Bali
Bali is known as Perths playground – It is only a 3 hour flight from Perth and the flights are ridiculously cheap ( We just paid $1000 for 5 of us return with baggge). We visit at least once a year with the kids, and have done a few kid free trips also.
We tend to stay at different places each time, but hotels we love for the kids are
Holiday Inn Tuban – Great smaller resort with excellent family rooms, fantastic kids club and staff, pool and is right on the beach. Their restaurant ENVY is our favourite restaurant in Bali.
Novotel Nusa Dua – We booked a 2 bedroom pool villa and it was HUGE ! Amazing resort with great pools, kids club, and rooms. There is a shuttle bus you can catch to the beach and the Bali Collective shops is nearby for shopping and restaurants.
Hard Rock Hotel – Hard Rock hotel is great for the kids – Its not my favourite hotel as I love hotels with a “bali feel” and you don’t get that here. But it has slides and a separate splash area with slides and falling water buckets. Jay was 4 months old and It was a pain carrying the pram down the steps to get to the pool which is another negative if you have a little baby. We had a pool access room which is a pool only these rooms could access, it was great for when Jay who was 4 months old was having his naps as the older kids could still swim. Its in a good location in the main area of Kuta and across from the beach but can be quite noisy and busy.
FOOD – My favourite food in Bali is Nasi Goreng so as long as that’s on the menu I’m happy ! There is such a wide variety of food, our daughter has a severe peanut allergy so we watch the rice dishes etc but shes never had a problem before.
ENVY RESTAURANT HOLIDAY INN – This is our favourite restaurant in Bali. Its in the Holiday Inn, right on the beach in Tuban. There is a big grass area with beanbags for the kids and quite often a small acoustic band which makes for a great atmosphere. The staff are incredible and happy to chase around your toddlers , and the food is to die for.
THE BREEZE SAMAYA – This is a more expensive restaurant in Seminyak where we have been a few times for functions or on our kid free trips. The ambience is great, and the whole setting is beautiful. The food is pricey and in my opinion probably not always worth what you pay but if you want a nice pretty setting for dinner this is where its at.
COCOON SEMINYAK– We went here for my 30th birthday and the restaurant is just gorgeous. The staff again were fantastic, making animals out of napkins and generally trying to keep the kids happy. The food is more pricey than average places in Bali but well worth it. There is also a pool if you wish to have a swim.
BIKU SEMINYAK – Biku is a fantastic little restaurant situated near Potato Head in Seminyak – they offer a beautiful high tea for birthdays also.
HYGIENE & HEALTH – Dengue Fever is a huge worry of mine, as my daughter contracted Ross River virus in New Caledonia and it was awful, she was only 8 and suffered crazy pains and fatigue. Dengue is worse in the sense that if you get it a second time, it can be MUCH worse and in some worst case scenarios , fatal. Hence I am the mosquito spray nazi. My kids arent allowed to leave the room morning or night without Repellant (kids use a aeroguard kids version and we use Bushman with deet), and most times wear patches on the clothes at night. So far we have had plenty of bites but no Dengue Fever (Touch wood). Bali Belly is obviously another concern, my daughter has had it once but not too severely. Hand washing and sanitizer is my best friend in Bali, and also just being careful of what the kids eat. I always give the kids probiotics in Bali to protect their stomachs from any nasties aswell.
SIGHTSEEING – To be honest we have never done a huge amount of sightseeing in Bali, besides the Safari Park. We are off next weekend and will be getting out alot more then so watch this space for updates.
SHOPPING – At markets in Legian, Kuta etc you must barter – and barter hard ! If someone says to me something is 100000 rupiah I generally offer a quarter to third of what they ask. Once you have been enough times you tend to know what things are worth so you’ll know what to barter – but you’ll get a feel of whether you went too low if they don’t give it to you. If you know you can get it somewhere else, walk away and generally you will hear “okay okay miss” and you go back and get it for what you offered. In Legian on Melasti Street / Garlic Lane you will find Kututs shop and a few more which are fixed price – so much easier without the hassle of bartering !
SEMINYAK – Seminyak has some fantastic boutiques and homeware shops , I love wandering around here . They also have great coffee ! They are pricier than what you find at the markets obviously but they are better quality and very unique stores.
SURF SHOPS – My hubby shops up a storm in the surf shops in the main streets of Kuta. They often have sales upstairs and you can pick up things much cheaper than home in Australia, even most of the full price stuff is still cheaper.