How Da Nang 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
Da Nang Pick it for faster internet and 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
Vietnam has no remote work visa, so the choice is about more than income. Da Nang: no remote work visa. 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 Da Nang, 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 Da Nang, 21:00 to 05:00 in Bali (Canggu).
WeatherBali (Canggu)
Bali (Canggu) has more comfortable months. Comfortable months on our best-time rule: 4 in Da Nang, 8 in Bali (Canggu). Both are comfortable in April.
InternetDa Nang
Da Nang is faster. Typical download speed: 307 Mbps in Da Nang, 51 Mbps in Bali (Canggu), from each guide.
SafetyDa Nang
Da Nang. The US State Department puts Vietnam at level 1 and Indonesia at level 2.
Side by side
Measure
Da Nang
Bali (Canggu)
Country
Vietnam
Indonesia
Language
Vietnamese
Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia)
Currency
Vietnamese dong (VND)
Indonesian rupiah (IDR)
Plugs
Type A, B and C, 230V. Most sockets take A and C
Type C and F, 230V
Time zone
UTC+7 today
UTC+8 today
A month's basics
$382 to $800 (£287 to £601)
Not costed yet
Remote work visa
None
E33G remote worker visa
Income needed
No remote work visa
$5,000 a month
Without a visa
British passports: 45 days visa-free, any purpose, until 14 March 2028. The e-visa gives up to 90 days. American: none: you need a visa or the e-visa, up to 90 days. The one exception is 30 days or less on Phu Quoc island
British passports: 30-day visa on arrival, extendable once. American: 30-day visa on arrival or e-visa, extendable once
Tax residency
183 days or more in a calendar year or in the 12 months from arrival, or a rented home on a fixed-term lease
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
307 Mbps
51 Mbps
Comfortable months
January, February, March and April
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
Da Nang
No remote work visa
Without a visa
British passports: 45 days visa-free, any purpose, until 14 March 2028. The e-visa gives up to 90 days. American: none: you need a visa or the e-visa, up to 90 days. The one exception is 30 days or less on Phu Quoc island
The catch. There is no remote work visa. Most people use the e-visa: up to 90 days, single or multiple entry, USD 25 or USD 50, with no income test. No official text says you may work on it, and the UK government says to check which visa or work permit you need, so treat remote work on it as unauthorised. It leads to neither residence nor citizenship. The e-visa ties you to the entry and exit ports you named when applying, and you can't extend it from inside Vietnam without a Vietnamese sponsor. So every 90 days you leave and apply again.
Bali (Canggu)
E33G remote worker visa
Income needed
$5,000 a month; in pounds, about £3,760 a month
How long
One year. How renewals work is disputed, so ask when you apply
Without a visa
British passports: 30-day visa on arrival, extendable once. American: 30-day visa on arrival or e-visa, extendable once
The catch. One Indonesian client breaks it, and since April 2026 immigration has been running patrols across Bali for people working on tourist visas.
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.
The UK advises against travel to no part of Vietnam, and Da Nang isn't singled out. It warns of seasonal flooding in central Vietnam in October and November.
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.
Da Nang
It suits
Remote workers who want a beach city with real desks and fast broadband, on a modest budget: a furnished one-bed in the main areas runs about VND 6 to 14 million a month, and a coworking desk VND 2 to 3.5 million. It suits someone happy on a 90-day e-visa who will leave the country every three months. British passports also get 45 days visa-free for a trial. February to August is the window.
It doesn't suit
Anyone who needs to be legal on paper. There is no remote work visa, no route from the e-visa to residence, and no clear official blessing for working for foreign clients while you are there. Anyone who wants to stay put for a year, because the e-visa makes you leave every 90 days and apply again. Stay 183 days and you become tax resident, with no special regime to soften it. From September to November the city takes 350 to 630mm of rain a month, with typhoons and floods. Americans need a visa before they fly. And if you won't ride in Grab traffic, won't learn a few words of Vietnamese for your landlord, or need a predictable legal status, go somewhere else.
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.
