bike riding in Bali
| | |

Bali with Kids: 10 Tips For A Fun Bali Family Holiday

This guest post is by Kate from Rolling Along with Kids. Kate and her family have spent a large amount of time in Bali and is an expert on things to do with kids in Bali.

An island full of culture and plenty of activities to do with the kids, Bali is the ultimate family destination. There are so many options when it comes to traveling to Bali with kids like where to stay, what to do and where to eat. It becomes a touch overwhelming but these 10 tips on how to have a fun family holiday to Bali will help you plan a great trip.

Bali with Kids: 10 Tips For A Fun Bali Family Holiday

Choose wisely where you stay

Making the right decision on which area to stay in Bali can mean the difference between you loving Bali or finding it just okay. Seminyak has amazing food and shopping, Sanur is more laid back with a great beach path, Kuta is busy with lots of shops and Ubud is the cultural heart of Bali but with terrible footpaths to walk along with kids. Take your time to research the different areas to make the best choice.

Villa or hotels

There is a wide range of accommodation in Bali with villas and hotels the 2 main options. Villas are fantastic when the kids are younger and you need space for them to have their day sleeps or wake up early in the morning. Pool fences are easy to find in Bali and provide that extra level of protection when traveling with young kids. They also provide great value for money when traveling with other families. Many Bali resorts come with amazing kids facilities including kids clubs, water slides and dedicated kids pools. As the kids become older, resorts can be the best choice and the kids will not want to leave.

Sea Shanty Villa

Hire a nanny

Ok if I’m honest, this is one of the main reasons we keep traveling all the way across Australia from Melbourne to Bali for our family holidays. Our gorgeous Bali nannies have become our dear family friends and are amazing with all our kids especially our son that has autism. Our nannies have been trained in first aid, CPR and can swim. There are a couple of different ways to hire a nanny, through a babysitting agency or through friend’s recommendations of a private nanny that you hire yourself.

Bali Nanny

Visit a waterpark

It gets hot in Bali so it will be hard to get the kids out of the pool. One way to entice them out is a day out to one of the many waterparks in Bali. Our kids insist each time we travel to Bali that we must go to Waterbom Park in Kuta. We have been 5 times now and each time the family loves it. Finns Recreation Club in Canggu also has a great waterpark called Splash that is more compact and easier to keep an eye on the kids. The bonus with this club is the additional activities like a trampoline centre, ten-pin bowling and kids club that means the kids will never get bored especially on a rainy day.

Waterbom water park

Go on a bike ride

I had been reluctant for a few years about going on a bike ride with the kids when they were younger. If I had only known how fun and suited to all ages the bike rides were, I would have gone on our first Bali family trip in 2012. We had such a fun day with UbudCycling.Bike and in typical Balinese style, they were so patient. We had kids ranging in age from 18 months to 8 years and visited a local school, a coffee plantation, Mt Batur, a family compound, a bike ride through the Balinese countryside and finally finished off at a gorgeous Ubud restaurant.

bike riding in Bali

A day out at a beach club

If a day at the beach sounds like fun then you remember you have kids, beach clubs are the way to go in Bali. They have facilities like pools, lounge chairs, delicious food and best of all, cocktails. Sundays Beach Club is one of our all-time favourites as is the famous Ku De Ta in Seminyak. If you are staying in Ubud there is no need to miss the beach club experience. Jungle Fish is a pool, restaurant and bar that welcomes kids and is set amongst the gorgeous trees and rivers of central Bali.

Sundays Beach Club bali

Watch a sunrise and sunset

Something that is free and any family can enjoy is the Bali sunrises and sunsets. Watching a beautiful sunrise over the water is possible from areas like Sanur, Benoa and Nusa Dua. The extra bonus with these areas is the easy to walk along beach paths that means that if the younger kids wake up early, as they do for us, the kids can come along for a walk in the stroller.

Sanur Sunrise Bali

Bali sunsets are amazing anywhere around the island. But along the beach of Kuta, Legian, Seminyak and Canggu they really do leave you mesmerised with such beauty.

Seminyak Sunset

Enjoy a Sunday brunch

There are so many options in Bali to enjoy a decadent Sunday Brunch. I must say the thought of kids and fine china does send chills up my spine! I was so pleased when we visited Prego Restaurant at the Westin Resort Nusa Dua and the sunday brunch was all about the kids! Such yummy food and kids activities including cupcake making, a magician, outside games and finally, a swim in the Westin pool. It was so family friendly that any time something made a noise as it dropped, the staff would clap!

Prego Sunday Brunch

Test out your adventure side

For school aged kids there are plenty of options in Bali to be adventurous. Bali Treetop Adventure Park has a high ropes course in a national park and the 2 main rivers in Bali are perfect for White Water Rafting. Bali Wake Park has a fun inflatable obstacle course, as well as wake boarding, and ATV rides through the countryside are also a great way to see Bali. The companies that run these activities all have a great safety record and the younger kids can get involved too.

Bali Wake Park

Make friends with the locals

Our best experiences in Bali have always come from the simple things. Chatting to the locals, the kids playing on the beach together and making lifelong friends with our drivers. The Balinese always have a big smile and calm attitude to life. They will adore your kids and it will be hard to sit down at a restaurant without the staff playing along with the kids while you eat.

Meeting the locals in Bali

Bio

Kate lives in Victoria, Australia with her husband and 2 kids. Her family travels regularly to Bali and she loves to share all her tips on travel to Bali with kids. You will often find her daydreaming about her next trip. You can follow them on their blog at Rolling Along with Kids, on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.

Similar Posts

  • |

    Walking the Cold Walls of Avila and Enjoying the Sunshine

    From it’s mountainous plateau, Avila, Spain is a sight to behold. With gigantic walls nearly a thousand years old, the city is a veritable fortress of churches and convents. It’s also darn cold in February. Avila was the first stop on our road trip from Madrid to Portugal and the city didn’t disappoint. Check out our take on it and wonder aloud with us what we were doing there in sub zero temperatures just one week after leaving the warm tropical beaches of Mexico.

  • | |

    Best of Playa Del Carmen Restaurants

    Eating out in Playa del Carmen can be expensive. Many of Playa’s restaurants, especially those on Quinta Avenida (Fifth Avenue) cater to the tourist crowd. While some are fantastic, they cater almost exclusively to tourists, and the prices reflect it.

    Since we were in town for a couple of months, we spent some time finding out where the locals go for a taste of the real and affordable Playa del Carmen. This is in no way a complete list of Playa’s restaurants, but they are some of our favorites. Feel free to check any of them the next time you’re down there.

    Best Breakfast: La Cueva Del Chango

    With it’s unique garden style patio, and turtle and poi pond under a concrete canopy fitted with glass bottles to let in the sun, La Cueva Del Chango was by far our favorite breakfast place. The decor definitely makes the place stand out, however the food was delicious and a decent price as well. The kids loved walking around and watching the turtles. Their french toast was Charles’ favorite, but Micki and kids loved their granola concoction.

    Calle 38 North between 5th and 10th

    Best Pizza: Pizza Bella Vita

    When we first arrived and asked people for suggestions on restaurants this place came up more than once. Seems that it was on everyone’s favorite list. After trying it for ourselves it quickly became a regular staple. Only a block from Mamitas Beach, we either stopped here before heading to the beach or on our way back. The pizza melted in your mouth and the calzones were incredibly light and crunchy. The place is run by a young Italian owner and is fairly new. They have some odd topping selections, but after trying most of them out you can’t go…

  • | | |

    Travel Photo: Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong

    Victoria Harbour, in beautiful Hong Kong, is a perfect juxtaposition of old world charm meets rampant 21st century commercialism. There aren’t that many places in the world where a 19th century style Chinese junk boat (the Duk Ling) could sail through a crowded harbour backdropped by giant skyscrapers topped with monomental brand names and yet look so perfectly in it’s element. It’s striking, yet works.

    As beautiful as Victoria Harbour is during the day, at night it really shines with its dazzling A Symphony of Lights where more than 40 of Hong Kong’s skyscrapers light up the night in a music and light show. The show takes place on both sides of the harbour and is a joy to see.

    From the waterfront you can take a ride up The Peak or jump on a ferry and head to…

  • | |

    Cenote Cristalino and The Nibbling Fish

    Contemplating a plunge in Cenote Cristalino, Playa del Carmen? We headed to this gorgeous cenote from our condo in town. It was also our first experience with the local collectivos buses. In all, it was a great day and a wonderful place to laze away the hours.

    To those who haven’t yet been to this area, a cenote (say-NOH-tay) is basically a large (or small) freshwater hole composed primarily of limestone and fossilized coral. They essentially get created when the water level drops and the rooftop caves in revealing a pool of crystal clear water. Because these pools are often connected to extensive underground rivers, they’ve become very popular with cave divers. Some of the deepest can go down for…

  • |

    The Ultimate Guide to Finding A Great Riad in the Marrakech Medina

    Marrakesh’s Medina is everything every guidebook says it is: a vibrant, teeming and wild assault on the eyes, ears and nose. Hustlers, touts, tourists, merchants, mopeds, cars, and even donkeys pulling carts of fresh vegetables somehow make their way along the narrow alleyways, as Moroccan grandmothers totter along seemingly oblivious to the chaos around them.

    It’s this chaos that makes Marrakech’s riads a perfect, calm place to escape. Check out our guide to finding the perfect retreat from the chaotic city streets and souks.

One Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *