Remote work
Working remotely from a villa in Seminyak
A villa can be a better place to work than a coworking space, and a worse one, depending on five things you can check before you book: a measured internet speed, a quiet room, a proper table, a plan for the power and the internet failing, and the hours the time zone gives you.
Ask for a measured speed, not a word
Listings say “fast Wi-Fi” because it costs nothing to say. A measured speed, from a test run in the room you will actually work in, is the only version of that claim worth anything. Ask for the download and upload figures, and ask whether they were measured at the table or at the router.
If you take video calls all day, upload speed and stability matter more than the headline download number.
A room that closes, and cools
Bali is warm and humid, and many villas are open to the garden. That is lovely at breakfast and awkward on a call. Look for at least one air-conditioned room with a door that closes, so a meeting does not have to compete with the pool, a gardener’s mower or a rooster.
Villa Aniri’s four bedrooms are all air-conditioned, and the open pavilion has a long table in the shade of the Joglo roof for the hours you do not need a door.
A proper table and chair
The thing remote workers regret most is a month at a sofa. Check for a table at the right height, a chair that is not a stool, shade, and enough power sockets in reach. If the listing does not say, ask for a photograph of the place you would sit.
Plan for the day it fails
Power and internet cuts happen in Bali, as they do in most places. Ask what the villa does about it, and keep a mobile data plan as a backup for the day a call cannot wait. Treat this as ordinary preparation rather than a flaw in any one villa.
Time zone
Bali keeps Central Indonesian Time, UTC+8, with no daylight saving. That puts it close to Western Australia, Singapore and China, a few hours ahead of India, and well ahead of Europe and the Americas — where calls tend to land in the evening here. Decide before you book which part of the day will be yours.
Seminyak or Canggu
Canggu is Bali’s best-known base for remote workers, with the densest concentration of cafés and coworking spaces, and it is the busier of the two. Seminyak is calmer and more polished, with restaurants and the beach within a walk of a quiet lane. If you want a scene on the doorstep, Canggu; if you want a quiet base from which a scene is a short ride away, Seminyak.
Visas and the rules
The rules on working from Indonesia depend on your nationality and the visa you hold, and they change. Check them with the Indonesian immigration authorities before you travel; no villa can advise on them.
Questions people ask
Straight answers
What should I check before renting a villa to work from?
A measured internet speed from the room you will work in, an air-conditioned room that closes for calls, a proper table and chair, a plan for power and internet cuts, and how the time zone fits your calls.
Is a villa better than a coworking space?
It depends. A villa gives you quiet, space and a kitchen; a coworking space gives you a desk, a community and meeting rooms. Many people use a villa as a base and a café or coworking space for some days.
What time zone is Bali in?
Central Indonesian Time, UTC+8, with no daylight saving.
Is Seminyak or Canggu better for remote work?
Canggu has more cafés and coworking spaces and is busier; Seminyak is calmer and more polished. The better one is the one that matches the week you want.
Can I stay at Villa Aniri for a month?
Yes. Request your dates and ask for a monthly rate. See the page on working from the villa for the set-up.
Also at Villa Aniri
The next question
Check your dates
Villa Aniri sleeps eight in four bedrooms — sixteen or twenty-four with the houses either side — from IDR 5.399.156 a night, staff and daily housekeeping included. The availability check is live, and a request costs you nothing but three fields.
Keep reading
Related guides
This guide keeps to what we can vouch for: this house, this lane, and things that are simply true of Bali. Where it would need a fact we have not checked — a restaurant’s current form, a price we do not set, a rule that changes — we have left it out rather than guessed, and said who to ask instead. If something here is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will fix it.