Just north of Kuta is an unspoiled village and beach called Canggu. If you quickly want to get away from the noisy life on Kuta to a nice beach nearby this may be the place. The beach is known for it’s good surfing conditions, but the waves can be large and the currents strong, so in order to take a bath here you should be a good swimmer.
This close to the large tourist spots on Bali it a is remarkably laidback and undeveloped place, there are only a few hotels here. The surfers usually gather around a warung at the beach, where they can exchange their experiences.
Because of the low degree of development most of the population still makes a living of agriculture and fishing, and a traditional life with religious ceremonies is still maintained. You can still see a cremation ceremony in front of the hotels, this never happens on Kuta or Sanur anymore. This is not the place for heavy nightlife, but to get away and relax for a few days it can be a good alternative.
On low water it is a nice walk from here to Kuta that may take about 1.5 hours (16 km). To the north you can walk to Seseh and all the way to Tanah Lot, which is about 35 km and maybe best done by car in this heat. If you like to find Canggu on your own you turn west at Krobokan and south at Kayutulang.