Bali is an excellent choice for family holidays. With so much on offer, you are quite literally spoiled for choice. To top this, the Balinese love kids and slather them in attention. Your children will be enchanted by the local color that surrounds them from the picturesque underwater world to the noisy ceremonies. Most resorts cater to kids with clubs, programs, and classes like kite making and Balinese mask painting and you can often get discounted interconnecting rooms and children's meals.
Day 1: Kuta
Start your children's trip off with a rip and sign them up for a half-day surfing lesson at Rip Curl School of Surf or with Marcy. Either way, you can lounge on a beach chair while they have their lessons.
For the afternoon, head to the water park Waterbom. Have dinner at Papa's and order an explosive volcano pizza -- lit at your table, it burns for 2 minutes before the kids get to blow it out.
Days 2 & 3: Taman Nasional Bali Barrat Park in Menjangan
It's a 3-hour drive from Seminyak, but be a good troop leader and lead your scouts on a 2-day adventure to the 1,000-hectare (2,471-acre) Taman Nasional Bali Barrat Park. It's worth it. Stay at the family-friendly Menjangan Jungle and Beach Resort in a hut in the mangroves. Snorkel off the coral reef walls of Menjangan Island. After lunch, take a jeep tour of the park where wildlife, including deer, monkeys, wild chickens, and wild boar, gather at the watering holes.
Fill your second day with an early morning bird-watching tour, kayaking at high tide, horseback riding, and trekking. Your hotel will help you organize all your activities.
Days 4 & 5: Bedugul & Munduk
Your drive to Bedugul and the beautiful Botanical Gardens will take you through bamboo forests. After the gardens, head to the Bali Tree Top Adventure Park, where the whole family can try their hands at a variety of adventure circuits with and all sorts of active play. In the afternoon check into the Puri Lumbung Cottages, which has stunning panoramas of the rice fields and coast.
Days 6 & 7: Ubud & Surrounding Area
There are three choices for the day here and even if you're running a democracy, it's going to be hard to choose given the names alone: the Elephant Park, the Bali Bird Park, or the Safari Park. Check in to the luxurious Chedi Club in time for their scrumptious afternoon tea (included in the price) or the Alam Sari, with activities for the kids like painting, kite making, mountain biking, and swimming.
In the morning, either go to the Monkey Forest and spend some time with those pesky relatives or go rafting. In the afternoon stroll the streets for some shopping or just enjoy the hotel pool and relax.
Days 8 & 9: Tanjung Benoa
Spend your final family time in the relaxed setting of the Conrad. Heaps of activities here for the kids include water-skiing, windsurfing, snorkeling, banana boating, and jet-skiing. Check your young ones into the all-day kids' club while you grab a bale and catch up on some reading. The resort even has spa treatments specifically for children so that the entire family can pamper themselves at once. On one of your nights here, hire an in-house babysitter and dine at either Rin or Spice and take a romantic moonlit walk along the promenade.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
