Our family of four (2 adults and 2 boys aged 8 & 6) spent 10 days in Bali in July. It was my third time to Bali but the last time was 12 years ago. The kids had never been.
In preparing for the trip I got a lot of great information from the posts and JBRs on this forum so hopefully this JBR will help some future travellers!
FLIGHTS
We flew Jetstar from Perth. Incredibly cheap flights. For a budget airline I could not fault them. We took our own food on (made up sandwiches for the kids). The timings of the flights were ideal as we arrived at our hotel at 2:30pm on the day we arrived and left the hotel at 11:30am the day we left. I would definitely recommend them.
HOTEL
We stayed at the Legian Beach Hotel for the majority of our time. Great gardens and grounds. Good location. We stayed in a deluxe family room which was OK. Rooms were a bit dated and dark but clean enough. People often complain about the distance of these rooms to the pools etc. but we never found this to be an issue (it is really just a 5 minute walk at most). Bungalows would have been nicer but we would have needed two bungalow rooms for our family of four which would have been too expensive. I would recommend staying there but personally I wouldn't stay there again (only because I like trying new places)
We also stayed overnight at the Mara River Lodge (Bali Safari Park). We stayed in a 2 bed Kifaru Room which was great. The interior was decorated like an African safari hut but still had all the modern conveniences and had plenty of room (2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, Living area, Kitchenette and Balcony). Our view was of the Zebras and Rhinos! We didn't swim in the pool but it looked very nice. Definitely recommend the park (and the accommodation as it takes 1 ½ hours on a very bumpy road to get there from Legian!)
FOOD
When staying at LBH we ate mostly along the strip of eateries on Legian Beach between the hotel and the Double 6 intersection. Lanai, Zanzibar and Seaside were all great. Seaside has an upstairs area which plays movies every night which was great for the kids. Our kids are very fussy eaters but whenever we asked for things cooked a certain way it was never too much trouble (ie pasta with ham and cheese but no sauce or grilled chicken and steamed rice etc.). We also ate at Sheppy's on Melasti Street which was good and soooo cheap!
We ate at the Hotel a couple of times. The first time was quite expensive so after that we just had snacks on the terrace at happy hour watching the sun set. The food (including the breakfasts) was good quality though.
We also ate at:
Hard Rock - Expensive and the room was freezing cold - couldn't wait to leave. Pretty average all up.
Pearl - Had the kids babysat for the night and had a wonderful dinner here. Expensive by Bali standards but still cheap by Perth standards and the food and cocktails were exceptional. Plus the restaurant itself was such a pleasant environment and experience.
Ku De Ta - Very busy but a great place and a great vibe. Food and drinks very expensive but once again, you could not fault the quality. Only issue was that they mixed up one of our orders and we had to wait a long time for a round of drinks. Would love to go back without the kids maybe.
When staying at the Mara River Lodge we ate dinner at the Tsavo Restaurant which was expensive (once again by Bali standards) but nice. The breakfast buffet was not very nice though. Most of the options were cold or needed topping up. Was certainly an experience with the Lions right up against the windows.
SHOPPING
We didn't do a lot of shopping. Went to Discovery for DVDs. Visited one of the stores on the ground floor. Quality ranged but they did tell us that one of the ones we chose was bad quality (some other bad quality ones slipped through without telling us though!). A couple of cartoons our kids picked out were in Japanese and the store were happy to replace them. My wife bought some handbags and purses at one of the stores in Discovery and was very happy with the quality and price.
Went to Ketut's in Garlic Lane but couldn't really see anything great and it was far too busy. Ended up spending more time at some other fixed price shops (Miss Debby's was one and the other was just called Bali Shop?). Not as busy as Ketut's and did not hassle you like at the markets.
Also went to the Surf Outlet stores on the Bypass Road which had shirts and shorts about half the price of the Surf Shops on Legian Street. There was a great Sports Outlet Store as well. Lots of cheap sneakers but the men's shoes didn't seem to be any larger than size 8!
Overall had a great time and was more relaxing than I expected it to be with two active kids. We did a lot of walking up and down the beach and through the streets around the Hotel. Only really ventured down Legian Street once on foot. Went to Waterbom Park for half a day which was great and had to try out the new Climax waterslide. Apparently I let out a 'man-scream' but I think the adrenalin pounding in my ears during the ride deafened me from it!
My wife and I are going back in a few weeks time for a quick three day mid week visit with some friends. Will be staying at the Ulin Villas in Seminyak and are leaving the kids at home this time. We were going to go to Melbourne for the weekend but Bali is just so much cheaper from Perth. Feels a bit decadent going twice in the space of five weeks though (but I am sure we will get over it!)