Beach

by Stephen

St Lucia

View Google Map stay at Stokkiesdraai (good budget accommodation)

If you’re wondering if St Lucia is worth the stop over, don’t think twice.

It’s South Africa’s first national heritage site for the wetlands, the best viewing site for hippo’s in the world, it sports an amazing wildlife and wetland sanctuary that rivals all other S. Africa safari parks, has beaches, snorkeling and a quaint downtown. Next to Cape Town, St. Lucia was my favorite stop on our South African adventure.

St. Lucia is a great jumping off point and home-base for a safari at Hluhluww-iMolozi Park, a self drive or tour through iSimangalizo Wetland park to see spectacular wildlife and even a snorkeling trip on the far north end of the park.

Beach and leopards in one day, is it too good to be true?

It might be, because you will have to get up pretty early if you want to see any of the big cats.

St Lucia is s a quaint tourist town with ample B&B’s, self catering apartments and backpacker lodges. They also have plenty of shops, and local art to buy.

Supposedly the hippos roam the streets of St. Lucia at night although as the designated night hippo watch person I have yet to see one. We have 3 nights left here so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

We booked with Heritage Tours and Safaris for both the wetland Hippo boat tour and the safari through Hluhluww-iMolozi Park.

Heritage Tours is a good company, with a wonderful website and knowledgeable guides.

I was a bit disappointed though that through all my emails and phone calls stressing about booking our Safari they failed to mention we could easily book all our tours in their main office right in the middle of St Lucia. This of course, is what I would recommend you do.

If you do chose to book online be forewarned that Heritage Tours has a stiff cancellation policy and quite a complicated email system for booking their tours. They would not allow me to book over the phone with a credit card, so as I mentioned above, simply wait until you arrive in St. Lucia to book your tours.

As the sun sets out our window, St. Lucia offers a beautiful African sunset. So nice to be here in person and not looking at it in a magazine.

A note on eating with small children in St. Lucia

There are several restaurants on the main strip that offer free childcare and playgrounds within the restaurant to entertain your children while you sip wine and plan the next day.

These are all over Africa so keep your eyes peeled. The kids love it and it is a great way to relax and unwind for everyone. They will even paint their faces for FREE!

by Stephen 2 comments

Jimbaran Bali is Great for Kids

(Google map link)

Jimbaran was an incidental stop on our 1 month trip to Bali.

We ended up spending 3 nights here after a 5 pm arrival at Bali International airport in need of a place to catch up on sleep.

The saving grace for Jimbaran was the Hotel Puri Bambu – which after coming from the cold winter of South Africa was a welcome respite. We all immediately jumped into the huge central swimming pool and my first thought was “I am in heaven.”

Then I ordered a cold beer from the poolside bar!

We found Jimbaran on a last minute ( the night before) internet search on where to stay around Kuta (which wasn’t Kuta) when arriving Ngurah Rai International Airport. Several sites recommended Jimbaran with kids because it had a nice beach, gentle surf, and a relaxed atmosphere.

As you will find with many places in Bali, especially when traveling with kids, the hotel can be a highlight of a certain location and can make or break a place. Coming from South Africa where we had large and inexpensive “self-catering units” we realized very quickly that if we were not all going to share a bed we would have to pay a bit more.

Hotel Puri Bambu has one of the nicest pools we have come across for a very reasonable price, lovely gardens and a good Bali feel.

Jimbaran beach is actually quite nice. If you are arriving here as your first stop in Bali as we were you may be under-impressed, but as you travel the island you will begin to see why people say it is a good place for kids.

Surfing in Jimbaran Beach is Perfect for Kids and Beginners

There is a very gentle surf break at the far end (opposite the airport side) where anyone could learn to surf, when the tide is right it is perfect for body surfing and our kids had a blast playing in the waves. It is one of the only beaches in Bali we have been to that had fun waves and very little riptide.

Kuta’s main beach is fun for kids as well, but the rips here are strong as you will see when you visit.

Jimbaran is famous for its beachside seafood dining. We did partake in one sunset meal and it was nice, but it all felt a bit fake and a little forced. But like the guidebooks said, you can sit and enjoy a meal while your kid’s frolick on the beach… That, of course, is only if they are in the mood.

The walk from Hotel Puri Bambu is about 5-7 minutes to the beach and your kids probably will complain if this is your first stop and they are adjusting to the beach. It makes a great starting point for a trip to Uluwatu Temple as well for a night dance, although we did not know this until we had already left and were in Kuta.

Final Verdict

Jimbaran is not a “must see” Bali location by any means. It is made very nice by the well priced and well located Hotel Puri Bambu which really sells it in my mind as an airport stopping point. The breakfast is one of the best we have had and they have a free shuttle into Kuta which I have yet to see anywhere else on our adventures.

The beach is decent, not AMAZING, and you can eat fish on the beach, but you can really do this anywhere.

Costs and highlights:

Transfer from airport to hotel (by the hotel) was 75,000 IDR (about 7 bucks)
Hotel Puri Bambu – about $55 US per night plus an extra bed if you want for $20 – this is the one place we paid the difference which brought up the cost.
Free amazing breakfast.
Free WiFi that was pretty good.

by Stephen

Balian Beach and Pondok Pitaya: Bali Indonesia

After 1 week in Bali our family was craving an ideal location for surf and fun with the kids. We happened upon Balian Beach after changing plans to avoid the overpriced Gilis.

Here is What we Wanted

Great beginner/intermediate surfing right outside our door (check)
Surfboards to hire/rent (check)
A nice pool for the kids (check)
very close to the beach (check)
A spacious room (big check)

We found it all (and more) at Pondok Pitaya on Balian beach.

Although the surf was a bit bigger than I would have liked while were there, everything about Balian beach and Pondok Pitaya was perfect.

They had babysitting, yoga, message, wonderful surfing, surfing lessons, board rentals, good food, a great atmosphere and lots of vacationing families.

We stayed there for 5 days and 6 nights

Front porch

Balian Beach

Our “room”

Making Australian Friends

The afternoon wind could be strong, but the morning and early evenings were perfect. The surf favors a 5-6 food swell with a mid to high tide. It can go from perfect to quite big overnight and is a bit fickle. There are strong rips and a rocky bottom so it is not great for surfing with small children.

The cost of a driver to Balian Beach from the East Coast of Sanur was 400,000 Indonesian Rupiah… About $35 US.

Surfboard rentals are right next to the hotel and should be no more than 50,000. There were boards of all sizes in mediocre condition for rent.

You can get lessons from a great instructor for about $35 US.

The message and yoga options are large and varied, on-site they are more expensive than you will find in the bigger cities.

The accommodations are unique and very, I call them super bungalows.

You are right on the beach and you can see the surf from your bed.

Tide shifts are huge and there is a very strong rip so again be forewarned.

Prices on Bookings.com tend to be the best. Pondok Pitaya on Bookings.

You may also want to double check on Agoda to find the best price. Pondok Pitaya on Agoda