Hallo Lovelies, I really hope everyone had a nice fall break. We spent ours on Bali and would like to share some recommendations and tips about this beautiful island. It wasn't our first trip to Bail, we have been there 7 years ago, but before the kids. So as a couple we had our main focus on diving, but now as a family we wanted to relax and just spent some quality time together, eat good food and enjoy the pool and beach. We decided to spent the 14 days in 3 different places, since each family member had different expectations and wishes and like that we could fulfill most of them.
We traveled to Bali with Qatar Airways via Doha and that was super easy and worked out well, I can only recommend it. The other option via Singapore would have been much more expensive. The Crew was really nice, everyone was very child friendly and the time went by pretty fast. We only had a short stopover in Doha and had to rush to the gate, so I can't tell you much about the airport, but its very modern and new with lots of options for food and shopping.
A quick bit of orientation: Ngurah Rai Airport sits only about 13 kilometers south of Denpasar, right at the edge of the Bukit Peninsula that Jimbaran belongs to. From there it was only about a 15-minute drive to our hotel, the InterContinental Bali Resort on Jimbaran Bay, which was perfect after such a long flight. The best time to visit Bali, by the way, is the dry season from roughly May to September, when humidity is lower and rain in the lowlands is unlikely.
Our first stop in Bali was: JIMBARAN. We decided to stay there since it was close to the airport and we wanted to have some relaxed days at the beginning and after the long flight without too much transfer and travel time.
Our Hotel: Intercontinental Bali Resort
We had booked the Intercontinental Bali Resort, a bigger resort at the beach, just a 15-20 minute taxi ride from the airport. We stayed at a Duplex Suite, which was really perfect for the 4 of us. The first floor was the parents bedroom and a big bathroom and downstairs they had prepared the kids beds. The rooms are a bit outdated, but that didn't bother us too much (and I'm usually picky when it comes to things like that). The resort is currently renovating one part, but we didn't here anything from the construction the whole time.
We really liked the resort, it has some beautiful gardens, but they are not over manicured but still very natural and a bit wild. I don't like if everything is much too perfect and not natural anymore. There are 2 bigger pools and lots of smaller ones, that have been perfect for the girls and all their games. Our vacation days usually happen around the pools/beach all days, the girls can easily spent 5-8 our in the water and we parents can relax - a total win/win!
The Resort has a nice beach, but please don't expect white sandy beaches in Bali, that's not what it's famous for anyway. But the Jimbaran area is well known for it's spectacular sunsets and a lot of people just come here to experience those. So make sure you don't miss them. The light was just amazing for pictures as well.
We had booked an arrangement that included breakfast and the buffet offers something for everyone. They have asian food, fresh juices, a kids buffet, fresh egg dishes, lots of local fruits as well as a granola bar. And they also have been very accommodating concerning my vegan diet and offered me several options, I had coconut yoghurt, dragon fruit sorbet or Avocado and they also had soy milk ready. The service has been really amazing and they tried to fulfill every wish, you just had to ask.
RESTAURANTS in JIMBARAN:
Beyond Bali, Jimbaran is famous for its seafood: at the stalls right on the beach the fresh fish is traditionally grilled over a fire of coconut husks, an experience that draws many guests to the bay just for the sunset.
There is to say, that restaurant prices in general are much higher in Jimbaran compared to other areas (like Canggu or Ubud). Since we have been tired we spent the first night in one of the hotel restaurants. The Garden Restaurant offers asian as well as international cuisine and even Raw Food, which was really good.
The next day we wanted to eat outside the resort and found a really nice place on the Internet, just across the street from the hotel: **Balique. **The whole ambience was really beautiful, an important aspect for me and the food they served was delicious too. So this is for sure a good option if you want to eat outside the hotel.
On the this evening we visited another restaurant which we found via recommendations on the Internet: OPIA - not in walking distance but just a short taxi ride away. They have a stunning interior and its situated a bit higher up a hill, such a nice ambience as well. The only strange thing, we have been the only guests (we have been there early). But the waitresses have been very happy to look after our girls and to play with them and we could have such a relaxed dinner. The food is a bit more experimental, which I really like and it tasted very good. I just would have loved a bit more choices on the vegan or even vegetarian side.
For the last evening we decided to go to the Teppanyaki Restaurant at the Hotel. Once a week they offer a All-You-Can-Eat Special and since we all like Teppanyaki a lot and the girls usually enjoy the show we thought that would be a good choice. And the food was really good, but they had way to many people on one Teppanyaki, so it took a very long time until everyone had the food. Not the best thing with kids that can't sit still longer than 2 minutes.
Our 4 days in Jimbaran flew by and we had a very relaxed start to the Bali vacation. We would definitely recommend the Intercontinental for families, I would not want to spent 14 days there, since the options for restaurants are limited and as mentioned before a bit more expensive, but for a week it's a nice place.
Next stop for us was Canggu, you can read about our time there here.
Our Bali trip continued, of course: we wrote about our time in Canggu and in Ubud in parts 2 and 3. And if all that island feeling leaves you craving a bit of Southeast Asia in your own kitchen, our curry with broccoli, coconut milk and bulgur is just the thing.
Love Verena
