I’m going to tell you something mildly embarrassing: the first time I planned a trip to Bali with kids, I made a spreadsheet. A beautiful one. Color-coded. Time blocks. Backup options. You know the type. And then real life showed up. Because doing Bali with family isn’t just “Bali, but

I used to plan trips like I was building a spreadsheet for a boss I didn’t even like. Wake up at 7, coffee at 7:20, beach at 8, temple at 10, lunch at 12, repeat. When I first came to Bali, I tried that again—because habits travel with you, unfortunately.

If you’ve been hanging around the usual Bali loop—beach clubs, crowded cafés, scooter traffic that feels like a video game—West Bali is… not a dramatic escape. That’s the point. It doesn’t do a grand entrance. It just quietly changes the temperature of your day. The first time I went, I

You land, you step outside, and immediately your brain tries to behave like a project manager. “Okay, today: beach. Tomorrow: temples. The next day: rice fields.” Then Bali gently ignores your plan. Someone’s placing a small offering near a doorway. A scooter slips past with three people and a stack

I used to think half-day plans were kind of… pointless. Like, why bother if you can’t “do Bali properly,” right? But then Bali does that thing where it sneaks up on you: a late breakfast becomes a temple stop, a temple stop becomes “wait, are we really renting a scooter?”,

Okay, so… you have one day in Bali. Which sounds clean and simple until you actually land and realize Bali is not “clean and simple.” It’s loud in a charming way. It’s warm in a way that makes you forgive things. It’s also the kind of place where you say

So, you’re going to Bali. And you’re excited. And also… there’s this tiny mental itch, right? The one that goes, “Okay but what if I pick the wrong area and spend my trip stuck in traffic, eating soggy fries, wondering why I didn’t just stay home?” I used to do

I used to picture Bali like a clean travel poster: palm trees, a dramatic sunset, maybe a beach club chair that costs too much. Then, on my first full day, I almost stepped on a tiny offering placed right where my foot wanted to land. I stopped so suddenly I