Family of 4 (kids aged 4 & 6). Kids first trip to Bali and our 4th. We scored the $87 return flights ex Perth via Air Asia.
FLIGHTS - 4.50am. We were on the first Air Asia flight ex Perth to Bali. Left 40 min's late, but service was good. Seats are OK, they don't recline far enough so is therefore hard to get comfy to sleep.
VOA - we arrived at 9.10am and as there were no other flights arriving at the same time we got through pretty quickly. We were in a taxi by 9.45am. Cost was 55,000rp at the taxi counter.
ACCOMMODATION - given that we planned the trip close to the arrival time getting accommodation at a reasonable cost proved a challenge. We liked the look of the Jayakarta Apartments given their size and functionality for the family, plus they have good sized pools.
We booked the first 3 nights at the hotel owned 1 bedroom apartment, cost $165 per night. Our expectations weren't high after reading some previous reviews. The apartment needed a good clean and a coat of paint, and the double sofa bed mattress was stained. It did the job though.
The next 3 nights we booked into one of Max & Suzanne's apartments, again a 1 bedroom unit. This place was really well presented, clean, good quality furniture, LCD TV, 2 dvd players, large fridge etc. They provided the small things like a large water dispenser (with full bottle), wine/beer glasses, toaster, sandwich maker etc. We could not fault this apartment. Cost $80 per night.
The next night we stayed at the Safari Park (details below).
The last 3 nights we stayed in another privately owned apartment (not Max & Suzanne's). This apartment was also a 1 bedroom unit, however, was larger than the others. It had a set of bunk beds in the living area, and also a 'L' shaped lounge suite. Again 2 tv's, 2 DVD players, PS2, large fridge, small oven, toaster etc. Given the slightly larger size this suited us the best out of all 3. Cost $63 per night.
The Jayakarta as an overall hotel is OK. The pools are good (3 of them in total), grounds nice. Location is pretty good with a lots of nice restaurants close buy.
DINING - we had breakfast for the first 3 days at the Jayakarta as part of their room package. We weren't expecting this to be great, but were pleasantly surprised. The egg station was really good - all types of eggs cooked to order. Other hot food was topped up regularly, good selection of breads, fruits, cakes etc.
Other mornings we had breakfast in the room. Toast, cereal etc. (Supplies bought from Bintang Supemarket).
Tried the usual places on the beach out the front of the hotel e.g. Zanzibar - thought this was over rated. Lanai - was OK. The best restaurant that we tried in this strip was GOODY's - this is located about 200 metres to the right of the hotel (past Lanai & Zanzibar). Great pizza's, ribs, Indo food. Really top quality desserts here e.g. chocolate mousse, toblerone pie, cherry ripe pie. Is also less expensive that their competition. Get a table on the balcony upstairs.
Outside of the main hotel entrance we tried YUTZ - this has pretty good food - has a European flavour. La Monda - is also pretty good, pizzas OK, Indo food pretty good. WARUNG TROPICAL - good Indo food, and they also do nice ribs. WARUNG ASIA - great Thai food, this place gets busy and service can be slow but the food is really good.
PADMA ST restaurants - we like this street as they have some really good selections. INDO NATIONAL - is always reliable. Really big servings, so go there if you have had a light lunch. Their Indo duck or chicken is really good. They also do a really nice mixed seafood BBQ plate (fish, squid and prawns). WAYAN & FRIENDS - we have always liked this place. The best satay sauce anywhere. Good for sandwiches and rolls, chicken and veal parma's are good too.
Best meal for the trip was at ULTIMOS. All of the positive reviews for this place are well justified. The food was exceptional - fresh pasta (duck ravioli was terrific), fried gnocci was different to what we expected, but nonetheless great. Scallipini was very good. Couldn't go past their white chocolate crème brulee - the standard dish of my year!
Ate at a few small warungs for the local food - always good.
ACTIVITIES - We hired a driver - Yuli. She speaks excellent English and has attractive daily rates or one-off trip rates. Her phone no is 081999913292 or yuliantini@hotmail.com. I could not recommend her highly enough.
BIRD PARK - Well worth the trip there, make sure you get there by about 9.30am so that you can see all of their morning shows. The birds and shows are amazing. Not cheap at 700,000rp for the family, but worth it. Went from there to the MONKEY FOREST, having been there before (pre kids) were a bit concerned about aggressive monkeys, however, didn't buy any bananas, and enjoyed watching other people being harassed! The kids enjoyed this place.
SAFARI PARK - was the highlight of the trip. We arranged for our driver - Yuli to take us there at about 10.00am. We checked into our room - we had a KIFARU 2 bedroom chalet. Now this room was really nice - 2 big bedrooms, 2 big bath rooms and a large living area - also a balcony that was actually functional. Great view over the pool and looking out over the zebras, rhino, ONYX etc.
After dropping our luggage off we ventured into the park, first stop was a cuddle with a baby lion. He was extremely playful with the kids! Next was a cuddle and photo with a baby orangutan - very cute. The elephant shows are excellent - the elephant bathing show is very much up close and personal - we all loved this. They also had a mixed animal show (birds, orangutans, cats, dogs etc) - entertaining. The attached water park is pretty good - but designed for smaller kids (say 2-10). Older kids would be a bit bored with this. The theme park rides are OK.
Dinner at the restaurant that night was a highlight. It appears that not many people are staying at the lodge, so the restaurant is not busy. The night that we were there a baby orangutan was in the lobby area for a couple of hours, the kids (& us) could have unlimited cuddles with the beautiful little animal.
The restaurant also is adjacent to the lion enclosure - you are literally separated by a glass window while enjoying your meals. The lions are particularly active in the morning, so breakfast was a real treat.
The hotel swimming pool was really nice. It was an infinity pool, and you could sit in the pool overlooking the 'African savanna' - a great memory.
MASSAGES/BEAUTY THERAPY - Briella Salon was the best place that we found. Massages great, my wife and daughter loved the manicures, pedicures etc. They are located outside the main entrance to the Jayakarta, and about 30 meters to the left. A green painted building - you can't miss it. Air conditioned rooms.
SHOPPING - did the usual bartering for tee shirts etc. Went to Ketuts in Garlic Lane, Legian. Now this place lives up to its reputation, their prices are as low as you could barter anywhere, and they have a comprehensive range. Will still buy the odd thing from the stalls but will use this place for most purchases. DVD's - went to a couple of different places, but the best was a large shop on Legian St opposite the entrance to the Kuta Lagoon Resort (near Melast St). We had a large list and they could source most of them.
TAXIS - used Bluebird as usual. They are everywhere and cheap. Would cost 6,000rp to get from the Jayakarta to Padma St.
Trip home 12.30 am- Denpasar airport never fails to disappoint. An amazing amount of security checks to go through. I guess made worse by having 2 tired kids with us. Air Asia - after clearing customs etc and heading through the departure gates, you are ushered to a bus. This then takes you to the plane. Appeared as though they didn't have enough buses as it took over 45 minutes to load the plane. Got back to Perth on time, and customs must have felt sorry for us with the kids, so ushered us through. We were out and home within 30 minutes.
We also used the long term parking option. Cost us $107 for 10 days. Well and truly worth it from a cost and convenience perspective.
We checked out a few other hotels for future trips, and also looked at a few villas around Legian. Some nice places that aren't well advertised, so still a few gems out there.
We are heading back in Sept/Oct (no kids this time), and will be staying for 3 nights at the Kuta Lagoon Resort (booked a poolside room in a quiet part of the pool), and heading to Lembongan fir 4 nights in a private villa with plunge pool.
I hope you enjoyed reading.