In Reply to: Some Help as its been a while.. posted by Emma T on Wednesday, 17. August 2011 at 13:16 Bali Time:
I too was a bit nervous about my 1st trip back to Bali with a young child (daughter was not quite 3 at the time) but all went well & she is now a Bali convert :o)
Most useful advice I picked up was to take our own stroller along (we took our lightweight McLaren NOT the 3 wheeler jogger-type as some recommended). The heat & humidity took their toll very quickly on my little one & she would not walk very far at all. We usually walked to our destination and often caught a taxi back so the stroller was easy to fold up & put in the boot or back seat. The stroller also came in handy if we wanted to go out for dinner as she would often fall asleep in it as we walked to a restaurant (just make sure you feed him/her before you go out!). The only time I think a 3 wheeler would've been handy was when we wanted to walk along the beach (she just rode on Dad's shoulders instead!)
I was reluctant to use insect repellant that was high in chemicals on my daughter & bought the Johnson's & Johnson's repellant lotion which was recommended by an expat on the forum and is DEET free. It is available at the supermarket in the baby care section & is in a small green bottle. It is very easy to apply (not a cream or spray, more like a watery lotion) and I ended up using it myself too.
I would take along some "anti-itch" cream from home though in case your child does get bitten (we didn't & it cost around AU$25 for a cream from the Apotik when she had a reaction to a mozzie bite). I also took along a small "medical kit" with children's Panadol & Nurofen, gastro stop and some Hydralite icypoles etc in case of vomiting or diahhorea (none of which was needed thankfully!).
Most restaurants, except the most upmarket, are fine to take young kids to but, as Heatherbelle suggests, we always took along some pencils, colouring books/paper or a couple of toys etc to keep her occupied as the service is often slow. We now stay for the most part in Sanur for this reason as the beachfront restaurants are more child friendly.
As for things to do not on your list - the Safari & Marine Park was a big hit with our little one. Next trip we are considering visiting the Dolphin Lodge near Sanur and also the Organic Farm Bali for a daytrip (they also do overnight stays). Also read on the forum that New Kuta Green Park is more suitable than Waterbom for the little ones so might check that out too. My little girl enjoyed Waterbom but she wasn't keen to go down the kiddie slide by herself & no adults were allowed on it. She loved the lazy river though & the kids pool.
I am sure you will enjoy your holiday - as a Mum of a young child I can honestly say I enjoyed Bali more going as a family than in my single & child-free days!