JACQUI & MICHAEL FELGATE
PARENTS TO TWO DAUGHTERS
& CHANNEL 7 NEWS REPORTERS
FEATURED DESTINATION
BALI, INDONESIA
Jacqui says…
“The great thing about Bali is you can have a luxurious, five star holiday and your children are just so well catered for. It’s so easy and relaxing!”
We’ve also taken our eldest child to Thailand, but we love Bali! From Melbourne the direct flight time is much easier and our four year old coped quite well. We like to take an early outbound flight so we gain half a day – then return home on the overnight flight.
We always holiday in Bali because it’s so easy – plus so many resorts have amazing facilities for children while still being super luxurious.
Felgate favourites!
There are so many child friendly restaurants!
- We love Sea Circus for healthy lunches, great tacos and frozen margaritas.
- Book an early dinner at Motel Mexicola. The kids will love the bright open space and the food comes out quickly.
- We also took Maddie, our four year old, to La Lucciola for dinner. The kids can run around on the grass by the sea and hawkers sell glow in the dark toys – they love it!
- Some other options for child friendly meals include KuDeTa and we always take a driver to Jimbaran beach and have a seafood dinner. It’s fantastic, so cheap and the kids can run amok while you have a wine and watch the sunset!
SEMINYAK
We usually stay in Seminyak and hire a driver who has a car seat. Alternatively there are plenty of companies who hire capsules, seats and strollers very cheaply! Plus you can pre-book online before you go.
One of the great things about Seminyak is it’s basically a big circle. Everything is within walking distance or you can just jump in a cab for around $2 and nip around the area.
Last visit we split our holiday with a week at The Seminyak Resort (which is great as it’s right on the beach and really luxurious) then the remainder at The Westin in Nusa Dua.
The Legian in Seminyak is also fantastic, in the best location, super luxurious and they run kids activities.
We had a wonderful nanny in Seminyak. Susanna who is just gorgeous and Maddie took to her straight away. She brought her own craft kit and did different activities with Maddie while we went out to dinner on our own a few evenings. Also nannies in Bali are between $7 -12 a hour so it’s incredibly reasonable! The Balinese are fantastic with children and all the big resorts offer a nanny service. I was a bit apprehensive leaving Maddie with a nanny at first but Susanna was constantly sending us pictures and updates on WhatsApp, which was lovely.
NUSA DUA
We also stayed at the Westin Nusa Dua last year. The main selling point of this resort is the kid’s club. It’s superb! It is brand new and the staff are sensational. There were more staff than kids some days and they were very well qualified.
Maddie did lots of great activities and made friends with children from Hong Kong , England and Australia. They fished from a pond in the resort, did Balinese painting, made a traditional Balinese “offering”, wore traditional sarongs and went to the little temple at the resort. Every day we asked if she wanted to sit by the pool with us but she said she’d rather go to the kid’s club!
But for adults we didn’t enjoy Nusa Dua as much as Seminyak. The resort is very Westernised, the food is just ok and you’re isolated if you want to go anywhere else.
We have stayed at Ayana (home of the famous Rock Bar) in Jimbaran before we had children and I’ve heard great reports about the kid’s club there so we intend to try that next time.
Jacqui & Michael’s top Bali tips!
- Our driver took us to a coffee plantation in Ubud for the day. The Pulina Plantation is great for kids. You can do a tour of the farm and see the civet cat (the most expensive coffee in the world is made from civet cat droppings!). You can taste the different coffees and sit in a giant treehouse overlooking the famous rice terraces. The kids will love it!
- There are lots of waterparks in Bali but we like Splash Waterpark at the Canggu club. It’s a 15 minute drive from Seminyak. It’s very quiet (no queues!) and spotless. The waterslides are perfect for big and small kids, plus the parents can use the gym. You can have lunch and drinks there and it’s just a fun, easy day out!
- Seminyak is lovely because it’s away from busy Kuta and really caters for families. We find most things are within walking distance or a quick and cheap cab ride away.
- One little tip is always ask the “Taksi” driver to turn on the meter. Most are honest but some will try to rip you off.
- Also the footpaths in Bali are shocking! If your child is very young I’d take a Baby Bjorn or baby carrier – as there are lots of potholes and it’s almost impossible to negotiate with a stroller.
- If you decide to book a villa most in Bali are not fenced. You can hire a pool fence for around $15.
- I go to Body Works which is a great day spa just opposite Motel Mexicola. It’s not the most luxurious in Bali but it’s an institution. A fantastic head massage, treatment and blow-dry is about $20 and definitely worth it!
- If you do get a nanny I would highly recommended Sardine Restaurant for dinner. It’s an amazing romantic restaurant set in rice fields and the food is sensational.
- The dining options in Seminyak are endless. We also love Barbacoa, a hip Argentinian grill.
For us, the aim of a holiday with children is to try and relax – and we’ve found Bali allows us to do this (for the most part!), which is why we keep going back!
Images via @jacquifelgate7
