Here at The Bali Sun, we had hoped to report that major changes are coming into effect to help reduce traffic congestion in Canggu.
We’ve been keeping an eye on updates from the Badung Transportation Agency, which, in early June, suggested that major upgrades were on the cards, but news this week says that plans have already been hampered.
You don’t even have to have visited Bali to be aware that traffic in Canggu is chaotic. Bali’s issues with traffic congestion are longstanding and low-key worsening.
In areas like Badung Regency, which is home to top destinations such as Canggu, Seminyak, and Uluwatu, there are several reasons for this. Firstly, the sheer volume of vehicles on the road; there are 500,000 official residents of Badung Regency, and more than one million registered vehicles.
Then there is the rapid development and commercialization of rural areas, coupled with narrow roads that were never designed to support such huge volumes of traffic.
Speaking to reporters this week, the Head of the Badung Transportation Agency, AA Ngurah Gde Rahmadi, confirmed that his teams and the Badung Police have been discussing traffic engineering plans in Canggu for some time. However, preliminary studies indicate that the available options remain limited.
A new traffic engineering system has just been implemented for a 14-day trial in Uluwatu. Leaders suggested that if the trial on the Bukit was a success, the new system would be implemented permanently, and that a similar system would be rolled out in Canggu.
Unfortunately for both tourists and locals who want to whizz around Canggu with ease, this may still be a long way off.
Rahmadi told reporters, “We’ve discussed possible traffic engineering schemes with the Badung Police. However, conditions on the ground are indeed challenging because the roads in the Canggu area are nearly the same width and are all heavily trafficked.”
He explained how these narrow roads, in particular, make implementing a one-way system or diverting traffic flow very difficult.
The issue is that every alternative route is already congested with vehicles, especially during rush hour and the tourist season. Gridlock upon gridlock upon gridlock.
Rahmadi confirmed to reporters, however, that despite this challenging situation, the Badung Transportation Agency continues to seek solutions.
A number of different options are still being reviewed with stakeholders to find an effective solution without creating new problems on other roads.
He told reporters, “We, along with relevant stakeholders, continue to seek the best solution. Congestion in Canggu cannot be tolerated, as the area is a highly populated tourist hub.”
Rahmadi was clear that managing traffic congestion in Canggu requires collaboration between multiple agencies as well as drivers. He noted how the police play a crucial role in enforcing the law when traffic engineering is implemented.
He concluded by voicing his hopes that the collaborative steps being prepared can produce short-term and long-term solutions to reduce traffic congestion in Canggu.
He shared, “We continue to coordinate with the police, as they are the spearhead of enforcement on the ground. Meanwhile, we at the Transportation Agency are preparing a technical study and supporting the implementation of traffic engineering, which will be mutually agreed upon.”
As the peak travel season kicks off in Bali, here at The Bali Sun, we are already seeing traffic congestion in popular hotspots like Canggu intensify.
Our advice for tourists visiting congestion-prone areas like Canggu, Seminyak, Legian, Uluwatu, and Ubud is to simply leave more than enough time to travel from A to B…and we really mean more time than you think.
A simple 5km journey should only take 10-15 minutes even in moderate traffic, but at peak congestion times, it can take over an hour.
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Sunday 14th of June 2026
They have no idea what to do as it seems inherently impossible to build new major roads in populated parts of Bali.
Existing roads cannot be expanded as Indonesians set up their buildings and businesses basically just 3meter and less from white line. This as building regulations are not up to standard and not enforced.
At this stage only less tourists will have an impact.