How Phuket and Bali (Canggu) compare on cost, visas, working hours, weather, internet and safety. Every figure comes from our city guides and tools, checked and dated there.
The short answer
Phuket Pick it for a lower US travel advisory level.
Bali (Canggu) Pick it for more comfortable months.
Everyday costsEven
We can't compare them yet: Bali (Canggu) isn't costed in the budget calculator yet.
The visaEven
Different tests, so they don't line up neatly. Phuket: Destination Thailand Visa (DTV), about $14,890 in savings (THB 500,000). Bali (Canggu): E33G remote worker visa, $5,000 a month.
A London 9 to 5Even
A late finish in both: 15:00 to 23:00 in Phuket, 16:00 to 00:00 in Bali (Canggu).
A New York 9 to 5Even
A night shift in both: 20:00 to 04:00 in Phuket, 21:00 to 05:00 in Bali (Canggu).
WeatherBali (Canggu)
Bali (Canggu) has more comfortable months. Comfortable months on our best-time rule: 1 in Phuket, 8 in Bali (Canggu). No month is comfortable in both.
SafetyPhuket
Phuket. The US State Department puts Thailand at level 1 and Indonesia at level 2.
Side by side
Measure
Phuket
Bali (Canggu)
Country
Thailand
Indonesia
Language
Thai
Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia)
Currency
Thai baht (THB)
Indonesian rupiah (IDR)
Plugs
Type A, B, C and O, 230V. Most sockets take several types
Type C and F, 230V
Time zone
UTC+7 today
UTC+8 today
A month's basics
$592 to $1,470 (£445 to £1,100), with transport missing
Not costed yet
Remote work visa
Destination Thailand Visa (DTV)
E33G remote worker visa
Income needed
About $14,890 in savings (THB 500,000)
$5,000 a month
Without a visa
British and American passports: 30 days, down from 60 on 15 September 2026
British passports: 30-day visa on arrival, extendable once. American: 30-day visa on arrival or e-visa, extendable once
Tax residency
180 days in a calendar year, on foreign income you bring in
More than 183 days in 12 months. Since 9 December 2025 (PER-23/PJ/2025) a stay permit valid for more than 183 days, such as the E33G, can count as intending to stay, so you can be resident with fewer days. No official source confirms a tax exemption
Download speed
—
51 Mbps
Comfortable months
December
April, May, June, July, August, September, October and November
US travel advice
Level 1: normal precautions
Level 2: increased caution
Meetups
None we could confirm
1 regular group still running
Dollars and pounds at today's exchange rate. Download speeds are the typical figure from each guide, which says where it comes from: some are for the city, some for the whole country, so treat a small gap as no gap.
The visas
Phuket
Destination Thailand Visa (DTV)
Income needed
About $14,890 in savings (THB 500,000); in pounds, about £11,190 in savings
How long
Five years, 180 days a visit, extendable once by 180
What it leads to
Nowhere: no residence and no citizenship
Without a visa
British and American passports: 30 days, down from 60 on 15 September 2026
The catch. Since 31 August 2026 you need a criminal record certificate, and you must apply in a country where you are a citizen or permanent resident, so a border run no longer works.
The average high in °C each month, coloured by the rule on our best-time page: green is a high of 20 to 32°C with under 150mm of rain; red is a high of 38°C or more or under 12°C, 250mm of rain or more, or 33°C or more with 150mm of rain or more. Hover over a month for its rain.
Phuket isn't affected by any area advised against. The UK advises against all but essential travel to the far southern provinces and within 20km of the Cambodian border, none of them near Phuket.
The US level is for the whole country, as the State Department sets it, and some countries have stricter advice for particular regions.
Who each one suits
From each city guide, word for word.
Phuket
It suits
Someone with the savings for the DTV who wants a beach, a gym or Muay Thai camp and a real coworking desk, and who will ride a scooter legally with an international driving permit. Living inland in Kathu or Chalong, at THB 13,000 to 25,000 for a furnished one-bed, makes it workable on a modest budget. It suits a winter base best: December to March is dry.
It doesn't suit
Anyone who won't ride a scooter. No monthly pass found; TAT mentions day passes but gives no price. The Smart Bus costs THB 50 to 170 a ride, and in May 2026 a foreign embassy warned of 'zero tolerance' in Phuket: unlicensed drivers to be prosecuted 'without exception', and visas may be revoked in serious cases. Anyone who wants the beach on a budget: one-beds in Kata, Karon and Bang Tao ask THB 25,000 to 65,000. Anyone here for the sea from May to October, when it rains on 16 to 19 days a month and red flags fly. Anyone who needs a ready-made nomad scene: we could not find one meetup with a 2026 date. And since 15 September 2026 you cannot come visa-free for two months to try it. It is 30 days now.
Remote employees of foreign companies earning USD 60,000 a year or more, who can get the E33G remote worker visa and want a big community of other remote workers. People who ride a scooter confidently and hold the licence for it, and who want surf, rice fields and yoga around a working week.
It doesn't suit
Anyone planning to freelance for Indonesian clients, sell anything locally, or make paid content on a tourist visa: immigration is patrolling Canggu, uses face recognition on social media, and deports. Anyone counting on a tax exemption no official source confirms. Anyone who will not ride but expects a Grab everywhere, because village councils run no-pickup zones in Canggu. And anyone who hates traffic: 622 people died on Bali's roads in 2024, most of them on motorbikes.
