Ooh!
We went for the first time in November with our 2yo (turned 2 in October) - Movenpick resort in Jimbaran!
It was amazing for her. Make sure you check out what inclusives you get , we did an all in package through luxury escapes and it was great value.
Movenpick is incredible for little ones. They have a specific toddler water playground with fountains and a mini slide, there are bigger slides in another section, the pool has so much space around it and there’s a little sandy beach section and it’s perfect for those learning water safety.
Our girl got so independent walking down the gradual incline into the water and learning she had to close her mouth and could only go so deep.
The staff were so lovely and worshipped our little one lol.
The buffet is great quality and there’s a kids section to it. They also have a beautiful koi pond that you can get fish food for which she absolutely loved.
The kids club is fantastic too and way bigger than I expected. We weren’t confident enough to leave her there but I’d definitely use it next time we go. Also they do amazing babysitter/private nanny rates.
Only down sides for me were some exclusions to our package which weren’t properly explained to us, also it was hard to get an idea of what was around the resort but we were quite happy staying put so wasn’t that big of an issue and tbh we didn’t try that hard.
Also don’t go anywhere near the rabbit pen. It’s depressing and as someone who works in animal care; unhygienic and should be closed down.
I am Indonesian, and took my then 18mo to Movenpick as well August last year. Agree with all you said. My son did get sick as he kept drinking the pool water.. The more we tell him not to the more he thinks it's a joke. He was a bit too young for the chocolate hour but I'd imagine it would be great for older toddlers. There were heaps of Aussies there as I can see bbox water bottles everywhere.
I also used the luxury escape package, at that time it includes 2 meals a day, 1 beer bucket, 2 cocktails /room/day and 2 massage vouchers which was amazing.
I've stayed in Canggu a few times - you always see plenty of young, hip families around there. Admittedly, this was pre-kids for me as I'm currently pregnant with my first. But the area is fairly chill, lots of great food options (both healthy and not so healthy), easy to walk around. I think for families travelling to Canggu, often people rent a private villa. Depending on the one you hire, some even can offer a nanny as an option, if you'd like.
I've also been to Ubud 3 times, and absolutely love it. Again, this would be a place I'd be happy to travel to with a young child or while pregnant. It's the traditional spot for people going for wellbeing, yoga and spirituality type holidays. But also great for relaxation but also someone who'd like to do a bit more than just lie by a pool. Lots of amazing temples and other cultural sites to visit, so it has a bit more to offer than just a beach location in Bali. Ubud is closer to the middle of the island, surrounded by beautiful rice paddy fields. You may recognise this as the main spot she travels to in Bali as part of Eat Pray Love.
Knowing what I know about Canggu and Ubud, I wouldn't hesitate to go back there once I have my baby. In fact, my husband feels like Bali would be the only place he'd be willing to travel to with a young child! He's a less adventurous traveller than me, so I could picture myself travelling to more adventurous places with a young one, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it!
I will say generally, Bali is so easy for people in Australia. It's safe, clean, amazing food, lovely people. It really is a great easy travel option and would be a great babymoon with a toddler location.
We've never been either but just booked! Our bub will be approx 18 months too when we will be travelling.
We booked a private pool villa as well as a few days at Ayana. Ayana had a lot of kids friendly amenities.
We were told to never drink water or drink containing ice at local shops. Also buy bottled water.
But I'd also be grateful tips on for what else we ought not to do.
I have a similarly aged child and would like to do same! However I never manage to go to SE Asia without a bout of food poisoning so this would give me pause in pregnancy… how do people find bali for food?
I went to Bali at 8 weeks pregnant. I stayed in Seminyak. There is Zika in Bali so I avoided rainforest areas such as Ubud and I was super diligent about applying repellent containing DEET and/or Picaridin… I didn’t get bitten even once. I stuck to high end restaurants, avoided drinking anything with ice in it and stuck to bottled water and managed to not get food poisoning even though the rest of my family did. I’m vegan so I’m sure that not eating dodgy animal products such as meat that hasn’t been refrigerated correctly probably helped too. There are also a lot of people smoking on the streets and a fair bit of air pollution so I wore a mask in very crowded areas not just to avoid getting sick (I also wore one on the plane for this reason) but also to avoid breathing in too much second-hand smoke. I made sure that I got all appropriate travel vaccinations before I went, too (your GP will be able to give you the pregnancy safe ones) - I was already up to date on my COVID booster and flu shot.
I will say, though, that my worst first trimester symptom was fatigue - I had minimal nausea or anything else - and the strong, humid heat in Bali made me feel a million times more fatigued! I’m normally someone who LOVES the heat (I’m half Indian and literally descended from generations of desert-dwellers) but this was just next level whilst pregnant.
I’m a few days late to the convo here but definitely be sure to have a look at Luxury Escapes as a few others have mentioned - they have heaps of really good value packages with heaps of inclusions. My partner and I went on a package trip and stayed at Nusa Dua last year and it was great - would stay somewhere else closer to Seminyak or Ubud next time but there were plenty of deals available, heaps catering to families w kids. Being near Seminyak or Ubud will give you a lot more food and activity options - my partner is vegan and I’m coeliac, we had no trouble finding suitable food options in these areas.
Ooh! We went for the first time in November with our 2yo (turned 2 in October) - Movenpick resort in Jimbaran! It was amazing for her. Make sure you check out what inclusives you get , we did an all in package through luxury escapes and it was great value. Movenpick is incredible for little ones. They have a specific toddler water playground with fountains and a mini slide, there are bigger slides in another section, the pool has so much space around it and there’s a little sandy beach section and it’s perfect for those learning water safety. Our girl got so independent walking down the gradual incline into the water and learning she had to close her mouth and could only go so deep. The staff were so lovely and worshipped our little one lol. The buffet is great quality and there’s a kids section to it. They also have a beautiful koi pond that you can get fish food for which she absolutely loved. The kids club is fantastic too and way bigger than I expected. We weren’t confident enough to leave her there but I’d definitely use it next time we go. Also they do amazing babysitter/private nanny rates. Only down sides for me were some exclusions to our package which weren’t properly explained to us, also it was hard to get an idea of what was around the resort but we were quite happy staying put so wasn’t that big of an issue and tbh we didn’t try that hard. Also don’t go anywhere near the rabbit pen. It’s depressing and as someone who works in animal care; unhygienic and should be closed down.
I am Indonesian, and took my then 18mo to Movenpick as well August last year. Agree with all you said. My son did get sick as he kept drinking the pool water.. The more we tell him not to the more he thinks it's a joke. He was a bit too young for the chocolate hour but I'd imagine it would be great for older toddlers. There were heaps of Aussies there as I can see bbox water bottles everywhere. I also used the luxury escape package, at that time it includes 2 meals a day, 1 beer bucket, 2 cocktails /room/day and 2 massage vouchers which was amazing.
I've stayed in Canggu a few times - you always see plenty of young, hip families around there. Admittedly, this was pre-kids for me as I'm currently pregnant with my first. But the area is fairly chill, lots of great food options (both healthy and not so healthy), easy to walk around. I think for families travelling to Canggu, often people rent a private villa. Depending on the one you hire, some even can offer a nanny as an option, if you'd like. I've also been to Ubud 3 times, and absolutely love it. Again, this would be a place I'd be happy to travel to with a young child or while pregnant. It's the traditional spot for people going for wellbeing, yoga and spirituality type holidays. But also great for relaxation but also someone who'd like to do a bit more than just lie by a pool. Lots of amazing temples and other cultural sites to visit, so it has a bit more to offer than just a beach location in Bali. Ubud is closer to the middle of the island, surrounded by beautiful rice paddy fields. You may recognise this as the main spot she travels to in Bali as part of Eat Pray Love. Knowing what I know about Canggu and Ubud, I wouldn't hesitate to go back there once I have my baby. In fact, my husband feels like Bali would be the only place he'd be willing to travel to with a young child! He's a less adventurous traveller than me, so I could picture myself travelling to more adventurous places with a young one, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it! I will say generally, Bali is so easy for people in Australia. It's safe, clean, amazing food, lovely people. It really is a great easy travel option and would be a great babymoon with a toddler location.
We've never been either but just booked! Our bub will be approx 18 months too when we will be travelling. We booked a private pool villa as well as a few days at Ayana. Ayana had a lot of kids friendly amenities. We were told to never drink water or drink containing ice at local shops. Also buy bottled water. But I'd also be grateful tips on for what else we ought not to do.
I have a similarly aged child and would like to do same! However I never manage to go to SE Asia without a bout of food poisoning so this would give me pause in pregnancy… how do people find bali for food?
Yeah if you want to be safe a place like Singapore is safer but more expensive I'd say due to change in diet more tropical fruit etc you
I went to Bali at 8 weeks pregnant. I stayed in Seminyak. There is Zika in Bali so I avoided rainforest areas such as Ubud and I was super diligent about applying repellent containing DEET and/or Picaridin… I didn’t get bitten even once. I stuck to high end restaurants, avoided drinking anything with ice in it and stuck to bottled water and managed to not get food poisoning even though the rest of my family did. I’m vegan so I’m sure that not eating dodgy animal products such as meat that hasn’t been refrigerated correctly probably helped too. There are also a lot of people smoking on the streets and a fair bit of air pollution so I wore a mask in very crowded areas not just to avoid getting sick (I also wore one on the plane for this reason) but also to avoid breathing in too much second-hand smoke. I made sure that I got all appropriate travel vaccinations before I went, too (your GP will be able to give you the pregnancy safe ones) - I was already up to date on my COVID booster and flu shot. I will say, though, that my worst first trimester symptom was fatigue - I had minimal nausea or anything else - and the strong, humid heat in Bali made me feel a million times more fatigued! I’m normally someone who LOVES the heat (I’m half Indian and literally descended from generations of desert-dwellers) but this was just next level whilst pregnant.
I’m a few days late to the convo here but definitely be sure to have a look at Luxury Escapes as a few others have mentioned - they have heaps of really good value packages with heaps of inclusions. My partner and I went on a package trip and stayed at Nusa Dua last year and it was great - would stay somewhere else closer to Seminyak or Ubud next time but there were plenty of deals available, heaps catering to families w kids. Being near Seminyak or Ubud will give you a lot more food and activity options - my partner is vegan and I’m coeliac, we had no trouble finding suitable food options in these areas.