NOE

Asia · Indonesia · Self-guided

Bali with kids,
the real way

How we actually do Bali with the girls — pick a relaxed home base, keep the days flexible, and let the place come to you. Here’s the one-week plan, how to stretch it to two, and what it costs from Boston.

By The Fredette Family · Last updated February 2026 · 8-min read

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Bali with little kids works best when you slow down. Our approach: book a comfortable home base, plan one thing a day, and leave room for the rest. Here’s the whole plan — one week, how to stretch it to two, and the honest costs from Boston.

Apr–Oct (dry season)Best time to go

2–12Good for ages

7–10 daysIdeal length

~$7–10kRough budget (family of 4)

One week in Bali

Pick a home base, then let the place come to you

With young kids we don’t do a packed day-by-day plan — it falls apart by lunch. We book one base and treat it as a jumping-off point: one outing in the morning, back for a nap or a run-around, something small later. It makes for a calmer, happier trip.

Honest note in our own voice: our real base was Sanur via the Boundless Life program. Nusa Penida is somewhere we wanted to get to and are recommending from research, not yet from experience — we’ll update once we’ve gone.

Where to base yourself

Ubud first — then the Nusa Penida area

Ubud (one week) · add Nusa Penida (two weeks)

We did a slow stretch in Bali based in Sanur (through the Boundless Life world-school program), which gave us easy access to Canggu, Ubud, and excursions. For a guide, we’d steer families to Ubud first — jungle, rice terraces, gentle culture — then, for a second week, the Nusa Penida island area. Honest note: Penida is on our own want-to-go list, recommended rather than tested.

Book a family stay with a kitchen on Booking.com, or a full flat on Airbnb.

From that base, in easy reach

Ubud rice terraces — Tegalalang — green, otherworldly, easy photos.
Monkey Forest — kids love it; hold belongings tight.
Sanur’s calm beach — flat, gentle water — great for little ones.
A Balinese dance / cooking class — gentle, hands-on culture.
Waterfalls — Tegenungan and others — easy jungle wins.
Nusa Penida (recommended) — dramatic coast — pick calm-water spots with kids.

Two weeks in Bali

Same base, bigger radius

With two weeks, don’t cram in twice as much — keep the calm home base and add day trips. These are the ones worth it with kids.

~1.5 hrs

Ubud

rice terraces, monkey forest, art markets.

fast boat

Nusa Penida (recommended)

dramatic cliffs and snorkelling — calm spots for kids.

varies

Waterfalls & temples

Tegenungan, Tirta Empul.

Pre-book the big experiences through GetYourGuide. With kids, walking straight in beats a queue every time.

How we actually did Bali

A slower way: Sanur with Boundless Life

Our own Bali base wasn’t Ubud or the beach clubs — it was Sanur, a quieter, family-friendly town on the east coast, through the Boundless Life program. Sanur turned out to be a wonderful home base: a long, calm, shallow beach that’s genuinely great for little kids, a flat seaside path for easy strolls and bikes, and easy access to Canggu, Ubud, and day-trip excursions without the chaos of the busier hubs.

Boundless Life is a “world-schooling” setup — they provide a furnished home, a school and learning space for the kids, and a community of other traveling families, in stays measured in weeks and months rather than days. It’s how we turned Bali from a vacation into a stretch of actually living somewhere — and it’s the same program we did on Syros in Greece. If a longer, slower stay abroad — with school sorted and a built-in community — sounds like your family, Boundless Life is how we did it, and Sanur is a lovely place to try it.

Honest notes

What landed — and what we’d skip

What the kids actually loved

The slow pace, Sanur’s calm beach for the kids, the rice terraces around Ubud, and how warm and welcoming Bali is with children.

What we’d skip or watch out for

Bali traffic is real — base smart and don’t plan long daily drives. Tap water isn’t drinkable; stick to bottled/filtered. Some ‘Instagram’ spots are long hot lines; the quieter ones are better with kids.

Book it yourself

Everything we used for Bali

Flights from Boston

Boston (BOS) to Denpasar (DPS)

We search and book on Skyscanner. From Logan, an overnight that lands mid-morning is gold — the girls sleep most of the way.

Skyscanner

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Where to stay

Family stays with a kitchen

Filter for a family room, a washer, and an elevator — then pick the quiet street.

Booking.comAirbnb

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Tickets & day trips

Skip-the-line, kid-friendly

Pre-book the two or three big experiences so you walk straight in.

GetYourGuide

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Staying connected

An eSIM before you land

Airalo for data the second we step off the plane — maps and translation with two kids in tow.

Airalo

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Travel insurance

We never fly without it

SafetyWing for longer trips — your home health plan usually won’t cover you abroad.

SafetyWing

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What it costs

Bali with kids, roughly — from Boston

Rough ranges for a family of four (2 adults + 2 kids), flying from Logan and staying in a place with a kitchen. Estimates to plan around, not quotes — season and how far ahead you book swing them a lot.

One week · family of 4

$7,000–$10,000

all-in, flights included

Flights (BOS–DPS, x4)$4,400–$7,600

Villa/apartment (7 nights)$700–$1,500

Food (cheap & excellent)$300–$600

Drivers, tours + activities$250–$600

Two weeks · family of 4

$9,000–$13,000

all-in, two bases

Flights (BOS–DPS, x4)$4,400–$7,600

Lodging (14 nights, 2 bases)$1,500–$3,200

Food (2 weeks)$600–$1,200

Drivers, boats + activities$600–$1,300

Adding more kids? It’s mostly about the beds.

Kids don’t add cost evenly — lodging is the real lever. Two adults + 1–2 kids fit a studio or one-bedroom; a third or fourth usually bumps you to a two-bedroom, the biggest single jump in the budget.

Flights: a child under 2 flies as a lap infant for very little; every child 2 and over is essentially another full seat (~$1,100–$1,900 round-trip from Boston). Food rises gently; most attractions are cheap or free for young children.

Rule of thumb: +1 child ≈ one more flight seat + a step up in lodging size.

Flight figures reflect typical round-trip economy fares from Boston (about $1,100–$1,900 per seat depending on season). Swap the headline totals and line items for your own numbers once you’ve booked — real receipts beat estimates every time.

Pack smart

The exact kit we pack with two kids

Lightweight stroller, the carry-on setup, and everything else that earns its space — in one tested list.

See the packing list →

From our trip

Bali, at three feet tall

Before you go

Read Rosie in Paris with them first

Kailah wrote and illustrated our Paris picture book, drawn from our family’s travels — a lovely way to get the kids excited about the world before wheels-up.

See the book →

Quick answers

Bali with kids: FAQ

How many days do you need in Bali with kids?

Since it’s a long-haul flight from Boston, we’d give Bali at least 7–10 days — and ideally two weeks or more. We based in Sanur for a longer slow stretch; with two weeks you can pair Ubud with the Nusa Penida island area.

Where’s the best area to stay with a family?

We based in Sanur — a quiet, family-friendly town with a calm, shallow beach that’s great for little kids, and easy access to Ubud and Canggu. Ubud is the other great family base for jungle, rice terraces, and gentle culture.

What is Boundless Life and how did you use it in Bali?

Boundless Life is a world-schooling program that sets families up with a furnished home, a school/learning space for the kids, and a community of other traveling families — for stays of weeks or months. We did it in Sanur, Bali (and on Syros, Greece). It’s a great way to actually live somewhere abroad rather than just visit.

Is Bali good for young kids and toddlers?

Yes — keep days short, base somewhere with green space or a beach, and lean on the simple joys. That’s the whole NOE approach.

Keep planning: Paris with kids · the gear we pack · how we book every trip · all destinations