Sedona
Oh Sedona...
Vinny and I first visited Sedona about 3 years ago (2015) and instantly fell in love with the beautiful landscapes, friendly locals, and general energy/vibe of the town and its natural surroundings. Since that first trip we always told each other that it would be a place we would return to again and again. So naturally, we were thrilled to have a chance to visit it again with the whole family.
Contents
- When To Go
- Accommodations In Sedona
- Eating in Sedona
- Things we did in Sedona
- Rock Slide Park
- Hiking
- Magic Trolley Tour
- Jeep Tour
WHEN TO VISIT SEDONA
Best Weather
Research will tell you that the best time to visit Sedona is from March to May when the temperatures are warm – but not scorching – and the area is in full bloom. But we feel like Sedona is a place that can be visited pretty much year-round. However, if you have the option to pick any months you want, I would agree that March through May is great as the hikes will be extra special with the desert flowers in full bloom.
September to November is another ideal time for outdoor activities thanks to mild weather.
Busiest Times
Travelers should note that Spring and fall are the most popular times to visit and room rates are high due to the consistent blue sunny skies and temps ranging from the mid-60s to the low 80s. If you're looking for cheaper rooms, consider visiting in the winter, when most tourists head farther south for warmer weather.
In summary, there really is no bad time to visit Sedona, as the weather is pretty great year-round.
Sedona Accomodations
We see there being 2 main options for family accommodations in Sedona.
1. Family Hotel or Resorts
We did our research and found multiple family-friendly hotels and resorts in Sedona. However, our favorite and where we ended up staying was the Sedona Summit by Diamond Resorts.
The advantage to the resorts is that they typically have everything you need to entertain you and your kids and technically you don't even have to leave. Most of them have multiple pools and restaurants, a kids club, fitness gym and many other amenities and activities at your disposal.
2. Airbnb
Family-sized Airbnbs in Sedona can be an excellent option for that family trip. This generally means an entire house with a private yard which often includes a private pool.
EATING IN SEDONA
Sedona had a ton of great eating options. Being Vegan, we had no issues finding Vegan-friendly spots to enjoy. And for all you non-vegans, you'll find even more variety and healthy options.
Here's a list of the places we ate at while in Sedona:
Whole Foods - Can't go wrong when there's a Whole Foods in town. We did some grocery shopping here to save $ from eating out.
TAMALIZA - Awesome Mexican restaurant serving Vegan and non-vegan dishes. Get the Tamales. Then DM us to thank us ;)
PICAZZO'S ORGANIC Tons of vegan options. Some of the best vegan pizza we have ever had.
Things we did in Sedona
Rock Slide Park
Our favorite activity from the entire Sedona trip was Rock Slide State Park. This park offers an amazing riverside hike where you can get in the water and ride down natural slides made by the river. It is definitely one of the most popular attractions, especially in the hot months, so our suggestion is to go early and go on a weekday if you can. But even when its busy, its still worth experiencing.
Hiking
There's an endless amount of hiking and off-road trails to take advantage of in Sedona. For families, we would suggest West Fork Trail or the Broken Arrow to Chicken Point trail. Just about anyone in town can tell you how to get to these spots and they can also be searched and found on Google.
Red Rock Magic Trolley Tour
This 1 hour Magic Troller Tour Ride takes you around the town of Sedona as well as some of the more popular sites. Its a great way to get a quick understanding of the history of Sedona and all it has to offer. Its quick, easy and fun for the kids. We would recommend doing this on your first day there.
Pink Jeep Tour
Something we did on our first trip to Sedona but didn't have a chance to do on this one was the Pink Jeep Off-Road Tour. This is a must-do while in Sedona. They take you out on dirt trails that most cars or trucks can't access. Some of the most beautiful sites we have ever seen were on these tours. In addition, you can book specific tours based on what you're looking for. We enjoyed the vortex tour we took for both the information we gained from the drivers while on the tour, as well as visiting the actual energy vortexes.
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Contents
1 When to go
2 Getting to Bali
3 Visas
4 Accomodations To Stay In Bali
5 Where to stay in Bali
5.1 Ubud
5.2 Canggu
7 Eating in Bali
7.1 Family friendly restaurants
8 Top 10 things to do in Bali with kids
8.1 1. Get wet at Waterbom Bali
8.5 5. Get up close to monkeys at Sacred Monkey Forest
8.10 10. Have a manicure/pedicure/massage
8.12 12. Visit the Elephant Cave in Goa Gajah
8.15 15. Cook up a storm at a Bali cooking class.
8.16 16. Learn to surf
8.17 17. Have a family adventure at Green Camp
8.19 19. Play on the beach
8.21 21. Take advantage of a kids club
8.23 23. Go snorkeling
8.29 29. Visit a temple
8.30 30. Get an adrenalin rush at Bali Treetop Adventure Park
8.35 35. Take a rice paddy walk
8.41 41. Visit the Gili Islands
8.42 42. Visit Lombok
10 Doctor in Bali
11 Getting Around Bali
11.1 Hiring a car
11.2 Hiring a car and driver
11.3 Taxis
11.4 Shuttle buses
11.5 Car seats
11.6 Getting from the airport
12 Budget
13 What to pack for Bali
13.1 Bali packing list
13.2 Mosquito protection
When To Visit Bali:
The best time to visit Bali depends on what you consider the "best time". Are you looking for the best weather? OR are you looking for it to be less crowded? Or maybe the best combo of both?
So there's really two things to consider when figuing out the best time to visit Bali.
The first is the weather which can be summed up in two seasons: Wet & Dry.
Dry Season: April – September (best time to visit weather wise)
Wet Season: October – March
In general you will see rain more often then not. But the good news is that it usually doesn't rain all day, just for a few hours and it never gets cold. If you're on a short timeline we completely understand why you would want to avoid this, but if your schedule is a little bit more flexible, the wet season really isn't that bad. The other downside to the wet season though is that there are more bugs which means more bites.
The second thing to consider is the holiday schedule.
Busy Season*:
July & August
Easter Holidays
Christmas / New Year (December till 1st week of January)
*Even at busy times though, there is plenty of room for everyone and there is plenty to do in Bali for families at any time of year.
So if you are looking for both the dry season and for it to be less busy (and less expensive), the best time to come to Bali would be :
Best Time To Visit:
April-June (just trying to avoid Easter if possible)
September
Shoulder Season:
October & March would be considered the "shoulder" season and would not be a bad option either. You may see a little rain but the prices and affordability will be better.
Accomodations
We see there being 2 main options for family accommodations in Bali and then some sub categories beneath them.
1. Family Hotel or Resorts
When it comes to hotels and resorts, Bali is tons of family friendly options to choose from.
The advantage to the resorts is that they typically have everything you need to entertain you and your kids and technically you don't even have to leave. Most of them have multiple pools and restaurants, a kids club, fitness gym and many other amenities and activities at your disposal.
2. Entire Family Villa Rentals
Family villas in Bali can be an excellent option for bali holidays with kids. This generally means an entire house with a private yard which often includes a private pool. Some even come with staff.
These are an excellent option but keep in mind that the pools are rarely fenced and many of the villas are open air meaning there may be no wall between your living area and your pool. This may not be a concern with older kids but can cause headaches for those of us with younger kids. Thankfully, you can hire a pool fence – check out services such as this. Or you can just do what we did and hire a villa that is fully enclosed so that the kids can’t accidentally end up in the pool.
For specific bookings you also have multiple options.
Pre-Booking: Having the peace of mind that you have a home secured for your family is usually a top priority but if you're willing to wait until you get to Bali you can get a WAY better deal. However, we recognize that this isn't always realistic for an entire family like it might be a single person or a young couple. We tend to recommend doing what we did which is to book the first few days or week ahead of time and then find cheaper accommodation when you arrive. Sites like Airbnb, booking.com, and agoda.com have some great villas but the reality is, you can get the same quality of villas for much cheaper when you arrive. Alternatively, you can look at a few Facebook sites online for people listing their villas directly. If you're looking for a 2 week stay or longer, there are some great deals to be had.
What Area of Bali To Stay In
We currently have 2 top picks for this. Ubud and Canggu.
Ubud
Ubud is the unofficial spiritual capital of Bali. It is home to the most healers, wellness centers, and other people genuinely looking to better themselves. It also is home to amazing restaurants, yoga centers, temples and very close to so many of the great natural wonders you'll want to visit while in Bali.
Canggu
We love Canggu because we feel its the perfect blend of having some of the more "trendy" restaurants and shops while still not being completely overrun by tourism. You get the benefit of eating great meals and a stylish environment while not dealing with the over commercialized aspect that other parts of Bali (*Cough* Seminyak, Kuta, Legian *Cough*) have. Canggu also has more family-friendly restaurants than any other place in the world (at least that we know of). We're talking jungle gyms, trampolines, or skate parks built right next to the dining tables.
What Area of Bali Not To Stay In
Seminyak, Legian, Kuta
Put simply, these areas are over-developed and have turned into toursist centers. They lack the true identity of Bali that you will find in the rest of the island. Don't get us wrong, there are some amazing resorts there and if your plan is to just stay on resort property the whole time, by all means go for it. But if you want to experience a little more of "real" Bali, we would suggest avoiding them.
Eating In Bali
Arguably our favorite thing about Bali: the food. Bali makes it SO easy to eat healthy because there are an endless amount of options that taste amazing. We've had some of the best vegan burgers of our lives in Bali. Not to mention the endless amount of asian, indian and balinese dining options, all of which have vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free otoons. We could go on and on about how amazing the food is. Do keep in mind though that Bali has tons to offer. So if eating healthy isn't your thing, you can easily find "the bad stuff" too. What we like though, is that Bali makes it easy to find healthy options which makes it easy to stick to your ideal diet.
Here's a list our our favorite healthy and family friendly restaurants.