Bali Villa Holidays

Villa Bossi, Lovina (North Bali)

This is the story of our villa holiday in Bali, there are many other villas available to rent all over Bali with similar facilities to suit different needs. For us, it all started with a flight on Saturday with Air Asia. For those who do not like traveling on low cost company, Air Asia will definitely make you change your mind.Brand new aircraft, nice staff. We didn’t pre-book any lunch for the children (big mistake, make sure to do it while booking your flights), however we’ve managed to have pizzas on board, at a small cost, and the kids said that it tasted good.

On our arrival in Denpasar, a car was waiting for us (the driver of the villa we’ve had rented out) The car had bottles of water and cool wet towels for us. Because we were 6 people, we had one car just for the luggage and one car for us all. It’s a pretty long drive to Lovina, make sure to take some sweets and biscuits with you. So, after 3 hours driving (some mountain roads are involved, car sick people be aware!), we’ve arrived in this beautiful villa in Lovina: Villa Bossi.Right on the beach, 4 bedrooms, nice pool and great size garden.

We were welcomed by very nice staff, who had prepared a welcome dinner of Nasi Goreng for us. So no need to worry about dinner, which was great since we’ve arrived at nearly 7pm.Everybody settled down in the house, and the following morning the staff arrived at 8am to prepare breakfast.But since we have early birds at home (5.30am!), breakfast was already done by the time the staff arrived.

The house is great for a family of 8 people (4 bedrooms all with double beds).It will suit any family with children 3yo+. There is a cot, but on the downside no high chair, which is not convenient as the dining table is very high.Also like many villas in Bali, the pool doesn’t have security and the beach right near by adds to the danger of water.

The villa’s website provides you with a non exhaustive list of the different activities you can do. Also the villa provides a printed listed of the addresses, including restaurants and others so you can join during your stay.

The north of Bali is not as touristy as the South, which is great if you are looking for a quiet and relaxing holiday.Still plenty of things to do with (or without the kids). Bali Treetop Adventure Park is an elevated activity circuit located within the botanical garden. A great place to hang around with the kids. There are various circuits for different ages and abilities from 4 years (95cm minimum height restriction) to adult (maximum 120kg).

Go and snorkel at Menjangan Island. It’s a “must do” in this part of Bali. The staff of the villa will help with the booking of the traditional boat. Make sure to pack some snacks as the staff only provides you with water and towels. But the kids were starving after one hour of snorkeling, and lucky me I had 2 spare muesli bars in my bag.

On the way back to the airport or around this area, stop at Made’s Warung for lunch. You have one in Kuta and one in Semyniak. This restaurant/gallery is fabulous.  An amazing selection of food, great staff, incredible surroundings.

Words and Pictures kindly provided by Nadege Bourdin

Sienna Villas, Seminyak, Bali

Planning a recent family vacation to Bali with the in-laws and our 1yr old in tow, I was keen to avoid staying in a hotel and instead wanted the extra private space and the feeling of a ‘home’ that a villa offers. Everyone knows that you are spoilt for choice when it comes to villa accommodation in Bali – but I had one key criteria when looking for the right one for us: it needed a pool fence. Our daughter had only recently started walking and was certainly too young to understand keeping away from the pool, and we didn’t want a week of constant worry on our otherwise stress-free holiday! So it was with much excitement that after several hours of internet searching I discovered Sienna Villas in Seminyak, who indeed provide a pool fence upon request for their 3-bedroom villas.

Sienna Villas is located in the hub of Seminyak with boutiques, bars, cafes, delis, and great restaurants at the doorstep. The villas themselves are set back from the road down a long alley, so peace and tranquility are assured. Back on the main street, the alley is alongside the Bintang Supermarket which has all your grocery needs and then some! Fresh fruit & veg, fresh bread, dairy, toiletries, nappies, lotions, beer – you name it! They’ve even got a great selection of kids toys and basic sports equipment if you don’t want to travel to Bali with your own. Fronting this supermarket is a simple yet gorgeous patisserie which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, or coffee and cake if that’s all you want…their vanilla slice is super delicious!

As for the villa itself, fabulous! We stayed in the 3-bedroom villa (there are a few of them) and each room is huge with a king-size bed, plenty of storage space, and large and lovely ensuite bathrooms in each. The bedrooms are all upstairs, and the open-plan living area is downstairs (kitchen, dining, lounge…). The comfortable lounge area has TV/DVD/CD etc, and is gorgeously decorated. We requested a baby cot and highchair by the villa, so we didn’t have to carry them with us from Jakarta, and for the nights we ventured out, they easily accommodated our requests for babysitting. Included in the rate is daily breakfast – cooked to order in our own villa, and served at our own dining table at the time booked by us the night before. They leave a menu out the evening before – you just let them know who wants what, and when!

For additional fees the villa can also organize all sorts of extra services: airport pick-up & drop-off, daily car hire, in-villa massages, in-villa cooking for lunches/dinners, and babysitting. Free of charge the villa staff can organize taxis for you, whether you want to take some surfing lessons or do the more mainstream shopping at Kuta, or to head to one of the many headliner restaurants in the near vicinity: Huu, Sarong, The Living Room, La Lucciola, Mykonos, Potato Head, and of course the iconic Ku De Ta (a must for sunset cocktails while listening to uber-chic music!).

This villa exceeded our expectations, and for families who want peace of mind with their kids around pools I would recommend and return to this villa!

Words and pictures kindly provided by Melanie Searle

Villa Asmara, Cemagi

At the beginning of April we travelled, along with another family and two nannies, to Bali and stayed in the Villa Asmara.  Around 45 minutes to an hour from the airport, the villa was situated in a stunning location, sandwiched between paddy fields and the beach in Cemagi.

The villa itself was extremely well maintained, the rooms were modern, clean and a few featured an interesting outdoor bathroom.  With two junior double rooms and two master rooms, the villa easily slept eight.  They were able to provide us with a travel cot and bedding for the babies.

The pool area was very picturesque and the pool was a good size.  There was no pool fence unfortunately, however there was a shallow gully all the way around the outside of the pool which the babies loved playing in.

In our opinion, if the villa was let down by anything, it was the staff.  Although they carried out their duties and it was very clean, they didn’t seem keen to go to any extra effort outside of their usual routine to accommodate us.  The menu on offer was reasonable, although it lacked options for children and my son ended up eating pizza on most nights.  The food seemed quite pricy considering the quality and there were no highchairs.

The website states that the villa is 20 minutes from Seminyak but in reality it was more like 40 because of the traffic and narrow roads in the Cemagi area.

All in all we had a very enjoyable stay and this villa was very good value for the price we paid.  Perhaps for a family with children, it may be easier to stay closer to the main areas, something that we would certainly consider for next time.  However, for a very tranquil holiday in a spectacular location, this is a very nice option.

Words and pictures kindly provided by Claire Kar

Bali With Kids Guidebook
At last Bali has it's own specialised guidebook for families! If you are looking for ideas of what to to do, where to go on a sunny or rainy day, Bali with kids is the answer. It lists over 300 venues, from long time favourites to the latest kid friendly venues. It is suitable for parents of infants up to teenagers and comes in a friendly format to carry around, colouful and easy to read. A must have if you are planning to visit Bali or if you are a resident of the island.

If you would like to view the contents of the guidebook before buying please visit www.baliwithkids.com and 'Preview Guidebook'.

Bali with Kids can organise a special fast delivery service for friends of the Family Guide to Jakarta. The price of the book is USD 22 (delivery incl.) with 10% given to Yayasan Balita Sehat (Foundation for Mother & Child Health) which FGJ support. If you'd like to order for yourself or your friends visit http://www.baliwithkids.com/Guidebook/index.php/order-in-jakarta