azza

Hi,

Were flying into Bali early July (and out again mid july )for approx 10 days and are looking for inspiration for a relatively cheap holiday.

Two kids will be 8 and 10, quite travel friendly.

So far we have a few thoughts:

Maybe off to yogyakarta to see borobudur, air Asia have a 0600 flight from Denpasar. How long would we need to be in Java assuming Borobudur was the main goal (worth extending there?)

A few days doing the water parks and activities like bike tours, cooking classes

Beach break, snorkelling and diving being majority focus

Prefer quiet locations.

What/where should we look at going?


BTW, thanks for your Angkor tips a few years ago Kathie!

azza

So a very draft itinerary is looking like this.

Arrive Denpasar Fri 3rd July @ 1620
Leave Denpasar Friday 17th July @0100

3 nites somewhere easy (12 hr flights)
Thinking the South. But perhaps Ubud?
Need a pool and local shops and amenities to walk around and get our feet on the ground.

Arrive Jogyakarta Mon 6th @ 0610
Are two nites enough, defn want to see Borobudur early on Tuesfday 7th, should we stay at the Manohor next to Borobudur, do the early morning trip or visit from Jog?

What to do for the day of the 6th and 7th?

considering the kids are a limiter on sightseeing temples etc what else should we consider doing in Central Java?

Next dilema,do we fly out of Yog to Bali or to Lombok for a beach break?

The beach activities need to cover easy swimming with a house reef for snorkelling plus easy nearby snorkelling trip locations plus diving. A bonus would be local Waring's etc to mix up the meals.

Flights out of Jog to Bali at either 0625 or 1010 on the 8th
Or
To Lombok at 1740 on the 7th.

Ideally spend the best part of a week at the beach leaves us a couple of days to play with before leaving so another transport leg from Lombok to Denpasar could be painful?

Kathie

Glad to hear that my Angkor advice was helpful.

With kids, I'd be inclined to spend the whole time on Bali, splitting your say between a beach (Sanur is my fave as it is a small town as opposed to s purpose-built resort enclave like Nusa Dua) and The Ubud area. But your requirement "The beach activities need to cover easy swimming with a house reef for snorkelling plus easy nearby snorkelling trip locations plus diving." is not easy - maybe even not possible to manage on Bali.

That said, I love Java. I have a detailed trip report from two years ago: http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...n-to-jogja.cfm

In addition to Borobudur, I'd highly recommend the Ramayana ballet in Prambanam. The costumes, the music, I would guess your kids would love it.

With your limited time, I'd suggest two locations only, not three. I'd also suggest you might want to fly out of JOG rather than returning to Bali to fly home, it will make for less time wasted in transit.

marmot

First you should be aware of a couple important holidays: Central Java and Lombok will be observing Ramadhan during the first two weeks of July. The big Islamic holidays -- called Lebaran in Indonesia -- will be around July 17, and the week leading up to that date millions of people (no exaggeration) will be traveling to their home villages, and transportation will be mobbed. Generally, performances will be curtailed and non-hotel restaurants will be closed during the day. Hotels will operate as usual.

If your dates are fixed, there's not much you can do about it, but I would suggest you schedule Central Java trip for earlier in your trip to avoid the mass exodus leading up to July 17.

In Bali, there will be major Hindu holidays going on at the same time. July 15 will be Galugnan which is a big celebration which rolls around every 7 months. You'll see a lot of decorations and many temple ceremonies throughout Bali. I don't think it will impact your trip in any negative way, though small B&Bs will be under-staffed.

In Bali snorkling and diving is not found around the tourism beaches of the south. Some good areas are Pemuteran/Menjanan Island in the Northwest and Amed in the Northeast. These are black sand beaches and not the most scenic, but they are laid back and inexpensive places to visit. Lembongan and Nusa Penida Islands off Nusa Dua offer deep drift diving with large pelagics, but this is only for experienced divers as the currents can be severe. There are also several spots in the Gili Islands (near Lombok) where you can snorkle off the beach and dive nearby. I'm not a Gili expert, so II can't give recommendations.

Day trips from south Bali are also doable, but it makes for a long day. DIve shops will pick you up in Ubud or south Bali, arrange your dives and take you back at the end of the day.

I think you could easily fill up a week in the Ubud area -- lots of adventure and cultural activities that your children will love.

Lombok and the Gili Islands are good for relaxed beach location, but If you decide to stay on Bali, you'll have several choices. Nusa Dua has the big self contained resorts, many with multiple pools and a good calm swimming beach. Sanur is a quiet community also with a good swimming beach and an ample range of restaurants and shops.

The west coast beaches from Kuta/Legian/Seminyak are mainly big wave, sunset beaches. Swimming can be unpredictable -- some days calm, some days rough -- mostly good for boogie boarding and playing in the waves. Your kids would probably like a surfing lesson. The area is full of restaurants and shops at all price points. I would suggest you stay in Petitenget or Batu Belig on the north end of Seminyak.

In Yoga, there are advantages to staying at Manohara. You'd be able to visit Borobudur more than once, and the country side is beautiful. In town, the Hyatt is good with kids because of the big pool and spacious grounds.

I'd also suggest you see Prambanan. (I'm not sure that the Ramayana will be performed during Ramadhan.) I'm not a big fan of the city of Yogyakarta, but there are several attractions like the Kraton (Palace) that may be of interest. Check their Ramadhan schedule, though.

A 0600 flight sounds unnecessarily punishing. From Ubud you'd have to leave your hotel at 0300! Air Asia has several flights throughout the day. Again, avoid the week of July 12. Since your time is short, I'd suggest flying into Central Java (Yogyakarta, Solo/Surakarta or Semarang) then continuing on to a beach location in Bali or Lombok and ending up in Ubud. You do not want to fly out of Java or Lombok on July 17. Bali airport will be crowded on that date but shouldn't be overwhelmed.

azza

Thanks Marmot, I'll certainly be tweaking the schedule to avoid Ramadahn travel chaos.

It sounds like we'd be well advised to stay on Bali and explore there, additional flights for one or two sights on Java especially with holiday uncertainty in the mix doesnt make sense, so will probably start planning that way. I'd like to get to Borobudur but it could end up cutting down other options.

I've booked three nights at the Alam Kulkul Boutique Resort in Kuta to get off the plane and onto the beach (ha ha so much for saying I was looking for quiet destinations), I got a great deal on a family room and then its 11 nights around the rest of Bali.

Cheers

azza

Just have had word of vacancy for a family room at manta dive on gili air at the back end of our trip so we now have 6 nights to arrange,probably split between ubud and somewhere else.

azza

Thanks Kathie, Sanur sounds good to gel it all together will take a closer look!

marmot

Kuta wouldn't have been my first choice, with or without kids. The area is quite congested and can be loud at night. If you haven't already committed, I'd look further north toward Legian, Seminyak, Petitenget, Batu Belig.

azza

Its in Legian sorry and set back from the main road somewhat so not quite in the heart of darkness. Pemuteran looks nice but I think the full island beach thing at Manta Gilki Air will suit all travellers slight
Ly better. Of the remaining 6 nights I think we'll head up the coast a little to nth seminyak for 3 nites thern do 3 in Ubud, still looking for those ones.

Thanks for your help!

azza

OK, we've got more of a plan now...

The unknown is where to stay in Ubud, given we would like to be able to walk around Ubud but not be too close to the hustle and bustle does anyone have good ideas for family accommodation (4 pax) that isn't too expensive?

3 nites - @ Alam Kulkul, Legian - for beach and surfing lessons etc
5 nites - @ Accomodation suggestions?, Ubud - activity suggestions ?
5 nites - @ Manata Dive, Gili Air for diving and snorkelling and relaxing

marmot

I would suggest that you stay out of town in one of the surrounding villages. You'll get more space, a pool, and the countryside is beautiful.

Transport is readily available and you can easily get into town when you want to walk around. Ubud has expanded in all directions, so what's considered "town" covers quite a large area. Walking from one end to another isn't so pleasant because of the heat and elevation.

This is a good website: http://ubudnowandthen.com/

Things to do in Ubud
Dance performances:
Daytime -- Barong in Batubulan
Evening -- Ubud Palace, Peliatan, Jungungan
Temple festivals (your hotel/resort will tell you what's on)
The Green School gives tours of its fantastical bamboo architecture
I like the John Hardy jewelry workshop and showroom, but maybe not so good for kids

Museums and workshops
Setia Darma House of Masks & Puppets (outside Ubud)
ARMA museum has a menu cultural workshops
http://www.armabali.com/museum/cultural-workshops/
Bali bird walk with Victor Mason's organization: http://www.balibirdwalk.com/
Rafting on the Ayung River (I like Sobek)
Bali Butterfly Park http://littlebalilove.com/play/bali-...man-kupu-kupu/
Campuhan Ridge Walk in Ubud http://www.liveloveraw.com/campuhan-...ike-ubud-bali/

Most of the surfing schools are based at Double 6 Beach. It's a lousy beach -- crowded and full of hawkers. If you head north about 1KM past the beach shack restaurants to the area on either side of the Oberoi, you'll find chairs and umbrellas on a pretty and mostly deserted stretch of beach.

azza

Nice one Marmot, that's great advice, thanks!

dgunbug

Good info. Glad I read this as we were considering Indonesia in July. Think we'll find a more suitable month.

dgunbug

Or at least we will take into account holidays to avoid the holiday crowds. After further reading, it looks like July is a nice time to visit this region.

azza

Hi Marmot,

I've been looking around Ubud for somewhere to stay and with over 300 Hotels/Homestays etc its a bit of a logistical nightmare.
\
You mention staying out of Ubud in one of the surrounding villages, which ones would you recommend I take a closer look at?

thansk
A

marmot

You can find pretty country side and Bali-style accommodations in any direction from Ubud. The closer you get to town (using Ubud Palace as the center) the more choices you have in nearby walkable shops and restaurants. As you go farther out you get more scenic countryside and traditional village life.

I particularly like the area west of Ubud -- Lungsiakan, Kedewatan, Tegallalang. I'd look at Alam Sari for a good value and very kid friendly place. They offer a lot of family oriented culture and nature activities.

Nyuh Kuning, just south on the other side of the monkey forest, also has a lot of small friendly places.

azza

Thanks, the Alam Sari does look good.

LancasterLad

If you need to kill a few hours in Yogyakarta, somewhere for all the family is the Gambira Loka Zoo. It's on the perimeter of town, and won't cost much for a taxi.

A day ticket for an adult is only 20,000 rupiah. We went there twice during our week, and spent 3 hours onsite both times.

Lots of interaction, and I've got a beautiful photo of my Mrs with her arm round an orang-utan, looking each other in the eye!

We didn't notice any sort of animal mistreatment, quite the opposite in fact.

azza

Weve booked the Alam Sari thanks Marmot, good choice.

Will give you a trip report towards teh end of July.

azza

Hi

We've had a few nights at the Alam Kulkul in Legian which was a nice little oasis hotel and have arrived at the Alam sari expecting a rural retreat-well that's not happening because of the wildly intrusive road noise and to be frank generally tired hotel rooms, Its like being next to a highway.