Hello folks my wife, adult son, and I will be visiting Bali from 5th June to 12th June to celebrate my wife’s milestone birthday. This will be our first trip to Bali, and we are looking forward to a relaxed and easy-paced holiday.

As of now, we have booked:
• The Westin Resort & Spa Ubud from 5th–7th June
• Hotel Indigo Seminyak Beach from 7th–12th June

Would love suggestions from experienced travellers regarding:
• A comfortable 7-day itinerary for first-timers
• Must-visit places without making the trip too hectic
• Good restaurants, cafés, spas, sunset spots, etc.
• Whether our current hotel choices are ideal, or if there are better alternatives for a relaxed family stay

We prefer a slower, more enjoyable vacation rather than rushing through too many attractions. Thanks in advance for your time and suggestions.

Although it really depends on what YOU want to see and experience, I’m surprised you are giving so little time to Ubud, which has a lot to offer and is well located for exploring other parts of Bali.

Only you can decide what are the “must visit” places in light of your interests. A good guidebook or two should prove invaluable for that. And you might find some useful information in my old trip report; the section on Bali begins with post # 128: A Memorable Solo Month in Singapore, Java, and Bali

"A comfortable 7-day itinerary for first-timers" is unlikely to happen with you spending just two nights at your first location, especially if coming off a long haul flight and feeling the effects of jet lag. (maybe no so much of a problem if you are coming from spending a few days somewhere elsewhere in the Far East).

What to see in Ubud , in the very little time you will have there, of course will depend upon your interest but a few key sites in and around, include the Sacred Monkey forest, a hike around the Tegalang Rice Terraces , Ubud Palace. Ubud is a very , very busy place so we would tend to head out from there to the villages, temples etc. One thing we have really enjoyed a couple of times is a bike ride downhill from Mount Batur back into Ubud. One way to see a lot more would be to hire a guide and driver to take you around for a day. You may want to consider spending and extra day in Ubud.

As far as beach time is concerned, IMO Seminyak is a good choice , striking a reasonable balance between tourist and local orientated and not narthex well documented tourist excesses of some locations. Lots of restaurants around so you are not limited to hotel dining as you would be in places like Nusa Dua etc.

I don't know either of those hotels but have stayed in westerns and Indigos elsewhere and they re both greet , mid range options - there are lots of fantastic, reasonably priced hotel choices in Bali. beaches in Bali are no great shakes so if R&R is important to you , make sure you are happy with the pool area.

I hesitate to recommend restaurants as it id s a few years since we were there and things do change, but one memorable place was "Naughty Nuris" which I think is around Seminyak - the most amazing ribs and BBQ. Not especially Indonesian , but definitely worth a visit.