Bali with Kids

Call us crazy but we like traveling with our kids without yayas. It's a little thing I promised myself, no traveling abroad with yayas.

I was so excited when Philippine Airlines started direct flights to Bali this year. Our first trip to Bali in 2010 involved a nerve wracking run through the Singapore Airport with a 2 year old, tons of handcarry, me pregnant on my first trimester and a delayed flight from Manila. As soon as we sat on our seat to Denpasar, the door of the plane closed.

We didn't really enjoy the first trip to Bali as we stayed only in Seminyak. And there isn't much partying that can be done with a 2 year old. But the foie gras at Metis www.metisbali.com was unforgettable. The melt in your mouth tiny quiche at Biku also gave me something to come back for. Add super promo PAL fares and I as ready to give Bali another go - this time with 2 little kids in tow!

On this second trip, I decided to venture out into Ubud, try Nusa Dua and Canggis on top of Seminyak (for foodie reasons!).

What are my tips for families with little kids traveling to Bali?

1. On the flight: the schedule of the PAL flight is red-eye so expect to kill your first day and last day because of the schedule. It's also a bit tough for the little ones so don't schedule much on the 1st day

2. Renting a private house with driver is a good idea but risky too. I tried this for our first 2 nights at but the villa was too far from the main road and renting a car to take us around was a hassle. You can't just walk around and explore. Also, we didn't have the luxury of having knowledgeable people like a front desk to help with figuring out our itinerary.

3. It's nice to rent a hotel close to the action. We stayed at Amadea in Seminyak on the last leg of the trip and it was so convenient to be on the main road where the restaurants were. I actually liked the hotels we stayed in in 2010 in Seminyak - The Kayana and The Samaya especially because they had a car that would drop you off and pick you up for free around Seminyak. For P5000 a night though, the Amadea was a clean and central place to stay. We missed the fabulous breakfast and frills of a villa though. And the price difference isn't that big. So if you're budget can take it, spring for better accommodation. We were also ripped off by the transportation service at the Amadea.

5. Bluebird Taxi is the way to go. You don't need to deal with the touts and illegal car rentals. We discovered this taxi and private car rental service on the last leg of our trip. We wish we knew sooner!

6. Slow down your schedule - Our kids were bored with the shopping but loved just hanging out at the hotel so make sure you're hotel is super kid friendly. We didn't try the Four Seasons on this trip. We tried Aman but we find the Four Seasons experience tough to beat. Ava still remembers learning how to dance the real Balinese dance with the community children as arranged for free by Amandari though. We took the time (as best we could considering the hectic schedule I made) to enjoy the pools and the beach.

7. Baby carrier is the way to go - Our Ergo came in so handy during the long rice paddy tour and walking the 1 km (though it felt longer!) to Sari Organik. Both were pleasant outdoorsy walks made comfortable by carrying Emilio backpack style throughout. He seemed to enjoy it too!

8. Jean Francois Fichot (jf-f.com) - Since we didn't have much luck with the drivers we got for the tours, we couldn't find his workshop which was a great loss on my part as I found his jewelry in the hotel boutiques and they were beautiful. Bummer! Maybe next time right? The John Hardy outlet we went to was nice too. But since I don't know what the regular prices are, I can't really say if it was cheaper or not. We also checked out the jewelry shops in Celuk village. I would really give that a miss if you prefer more fine work as they look like what you'd get in Greenhills or Baguio.

9. Ubud and Seminyak - Among all the places we stayed in, Ubud and Seminyak would be my picks for traveling with 2 kids. It's very laid back but everything is within reach. There's bits of shopping and restaurants all around the place. The other places we went to were a little too contained.

10. The Kecak dance was a great introduction for the kids to Rama and Sita. Ava still remembers the story up to now and she's only 3! Plus the views were beautiful too. Just maybe think twice about the Jimbaran Bay dinner as being Pinoy, we do get lots of yummy fresh seafood here. I heard the Indonesian resto at the Four Seasons in Jimbaran Bay is a better option. We just didn't get a chance to try it.

Check out my other posts on the places to eat! We were lukewarm on whether we'd go back to Bali again in the near future but the places to eat we discovered (plus my desire to go to JF-F) makes me want to go back sooner rather than later.

But we think it would be better to leave the kids with lolo and lola first and maybe go back just the two of us. It was heartbreaking to be washing and sterilizing bottles nightly as well as going to bed at 9pm. I honestly wanted to be out in the restaurants exploring and having a drink or 2. I also wanted to give the yoga classes a try.