The Essential Guide to Family Travel in Bali

This family of four are no strangers to travelling internationally together and seeing the world. With little ones aged 4 and 6, Bali may not seem like an obvious destination, but mom Debra outlines why it’s the perfect place to travel as a family and how to do it right with kids.

1. Safety

Our top priority is always safety. Staying in a nice resort – we stayed at the Westin Resort Nusa Dua – means you have a car meeting you at the airport to transport you safely and comfortably to your hotel. Once checked in, use the concierge for their wealth of information to help you manage everything from arranging any tours you might want to take to arranging a personal driver (which was surprisingly cheap at only $15 USD per hour through our concierge). Hiring a personal driver to take you to whichever sites you want to see also means you have a local guide who will help you negotiate prices and advise you on safety tips at each site. The Balinese people are very religious, respectful, kind, family-focused and friendly. Even in more rural areas, we felt safe.

2. Exciting activities

Bali is full of unique activities that were exciting for all ages! Here are a few of these unique activities that were not listed in most guidebooks:

We went to the Bali Zoo one morning to ride elephants (where they focus on conservation of rescued animals in a humane environment), feed elephants and we even got to feed a tiger!
On another day, we took the Amuk Bay Odyssey Submarine ride to 100+ feet under the sea, where we saw a ton of colourful fish and even saw a sunken WWII ship (which our kids referred to as a “pirate ship”).
Pirate’s Bay is a great restaurant on the beach near Nusa Dua where you can order a meal or ice cream and enjoy dining in a 3-storey tall tree house, complete with pirate decor, or explore the old pirate ship on the shore.

3. Cultural enrichment

Our children were fascinated with the differences in Bali compared to the U.S. Things that stood out to them were driving on the left side of the road, the currency exchange, the language, the streets teeming with scooters, the rice terraces and the many temples. Bali is described as the “land of 1000 temples,” but seeing a few was sufficient for our crew. We visited the Uluwatu Temple, Pura Goa Lawah or “Bat Cave” Temple (complete with the screeching sound of real bats flying around in the cave), and the Taman Ayun Temple, where we met our Flytographer. I’m so glad we met our Flytographer at the Taman Ayun Temple as it was a special treat to have a local show us around while she captured pictures of our family exploring this very unique temple complex. (And this mom LOVES having precious photos as our souvenirs from vacations, which Flytographer provided for me again!)

4. Fun for parents, too

Our kids were enthralled with all of the daily adventures in Bali, but it was fun for us parents, too! Bali is a breathtakingly beautiful island with a nice variety of cultural sites to explore and unique activities for the whole family to enjoy.