Indonesia offers a perfect place to get that surfing trip itch while keeping the non-surfing family happy, and Bali is possibly the best for it. With Bali being one of the largest tourism destinations in the world there is a lot of options to keep that non surfing partner, husband or wife entertained and the kids well fed and safe.
What activities are there for non-surfing travelers?
There is a lot to do for non-surfing travelers in Bali, the trick is to choose the ones that are close to quality waves as-well! You could head up into the hills and spend a week in Ubud seeing the sights, doing yoga and soaking in the culture but you are 40 minutes from the beach, why not head up to Balian? The have yoga classes, its serene and beautiful and there is a hotel right on the beach with a swimming pool that looks at the wave!
Temples
Visiting the temples in Bali is a very popular thing to do, and they are amazing!
Some of the best ones that you will find near surf are;
The Uluwatu temple
On the cliff above Temples has amazing architecture and a view to die for! It is also home to a colony of monkeys that will try and steal anything thats not tied down. This is great to know to try and talk your non-surfing partner out of going to the monkey forest temple in Ubud!
Tanah lot temple
Found just north of Canggu on a small island just off the coast. There aren’t any waves in the direct vicinity of here but its close proximity to canggu means you will be able to surf in the morning and then spend the day with the family.
Shopping
There are lots of places to shop in Bali, from the local markets to high end fashion boutiques. Some of the best places to shop around Bali are Seminyak, Kuta and Canggu.
Seminyak and Kuta
These 2 regions offer as much shopping as your heart desires. Kuta has a lot of local markets that you can check out and snap up some bargains for some poorly made equivilents to popular products or brands. The Beach walk mall is a popular place to shop for more high end retails shops. There are a lot of great shops along Jalan Legian all the way to Seminyak.
Seminyak provides a more high end shopping experience than Kuta, with all sort of boutiwue style shops.
The great thing about these locations is there are waves on the beach breaks and kuta reef is not too far away, it is also easy to arrange a driver to take you to other waves around the island while the family spends the day shopping!
Canggu
Canggu is a little more up and coming as a shopping destination and tends to have alot more boutiwue style shops that sell things that you cant find elese where. It is alittle harder to get form shop to shop and some transport will be required, but the great thing is that there are waves right on your doorstep in canggu, so every can be happy!
For the Children
A lot of the higher end hotels in Kuta, Seminyak and Sanur will offer kids clubs where they will entertain your children for the day while you go surfing! but there are other great activities for the whole family.
Waterbom Park
Probably the most popular is the Waterbom Park just north of Kuta, where you can spend the entire day playing in the pools and sliding down the slides! the kids love this place, and they will go to bed as soon as they get home after a day here!
Just lazing by the pool
Hanging out in the pool and sipping cocktails is a great way to spend the day if you are not a surfer too! And luck for those who want to surf this can be done right in front of world class surf breaks!
There are an array of quality hotels that line the beaches at Keramas, Sanur, Uluwatu, Bingin, Kuta, and Seminyak! Where you can get cocktails delivered to you pool side while watching the sets come in!
