Bali—A Wonderful Family Destination

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This hotel was perfect for our stay in Bali, with wonderful pools, a nice beach, and an extremely helpful staff! From the moment we arrived (after travelling 24 hours from Chicago to get there), we were very well taken care of. There weren't a lot of young children at the resort, but ours were made to feel very welcome. Our kids (12 and 9) had a lot of fun in the interconnecting pools. It was also wonderful just hanging around in their open-sided beach "huts." The breakfast buffet in the hotel-restaurant was super. I think every day we discovered a new exotic fruit (and had to be shown by the staff how to eat it). They have a beach activities desk where you can book parasailing, jet skis, etc., or you can walk up the beach to slightly cheaper places, too.

A couple nights a week the hotel restaurant has a folkloric dance show with dinner. We attended one of these (the Kecak dance), and it was fantastic. You could probably have seen a fair amount of the show for free if you hadn't been in the restaurant, too. There was a family who did laundry across the road from the hotel if you needed it. We wouldn't normally spend so much money for such a wonderful hotel, but this one was paid for with Hilton Honors points, and I couldn't imagine a better use of the points.

Tanah Lot is a temple built on a rock, and you can walk out to it at low tide, but it is surrounded by water at high tide. It is only a short drive (30 to 45 minutes) from the main tourist area of Nusa Dua, and watching the sunset there makes for a wonderful evening.

We hired a taxi driver to take us there. He showed us how to get around a little bit and was happy to let us explore. (The total cost for the evening was less than $25). There is a small ceremony where you can receive a blessing from the temple priests.

It is a very scenic spot (but nearly every place in Bali is) and the sunset was very nice. On the walk from the parking area, there is a small market where you can buy various souvenirs and crafts. The wood carvings are wonderful. The sellers here are nice and low-key. Nobody pestered us to buy something, but if we stopped by their stall, that was great.

One of the more amazing things about Bali is how much of life on the island is steeped in art. Everywhere you turn, there are beautifully crafted items, and the very talented artists who have made these items. Staying in the beach areas near Denpasar, such as Nusa Dua, Sanur, or Kuta, one must-do thing for Bali is to visit the "art village" of Ubud and the surrounding towns. (Many people say you ought to stay in Ubud, but that's another whole big discussion.)

Ubud was a lot of fun, and the actual arts and crafts are created in a series of villages. On our tour, we went through different areas/villages, each with a different specialty. These specialties included stone carving, wood carving, painting, batik, and silver jewelry making. En route, we had to stop at one of several kite makers we saw. The colors painted on the nylon kites were so bright and vivid, we had to buy a couple. (Since we returning, we have seen these same kites in specialty stores in the US.) These kites were really a perfect souvenir, as they remind me of Bali. Looking at the skyline as you drive around Denpasar, you see various houses flying huge kites hundreds of feet up in the air in the nearly permanent breezes of Bali.

And don't leave Bali without visiting at least one furniture store/factory. There are several around Denpasar. They'll help you ship your purchases home. One place gave us a CD with their full catalog so we could order after we returned home. But they'd also be able to make up just about anything you want. The furniture itself is amazingly inexpensive for the most wonderful teak furniture. The shipping back to the US gets very expensive, unfortunately.