7 Places for Family-Friendly Trips Across Asia and Australia

5. Northern Bali provided an escape from the tourist-filled beaches.

Alexandra Karplus

Traveler: mom + dad + baby + 4-year-old 

Length of trip: 7 nights

What makes it perfect for a family vacation: The kindness of Balinese people and kid-friendly activities that introduce culture.

Living in Singapore, Bali has become a very accessible getaway — the flight is less than three hours long and tickets are often less than $200 roundtrip. It’s similar to how I saw Florida when I was living in New York.

As the kids have gotten older, we’ve been able to venture outside of Seminyak and Canggu — two towns in Bali that are often overpopulated with tourists — and explore places up north like Ubud and Monduk. 

In Ubud, we brought the kids to the famous Sacred Monkey Forest. While it deserves a visit, we had to make sure to look after both children, as well as our hats, phones, and any snacks — these furry inhabitants love to snatch. Long walks along the rice fields were a welcome way to unwind and feel disconnected from day-to-day stress. For a bit of creativity, we popped into a homestay offering batik classes. My daughter and I enjoyed spending an afternoon learning this Indonesian technique of using wax and dyes to design patterns on cloth. 

On a day when we needed a bit of time by the pool and a cocktail to help chill out, we rocked up to Jungle Fish Pool Bar. The pool looks out over the river valley and live DJs are usually around to set a great vibe.

Further north, Monduk is a mountain village in the highlands of northern Bali. We spotted only a few tourists as we hiked around water pools and bounced around on horseback.