Is Bali good for a family holiday?

Bali is a genuinely good family destination, for a reason that has nothing to do with facilities: children are welcome everywhere here, and staff will pick up your toddler and take them for a walk while you eat. That cultural fact changes the trip more than any kids club.

Where to base yourselves

Sanur. The best family base on the island and the least fashionable. A long flat beachfront path, a lagoon protected by a reef with calm, shallow water, no cliff stairs, no surf, gentle traffic and an old-fashioned seaside feel. Everything is close.

Nusa Dua. Resort Bali. Manicured, safe, calm water, big hotels with pools and kids clubs, and the toll road to the airport. Not the real island, and for a family with small children that is often the point.

Ubud. Green, cooler, good for rice-field walks, monkeys, swimming pools and short outings. Long drives to the beach, so treat it as its own base rather than a day trip.

Jimbaran. Beach with calm water, seafood on the sand in the evening, close to the airport.

Canggu. Great for older kids and teenagers who surf or skate, and hard work with a toddler: no footpaths, heavy traffic on narrow lanes, and beaches with strong currents.

Uluwatu and the Bukit. Spectacular and the least child-friendly geography on the island. Most of the beaches are at the bottom of long steep staircases carved into a cliff.

What works with children

• Bali Safari and Marine Park, and the Bali Zoo, both a genuinely good day.
• Waterbom Bali in Kuta, one of the better water parks anywhere.
• The Ubud Monkey Forest, with a firm warning: keep nothing in hands or pockets, and small children on your hip.
• Rice terrace walks at Tegalalang or Jatiluwih early in the morning.
• Surf lessons from around age six, in the gentle beach breaks at Kuta, Sanur or Batu Bolong.
• Cooking classes, most of which take children.
• Snorkelling from a boat at Amed or Menjangan, where the water is calm and shallow.

The practical constraints

Heat. Midday with small children is difficult. Plan mornings and late afternoons and keep the middle of the day for the pool.

Traffic. Car seats are not standard in taxis or with drivers. If you want one, bring it or arrange it in advance, and expect it to take negotiation.

Sea safety. Bali's west coast has powerful rip currents and most beaches are unpatrolled. Swim between flags where they exist, use the calm east-coast beaches with young children, and treat the ocean here as serious. This is the single biggest risk on a family trip.

Roads on foot. Footpaths are intermittent and full of holes and parked scooters. A carrier beats a pushchair almost everywhere.

Sun. Eight degrees from the equator. Hats, shirts in the water, and shade.

Health and supplies

Nappies, wipes, formula and familiar brands are all available in the larger supermarkets across the south. Pharmacies are everywhere and clinics used to treating children are in the main tourist areas.

Bring your own sunscreen, any prescription medicine in its original packaging, and a thermometer. Water is bottled or filtered, always.

Villas versus hotels

A villa with a private pool is the reason many families come, and it is also the risk: most Bali villa pools have no fence, no alarm and a step straight into deep water from the living room. If you are booking a villa with a toddler, ask specifically about pool fencing, gates and whether the pool has a shallow end, and do not accept "the pool is very safe" as an answer.

Hotels solve this and provide the cots, high chairs and kids clubs that villas usually cannot.