In Reply to: bali travel with kids for 1st time posted by hocko on Monday, 4. December 2006 at 08:06 Bali Time:
Hi Hocko
We took our children two days after the October incident and again in April this year. Have to admit that I felt pretty sick on the first occasion and we spent a large amount of our time in the hotel and immediate surrounds. We did rearrange some of our travel plans to ease the angst.
This year I felt much more at ease, so much so that we are planning another trip in April next year.
No one can say what precuations you should take to avoid terrorism - I'm sure all those unfortunate people would have changed their plans if they knew what lay ahead.
I don't want to dwell on that topic but can suggest other ways to travel safe include such things as making sure hands are clean before eating; never drink the tap water or use it for teeth cleaning; use swimmer's ear drops after every swim to guard against infection and drink plenty of bottled water.
These are things I would do in every country with a similar climate.
If your children have not been to Bali before they may feel a little confronted by all the street traders so a talk before you go expaining that this is how the people get their business may help.
Bali offers so much for children; loads of activities and the friendliness of the Balinese towards children cannot be over-emphasised.
We found the climate much the same in both October and April. A hotel with a kids club is a big advantage as, even if you choose not to use the facility, you can be sure that there will be other children at the same establishment.
I'm sure there are plenty of others on the forum that can offer more advice.