I'm intending to travel with my 4 kids(between the ages of 2 years- 10 years old)to Bali in June next year for a week.Most of the messages here promote Bali as a honeymoon haven. But what is it like as a family destination?
I wonder if anyone out there could recommend a hotel or 2 which are child friendly. We intend to stay a few days at the beach and a few days in the hills. Or would it be recommended that we stay out in one place ie the beach and travel to the hills for day trip sight seeing?Is the hill region far away from the beach?
also it would be really helpful if I could have some ideas where to take the kids to.Would 7 days be sufficient to see Bali?

My wife, I and my kids (7 & 10) stayed for 7 days at Conrad Bali in April 2004 when the hotel just opened. I posted some photo in this website http://www.geocities.com/conradbali

Hotel is very kids friendly. I saw some infants being cared for by their baby sitting service. My kids joined the Cookie Baking and Kite Making activities.

I like Conrad Bali because it had a very quiet and relaxing atmosphere. You can email me at [email protected] if you have any questions.

We're taking our 7 year old daughter this year for winter vacation. As we want to stay in a small place (under 25 rooms), I ended up e-mailing many, many places and asking if they typically had kids staying there (since we only have one child, other kids in residence at the same time we are there makes a big difference). We also want to do some cultural activities during our stay, so I asked about dance, music, batik, cooking...etc classes. Our daughter also enjoys spa treatments (starting her young!), and as some places do not allow children in the spa, I also asked if she would be welcome there. I ended up choosing our hotels based on the direct correspondence with them...the friendliest and most helpul replies.

Many of the big resort hotels in the south have dedicated kids clubs. The Ritz Carlton is highly recommended by honeymooners and families alike. Many rave about the Dynasty's kids club. In the Ubud area, Klub Kokos and Alam Sari both seemed to me to have a great balance of appeal to adults and kids allike. In Lovina, Rambutan Cottages is very popular and highly recommended. The Damai in Lovina also looks really nice. Sanda Villas in the mountain area is a place we've got on our list for next time.

Where you stay depends on what kind of holiday you expect...the places I mention above are just a few that other families have liked. I'm quite sure you'll be able to find places that suit your budget and your holiday style.

Depending on where you are going to Bali from, 7 days might be fine...if jet lag is an issue you may want more time.

If you have time, you may want to take a few hours to browse the listings in a few of the many, many booking sites. balibagus.com and balidiscovery.com are two good starting points. One point...While the booking sites are great for research, I personally wouldn't book through the booking sites for Bali...we were able to negotiate better prices directly with the hotels than any third party site could offer.

Check the Go Nomad web site. They have a section on travel with kids, written by one of the editors who went on an extended trip with her son, including an informative article about Bali.

the bali hyatt would be and is a good place for kids...lots of activities...located in a small town...a good beach and a very large property to run around in...

I haven't been posting much lately but noticed your post....Bali is great for kids. I see our blog is still up from this summer...www.themurdochs.blogspot.com.
You can see the kind of things we did. With 7 days I would try spend a few days days in Ubud and a few at the beach. Many love the Conrad, we stayed at the RC but it was very far from everything.

oal15167, We are Americans living in Indonesia. We took our son to Bali for the first time when he was three. He's now 20 and after many, many trips, still loves Bali!

I think a split between the inland Ubud area and the beach is a good idea. There are tons of family oriented beach resorts. The most popular among foreigners living in Indonesia are the Grand Hyatt at Nusa Dua (the Bali Hyatt at Sanur is also good) and the Bali Padma at Kuta.

All three of these beach areas (Nusa Dua, Sanur and Kuta) are good for families. There are many water activities and kids friendly restaurants.

I'm less enthusiastic about the Conrad -- although it's a beautiful resort -- because the beach is sorely lacking. I'd also not recommend traveling to the far north (Lovina) as your time is limited.

For an Ubud suggestion I'd take a look at the Alila.

Ubud is about an hour's drive from the beach area, so you could make day-trip visits, but I think it's better to devote 2-3 days inland. There are frequent dances and temple celebrations all over Bali. Your hotel can tell you where to go.

There are also lots of outdoorsy activities like trekking, bird watching, river rafting, in addition to the usual water sports at the beach.

Basically the Balinese people are extremely welcoming to children.

Grand Hyatt Bali has a wonderful beautiful very clean and shallow beach, prob the best swim beach in Bali. Rooms are a little dated however its a huge resort with alot of activities.

Thank you one and all for all your suggestions and feedback. Does anyone know anything about the Four Seasons and Hard Rock Hotel?I heard they're great but have yet to get any real feedback on it.

Four Seasons and the Hard Rock couldn't be more different. The Four Seasons at Jimbaran is perched on a cliff overlooking a quiet bay. The rooms are all villa-like suites with individual plunge pools. It's quite pricy, but lovely with several good restaurants and a wonderful spa. I've stayed there several times and although it's a honeymoon favorite, I've also seen many families there. Jimbaran Bay is good for kids and FS has kids programs as well. For my teenager it was too quiet, but you don't have to worry about that yet.

The Hard Rock is right in the midst of the Kuta madness. Some love it; some hate it. It's a favorite of many Jakarta families as it's lively and has great access to shopping, nightlife and beach activities. I've never stayed there myself, but many of the families of my son's friends swear by it. I think the price is in the Hyatt range.