.~Flor Garcia
For how long have you been planning your trip to paradise? Are you wondering how to enjoy the beauty of an island getaway while keeping your children entertained? Search no more. This guide to travel Bali with kids will give you great ideas to explore one of the world’s most exotic destinations and have the energy to come back home with a huge smile ready to plan your next voyage!
Before I go ahead and list 7 things to see as you travel Bali with kids, you need to be aware of the fact that Bali is the most popular island in the Indonesian archipelago, therefore you will be sharing its beauty with many other tourists who are also there to marvel at ancient culture, unique temples, and stunning natural backdrops. It will be crowded, that’s for sure! However, with the right planning things can run smoothly and your holidays will be delightful.
Find below a list of interesting and budget friendly things to see and do with kids in one of my favorite islands in the world.
Monkey Forest
When you travel Bali with kids, it’s nice to balance culture with some outdoor adventures. This natural habitat of Balinese long tailed monkeys is located in the village of Padangtegal, Ubud. We visited this sanctuary early in the morning to avoid the crowds and it didn’t disappoint. My children had a blast and I got to make cool pictures along the way. Be prepared though! Remember to remove any flashy jewelry or anything you might have hanging off you, clear the inside of backpacks of any food and locked the zippers. We heard many stories of people who got their belongings “stolen” by the funny but mischievous monkeys.
Tirta Empul Temple
This is the perfect place to experience the Hindu religion at its best. The first step to learning about world religions, is exposing kids to the wonderful customs and traditions. We arrived around 10 am so it was quite crowded. However, my kids were fascinated by the amount of Hindu devotees visiting the place and by the sacred springs for purification that they saw there. They even participated in the cleaning rituals, making this one of the most interesting cultural things my children have ever experienced.
Visit a coffee plantation
We took a free guided tour of the Satria Agrowisata Coffee Plantation in Gianyar and it was a nice experience for the kids who roasted coffee beans and saw different exotic fruit plans, such as pineapple, banana, and cacao. Grown-ups enjoyed a complimentary coffee and tea tasting right next to the rice fields. The whole visit took us about 90 minutes.
Rent a villa near the rice terraces
We found an affordable traditional villa to stay near Ubud and it was by far one of the best decisions ever. Rice paddies surrounded the property, and every morning we could see the locals happily working on the terraces. Balinese people are always smiling! My children enjoyed the small pool at the villa and swam in the evenings after long days of excursion. We even hired a massage therapist to come every day in the morning and the price was so affordable.
Tegallalang Rice Terraces
We arrived at 7 in the morning and had the paddies just for ourselves. This was a great opportunity to make wonderful pictures and had an early walk surrounded by greenery. Be careful though, the terraces have uneven muddy paths that could be dangerous for little children. My kids were older so they enjoyed exploring by themselves. Here you can find roadside stalls and art shops offering items of all kinds, as well as small restaurants offering dinner with great views.
Watch a Legong Dance Show
Balinese dances are refined and colorful. Older children will marvel at the intricate finger movements, expressive eyes, and gestures. The costumes are also so unique and the footwork an art itself. Shop around to find the best price and time; we attended an evening show that allowed us to rest our tired legs and feet after a long day out.
Eat Balinese Banana Pancakes.
These are hand down the best pancakes ever! My children ate them for breakfast every single day of our trip. I must confess I wanted to do it too, but my waist line isn’t that forgiving, so I tried to stick to delicious Muesli and fruit bowls plus the occasional pancake here and there. Don’t forget to add a fresh papaya juice to your breakfast… simply decadent.
So there you have a series of activities that will keep you and your kids entertained for a few days. Take the time to enjoy the natural beauty of Bali, the kindness of its people and the mystery of its temples and rituals. Remember, if you travel Bali with kids, it is a memorable adventure you don’t get to experience the same way twice.
Flor García is a Venezuelan writer, speaker and multicultural language trainer, raising three globally minded children in Germany. In 2002, she started her journey as an expat and since then Flor has lived in three different continents, traveled around the world with her husband and kiddos, and learnt three languages. Currently she teaches Spanish and English, aids immigrants families through transition, facilitates intercultural workshops around Europe, and is the founder of Little Nómadas. Flor is the proud developer of the Transition Suitcase project, a tool to emotionally assist children and adults during the moving overseas process. Flor presented the Transition Suitcase at the Families In Global Transition Annual conference in The Hague in 2018, and many families and educators have used it as a way to offer support to those leading a high mobile life. You can find her on instagram, pinterest, and LinkedIn.
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