vmcenroe

I love this forum! I visited Bali last year and got lots of great advice from Marmot. I'm heading to Bali again this summer with my 2 teenagers. I'm counting on Marmot and others to give more advice on where to spend our 2 months. I don't want to stay in one location because I think my teens will get bored. My main goal is to keep my teens happy. I could stay in Ubud with a stack of books and I'd be in heaven. Unfortunately that's not my kids version of heaven.

My son wants to scuba dive and learn to surf. My daughter loves crafts and animals. They are not much into inland adventure trips although I feel I should throw in a couple. I figure Seminyak for surfing and Ubud for craft classes. Amed or Pemuteran for scuba is probably a good location. We dove the shipwreck in Amed last year. Is Pemuteran just as good? I have not been to Sanur. Marmot mentioned Lombak as a good compromise for good beach AND scuba in one place. Should I consider that as a location? I don't want to stay more than 2 weeks at one place unless we start and end at the same location.

Any advice on accommodations would be great. I want to stay under $5000 for the entire 2 months so no more than $75 a night. Cheap is ok but must have a TV for down time. 2 months is a long time with teens, especially a daughter who isn't the biggest fan of the ocean.

marmot

During which months will you be in Bali, northern hemisphere summer or Southern hemisphere summer? Makes a difference in the rates and beach conditions.

vmcenroe

I was hoping to hear from you, Marmot. Northern hemisphere. June, July, August.

marmot

The good news is that June/July/August means the best weather and the best surfing. The negative is that it's high season, and rates are inflated. You should be able to negotiate for longer stays, though.

I'll give you some accommodation ideas by location. I would also suggest that you look at the Waka Resorts' properties all over Bali. http://www.wakahotelsandresorts.com/

Prices of villas are all over the place. for lower price rentals. Look at Air bnb. Also, the ads in the Bali Advertiser and Bali Spirit's listing.
http://www.balispirit.com/resorts/
http://www.baliadvertiser.biz/curren...al_estate.html

I haven't dived at Amed, so I can't compare, but I really like Menjangan Island (which can be accessed from Pemuteran). Taman Sari is a nice to stay, but may be out of your price range.
http://www.balitamansari.com/

In the Ubud area I like Alam Sari. they offer a lot of nature and culture activities. In their Home Stay program, you do just that -- stay in a local home in a nearby village -- with Alam Sari serving more or less as quality control.
http://www.alamsari.com/
http://alamsari.com/homestays/

ARMA museum is a great resource for classes and art and culture activities. They also have a resort. http://www.armabali.com/museum/cultural-workshops/

There are several good surf schools at Double 6 Beach which is in Legian, between Kuta and Seminyak. My son likes Double D: http://www.surfschoolbali.com/

Double 6 is not the most beautiful beach, but the waves are good for novice surfers. You can rent an umbrella and chairs and spend the day getting manicures, massages, shopping from the beach vendors. It's kind of tacky, but fun.

July August you'll get big waves and surfer competitions all over Bali. Some good places to watch world class surfing are Blue Point in Ulu Watu and Keramis on the east coast. Even if you don't spend the night these are good places for lunch + surfer watching.
http://www.bluepointbayvillas.com/
http://www.nomadsurfers.com/en/asia/...amp/146.html#2

$75 a night for three people is tough for Southern Bali, but perhaps you can cost average. Were you successful at that rate before?

I'm not wild about Kuta for young teens, as it can get rather rough at night. In Legian, near Double 6, you could look at the Padma and Niksoma.
http://www.padmaresortbali.com/
http://niksoma.com/

Further north there are many, many villas in Seminyak and even further north in Canggu. There are still a lot of modest places among the upscale resorts. Some to look at:
http://www.tamanayucottage.com/villas.htm
http://www.hotellumbung.com/

Budget hotels, like fave, grandmas and tune, have proliferated in Bali, but you have to be aware of the location. You want to avoid Sunset Road.
http://www.favehotels.com/home/eng

I also like Desa Seni resort in Canggu, though it may have more of a wellness focus than you're looking for. http://www.desaseni.com/

I'm not up to date on Lombok and the Gilis -- nice beaches, laid back atmosphere, access to scuba and surfing, more or less in the same price range as Amed.

vmcenroe

Wow! You've gone far and above what I hoped for. Just the information I needed. I'll check it out and see what I can come up with. One last question. Do you recommend Sanur at all? I've definitely decided to do a month in Seminyak area. Can't quite figure out the other month. Pemuteran and Ubud are definitely on the list, but I don't know if 2 weeks in each of those places is too long. I could cut them short and either extend Seminyak or add Sanur.

marmot

Sanur is a nice beach and a nice community. Because it has an off-shore reef the water is calm and good for swimming. It's sleepier than Seminyak, which for its fans, is a good thing.

Two weeks in Ubud, yes, even three. There's a lot to do in the area. Two weeks in Pemuteran, maybe not, unless you're diving and snorkling every day.

vmcenroe

Marmot,
As it so happens, there are fantastic prices on Airbnb, so that's where I'll probably end up booking accommodations. I have a question about Seminyak location. There is a cluster of villas to the east of Sunset Road where it makes the bend north and another cluster to the west of Jl Keraton around Jl Drupadi. How do these 2 areas compare?

marmot

East of Sunset Road is inconsistent. There are some nice little lanes and some large awful developments. Could you give me the villa name or address? Same for farther north in Kerobokan -- it can be quite nice, or not.

Jl Drupadi area is generally good, but somewhat congested and over-developed. Lots of villas, restaurants and shops nearby. Some villas well maintained, some showing their age. Close to Double 6 beach, which as I mentioned before is a good beginning surfer beach but not one of the most scenic.

I'd try to find something in Petitenget or Oberoi, as close to Petitenget Temple or the Oberoi Hotel as you can get. You can walk to Petitenget beach and everywhere else, and it's a little less congested than Drupadi.

I also really like Batu Belig. A nice little community with some good restaurants and a quiet beach that is just north of Petitenget.

jazzcali

What I am going to suggest you is definitely not a budget hotel. But, it might be worth the stay for a few days and especially fun for teen. The Elephant Safari Park lodge is in my to-do list for my next stay in Bali.

vmcenroe

A beach that is frequently mentioned in the villa ads is KuDeTa. Is this a nice beach?

marmot

KuDeTa is actually a very hip beach front bar and restaurant. It's located on Petitenget beach, next to the Oberoi Hotel and about 500 meters from Petitenget temple. Because it's so well known, villas in Petitenget and Oberoi are often listed as within walking distance from KuDeTa.

The public area in front of KuDeTa is a popular place for chair/umbrella rentals -- not directly related to the restaurant, but the atmosphere rubs off (and you can listen to KuDeTa's music).

vmcenroe

Super helpful! But I warn you. This thread could go on for awhile. The villa that I'm looking at just to the east of Sunset is on JL Bidadari. Good area? At this distance I'm assuming beach is too far to walk?

marmot

It's hard to characterize the Jl. Bidadari area. It's mixed -- some older villas, some newer developments, some budget hotels. Quiet, not so congested, some remaining rice paddies. I don't think there's much within walking distance, unless you're on the Jl. Mertanandi end.

The area is close to Sunset Road, but that, to me, is the worst of south Bali.

Depending on where you are on Bidadari, it would be about 20 minutes by taxi to Petitenget or Double 6 beach. The villa staff can call a taxi for you. I would guess the cost would to the beach or other parts of Seminyak would be about IDR50,000.

Taxis are cheap and good in Seminyak (especially Blue Birds) and they don't mind waiting while you make several stops. I like to use the meter, but you can also negotiate by the hour.

Just to explain a little further about the various Seminyak beaches: it's really one long continuous beach that stretches from Kuta in the south through Legian, Double 6, Oberoi, Petitenget to Batu Belig in the North -- about 8 kilometers. The sand quality and oceans currents vary from place to place as does the cleanliness and popularity. The tidal reach is quite wide so sometimes you have 100 meters of sand, sometimes barely none. Usually it's in the middle.

vmcenroe

Marmot, I've picked my villa. It's in the JL Sarinande area. We stayed at a resort in this area last year and liked it. The beach wasn't as nice as what you described further north, but I couldn't find a suitable villa in our price range at that beach. This will keep us close to the beach and my son can easily get to the surfing schools to the south. Thank you so much! Couldn't have done it without you.

marmot

Jl Sarinande is a nice area! I think you made a good choice, for access to the beach and everything else.

The Straw Hut, a nearby restaurant/club, is a popular place for teenagers to go at night.