Hiring baby gear is easy
There is no need to stress out about what baby and toddler gear you need to organise, pack, and lug on your Bali holiday. It’s easy to hire baby equipment in Bali from a range of outfits. The list of kiddy stuff they hire out is huge...basically pretty much whatever you want. They have cots, baby car capsules and seats, booster seats, prams, high chairs, bottle sterilizers, monitors, baby baths, toys and much more. They deliver to your accommodation and set everything up too. See my post on Hiring Baby Gear in Bali.
Our first family visit to Uluwatu
Hire a pool fence
Don’t put off a trip to Bali until the kids are older because you can’t find a place to stay with a pool fence. There is an easy solution. Yay! You can hire a temporary pool fence, which may sound totally over the top, but it’s actually not hard to organize, or that expensive. It's really reassuring to know there a a number of outfits that can arrange a pool fence. Read my post on pool fence hire in Bali.
Bali Vill Pool Fence (Bali Baby Hire)
Need a nanny?
Chances are, you are probably dreaming of some well-deserved rest and relaxation in Bali on your holiday - perhaps a date night at one of Bali’s uber-cool restaurants or cocktails and sunset overlooking the beach, or maybe you just an afternoon off so you can have a snooze or perhaps get a massage? Lots of accommodation places in Bali offer babysitting services, but, it can be a bit daunting leaving your little kids in a new environment with someone you don’t know. It’s nice to know there are some babysitting agencies that you can book when you are there or before you go as well. These include Bali Baby Hire, Bali's Best Baby Sitting, Bali Krisna, Happy Feet Nannies and Rainbow Baby-Sitting. These businesses make sure their baby-sitters have good experience, are reliable and have other relevant qualifications like English speaking, first aid, swimming experience etc. Be specific about what you need when you get in contact with them. I’ve only enquired about baby-sitting services through Bali Baby Hire. They seemed to be really good. I've also heard good things about Bali's Best Baby Sitting Service from Little Miss Bali. So, have a look at their websites and read the reviews.
Image: Bali's Best Baby Sitting
Getting out and about
Car seats for kids are optional in Bali, so if you are coming from a country where it’s required by law to have car seats it can be a bit daunting. But, don’t worry, you are not the only concerned parent, and you do have options. For a start, getting to and from the airport with car seats is easy. Most accommodation places can organise airport transfers (some with kids car seats). If they can’t provide a car seat, you can go through companies like Bali Baby Hire. You can also organize your own driver who has a car seat for a day trip or for the week. Little Bali Love has a list of recommended drivers on their website who have car seats for littlies. We have used Bali Baby Hire for longer trips ie Ubud to Amed, Ubud to northern Bali who have been great. If you aren't too stressed about car seats for smaller trips try Uber and the Blue Bird Taxi App for getting around in southern Bali (Seminyak,Legian etc).
Oh, and prams… Bali isn’t pram and stroller friendly – but we tend to take our cheap light stroller with us which comes in useful here and there.
Supplies for bubs, toddlers & tykes
You can buy or top up on supplies like nappies, wipes, sunscreen, milk, baby food, snacks, fruit, yoghurt, toys, etc from larger supermarkets in areas like Kuta, Seminyak, Sanur and Ubud. But, if your bub only likes a specific brand of formula or baby food, its best to bring enough for your trip. Swimming nappies are hard so I bring them, as well as baby Nurofen and Panadol. Although readily available in Bali, the dosage is tricky if written in Indonesian. Some of the large better known supermarkets that have supplies for littlies are Carrefour Supermarket (Sunset Rd, Kuta), Bintang Supermarket (Seminyak), Bali Deli (Seminyak), Casa Gourmet (Seminyak) Hardys Supermarket (Sanur), Hypermarket Supermarket (Bali Galleria), Matahari Supermarket (in Kuta Square), Bintang Supermarket (Ubud), Nirmala Supermarket (Jimbarin) and Canggu Deli. The baby hire companies also sell a range of baby food, nappies and formula brands that you are probably more familiar with.
We always stock up at Hardys Supermarket in Sanur before we head over to Nusa Lembongan.
Apps, blogs & websites
Websites I like (which also have Facebook and Instagram) are Bali Kids Guide, Little Bali Love and Little Miss Bali. There is also a guide-book on the scene Bali With Kids. It has some really useful information, mostly on things to do. If you are a newbie to Bali and want the low down on travel to Bali with kids (visas, what to bring, health, getting through the airport, food, religion etc) the blog Together We Roam has some easy to read and useful tips on Bali travel with tiny tots. Also worth checking out is Honeycombers Bali.
Great kid's books
There are a few books for kids which are worth checking out before you go. I'm not sure about you but I love to get a kids book about where we are headed to read before we go, and when we get back. My Awesome Bali Adventure is a great diary-style book with lots of cool activities for kids to do. Indonesian Childrens' Favourite Stories is a book that has popular Indonesian stories, with gorgeous illustrations (probably best for kids 4 +). Sasha Visits Bali is a lovely picture book about a girl who visits Bali with her mother, with beautiful illustrations. Penyu dan Lumba Lumba – Making the Beach Clean is a book about the misadventures of three friends, turtle, doplphin and Seagull and introduces environmental themes. Sadri Returns to Bali is my favourite. It's about a boy who returns to his home to take part in the Galungan festival. Komodo! is cool for kids with a dragon fascination and Go to Sleep Gecko is a sweet picture book based on a Balinese folk tale, which is probably best for kids ages 3 and over.
Its important that the information on Growing up Troppo is as accurate and up to date as possible, so please let me know if I have made any errors or if you think there are other things that I could add to this article to make it as useful as possible for families visiting Bali. I'm not getting any freebies or incentives to write about or promote any of the businesses I mention in this post. It's important to me to be upfront and honest!
