I travelled to Bali in November 2010 for my 3rd visit, this time for a week with teenagers. I was travelling with my 14 yr old daughter, her friend (also 14) and my eldest daughter (17) and a group of her friends for “schoolies.”
Our trip started traumatically, as one of the 17 yr olds with us (who booked through a large chain travel centre) discovered on check in that she didn't have the required minium 6 months validity on her pasport! Fortunately she had a valid UK one at home. So after a quick dash home by dad to retrieve the other passport and we were all on our way with one very lucky girl!
On arrival off our Jetstar flight, we were met by our tour guides from ER Tours to transfer us to our hotels. We said goodbye to our schoolies group as they were staying at the Melasti Legian Beach, while we were at the Dynasty Resort.
We had booked a Family Studio room at the Dynasty. With two rooms joined by a sliding door and a King Bed in one and double bunk in the other, we had plenty of room. Best of all – good airconditioning! The girls occupied themselves at the pool and at The Den ($27 for a week)– a club just for teens with free internet access, pool and table tennis – a great place to chill and meet other teens. Location was great – close to shops, restaurants and Water Bom Park.
When we did venture out we were keen to shop and search out bargains galore. The first day we checked out the Discovery Shopping Mall – one of the many airconditioned plazas with fixed prices, which gave us a good guide of what things were worth before we tried bartering in the markets. The next day we hit the street markets and were pleased to return with armfuls of bargains. Best buys - T-shirts and DVDs!
A visit to Ubud is a must when in Bali. The scenery on the way is beautiful as you pass the rice paddy fields and lush green valley of the Ayun River. We did an art and craft tour, which included workshops where we could see the artists at work producing beautiful Batik, silver jewellery, woodcarvings and paintings.
Another excursion worth the drive into the mountains is a visit to the Elephant Safari Park. We did a short elephant ride through the park, followed by a delicious 3 course lunch in an open air restaurant.
A great restaurant experience in the Kuta area is Oceans 27 Bar & Grill. We had a lovely lunch there overlooking the ocean, while lazing on large leather sofas around an inviting pool – we just had to dive in to keep cool! Prices were very reasonable. At night go for the live music and cocktails.
We caught up there with my daughter’s schoolies group and found they were all safe, having a great time, loved the Melasti Legian. They had gone on a day trip to Lombongan Island where they loved the banana boat rides and beach BBQ. They had also tried riding on motorbikes!
With so many great things to do in beautiful, Bali we ran out of time too soon and will definitely come back to see the other great experience Bali has to offer. If you are thinking of travelling to Bali and would like more information and tips, please give me a call.