Before you fly
- See your GP or a travel clinic six to eight weeks before you go to check routine vaccinations and discuss any travel vaccines for Indonesia.
- Your baby needs their own passport with at least six months' validity, and the same visa or e-Visa on Arrival as you.
- Travel insurance that covers children and medical evacuation is essential. International hospitals in Bali are good but expensive.
- Pack enough nappies, formula and baby food for the first two or three days; after that you can buy or hire almost everything locally.
Hire, don't carry: baby equipment in Bali
Several baby equipment hire companies in southern Bali deliver cots, travel cots, prams, car seats, high chairs, baby baths, sterilisers, bottle warmers, monitors, toys and pool floats to your villa or hotel and collect them when you leave. For most families this is far better than paying for excess baggage and carrying it through the airport. Book a week or two ahead in peak season and confirm the car seat type for your child's size.
Cars, car seats and getting around
Taxis and ride-hailing cars in Bali rarely have child seats, and seat belts in the back are sometimes missing or buried. The safest approach is to hire a car seat from a baby hire company and use a private driver, who will fit it, or book a driver through a company that supplies seats. Scooters are the local way to travel, but we do not recommend them with children.
Pavements are rare outside Sanur, Nusa Dua and parts of Berawa, so a baby carrier is more useful than a pram for most of Bali. A lightweight umbrella stroller is handy for resorts, malls and the Sanur promenade.
Water, food and formula
Tap water in Bali is not safe to drink. Use bottled or filtered water for drinking, making up formula, brushing teeth and washing bottles, and boil it for sterilising. Villas and hotels provide large bottled water dispensers. Ice in reputable restaurants is made from treated water and is generally fine.
Formula brands such as S-26, Nan and Bebelac are sold in supermarkets and pharmacies; if your baby is on a specific brand, bring enough for the trip. Baby food pouches and cereals are available in the bigger supermarkets in Seminyak, Canggu, Sanur and Ubud, and nappies from international brands are easy to find. Fresh fruit such as papaya, banana and mango is a toddler's dream here; wash it in clean water and peel it.
Heat, sun and mosquitoes
Bali is hot and humid all year, around 27 to 32 degrees by day, and babies feel it. Plan outdoor time for early morning and late afternoon, keep babies in the shade and in light cotton, offer fluids often, and use air conditioning for naps. Heat rash is common and harmless; cool baths help. Use a baby-safe sunscreen on exposed skin from six months, a hat and a rash vest in the water, and keep babies under six months out of direct sun altogether.
Dengue fever is present in Bali, and mosquitoes bite most at dawn and dusk. Use a child-safe repellent, dress little ones in long light sleeves and trousers in the evening, use the mosquito nets or screens where provided, and ask the villa to keep doors closed at dusk. Plug-in repellents in the bedroom are widely used.
Villa safety with a toddler
Private villas are wonderful with children and almost never child-proofed: pools are usually unfenced, steps are steep, ponds are open and balconies are low. Choose a villa with a pool fence or a shallow kids' pool if you can, hire a pool fence or a pool alarm, and keep the toddler within arm's reach outdoors. A nanny or sitter whose only job is watching the toddler by the pool is the single most relaxing thing you can arrange.
If your child is unwell
Minor tummy upsets are common; keep children hydrated with oral rehydration salts, available at every pharmacy (apotek), and see a doctor if there is fever, blood or they cannot keep fluids down. Southern Bali has 24-hour international hospitals in Kuta and Nusa Dua and large private hospitals in Denpasar, and Ubud has good clinics. Pharmacies are everywhere and well stocked, and many clinics do villa and hotel call-outs. Keep your insurance details and the nearest hospital's number in your phone.
Actually relaxing
The parents who come back from Bali rested are the ones who got help. A sitter for a few hours a day, an evening sitter twice a week, or a live-in nanny for the whole stay costs a fraction of what it would at home, and Balinese carers are famously gentle with babies. Book before you arrive, keep the same person so your baby settles, and take the nap.
Entry rules, prices and opening hours change. We check these guides regularly, but confirm the details that matter for your trip with the official source before you travel.
