Bali's capital, Denpasar, it's also very easy to head to the city center and have some fun at a mall or two, such as Level 21, which features a big cinema.There are plenty of things to do in and around Sanur. Here are a couple of suggestions:
Chill at the Sanur beach, of course! Plenty of watersports to do as well along the 7km stretch of beach
Go to a spa and get a massage. Of course, we're in South East Asia!
Go on a (multiple) day trip a visit either Ubud, Uluwatu, Canggu, Nusa Penida or Gili Islands or any other place in Bali. There's a lot to see!
Go to a mall in Denpasar, such as Level 21, and relax at the cinema or do some shopping
Restaurants & Eating Out
There are many options for eating out, and they all range from cheap to super expensive. If you're on a tight budget, then there are plenty of little Indonesian "Warungs" around that serve delicious Indonesian cuisine, such as Warung Teman, which is relatively new, but they have a delicious Nasi Campur (which is a plate with a little bit of everything) for around 14k IDR (around 1 euro).You can also get really amazing coffee for around 1 - 2 euro, in places such as Gecko Coffee or Square One.Here's a full list of places we tried and liked. We wrote a review for some of them in Part 1 of our guide.
Brunch/Breakfast/Coffee
Bread Basket, Breads and breakfast, $, Tip: They have a great coffee frappe!
Square One, Breakfast and coffee, $$
Dusk Blue, Brunch, $$$
Soul in A Bowl, Brunch, $$$, Tip: Eggs Benedict are to die for!
Gecko Coffee, Cafe and breakfast, $, Tip: Coffee is amazing!
Lunch/Dinner
Warung Beach Breeze, Indonesian, $
Warung Teman, Indonesian, $, Tip: Great Nasi Campur for lunch for a very cheap price!
Warung Sanur Segar, Mexican, $
Jalapeno, Mexican, $$, Tip: Nina had some really great Enchiladas here!
Warung Sciue Sciue, Italian, $, Tip: Great pizza for 3 euros!
Massimo, Italian, $$Soul in a Bowl, Western, $$$
The Glass House, Western/Australian, $$
Malaika Secret Moksha, Indonesian/Indian/Vegan, $$, Tip: They have a super delicious Chocolate tart!
Juicy & Crispy, American/BBQ, $, Tip: The baked potato is amazing!
Genius Cafe, Vegetarian/Western/Asian, $$$, Tip: All the dishes are amazing!
Transportation
Sanur is a small place and you can get anywhere quite easily. However, we do recommend renting a scooter, definitely if you live across the Ngurah Rai Bypass (the other side of the big road, away from the beach). A monthly scooter rental is very cheap (around 50 euros a month). There is quite a bit of traffic here, as Sanur is very close to Denpasar, so don't expect it to be like Koh Lanta!Uber and Grab is also available, though in the touristic areas they are terrorised by the 'local taxi maffia' who want the market for themselves. As such, they are sometimes reluctant to pick you up in very touristic areas. This was extremely annoying at times, because whenever you want to visit something touristic, finding a Uber or Grab to go home is a very complicated task, and at times, it took us 1 to 2 hours to find one that was willing to come get us. This is definitely a big problem in Bali. In Sanur itself, it's not so bad, as long as you are not right in the middle of the bars and restaurants. So if we wanted to get picked up we would just go into a smaller alley, and order a Grab or Uber in front of one of the restaurants there.
Accommodation
There is plenty accommodation available in Sanur, though it's all more geared towards short term tourists. However, if you join Facebook groups in Sanur and ask around, you can definitely find something nice around 300 - 600 euros.Andrea also launched a new accommodation platform for Digital Nomads called http://belooga.co/, and we have added two of our Sanur accommodations there. Why don't you check it out ;)
Community for Digital Nomads
As Sanur is not really known to be a digital nomad hotspot, there is not really a community here like in Canggu or Ubud, which are very popular places. However, we are very positive that this will change in the long run. We have heard from other Digital Nomads that they have been to Sanur and actually loved it, as they were seeking for a more quiet and relaxed spot at the beach.
If you're not a surfer, or a party animal, and you love a relaxed vibe, then Sanur is definitely the place to be. if you're into Yoga and you think Ubud is the only place where you can practice Yoga, then you're wrong! Sanur has a lovely Yoga place right next to the Genius coworking cafe, called Power of Now Oasis.
We really loved Sanur and the slightly more local vibe there. We will actually be back in November!
Check our Youtube video below:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiwWjpKK2g4[/embedyt]
