Bali is a holiday destination where you have the ability to ‘live it up’ and enjoy an affordable holiday all at once. The atmosphere is warm, the locals are welcoming and the scenery is gorgeous.

As soon as you hop off the plane and get through Customs, the tone of the holiday begins. You have people wanting to carry your bags, offer you transport and book you on tours.

With direct flights from Australia that only take about five to seven hours in most cases, Bali would have to be one of the closest, most affordable destinations outside of Australia.

In addition to lounging on the beach, cocktail in hand, what else does Bali offer for families? 

Splash around at Waterbom Park

3.8 hectares of pristine gardens with hours (a full day) of entertainment for the whole family- world class slides and rides which are maintained at international safety standards. There are about 14 slides and it’s easy to see why it was voted the number one water park in Asia.  Visit www.waterbom-bali.com

Take a daytrip to Ubud

See the monkeys at the monkey forest, dine with views of the volcano or rice fields, and visit the markets for gorgeous wooden crafts, clothing and art.

Go wild at the Bali Zoo

See over 450 rare and exotic animals in a gorgeous tropical environment. You can feed a Bengal Tiger, ride an elephant, have your photo taken with an array of animals, hang out in the petting zoo, take a pony ride and lots more. They even have a new Jungle water park. Ticket prices vary for what you want included in your pass. Visit www.bali-zoo.com for more information

Enjoy sunset drinks on the beach

A very affordable fun way to end the day, pick any restaurant on the beach that takes your fancy (my favourite is the Seminyak beach stretch or Jimbaran Bay), listen to live music, order a Bintang, sit on bean bags, order a meal if you wish, watch the kids play, have an array of shopping items come to you to look at, and watch the sun go down.

Feats on seafood at Jimbaran Bay

Even if you don’t eat Seafood (there are heaps of other food choices), the sunsets at Jimbaran are stunning and you should certainly do one night or whole day relaxing in armchairs here if you can.

Bounce around at the Canggu Club

This is the perfect outing for a rainy day. There is an indoor trampoline park Bounce Bali, Splash Water Park, Strike Bowling Alley, and an indoor tennis centre that you can put the kids in and you can go to the Body Temple Spa or Fitness Centre. Located 15 minutes from Seminyak. Visit www.cangguclub.com 

Take a Balinese cooking class

Discover the spiced flavours of Bali’s virtually unknown cuisine. Classes offer a fascinating introduction in to the exotic ingredients and unique culinary heritage of Bali. They provide a valuable insight into the various techniques of food preparation and the cooking style used in their island homes.

A lot of the resorts and hotels have their own cooking classes where they will even take you to the markets to buy the produce first. 

Enjoy Uluwatu and Dreamland Beach

It’s gorgeous, and at the right time of year, you will experience beautiful crystal clear water and reef. The beaches here can be dangerous, but sitting in the cliffs watching the water is an experience and very relaxing if your kids sit still, otherwise you can get nervous even though the restaurants have fencing all around them.

It’s quite a hike going up and down the hill, but a great day out. You can also go down the cliffs at Uluwatu and watch crazy people jump off them into the water.

Shop at the markets

Here you will find sarongs, dresses, pants, shorts, shirts, hats, sunglasses, DVD’s- and pretty much anything you could imagine! Some items are genuine Balinese items, or imports from China; others are not genuine and are sold on the black market like fake Billabong clothing, DVD’s and other designer brands.

A lot of the shops are the same and each location has its own market. Prices change depending on the location as rents, transport of goods and taxes are higher in some locations. Kuta and Sukawati Markets are by far the cheapest that I have found and sometimes the hawkers on the beach are cheaper too.

Do your research first by looking at fixed price shops, talking to other tourists or asking your driver. The general rule is to divide by three from whatever they first offer and don’t go any higher than half, or ask for Bali pricing (which they won’t give you really but it will give you an idea of their cheapest rate to tourists).

Indulge at a beauty salon

Get a massage, a pedicure, manicure, salt scrub, facial, hair wash, and more. The prices are ridiculously cheap at the smaller spa’s like Carla Spa (massage $7.50 for an hour which are fantastic), or you can go to more upmarket ones that will cost you about the same as in Australia.