Bali is popular as the ultimate travel destination for honeymooners and backpackers. And rightly so! It offers pristine beaches, quaint temples and picturesque mountains at an affordable price point and is well connected to the rest of the world through air.
But, do you know that Bali also has a lot to offer for a perfect vacation with your family? Yes, and it has everything in store to cater to people of all age groups. While we have extensively covered all the popular places in our comprehensive 7-day Bali itinerary, let’s keep aside the likes of Nusa Penida, Handara Gate and surfing for this article and let us take you through those places where you can spend an amazing quality vacation with your family!
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1. Bali Safari and Marine Park
There cannot be a better start to your Bali family vacation. Bali Safari and Marine Park is a centre to experience African safari adventure. In fact, it’s more than just a safari and was conceived to take an instrumental role in wildlife conservation initiatives in Indonesia. This park houses more than a hundred species of rare and endangered animals such as Komodo Dragons and Orangutans. The cheapest entrance ticket includes a safari journey and several animal shows like Big Cat Show and Elephant Show.
The adventure begins with a free shuttle ride to the gate inside where you are welcomed by an elderly local playing the Balinese xylophone. You can choose either to attend one of the animal shows or take a stroll down the path to get up close and personal with the animals. At an additional cost, you get to feed some of the animals such as tortoises, rabbits and goats. Touching and holding the iguanas come for free. There’s a separate section dedicated to animals found in India in an enclosure named after Ranthambore National Park. Another fascinating educational activity for kids is to see how elephant poop is converted to papers.
This park also offers accommodation, has a restaurant and several snack joints and ice-cream parlours along with a couple of souvenir shops. Do keep in mind that the animal show timings are fixed and are displayed at the ticket counter. Arrive a bit early to the spots to avoid last minute rush for a seat with the desired view. Also, we strongly recommend not to miss the safari journey as it offers once in a lifetime experience.
2. Monkey Forest in Ubud
Located in the village of Padangtegal in Ubud, the Monkey Forest offers many points of interest in addition to more than seven hundred monkeys and around a couple hundred species of trees. Our most recommended activity is the monkey selfie which comes at a small additional cost. Under one ticket, you can choose to get multiple selfies clicked; be it solo, couple or even for the entire family – under the supervision of green uniform clad friendly and humble forest staff.
The complex also houses several temples and a covered amphitheater. Some of the areas give out Tomb Raider type vibes, especially the area around the 100 plus year old banyan tree. Their website mentions that the monkeys are rabies-free and are healthy but it’s still recommended to keep yourself safe around these adorable animals. The locals consider this forest as a crucial spiritual centre and hence, some parts might be prohibited for the public to visit. Near the exit, you’ll see a bazaar like gallery with a series of souvenir shops and roadside vendors.
3. Bounty Dinner Cruise – the perfect evening for a perfect Bali family vacation
This is one of the best ways to spend an evening during your perfect Bali vacation. Bounty dinner cruise takes you to a 3-hour drinks and dinner cruise in a catamaran amidst a high energy atmosphere while sailing around Benoa Harbor area. The tour commences with a welcome drink and canapé at the reception. Once at the deck after a warm welcome by the captain and the staff, you can indulge yourself in a pint of beer and other mocktails while soaking in the cold sea breeze and a panoramic view of the sunset. There’s also a dance floor to showcase your dance moves!
The cruise also includes an international buffet dinner. There’ll be a table reserved for you in the lower deck where you can indulge yourself in the sumptuous meal while enjoying the performances by local artists. The performances start with live music followed by traditional Balinese and modern dance. The highlight of the evening certainly is the magician-cum-mime who is actually one among the crew. You certainly cannot miss this experience while in Bali with your family!
4. Strawberry picking at Strawberry Farms
The relatively cold weather of some places in Bali such as Bulelang makes it conducive to strawberry farming. You can find a lot of them while coming to and from the popular Handara Gate. Located usually at panoramic terraces, these farms provide strawberry picking services straight from the plants. The farm staff guide you and educate you about the strawberry farming practices. You get to choose the bed, the plant and the berry of your choice and you can bring them home. You pay for what you pick.
These farms also sell utterly delicious home-grown packaged strawberries. Some of these farms offer fresh strawberry juice complimentary with the entrance fees. Even if it comes at a fee, we strongly recommend buying a glass. Most often, they also house a snack counter and they serve coffee, tea, packaged snacks and also ice-creams. Apart from the berries, these farms are a great point to soak in the natural beauty of the area and makes a good pit stop in your trip in and around Ubud area. It’s one of those highlights where you get to indulge in and experience an activity with you entire family together during your stay in Bali.
5. Alas Harum
This is undoubtedly one of the top Insta-worthy spots in Bali. Alas Harum is a rice terrace surrounded lush green spot located in Tegallalang near Ubud. It has everything for members of all the age groups in your family. To stat with, it houses a three-layered pool overlooking the vast rice terraces. Although a bit overpriced, Alas Harum also has 2 restaurants with multiple choices of cuisines and drinks. Right when you get in from the main entrance, get a few photos clicked on the glass deck several meters high above the ground.
Finally, the activity that certainly takes the top spot in priority list of the ladies in your family – getting clicked on an extreme swing wearing a flowy satin dress. Not to mention, the experience is equally thrilling for men in the group (don’t go for the dress though!). The swings come in many shapes and forms – super extreme swing, couple swing and even a swing bed.
Move over to the adventure activity section and enjoy several rides such as Flying Fox and Sky Bike. Along they way, they have made cute little nest-like structures where you can get photographed in. Then, move over to the other side of the park balancing yourself on a dancing bridge and let children enjoy the gorilla-mouthed semi natural cave next to the life-like statue of Sukarno – Indonesia’s first president.
6. Luwak Coffee Tasting
Well, this is indeed going to be a surprise package in your Bali family vacation. Luwak coffee is actually a coffee prepared out of partially digested coffee beans that comes out of the civet’s (a mongoose-like mammal called Luwak in Balinese) poop. Don’t worry, the poop is thoroughly washed and cleaned before getting converted to a coffee powder. In fact, the civet’s digestive enzymes alters the composition of the coffee beans and give it a distinct and strong aroma. The coffee plantation staff walks you through and explains the step-by step process of Luwak coffee preparation and roasting.
There’s also a complimentary coffee tasting option. While Luwak coffee is not offered, you can find 10-15 different coffee types on the tasting tray; flavours ranging from coconut, caramel to cocoa and herbal. You can purchase ground coffee packets of the coffee you liked the most, including the most expensive Luwak coffee. The campus also has dense coffee plantations that you walk through from the entrance to the coffee tasting section.
7. Ulun Danu Beratan Temple Complex
Wondering why we’ve included a temple in the list of places for a perfect Bali family vacation? That’s because the temple complex hosts a big lawn, a children’s entertainment area, photo and selfie points along with a souvenir shop and snacks centre. The 11-storied temple sits in-front of the picturesque foggy backdrop of hills surrounding the lake Beratan. Being one of the most touristy places in Bali, you need to wait for your turn to capture this architectural marvel. The licensed photographers in the temple complex can capture an amazing Bali family vacation memento in the form of an instant print out.
Don’t miss out on the other sites too during your Bali vacation. Click here for more information.
