Last Updated on January 5, 2022 by Leslie Stroud
Want to know why we visited Bali with kids? I saw a friend’s picture on Instagram while she was in Bali and I’d never seen anything like it. That sold me and Bali landed on our itinerary. I didn’t even know where Bali was! We stayed there for six weeks total and learned plenty in our time there! With five kids in tow as we travel full-time, we learn plenty of hacks for travel with kids.
So why should you pick Bali for your next family vacation? Why is Bali a good place to visit with kids?
1. It’s so affordable. When we started to do our research, we found out how affordable it was supposed to be. Even then, we had no idea how true that is. We learned from locals that a good salary there is about $250 USD a month. Trust me, you can easily find people trying to charge you for goods/food/lodging a regular price in the US. But you can also find things for pennies on the dollar.
Lodging: You can stay somewhere quite nice for $30/night. I know, it sounds too good to be true, but it’s for real. Our family is quite large and we have to have reliable internet, so we booked an Airbnb well in advance. We worried over Christmas and New Years would also be a premium. We spent about $1000/week, which is actually ridiculous for Bali. We spent WAY too much!
I can find, right now, several Airbnb’s with private pools, air conditioning, and maid service for $40-80 per night. You can find a simple hotel room for even less, perhaps even $10 per night if you don’t mind being a bit more rustic!
Note: there are plenty of large hotel chains in Bali that enjoy charging you $100-500 per night as if you were staying in Hawaii or someone else. Blowing up your budget won’t be a problem if that’s your preference 🙂
Food: You can eat for just a few dollars per person. You’ll find a massive variation in cost, again, but eating dinner for $2-5 per person is quite reasonable. Due to all the tourists, the food is excellent. Seriously. Some of our best food in Asia was in Bali! You can find Italian, Indonesian, Indian, Chinese, pizza, lots and lots of gelato and more. If American comfort food is your thing, no problem! You’ll find that too.
Transportation: You can get a taxi driver to drive you all day and be your guide for $20-30 USD/day. What a steal! Short rides are $5 USD or less, depending on how far you are going and how many seats you need.
Tip: Be sure to download Grab, which is Asia's version of Uber. This makes finding a ride super easy. It also cuts down the negotiation with a set price.
2. You’ll fall in love with the locals. Keep your alarm bells quiet when locals scoop up your kids at dinner and entertain your toddlers. This is totally normal and something to be enjoyed! Walk down the street and enjoy the chorus of greetings and smiles. The people are just happy. All. the time.
Religion and customs dictate much of the day for Bali residents. You’ll find endless daily offerings as you walk the sidewalks and around your villa. I found this touching a beautiful.
Tip: Taxi drivers are your new best friend. This could be a licensed taxi driver or just a guy with a car; they operate the same. They can show the island. Tell them if you want to best picture, if you want to see monkeys, if you want somewhere secluded, how much time you want to spend, etc. Use them as your resource.
In general, they are more than using the Grab app for a ride (the Asian version of Uber) and Grab has its places when you just need to get from A to B. However, if you want to try traveling Bali for a day or many days, find a driver you like.
We cycled through a few in our six weeks and really came to love one in particular. He did end up going home to be with his family in his village and we had to find new drivers for our last couple of weeks. However, he felt like part of the family! Two of our kids threw up in his car, we spent sometimes 8-10 hours with him, he started helping with the kids or holding their hands to cross the street. It was fun. He taught us a ton about the local culture and religion. I think he appreciated our genuine interest as well.
3. Enjoy living a tropical life. Did you know many showers in Bali are outdoors? Enjoy your morning shower amid the leaves and rocks. It’s plenty warm, but you’ll need to overcome your shy nature and walk outdoors naked. Of course it is private, but it can been a bit exposed!
Note: There are some creepy crawlies. This is going to sound strange, but you’ll just get used to it. As you're travelling Bali, you’ll see how blessed you are to have a solid roof, clean water, trash cans and a bed. A few new “friends” around your room or villa just aren’t that big of a deal. We had lots of geckos around our house, especially at night when things got quiet. In fact, they talk to each other! We also had a mouse or two, a rat on the porch, some cockroaches and a centipede or two. However, as you walk down the street you can see rats living in many of the temples, so it’s to be expected. This was my first experience in a third world country for more than a few days, so I had to adjust a bit. However, I loved Bali all the same when we left!
Abundant waterfalls, beaches, jungles and more await you in Bali. Where else can you visit several waterfalls in a day’s drive, stop for lunch at a beautiful, delicious restaurant and not break your bank in the process? (You could do this day for under $50!)
4. The natural beauty is incredible. Who doesn’t want to get their kids out in nature? Getting outside in Bali with kids requires very little planning or effort and will certainly be a part of your visit.
One reason for the abundant natural beauty is the poverty- development is slow and they don’t have the resources to modernize it or fish out their oceans. So take the good with the bad and enjoy it! In addition to the waterfalls, enjoy walking the rice terraces, learning how to harvest rice, go rafting, learn to surf, and more. We did an overnight volcano hike and ate breakfast cooked in the volcano steam. You can swing above the jungle in one of the many swings (common IG spots!).
Note: You'll see a shocking amount of trash in Bali. Local customs and infrastructure combine in a bad way when it comes to trash. Riverbeds are often trash dumps. Streets and sidewalks often lack trash cans, which means a lot of free trash. Sadly, this is a big part of Bali too. It will make you grateful for your local trash pickup at home.
5. The culture is rich and vibrant and they like to share. Embrace it while you’re traveling Bali and they will share more and more as you show your love for it. I’d recommend a Kecak dance. See my other post about Things to Do in Bali for Families for more info, but this was such a magical experience. There are several options including in a sacred temple or overlooking an ocean cliff.
Various temples dot the island and many are open to tourists. Constant celebrations and holidays mean you’ll likely catch one while you visit.
Do I think we could live in Bali? You bet! We met many families having a great life there. We could build some Airbnb’s (with some finagling around some of the laws and regulations) and soak up a great income in a wonderful, affordable place. We could do some amazing work for good.
More importantly, I promise visiting Bali with kids is a great idea!
However, I don’t feel like it is our place. We both like a little more modern and a little bit less natural disaster risk! The volcanos are active, mudslides are real and earthquakes and tsunamis are no joke. One local told me the Balinese are incredible resilient and they will overcome whatever comes. I can see that. They embrace whatever is given and find their happiness there. It’s a beautiful way to live.
I’d encourage all families to consider Bali for their next vacation with kids. Bali holds a lot for families at incredible prices. Airfare will be your largest expense, so if you have the time, visit more in Asia while you are over in this part of the world!
Have tips for Bali? Comment below!
Further Reading
For more tips on Bali, check out Billy’s post, a fellow full-time traveler, on what you must do in Bali on your next trip. Billy has been traveling for six years! Amazing!
XOXO,
Leslie
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