Family Luxury on a Budget – Bali Style

by Amanda
(Australia)

If your family holiday budget doesn’t include business class airfares and 5-star accommodation, but you still want to expose your kids new cultural experiences overseas (whilst enjoying a little bit of luxury) then take advantage of Australia’s strong conversion rate and head to Bali.

Located only 6.5 hours from Brisbane (or only 3.5 hours from Perth), Bali is perfect for families with young children wanting to avoid long plane trips. Depending on which coast of Australia you live on, you may even be able to score some super cheap economy airfares for your whole family, meaning you can indulge a little more on accommodation or activities.

Like many developing countries, Bali offers Western travellers plenty of bang for their Western buck.

Eating Out
You can get delicious meals at local restaurants for less than AU$10 each per adult (less for kids) and a big bottle of Bintang beer will set you back less than AU$2.

Guided Transport
A full day tour with driver and tour guide is less than AU$50.

Shopping for Souvenirs
The local beach market is the best place to grab a bargain – like a beautiful Balinese sarong for less than AU$2 (depending on your haggling skills).

Luxury Accommodation (that won’t cost the Earth) – the below hotels are all around the AU$200 per night mark, depending on how far in advance you are booking and your skill in surfing for online accommodation deals, and they all feature fantastic kids clubs.

Sanur Paradise Plaza Suites, Sanur – 4 Star
Sanur Paradise is renowned as one of Bali’s best family friendly resorts and is perfect for big families or groups of families, with 3-bedroom suites available. Their Kids Club caters for children 4 and up and includes beach soccer, face painting, treasure hunts, table tennis and other supervised activities.

Bali Mandira Resort and Spa, Legion – 4-Star
Only 20 minutes from the airport, this popular family resort is ideally located next to great shopping and restaurants and within easy reach of Kuta and Seminyak. Their kids club caters for 5 – 12 year olds and is open daily from 9am to 5pm.

Bali Dynasty, South Kuta
Bali Dynasty is well known as a great place for the entire family. They have a childrens' club as well.

If you do your research and plan ahead, a 5-night holiday in Bali - staying in 4-star accommodation and including all meals and activities - should come in under $2000 plus airfares. That’s not bad for an overseas holiday that the whole family will enjoy.