In Reply to: A few questions please.. posted by Balimagic on Tuesday, 20. September 2005 at 17:04 Bali Time:
The elephant park in Taro by Bali Adventure Tours seems best to me after research. The elephants are well taken care of. Book directly with them on line, or just book when you get to Ubud. I don't think the price difference would be so great whichever way you do it. Advantage of booking once you are there...you can freely pick the day you go - wait and see how everyone is feeling and the weather and such.
Ubud to Amed...give it 3 hours or more, depending on your route and if you stop or not. Our daughter is interested in collecting shells and stones, snorkelling, salt production (see at Hotel Uyah, they also have a restaurant), Tirtaganga water palace, Tenganan village (Bali Aga village). She's just turning 8, and she's helping plan our Christmas trip this year. She also wants to be sure to have plenty of pool time every day.
In Ubud, we have planned some classes like we did last year. We've got batik, wood carving, silver, music, dance, cooking in someone's home with a traditional wood stove, coconut oil making, coffee from bush to cup. In addition to all that, we're planning on some trips to Uluwatu, Penglipuran, Sukawati Market, and doing a bicycle tour from Kintamani to Keliki. After all this, we'll go to Amed for a less rigourous week!
Although most walking about Ubud requires some small hill climbs (like from the Monkey Forest to the market for example), we didn't have any complaints from our daughter last year at all. The hotel we stayed in is set up in a hill, but the rooms, pool and restaurant are basically on one level, with the spa up a bit and the road down a bit. We found staying outside of Ubud a bit was perfect for us as we had (and will have) the courses and everything organized right at the hotel or nearby. We stayed at Alam Sari. Klub Kokos has similar offerings. Right in the center of Ubud...besides the Komaneka which might be just a bit above your budget...maybe Siti Bungalows. There is a bit of a hill, but not bad.