5th trip to Bali - 4th family trip. Hubbie (51) me (43) kids (14, 12 & 7). Last in Bali in 2005
SPA
Went to Febris for massages. Traditional massage Rup 110,000, Stone massage and facial 220,000 and massage and hair/scalp treatment 220,000 (I think). All were great except don't expect too much in the hair drying area - these girls are great beauticians but don't know how to dry hair!! Also had French manicures with my 2 daughters - looked great but within 5 minutes of arriving home the polish started chipping off. I think I should live the idle life!!!!
ACTIVITIES
Went to Waterbom x 2 - always a great day out for the kids and worth the price. The cash wristband is a great idea. Hired a Cabana the first day - really worth it if you are having a long day at Waterbom.
Safari and Marine Park: I spent a long time investigating this on the forum and chose this over Bali Zoo. We wanted to include the Elephant ride but when we arrived at 10am only rides at 5.15pm were available. We didn't have a brochure for the park, so were very lucky to come across the 2 educational shows. I would advise you to get a brochure if you are going so that you can plan to be at these shows. The entry price allows you to have only 1 photo taken with the animals (who are extremely sedated!!) so we missed out on a photo with the baby tiger. So plan that one ahead too. The marine park I thought was a bit of a let down - the entry price allows you only one ride and tickets are 30,000 for each ride - all adds up when you are a family of five. The kids enjoyed the day but I am now keen to see Bali Zoo as I think this may be better value for money.
Kintamani and Hot springs: Our driver Made brought us to the Hot Springs first which we really enjoyed. It is situated at the base of the volcano. Entry price was 150,000 for over 12 yrs and 90,000 for kids. This included a towel, welcome drink and lunch - choice of snapper or chicken sate. Both dishes were lovely. Being in the hot springs was like being in the bath - so relaxing and there were very few people in it while we were there. The view of the volcano was great - would consider a trek in the future though not too keen on the early start (1am!)
Tree Top Adventure Park: Again we were very lucky in that not too many people were there at the same time as us. I found this very challenging though my daughters loved it and finished the whole thing. My 7 year old did really well to complete 2 courses, especially as he was just barely tall enough to hold on to some of the wires. Two course were more than enough for hubbie and me, especially as I had Bali Belly that day - quite a challenge when you are swinging on a flying fox!!!
GENERAL BITS & PIECES
I thought Bali was extremely busy this time and full of Europeans, who were not altogether polite when it came to footpath etiquette!!! (I can say that as I come from Ireland!!!!).
We actually had to stand and wait for taxis on several occasions - unheard of on previous trips!! We used taxis with meters all the time and always asked for the meter to be turned on a soon as we got in the taxi. We did have to exit one who refused to turn it on, otherwise no problems.
Exchange rate was 8100 - 8240 for the whole time we were there and we always changed our money at the Kodak shop close to the Dynasty - never had a problem - though they seldom had 100,000 notes!
Hubbie went into the surf most days and had a great time with the kids on boogie boards. I managed the surf on 2 occasions - but best to leave that to the rest of the family!!!
We hired a PutPut (Rup 200,000) to take us out towards the airport and watch the flights land and take off. That was a very pleasant way to spend an hour.
Found a great supermarket - Pepitos - turn right out of the Dynasty, left at the roundabout and about 1km up on the left hand side. Takes about 15 minutes to walk there. They sell great fruit, salad and cold meat (we made our lunch in the room with fabulous bread/baguettes from Bread Talk), and they also sell spirits - Absolut Vodka and Smirnoff Vodka - about 850,000. We got a bottle of gin, the only kind they had available which cost $10!!! If you put plenty of lemon in the gin it wasn't too bad!!!!! What else do you do when the duty free runs out!!
OUR ACCOMMODATIO DILEMMA
We have now stayed 4 times at the Bali Dynasty, and although the room is absolutely perfect for us, we only ate once at the Golden Lotus and had lunch by the pool on our last day. Otherwise we really only used the pool but didn't get involved in the activities. However it is great having ice available and we always had Bintang on ice for lunch and pre dinner. But we feel that we are paying for a service at the Dynasty that we don't really use. I looked at the Febris - but the family rooms are a bit too basic with virtually no cupboard/drawer space - though they have a fabulous full size empty fridge. And the pool area is only ok. On the other hand The Bali Garden Hotel's facilities are as good if not better that the Dynasty and we frequently ate at the Boardwalk café. We couldn't get in to see a family room though I figure that by the time we get to Bali again, all the rooms will be renovated and a family room will suit us just fine. I just figure we could save a lot on accommodation and put that into food and shopping. And the location of the BGH is perfect - even closer to the surf at Kuta and right beside Discovery. So we're still trying to decide where we should stay next time. Mind you I am trying to convince hubbie that a week by ourselves in Seminyak would be perfect!!!
All in all we had a great 3 weeks, knowing that it will be a long time before we can have that much time there again. Our 14 year old is still busy trying to catch up on school work!!
Thank you all again for making sure this was our best Bali holiday yet.
Cheers!!