This study aims to investigate students' and teachers' challenges in learning EFL in a distance learning context for 162 eleventh-grade students and one English teacher in SMK Nusa Dua Toya Anyar Kubu, Karangasem in the academic year of 2020/2021. This study used a mixed-method as the data were collected through questionnaires for the quantitative data and interviews for qualitative data. The quantitative data were analyzed by using SPSS to find the mean score and used TCR guidelines of categorization developed from Sugiyono (2017), while the qualitative data were analyzed according to the steps by Miles and Huberman (1994). The result of students' challenges is found that the challenges related to instructional variables (lack of explanation from teachers and limited opportunity to practice four English basic skills) were categorized as the highest challenges experienced by the students compared to institutional and individual variables. In addition, the result of the teacher's data analysis found that the evaluation and assessment variables are the highest challenges compared to access and motivation variables. Understanding the role of a teacher as the instructor in distance learning is important to improve students' ability and can minimize the students' challenges in distance learning.