Planning A Family Holiday to Bali

One thing we love to do as a family is to travel, and over the last few years we have really made a start on our family bucket list. We have been very lucky to visit some amazing places within the UK, and made a start on some beautiful countries within Europe, but in the next couple of years I really want us to venture further afield and visit some of the countries I have wanted to visit since I was just a child myself.

Ever since I can remember I have wanted to visit Bali, having seen it on a travel show when I was just a young child, and although I haven’t yet made it there, I am hopeful that should I plan a trip with military precision, it will be something we can absolutely plan for now the children are that little bit older. I have been putting together my top tips on how to plan a family holiday to Bali and thought I would share them with you.

I always find the hardest part of any trip is choosing the dates. When we travel in the UK or Europe we are very much bound by school term dates, and yet when venturing further afield school holiday don’t always fit well with the climate of our destination.

Being a tropical country and Indonesia has two main seasons – either hot and wet or hot and dry. The dry time is normally from June to September (which works well for us with school holidays), although it can be dry from as early as April to as late as November. During this period there is plenty of sunshine and for us, travelling such a long distance, we would very much be wanting to go there and enjoy the glorious weather as much as possible!

Bali is such a beautiful island and although it is small, each area offers their own individual attractions. Where as some areas are perfect for those wanting a busy nightlife, others are more suited to families with young children, just wanting to enjoy a relaxing break, so choosing your destination wisely is so important.

I’ve been researching Bali and decided that for us, Seminyak is exactly what we are looking for. With beautiful and fairy quiet beaches, Seminyak is Bali’s upmarket beach resort area with luxury five star resorts, secluded villas, beach clubs, main streets, and stunning sunset landscapes. For us as a family, Seminyak is remote enough to still feel like Paradise, but still has all of the amenities and attractions we would look for in a populated location.

Finding the right accommodation for a family holiday is hard, especially with for us as a larger family wanting a secure, spacious environment where we can relax and enjoy our own privacy, whilst still being close to the main areas to enjoy all for the local amenities. Thanks to Villa Finder, we have been able to see a whole range of villas available, all inspected before they are listed on line, frequently inspected, well maintained, and with a consistent level of service throughout. With over 1500 villas throughout Bali, Phuket, Samui, Sri Lanka and Mauritius, we really have been spoilt for choice!

Villa Finder have a Concierge team to take care of all of their clients once the booking has been made, so if you need an airport pick up, a special dinner, a day tour, or in-villa massage, they can organise all of that for you. Even better, for every booking made through the site they are planting a tree in Sumatra, Indonesia, which shows their dedication to the environment and their ethos of giving something back.

For us, there is no better family accommodation than a villa and I am confident that with Villa Finder all of our worries and niggles will be dealt with personally and with reassurance. It’s always a worry taking your family to a country you are unfamiliar with and yet having seen their villas in Seminyak, I am already imagining myself sitting on the patio, watching the sunset, feeling more relaxed than ever before!

My least favourite part of any holiday is organising the flights and for long haul I have to admit, it does leave me feeling a little stressed. That said, with four children I think the best thing for us to do would be to break up the flight with a stop over at Shanghai or Manila so that we don’t need to make the journey all in one go. I think that planning a stop over is a great way to see more of the world, having just 24 hours in another country to get a taster for a place which one day you may choose to return to. Of the two, Shanghai is the most appealing and, having always wanted to visit China, it would be another dream come true.

From horse riding and surfing on Seminyak beach, visiting the sea temple of Pura Petitenge, educating ourselves at Nyaman Art Gallery, and scuba diving in the ocean, there are so many things we want to see and do and limited days to fit them all in!

So with all five points covered, and our plans firmly in place, it’s just a case of working out how much we need to save and how long that is going to take us! I’m hoping that this time next year I can sit here and tell you that our booking has been made, fingers and toes firmly crossed!