Bali with kids: a family trip that works for everyone

Bali with kids works when the trip is built around them: a villa with a pool or a resort with a kids' club, a beach club that welcomes children, restaurants with a kids' menu, and a car with driver that has room for everyone and the bags. Several of the island's best-known venues are adults-only, so check before you plan the day. Here is who says yes, in their own words.

Where to stay

A private villa is the easiest base for a family: your own pool, your own kitchen, the children's rhythm instead of a hotel's. When you browse our villas, ask about the bed layout, whether the pool is fenced, and how the stairs are built — the concierge checks with the owner. The villa rental guide covers the rest.

If you prefer a resort, two in our catalogue publish a family offer:

• The Apurva Kempinski, Nusa Dua: its Jalak Family Club runs a Montessori-inspired programme of hands-on activities for children up to twelve, with a treehouse-concept indoor playground, an outdoor playground and a kids' pool with water slides.
• Regent Bali Canggu: its family brochure describes connected suite layouts for families and a Kids Corner in The Library, with activities, board games and creative pursuits.

The Apurva Kempinski

Restaurants · Nusa Dua

The Apurva Kempinski Bali is a five-star resort on the cliffs of Nusa Dua, facing the Indian Ocean, and its dining spreads across several venues. Koral, which the hotel presents as Bali's first aquarium restaurant, serves set and tasting menus beside the tanks, adults only at dinner. Izakaya by OKU is a sister to OKU in Jakarta; Reef Beach Club sits on the sand beside a 42-metre infinity pool; Bai Yun serves hot pot and dim sum; L'Atelier by Cyril Kongo is a lounge with ocean views and Mediterranean tapas.

Regent Bali Canggu

Restaurants · Canggu

Regent Bali Canggu is IHG's beachfront resort on Batu Bolong, on Canggu's southwest coast, and the first Regent in Indonesia. Designed by WATG with interiors by HBA, it has 150 rooms and suites. Two of its restaurants are led by Chef Andrew Walsh: Sazón, a Mediterranean neighbourhood hideaway, and CURE Bali, European cooking shaped by Asian flavours. The Beach House pairs its pool and ocean breeze with craft cocktails and seafood, and the resort is home to the first Regent Spa & Wellness.

For the areas themselves, read where to stay in Bali.

Beach clubs that welcome children

Most of Bali's famous beach clubs are adults-only, but a few are not:

• White Rock Beach Club, Melasti, calls itself a family-friendly destination, with a dedicated kids' pool and a kids' menu; children must be supervised by a parent or guardian at all times.
• Le Bleu, Nusa Dua, has a kids' menu, and at weekends children play at Le Petit Corner while the adults eat; the staff can advise on optional paid kids' activities and nanny options.

White Rock Beach Club

Beach clubs · Uluwatu

White Rock Beach Club sits on Melasti Beach in Ungasan, near Uluwatu, at the end of the cliff. Guests settle on daybeds, sofas or cabanas around a lagoon pool and a rock pool; families have a kids' pool and a kids' menu. There is a spa, a large covered restaurant serving local and international dishes, and enclosed, air-conditioned party suites overlooking the pool and the ocean. Resident DJs play every day, and foam parties run at weekends. The club also hosts weddings and events.

Le Bleu

Beach clubs · Nusa Dua

Le Bleu by K Club is a beachfront restaurant and beach club on Nusa Dua Beach, in the ITDC resort area, run by the K-Club Group. The look is French Riviera by way of Bali, all blue and white, with sunbeds, cabanas, terraces and an indoor dining room. The kitchen leans on seafood, from lobster linguine to yellowfin tuna tataki, with vegetarian and vegan options. The weekly programme mixes yoga, cocktail workshops, beach games and festive Sunday gatherings with a DJ.

Every rule, pool by pool, is in our family-friendly beach clubs guide, including Luna's daytime hours for children and El Kabron's restaurant-only policy.

Restaurants with a kids' menu

• Akar, in the jungle near Ubud, welcomes children, with a kids' menu, high chairs, crayons and colouring books, and strollers are allowed inside. There is no kids' corner or play area.
• Koral, the aquarium restaurant at The Apurva Kempinski, welcomes children aged twelve and under at lunch, seated at all times, with kids' menus; dinner is for adults only.
• Sardine, in Seminyak, describes itself as a family restaurant, in an open-air bamboo building looking over the rice paddies.

Akar

Restaurants · Ubud

Akar, meaning “root”, is the steakhouse of K Club in Kedisan, Tegallalang, north of Ubud, set in the greenery of the jungle. Spread over two floors with two bars and an open kitchen, it grills Australian and Japanese cuts, Wagyu included, over charcoal, alongside seafood, charcoal-roasted bone marrow and a curated wine list. On Friday and Saturday nights dinner turns festive, with live DJs, dancers and a laser show. Akar has won Best Luxury Steakhouse in Indonesia at the World Luxury Restaurant Awards.

Sardine

Restaurants · Seminyak

Sardine by K-Club is a seafood restaurant on Jalan Petitenget in Seminyak, set in an open-air bamboo building that looks over a stretch of rice paddies, with a terrace for lunch or dinner. The kitchen cooks the daily catch (yellowfin tuna, scallops, snapper) in a modern Mediterranean style, with vegetables from its own farms and a vegetarian set menu. Evenings can run late: Les Toilettes, the hidden club on site, hosts DJs, and once a month The Gates of Bali brings fire dancers and aerial acts.

Say the children's ages when you book: several venues set their rules, areas and minimum spends by age.

Where children cannot go

• Finns Beach Club: adults-only, sixteen and over.
• Savaya and Zumana: 21+; Desa Kitsuné's Garden parties are 21+ too.
• Les Toilettes and MU:IN, the Seminyak clubs: 21+.
• El Kabron: children in the restaurant area only — not the Hedonism Lounge, the Sunset Theater or the pool.

If the parents want a night out, plan it as one: the adults-only beach clubs and nightlife for couples help.

A car with room

Families travel with more than suitcases: pushchairs, beach bags, a cool box. FirstBali's cars with driver include the Toyota Innova Zenix and Innova Reborn, the Mitsubishi Xpander, the Toyota Fortuner, the Toyota Alphard and, for an extended family, the Toyota Hiace Premio. Tell the concierge how many adults and children are travelling and whether you need child seats; we ask the owner what can be fitted, and nothing is promised until it is confirmed. See private drivers in Bali and getting around Bali.

A day on a boat

FirstBali's private trips include Nusa Lembongan at sundown, a private cruise with snorkelling, and Manta rays, Nusa Penida, half a day of snorkelling where they pass. Our boat pages publish no age rule for these trips, so ask before booking: the concierge checks with the operator whether the trip suits your children's ages. More in the boat party guide.

If something goes wrong

The Indonesian emergency number is 112. Keep it in every adult's phone, and keep the villa's address written down for a driver or a caller.

How FirstBali arranges it

Tell the concierge your dates, the number of adults and children and their ages, and the days you want to plan. We ask each villa, venue and car owner on your behalf; each piece is yours once they confirm it, and any minimum spend comes from the venue before you decide. An assistant replies at any hour, and the team follows up during its working hours.

Read next: our Nusa Dua guide, the arrival guide and the best beach clubs in Bali.