Looking for an authentic, relaxed time in Bali, Indonesia - need advice
 

My husband and I are thinking of an extended vacation with our two kids (5 and 7) between jobs next year. Bali seems to be the best combination of exotic culture, great food, great diving, etc. My ideal situation would be to rent a nice (but not luxurious) villa (with a kitchen) on the beach where we can live somewhat like a local (ie not in an insulated, westernized, tourist resort) and stay there for 4-6 weeks. Can anyone recommend the pros and cons of this? For example would we get bored with this much time? Would it be safe health-wise for our kids? Where would be the nicer, not so touristy areas? etc. etc. I have also heard good things about Udun (sp) so perhaps we should split our time, or could we do daytrips?
Also, any good leads on websites with reasonably priced villas? I keep coming across luxury villa rental websites (those with private pools, a staff, etc.) and that is more than we need/want.
Thanks so much!

try a site like bali discovery tours.....there are tons of villa sites if you google them...

no health risks really for the kids...

i think i would find 4-6 weeks in one place boring....

vbro.com is another place that rents villas. Dividing your time between a beach and inland near Ubud would be a good idea. Some villas come with a driver, for instance. A good thing, as you probably don't want to self drive on the narrow, winding, unsigned roads.

Munich, “Authentic” is a weighted descriptor when it comes to Bali as Bali fulfills many different expectations. Exotic culture yes. Great food maybe. Great diving limited.

Kids love Bali and the Balinese love kids. It’s safe for kids and there’s a lot to do, both at the beach and inland, both involving nature and culture.

There are very few villas that are located directly on the beach. Most are within walking distance, sometimes single villas, sometimes part of villa clusters.

Luxury varies with size and age. Some of the older villas in Seminyak, Sanur -- and to a lesser extent Ubud -- are less fancy and are located in lowkey friendly neighborhoods. I like Petitenget but Sanur is also good for families.

You may want to live like a longtime expat, but believe me, you don’t want to live like a local. Take advantage of the low cost of labor – and support the local economy – by accepting domestic help. Every villa owner in Bali has live-in caretakers; they are part of the deal. It’s also rare to find a rental that doesn’t have a pool. Again, it just comes with the territory.

All of Bali is touristy – but the type of tourists varies by area. Some only see the Westernized, resort-y veneer; some seek the cultural undercurrent. The culture exists everywhere, even in the most touristed spots. You might find more of “your people” in the Ubud area which is more culturally intense than the southern beaches.

But. . . having said that kids love the beach and the best beaches are definitely in the south. You might also look at Lombok for the beach portion of your stay.

Rates are variable depending on the time of year – with July/August and December being the highest priced months. For the other periods you should be able to negotiate for 4-6 weeks or any portion thereof.

Try a few on-line rental sites and start with the price you're targetting and the number of bedrooms. After a while you'll get a feel for the neighborhoods and the popular villas.

Marmot: I agree with your assessment to some degree...but not the "all of Bali is touristy" part. I think you mean to say "all of Bali that has villa/tourist accomodation on the beach" is touristy."

And the word "villa" is really overused. Many of the houses for rent are simple places, a great many without pool. If you want a pool, it's not too hard to get a place with one, but realize that it's not a given and will be more expensive. Yes, you can easily do day trips to other places in Bali..it's not that big an island....you can basically get to most places within 2 to 3 hours. I would also suggest taking short trips to to other islands to experience the fantastic culture.

Of course the places that you see advertised and on the internet are the more expensive places. They have the money to put up websites and have computers to check email daily, and so forth. So many places are just rented by word of mouth. My suggestion, since it sounds like you have not been to Bali or Indonesia yet, is to book into a hotel first and take some time to check out different neighborhoods first and see what is available, how the conditions are, and only then decide to make the longer term commitment to any one house or location. Most of Bali is not lived in the resorts or villas so it takes some time to figure it out.

No, I really meant to say that all (meaning geographically) Bali is tourist-y in that anywhere you go you will find tourists, or travelers, or explorers, or seekers or whatever you want to call them. Plus accommodations for rent and guides for hire and plastic water bottles for sale. Travelers have been visiting Bali for decades. There isn't an inch that hasn't been covered in some sense.

My point is that tourism's not a bad thing for Bali in that it supports most of the population, and Bali's culturally richness has survived. You can find most whatever you want in Bali -- on the beach or in Ubud, but what you can't do is turn the clock back for an anthropologically pure experience.

I do agree that "villa" is a silly choice for what is basically a "house." I think the idea of looking around for a rental once you're there is possible, but for someone who's never been to Bali and hasn't a context it may use up precious vacation time. I don't know that I'd recommend it with two kids in tow.

Munich, what's your budget?

Hi,
Thanks to everyone for all of the input. We have traveled pretty extensively in Asia (and elsewhere) but you are right that we have never been to Indonesia. I love the idea of staying in a hotel first, and probably getting a better deal, by choosing after we look around a bit. However, I'd hate to stress about it during that time, or not find what we need/want with our kids in two. Because we will be staying for an extended period of time and flights are so expensive our budget for lodging is ideally small (long story but we will fly from Munich an on to Portland, OR so we don't have any round trips and two expensive legs). Anyway, I'd love to spend about 700USD/week for approximately four weeks. Any more input would be great but so far all of this has been very helpful! BTW it looks like we will be going Fall 2011.
thanks!

Munich, ~$5000 a month seems doable for a rental, but maybe not in the southern beach areas. On the north or east coast or in the Ubud area you should be able to find what you're looking for. September-November would be low season.

You might think about putting an ad in one of the local papers. Another consideration depending on your circumstances is a house trade.

I haven't had any personal dealings with this website but it seems to have listings in your range.
http://www.balispirit.com/resorts/ba....html#near_sea

You might also get some good advice from www.balitravelforum.com

There is a website called vrbo.com I am leaving for my first trip to Bali next week and am staying in a bungalow in UBUD that comes with a maid, cook and driver and is inexpensive and was built by the village in a traditional Balinese style including thatch roof and rock carvings.

The place I am staying was listed on VRBO website, and they had many other properties to choose from as well.

Sorry, I just noticed a typo: I meant to say ~$3000 a month is doable.

Sounds like a great trip, and I'm sure it will be a wonderful experience for your kids. I spent a month in Indonesia when I was 10....and I've loved to travel and explore ever since.

This website has longer term, less "lux" house rentals: http://www.balispirit.com/resorts/ba...rent_sale.html

I can also highly recommend this house which I rented last summer: www.balivillaparadise.com/
It is a in a small cluster of expat houses in the middle of a "real" Balinese village. There were always lots of local kids around, and that might make it easy for your kids to make friends. And to top it off, the house was amazing.

cruise....your e mail no longer works....stuff kicks back...please contact me at [email protected] or my reg. e address if you have it...

bob

You will just have to get over the "touristy" part. You are going to be a tourist like all of us, let's face it :) I will be going to Bali next week and I rented a house in Ubud. I sense that you are German? There is a great villa rental ( I am going to stay there) owned by an Austrian living here in AZ. You can view it under www.villamountainview.com. Have fun :)
Kirsten

this was all so helpful - thank you! Yes, I'm sure we can't completely escape the tourists, and of course we are as well, but I was hoping to escape the packaged, westernized resort experience. Thanks everyone!

For the most non-touristy experience you might consider either a regular rental house, although they usually rent by the month or year rather than just a few days. Most home rentals are from USD 200 to 400 a month, and are comfortable and may or may not have internet access. More for a house with pool. Nice smaller hotels are from $30 up. All can hook you up with drivers, staff, etc. And you don't have to have a packaged westernized experience unless you want it.
If you want a truly authentic experience ask one of the Balinese you meet if you can stay at their home for a few weeks. They might be a bit shy but if you explain to them what you are looking for they will either offer you their home or direct you to a friend or relative who has a place for rent. In "my" family compound there are rooms that from time to time are rented by tourists, to the bemusement of everyone in the household! Anyway, around greater Ubud you will see lots of signs offering real homestays where they serve breakfast and have sit down toilets for guests. Just look down the side streets or in areas like Pengosekan, Penestanan, Peliatan, Sayan, Lodtunduh, Nyuh Kuning, etc etc.

Any of the regular hotels could offer you a better rate for a long period, however, you might check them out short-term first before you commit. Many places look good on the web but are a bit different in person.