Bali is one holiday destination that is super easy to become addicted to. As soon as we left the island the Bali Blues hit and we were planning our next trip there already. After all who doesn't want to go to a place where for $50AUD a day you can live like royalty?
1. Hire Ride on Scooters and Ride Around Bali
This we didn’t even think about until towards the end of our trip, once a massive amount of our budget was spent on drivers and taxi’s.
So we decided we would take the plunge and hire some scooters (note you need to get an international license, which only costs $25).
So we ended up getting two scooters, and to be quite frank I was crapping my pants. In a foreign country, a long time since I rode on two wheels and the fact those cars there basically have no rules and definitely don’t listen to red lights.
What could possibly go wrong? Absolutely nothing! We all came out of it scratch free and just took our time with it. Travelling the road less travelling and up and down mountains, forests and right by monkeys and waterfalls. All of which, we could have never experienced in a car.
For us this is the one activity that stuck most with the girls, them having a Bali breeze against them buzzing around a breathtaking country. Madison always sat at the front with either Matt or I and towards the end when we got comfortably Hayley was on the back holding on.
For us this is the one activity that stuck most with the girls, them having a Bali breeze against them buzzing around a breathtaking country. Madison always sat at the front with either Matt or I and towards the end when we got comfortably Hayley was on the back holding on.
Even though my over-protective wrap them in cotton wool self was screaming and dying inside, I decided to let my better judgement take over and enjoy what this beautiful place threw at us.
Every single time I hit a round about or set of lights, I did freak a little bit but never enough to pull over and call it quits. Even the rain didn’t bother us, was a nice cool change from balmy Bali.
2. Sunday’s Beach Club Uluwatu
From the moment of jumping on to the inclinator to get down the sights were breath taking and you saw the clear blue ocean at the bottom. There are a fair few steps and uneven grounds to get down to the beach and beach club, but let me tell you- every step is completely worth it.
We spent the entire day here eating, snorkelling and just general enjoying the beach and surrounds.
While snorkelling I didn’t expect to see too much, but in some parts there’s an undersea world of coral, fish and I was even lucky enough to see a turtle- I wish I took my GoPro on this adventure.
Cost is $30AUD for an adult and $5AUD for a child. But included in this price is a fair bit-
· Full beach club and inclinator access, towel and wifi
· Rp. 150,000 ($15AUD) food and beverage credit
· (valid with purchase of adult day pass only)
· Kayaks, snorkeling equipment and stand up paddle boards
(subject to availability)
3. (Kid Friendly Accommodation) Hard Rock Hotel
If you find a good family friendly resort or hotel, some days you don’t even need to leave. We used Hard Rock Hotel as a respite from the hustle and bustle of Bali.
By far the best accommodation we stayed at our entire trip, we stayed in quite a few. It was not only kid friendly it was also adult friendly and quite a retreat for us.
This is where we experienced our first real Kid’s Club experience.
Dropping the girls off at 9am and picking them up at 6pm knowing they were safe and doing all sorts of activities was a massive piece of mind for us parents. It gave us the opportunity to just relax, have a drink and finally have a laze around not worrying about the little ones. As selfish as it sounds, parents also need time off it’s a holiday for all after all.
But Hard Rock’s pools were awesome and there was even a playground for the girls. Oh and I think I forgot to mention two waterslides from the hotel down to the pools :p Hell Yeah!
In our deal food was included and a drinks card for the bar that turned into a mini live music lounge by night. The food was nothing short of spectacular and the entertainment was great.
We brought the girls down one night for the J.Lo and Pitbull impersonator show and they loved it. They were with the burlesque dancers booging away. Bedtimes were out the window as the kids got the most out of their holiday being apart of all we were apart of.
4. Bali Safari And Marine Park
I am on the fence with this one as I am not a huge fan of Zoo’s knowing what they do to the animals in order for you to be able to handle them and pat them. But I took one for the team with this one.
The girls couldn’t wipe the smile of their eyes and the entire day was a learning experience. You need a whole day to see it all, watch all the shows and pat the animals.
For us we loved being able to pat a tiger cub, who was anything but we had imagined. We imagined a little tiny cute cuddly tiger, but nope. He was HUGE and come parading out like a little puppy.
It is always so hot and humid there, so walking around the whole day we needed to keep hydrated and cool off. So after seeing the majority of the animals on show we decided to take advantage and take a splash in the pools within the zoo.
Waterslides, playground and infinity pool that overlooked rainforest was just bliss and the perfect way to end the day.
5. Monkey Forest – UBUD
All my life I have wanted a pet monkey, for obvious reasons that was never going to happen. So my next best thing was being able to visit them- and of course I had to feed them with banana’s.
We went in March, so there were plenty of little baby monkey’s attached to their Mummies backs as well as walking around solo.
WARNING- Hide/keep hold of all valuable possessions and these cute and cuddly creature CAN and WILL steal anything they can get their hands on- even trying to open your bags. There are locals and workers walking around to help and sometimes if you’re lucky they’ll be able to get your possession back, but generally if the monkey gets it, they are the new owners of in my case… sunscreen haha.
There was a tiny fee to get into this one, but I don’t think we paid anymore then $30 plus $5 for half a dozen banana’s, which the village people who take care of the monkey’s helped us feed them and have them climb on us for photos.
ANOTHER WARNING- Don’t make eye contact with the monkeys EVER as they see this as a defensive thing and will become quickly aggressive.
6. Visit a Temple
The Balinese folk are very religious and there isn’t a day that goes by without being held up for a street parade, or seeing people taking offerings to shrines and statues. The roads even lined with offering baskets containing food, flowers and incense filling the air.
So if you enjoy this I would highly recommend going to a temple and exploring the sacred grounds, of course being considerate of their traditions.
You need a Batik (sarong) and cannot be showing off your skin and body as this is highly offensive to the culture and over exposure of skin is highly frowned upon.
Our two favourites being-
Uluwatu Temple – Set amongst the cliff edge in Uluwatu you walk amongst the forest to where it meet the cliff edge with prayer statues lining the paths. This is also a good one to head to if you want to meet the monkeys as they roam the forest and paths very curious as to what they can steal from you. Yes, they snatch at any opportunity- I had my sunnies stole from on top of my head.
Tanah Lot – A huge tourist temple with busloads of people piling in to see the temple, making photo opportunities hard. But it is very picturesque and there is still plenty to see. We loved watching the waves crash on the side of the temple and the sun reflecting off the puddles left from waves. The only downside to this one is the amount of people that flock here.
7. Waterbom Park
Oh Mahhh Gerrrrd!! Is just about all I can say with this one. As it has become one of the main tourist attractions in Bali it also comes with a price tag, but worth every cent. Everything is cheap, but when the locals get smart and people show up they are able to charge Aussie prices, which can you blame them?
But you walk in the front entrance and all you can see if waterslide and drop tops both near and far. You can hear the distant scream as well as plenty of children enjoying themselves.
We set up camp and meeting point around the main pool and bar as we were with a big group of family and didn’t expect everyone to want and do that same thing. We stuck together for the most of it, but the girls couldn’t go on everything and at some stage the group split up.
While I am on the topic, the rules and restrictions in Bali are very different to Australia and my 7 year old was able to go on the biggest (and scariest) drop ride. She loved it though, me on the other hand is still shaken from this drop.
There’s also an area in here with a massive water playground for the kids and parents alike to splash in, which the girls were all for.
Our family spent the entire day here, only leaving for dinner as we had a restaurant we wanted to visit. But the waterpark has plenty of food stores and coconut refresh sites.
8. Green Bowl Beach Ungasan
I didn’t know if I would include this one here as it is borderline kid friendly, depending how active your family is. For us it was a Google-and-see, and well we were bored so we jumped on our scooters from Nusa Dua and thought we would see what we could find.
Green Bowl Beach is one of Bali’s most secluded beaches, a small 30m coastal strip, located approximately 75 metres down hundreds of steps under a verdant cliff in the village of Ungasan (a 15-kilometre drive from Kuta, and under half an hour from Nusa Dua).
The steep stairs that is the decent to the beach is the only thing that isn’t family friendly as it is very uneven and incredibly steep. The down part wasn’t too bad, but the decent to the top saw the kids and us taking many pits stops, but their little legs even surprised us.
I can assure you though the crystal clear water, uncrowded waves, caves and just the vibe is totally worth it. There is barely a soul at the bottom and well we had when we were down there was a single local and his dog- so we had the entire secluded beach to our self.
Also among the inimitable features at Green Bowl Beach are two large limestone caves that enclose small rock shrines, which provide shade and shelter for beach goers.
9. Pirate’s Bay Nusa Dua
This was a time filler as we had a relaxing day and were feeling like a bite to eat so wondered where we could go that would be fun for the kids.
Overlooking the ocean of Nusa Dua almost like a Pirate got lost at bay and created a series of tree houses around, this is a perfect place to take the kids to eat and play.
We let the girls choose where they wanted to set up for the day and they (of course) picked the main pirate ship right by the bar (Mum and Dad weren’t complaining). So up we climbed two narrow ladders until we reached the top.
The family was even lucky enough to have a little squirrel come down and take a chip from Hayley’s hand from the tree. If you look carefully enough you can see them scurrying around the treetops and tree cubby’s.
There isn’t a playground here, but there are loads of hiding spots for the kids to run around as well as Pirate ships and other bits. We caught one of the young waiter guys playing in the sand and drawing pictures with our little 5yo for at least a good 20mins. I can’t stress enough just how friendly all staff are in Bali.
Up here we ate our very well priced lunch as well as sipping on mocktails, beers and everything else in between. Our grand total bill including tips- $53 AUD!!
10. Bebek Tebasari Resto Ubud
This was a little gem that our driver suggested we go to and gosh are we glad we listened to him. Bebek Tebasari Resto is one that will stick with us forever.
Our family is all about travelling the road less travelled and doing things you couldn’t do in other parts of the world, and this was one of them.
We had dinner here after the Safari Park and on our way to our next hotel, it was sort of on the way to drop our bags off.
The moment you walk in the staff are so sweet and make you feel like you are going to be sitting down at their family table. Travelling to Bali with kid’s one thing I noticed is the locals and ALL waiters’ loveeee kids. They take them to play, braid their hair and just sit and talk with them- it’s incredible.
Anyway back to Bebek Tebasari Resto. The reason why this one stands out from the rest is due to the fact you sit in private Balinese Huts and underneath you and all around you is a pond with huge Koi fish.
For 50c AUD you can buy quite large bags of fish food and feed them while you eat, Madison was game enough to pop her finger in and touch them.
The waiters hover around but don’t invade privacy ready for all your needs. One thing all Balinese appreciate and almost expect are tips, nothing comes for free in Bali- although something like $2 AUD means the world to them and will feed their family. They are super grateful and it warms your heart just how grateful they are- in the end we were always like “keep the change”.
Food here was also not expensive (the most expensive dish being $12 and a Bintang will set you back $3.70) and packed full of flavour with a range of kid friendly dishes as well. We’re lucky with our kids that they are happy to try anything, although Hayley’s favourite was always the local dish Nasi Goreng. If you however have picky children then you can’t go wrong with $5 chips, which were huge.
Been to Bali and have some must see’s and do’s? Were heading back in 2017 so would love to hear and potentially do some new things, so feel free to share!