Bali with Kids: Which Villa Area Suits Your Family

Bali works well with children, but the island is not uniform, and the area you choose matters more with kids than without them. Three things decide it: how long the transfer is after a long flight, whether the beach is safe to swim at, and how far the villa is from everything else you will want to do. This guide goes through the villa areas with those three questions in mind.

The quick answer

Jimbaran and Nusa Dua: calm water, short transfers

The sheltered eastern side of the Bukit peninsula has the calmest swimming water in Bali and the shortest drive from the airport. With small children, that combination is hard to beat — you are at the villa within half an hour of landing, and the sea is the kind you can actually let them into. Villa Kapungkur in Jimbaran has five bedrooms for up to ten guests. Grand Cliff Nusa Dua is a clifftop villa, so the beach is a short drive rather than a walk.

Seminyak: walkable, but a surf beach

Seminyak is the one area where a family can walk to restaurants, shops and the beach from the villa, which makes evenings far easier with tired children. The beach itself is wide dark sand with surf and, at times, strong currents: good for sunset and paddling between the flags, not for unsupervised swimming. Casa Evaliza is set up as a family villa, with five bedrooms for up to 13 guests.

Canggu: surf lessons and big houses

Canggu‘s beaches are beach breaks rather than reef, which is why it is the most practical place on the island for children and teenagers to learn to surf. It also has the widest choice of six-bedroom villas. Villa Akashi has a water-slide pool; Villa Marang takes up to 14 guests; Villa Bogor adds a separate guest cottage, useful for grandparents.

Seseh: space for several families

Seseh is quiet, with rice fields and an empty black-sand beach close to the villas. There is little to walk to, so families here plan around the pool and a private chef. Seseh Beach Villa II sleeps up to 16 — our largest coastal house — and suits two or three families travelling together.

The Bukit clifftops: views, with steps

In Uluwatu and Ungasan the villas sit on the clifftop and the white-sand coves sit at the bottom, reached by steps or a short drive. The water is the clearest in Bali, but it is a harder area with toddlers and pushchairs. Families with older children who can manage the stairs get the best views on the island.

Ubud: a few nights inland

Ubud has no beach, but children usually remember it best: rice terraces, the Sacred Monkey Forest, waterfalls and cooler evenings. Hold on to sunglasses, hats and snacks around the monkeys — they take anything loose. Most families spend two or three nights here and the rest of the trip on the coast.

Villa safety: what to ask before you book

• Pool fencing. Most Bali villa pools are not fenced, and many villas have open-sided pavilions, steps and water features. Ask us to confirm fencing and pool depth for each villa on your shortlist.
• Cots and high chairs. Usually available on request; confirm numbers before arrival.
• Babysitting. Can usually be arranged through the villa staff, often by people the villa has worked with for years. Book ahead for evenings out.
• Water. Tap water is not drinkable. Villas provide filtered or bottled water; use it for brushing teeth too.
• Sun. Bali is eight degrees south of the equator. Midday sun is strong even on cloudy days.

When to go with children

The dry season, April to October, is the most reliable weather. The busiest family weeks follow the Australian school holidays — late June to mid-July, late September to early October, and from mid-December through January — and the larger family villas are the first to go for those dates. If your school calendar is flexible, May, June and early September give the dry-season weather with less competition for the big houses.

Tell us the ages of the children and the number of families travelling, and we will shortlist the villas and areas that fit. The full collection is at Bali villa rentals.