Bali, Lombok and the Gili Islands for three generations

1. Day 1: Arrive in Bali, on to Ubud

   Denpasar Airport to Ubud

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Ubud
   Day 1 details

   Your trip starts at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS) near Denpasar, where we meet every member of the family whatever time the flight lands, with a vehicle big enough for everyone's luggage. The drive north to Ubud is about 35 km and takes an hour to an hour and a half, past stone carvers' yards and family temples with fresh offerings on the doorsteps. Ubud sits in the green foothills of central Bali and is the island's home of painting, dance and gamelan music. Your hotel is close to the centre, has a pool, and we ask it for family or connecting rooms for your party; it is your base for three nights. If you land early, the afternoon is for a swim and a nap. At about 6 pm your guide meets everyone for an early welcome dinner of Balinese dishes, with milder plates for the children, and talks you through the days ahead.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Denpasar Airport (DPS) at any time
   • Early welcome dinner with your guide, at about 6 pm

   Free time: Free until the welcome dinner; the hotel pool is the best cure for a long flight

2. Day 2: Ubud: rice terraces and a water temple

   Tegalalang and Tirta Empul, back to Ubud

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Ubud
   Day 2 details

   We leave at about 7:30 am, after breakfast, to reach the Tegalalang rice terraces while the air is cool and the paths are quiet. Your guide explains subak, the shared irrigation system Balinese farmers have run through temples and village councils for about a thousand years, and shows the children how the water is divided from terrace to terrace. Grandparents can stay on the upper viewing path, which is level, while others walk down the steps into the paddies. We skip the paid swings. Next is Tirta Empul near Tampaksiring, a water temple said to date from 962, where Balinese families bathe under the spouts of spring-fed pools; sarongs are provided, and anyone who wishes can join them. Lunch is at a warung with a garden, and we are back at the hotel by about 1:30 pm for a long pool afternoon. In the evening, for those with energy, a Kecak and fire dance starts at about 7 pm and lasts an hour.

   Included

   • Early walk at the Tegalalang rice terraces
   • Tirta Empul temple entry, sarongs included
   • Lunch near Tampaksiring
   • Kecak and fire dance performance in Ubud, about 7 pm

   Easier option: Stay on the level path along the top of the Tegalalang terraces with a drink at a cafe, and watch the bathing at Tirta Empul from the side of the pools.

   More active option: Walk down through the terraces and back up the far side, about 45 minutes with steps.

   Free time: Afternoon free at the hotel pool or in Ubud

   Activity: About 2 km on foot, with steps at Tegalalang that you can avoid. Knees and shoulders are covered in temples; sarongs are lent at the gate.

   

3. Day 3: Jatiluwih and the royal temple of Mengwi

   Ubud to the Jatiluwih rice terraces and Taman Ayun, back to Ubud

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Ubud
   Day 3 details

   After breakfast we drive west for about an hour and a half to Jatiluwih (allow up to 2 hours in traffic), on the slopes of Mount Batukaru. Its rice terraces are part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing for Bali's subak system and are far larger and quieter than Tegalalang. The paths here are wide and mostly gentle: we walk the short loop of about 2 km together, past small shrines where farmers leave offerings to the rice goddess Dewi Sri, and children can look for frogs, dragonflies and ducks in the water. Lunch is at a restaurant with a view over the terraces. On the way back we stop at Pura Taman Ayun in Mengwi, a royal temple of the 17th century, also within the UNESCO listing, set in lawns and surrounded by a moat; it is flat and shaded and takes about 45 minutes. We are back in Ubud by about 3:30 pm, with the rest of the day free for the pool or the market.

   Included

   • Guided walk at the Jatiluwih rice terraces, entry included
   • Lunch overlooking the terraces
   • Pura Taman Ayun in Mengwi, entry included

   Optional experiences

   • Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud, on your own in free time

   Easier option: Walk the first, flat part of the Jatiluwih loop, about 1 km, then wait at the restaurant terrace with a coffee.

   More active option: Take the longer red trail through the terraces, about 4 km, with a local guide.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Ubud

   Activity: Three legs of about 1 to 1.5 hours each in the vehicle, with stops between. About 3 km on foot in all.

   

4. Day 4: Mount Batur's crater and a hot spring swim

   Ubud to the Kintamani rim and Lake Batur, then to Sidemen

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Sidemen
   Day 4 details

   No 3 am climb on this trip: instead we drive about an hour and a quarter up to the rim of the Batur caldera at Kintamani, arriving mid-morning when the cloud has often lifted. From the rim you look down on Mount Batur, an active volcano of 1,717 metres, its black lava flows from the 20th century still bare, and on the crescent of Lake Batur beside it. We go down into the caldera to a natural hot spring on the lakeshore, where warm pools of different temperatures suit everyone from grandparents to swimmers, and have lunch there with the volcano above us. In the afternoon we drive down the eastern slopes through Bangli for about an hour and a half to the Sidemen valley, where your hotel looks over rice fields to Mount Agung. Arrive by about 4 pm, in time for a swim before an early dinner together at about 6 pm.

   Included

   • Kintamani viewpoint on the Batur caldera rim
   • Natural hot spring pools on Lake Batur, entry and towels included
   • Lunch by the lake
   • Early dinner in Sidemen

   Optional experiences

   • Mount Batur sunrise trek with a local guide and permit, for guests 12 and up

   Easier option: Stay at the rim cafe while others go to the hot spring, then rejoin the group for lunch by the lake.

   More active option: Sunrise trek to the summit of Mount Batur with a local mountain guide, leaving Ubud at about 3 am and meeting the family at the hot spring. Ages 12 and up; tell us when you book.

   Free time: Late afternoon free at the hotel in Sidemen

   Activity: Two drives of about 1.25 and 1.5 hours, plus a short one down into the caldera. Bring swimwear and a warm layer: the rim is cool.

5. Day 5: Sidemen: a gentle valley walk and a cooking class

   Walks and cooking in the Sidemen valley

   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Sidemen
   Day 5 details

   Sidemen is the east Bali most visitors never see: a long green valley of rice terraces, rivers and villages under Mount Agung, at 3,031 metres the island's highest volcano and its most sacred. Early in the morning, when the summit is most often clear of cloud, a local guide walks with us along level field paths and irrigation channels, past farmers at work and ducks in the paddies. The vehicle follows, so anyone can stop when they have had enough. We call at a weaving house, where women make songket and ikat cloth on hand looms and children can try the shuttle. Then we cook lunch with a local family: shop for spices, grind a paste on a stone, wrap fish or chicken in banana leaf and fold a small offering basket from palm leaf, a job the children usually do best. The afternoon is free for the pool, a nap or a book on your terrace.

   Included

   • Morning valley walk with a local guide, about 2 to 3 km
   • Visit to a weaving house
   • Balinese cooking class with lunch, and an offering-making lesson

   Easier option: Ride in the vehicle to the weaving house and join the walk for its last, flattest stretch.

   More active option: A longer walk of about 6 km up the valley to a village temple with the local guide, back in time for the cooking class.

   Free time: Afternoon free at the hotel pool

   Activity: A slow day by design, with no driving beyond a few minutes.

   

6. Day 6: Fast boat to Gili Air

   Sidemen to Padang Bai, then by fast boat to Gili Air

   • Drive about 45 min
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Gili Air
   Day 6 details

   After breakfast our own vehicle takes the family the 45 minutes down to the harbour at Padang Bai, so there is no waiting for a shared shuttle. Your guide checks everyone and the luggage onto a morning fast boat we book in advance with an operator we have vetted, with seats inside a covered cabin and life jackets for children. The crossing of the Lombok Strait takes about an hour and a half to two hours, depending on the sea and the stops at Gili Trawangan and Gili Meno. If the sea is too rough to sail, we fly you from Denpasar to Lombok instead, at our cost, and take a short boat to Gili Air from Bangsal. Gili Air has no cars or motorbikes, only bicycles and sandy lanes, so porters carry the bags to your beach hotel. Lunch is on the beach, and the afternoon is for swimming and building sandcastles. At sunset we walk to the west coast to watch the sun go down behind Bali's volcanoes.

   Included

   • Transfer from Sidemen to Padang Bai harbour
   • Fast boat from Padang Bai to Gili Air, luggage included
   • Porter from the jetty to your hotel
   • Lunch on the beach
   • Sunset on the west coast of Gili Air

   Free time: Afternoon free on the beach or at the hotel pool

   Activity: Boarding a fast boat can mean a step down from a jetty or wading at the beach on Gili Air; the crew and your guide help grandparents and children on and off.

   

7. Day 7: Turtles off Gili Meno

   Snorkel and glass-bottom boat around the Gili Islands

   • By boat
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Gili Air
   Day 7 details

   This morning we take a boat of our own around the three Gili Islands. It has a glass panel in the floor and shade on deck, so grandparents and younger children can watch the reef without getting wet, while everyone else snorkels with masks, fins and life jackets sized for children. At Turtle Point off Gili Meno, green turtles graze on sea grass and coral in a few metres of clear water. Nearby lies Nest, a ring of life-size human figures sculpted by Jason deCaires Taylor and sunk off Gili Meno in 2017, now slowly turning into reef. The captain picks a third stop with calm, shallow water. We go mid-morning, when the sun lights the water, and are back on Gili Air for a late lunch on your own. The afternoon is free. Tonight we have an early dinner of grilled fish together on the beach, at about 6 pm.

   Included

   • Glass-bottom and snorkelling boat trip round the Gili Islands, masks, fins and life jackets in children's sizes included
   • Turtle Point off Gili Meno
   • The Nest underwater sculptures off Gili Meno
   • Early dinner on the beach

   Optional experiences

   • Try-dive with a dive school, ages 10 and up
   • Yoga class on Gili Air

   Easier option: Stay on deck and watch through the glass floor; the turtles are often visible from the surface.

   More active option: Snorkel at every stop and swim out along the reef edge with the boat crew.

   Free time: Afternoon free on Gili Air

   Activity: About 3 hours on the boat. Strong reef-safe sun cream, a hat and a long-sleeved swim top help.

8. Day 8: A slow day on Gili Air

   Free day on Gili Air

   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Gili Air
   Day 8 details

   There is nothing to pack and nowhere to be today. Early in the morning, before the heat, your guide leads a walk or bicycle ride around the whole island, about 5 km on sandy lanes that take a little over an hour on foot. Bicycles come in children's sizes, and grandparents can walk part of the way and cut back across the middle of the island on its shaded inner lanes. We pass coconut groves, the village and its mosque, and the small beaches of the north coast, with Lombok's Mount Rinjani rising across the water on clear mornings. After that the day is yours: swim and snorkel off the beach in front of the hotel, read in the shade, have a massage, or take the children to look for crabs and shells at low tide. Your guide can book another glass-bottom outing or a yoga class, and help with lunch and dinner ideas.

   Included

   • Morning walk or bicycle ride round Gili Air with your guide, bicycles included

   Optional experiences

   • Massage on the beach
   • Yoga class on Gili Air

   Easier option: Join the walk for the first half, then return along the inner lanes, about 2 km in all.

   More active option: Snorkel from the beach in the afternoon; your guide shows you where the reef starts.

   Free time: Whole day free after the morning walk

   Activity: Gili Air is small and flat; nothing on the island is more than about 30 minutes' walk from the hotel.

9. Day 9: To Lombok: weavers of Sukarara

   Gili Air to Bangsal by boat, then via Sukarara to Kuta Lombok

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Kuta Lombok
   Day 9 details

   A short boat ride of about 15 minutes brings us from Gili Air to Bangsal on the Lombok mainland, where our vehicle and driver are waiting and porters carry the bags to it. We drive south for about an hour and a half through Mataram and the farmland of central Lombok, where the people are mostly Sasak and the skyline is of mosques rather than temples. At Sukarara, a village of weavers, women work at back-strap looms on the verandas, and a family shows how cotton is dyed and woven into the patterned songket cloth worn at weddings and ceremonies; children can sit at a loom and try a few rows. Lunch is in the village. From there it is about 40 minutes more to Kuta Lombok, a small town on a coast of bays and green headlands. Your hotel has a pool, family rooms requested, and is your base for the last three nights. The late afternoon is free.

   Included

   • Boat from Gili Air to Bangsal, luggage included
   • Visit to a weaving family in Sukarara
   • Lunch in Sukarara

   Easier option: Sit with the weavers while others walk round the village lanes.

   Free time: Late afternoon free in Kuta Lombok

   Activity: The longest drive is about 1.5 hours, broken by the weaving visit and lunch.

10. Day 10: Selong Belanak: a surf lesson for all ages

    Kuta Lombok to Selong Belanak and back

    • Drive about 1 h
    • Breakfast and lunch
    • Stay in Kuta Lombok
    Day 10 details

    Selong Belanak is a long curve of pale sand about 30 minutes west of Kuta, with gentle, shallow waves that make it one of the best places in Lombok to stand up on a surfboard for the first time. This morning, when the water is calmest, a local surf school gives a lesson on soft boards, with instructors in the water beside each beginner, a good half hour on the sand first, and the right size of board for children from about 6. Parents and children often learn together; grandparents who would rather not surf can sit under a beach umbrella, swim in the shallows or watch the fishermen draw up their outrigger boats at the far end of the bay. Lunch is at a beach restaurant. We are back at the hotel by about 2 pm, and the afternoon is free for the pool.

    Included

    • Beginner surf lesson at Selong Belanak with a local surf school, boards included
    • Beach umbrellas and loungers for those not surfing
    • Lunch at Selong Belanak

    Easier option: Spend the morning under an umbrella on the beach or swimming in the shallows; no one has to surf.

    More active option: Stay in the water for a second session in the afternoon with the surf school.

    Free time: Afternoon free at the hotel pool

    Activity: About 2 hours in the water for surfers. Lessons depend on the sea; if it is too rough, the lesson moves to the next morning.

11. Day 11: Tanjung Aan and a farewell dinner

    Kuta Lombok to Tanjung Aan and Bukit Merese, back to Kuta

    • Drive about 30 min
    • Breakfast and dinner
    • Stay in Kuta Lombok
    Day 11 details

    We leave at about 7:30 am for Tanjung Aan, a wide bay about 10 minutes east of Kuta with calm, clear water for an early swim. For anyone who wants a view, a grassy path climbs Bukit Merese, the headland at the end of the beach, in about 15 minutes; from the top you look along the bays of the south coast. Grandparents and children can stay on the sand, where the morning is quiet and the shade is good. We are back at the hotel by about 11 am. The rest of the day has nothing planned: swim, read, have a massage, or let your guide arrange a second surf lesson. In the late afternoon the whole party meets for an early farewell dinner, at about 6 pm, with grilled fish and Sasak dishes such as ayam taliwang, the spicy grilled chicken Lombok is known for, and milder dishes for the children.

    Included

    • Morning at Tanjung Aan beach
    • Short walk up Bukit Merese, optional
    • Farewell dinner, at about 6 pm

    Optional experiences

    • Second surf lesson at Selong Belanak
    • Massage or spa treatment

    Easier option: Stay on the beach at Tanjung Aan while others climb Bukit Merese.

    More active option: Walk the full headland of Bukit Merese, about 3 km, with your guide.

    Free time: Late morning and afternoon free

12. Day 12: Fly home from Lombok

    Kuta Lombok to Lombok International Airport

    • Drive about 30 min
    • Breakfast
    Day 12 details

    The last morning is free. Have a slow breakfast, one more swim in the pool or a walk on the beach in Kuta before you pack. Lombok International Airport (LOP) at Praya is only about 30 minutes from Kuta, which makes this an easy last day for every generation, and we drive you there whatever time your flight leaves, with time for the check-in queues. Lombok has daily flights to Denpasar and Jakarta, with onward connections; flights after about 11 am leave the morning free, and we can arrange a late check-out at the hotel where it is available. If the family would like a few more nights on the beach, on Bali or back on the Gilis, we can book the extra nights and transfers for you. Your guide says goodbye at the airport.

    Included

    • Drop-off at Lombok International Airport (LOP) at any time

    Free time: Morning free

    Activity: Book flights home from LOP leaving after about 11 am for an easy last morning.

Wildlife and weather: April to October is the dry season, with sunny days of about 30 °C on the coast and cooler air at Kintamani and in Sidemen; July and August are the busiest months and match school holidays. The Lombok Strait is choppier from about July to September, when the trade winds are strongest. Green turtles feed off Gili Meno most days, but we cannot promise them. The wet season, about November to March, brings heavy afternoon showers.

• Ubud3 nights
• Sidemen2 nights
• Gili Air3 nights
• Kuta Lombok3 nights