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NUSA LEMBONGAN FOR FAMILIES
One of the most common questions we get asked seems to be variations along the line of "is Nusa Lembongan a family friendly destination"? In short yes, Nusa Lembongan is a wonderful destination for a family holiday with children of all ages, whether it be babies, toddlers, young kids or teenagers, there is plenty to do for the whole family. In this blog we discuss information particularly useful for families with children and we try to answer some of the more common questions. "Children" and "families" are quite broad topics and with us having guests from all over the world with different proficiencies and familiarities (particularly around water). We discuss topics relevant to a range of ages from babies to infants, to young children right the way through to adolescents and older teenagers, so as you read through, you will need to pick out the snippets of information relevant to your family. Why Nusa Lembongan is a great family friendly destination? Nusa Lembongan offers a very unique mix of characteristics that make it an incredible family friendly destination. 1. The island is not too remote and easily accessible. It takes approximately 30 minutes on the fast boat to get to Nusa Lembongan from Bali. Kids tend to find the boat ride quite an experience in itself! 2. The island is small, so no long car trips to go site seeing. There is hardly any traffic on the island, so getting around is either in a taxi (small trucks with bench seats in the back), or golf buggies are very popular for families. 3. The island is jam packed with activities and things to do for all ages - read on for more discussion on particular activities for kids. 4. There is a small community (almost country town) feel to the island. Everyone knows everyone. There is basically no crime on Nusa Lembongan and the locals are super friendly, welcoming and love children of all ages. This is great peace-of-mind for families with young children, and also families with older teenage children, where they are having a taste of freedom and might be doing some more exploring unsupervised. 5. There is decent access to medical in the event of the unforeseen.
The island offers excellent opportunity to introduce your children to new concepts, cultures, languages and activities that they may not have access or exposure to back home.
We've split this topic up into three sections: 1. Our properties with children 2. Activities for children on Nusa Lembongan
3. Getting around Nusa Lembongan with children 4. Safety precautions with children on Nusa Lembongan
This discussion is not supposed to be an exhaustive of every possible activity for children, or safety precaution (common sense always prevails), though a helpful reference point for your next family holiday.
Ohana's beachfront resort & beach club for families
Ohana is a Hawaiian word that means family. Naturally, our resort caters to families. The owners of the resort created Ohana's really as an extension of what they enjoy in life and as a place for them, and others, to share wonderful times with their families. The resort (whilst obviously very beautiful), has been purposefully designed to have an informal, casual and homely feel to it. Families of all ages, from the newborn to the grandparents can all feel comfortable, and there are areas and amenities for everyone. The location Being situated on the absolute beachfront in the heart of the main town, means you'll be hard pressed to find a better location on the island of Nusa Lembongan. For families this means we have a beautiful ocean and beach out the front, and within walking distance are dozens of restaurants, cafes, boutiques, spas and local stores. You pretty much never need to get transport unless exploring the island, and even then the longest ride is about 15-minutes to the opposite side of the island.
The amenity The property caters for children of all ages. We have high chairs in the restaurant and cribs available for the accommodation. There is a kids specific menu at the restaurant, though the main menu also is very accessible to children. The wood-fired pizzas are often a hit too with the kids. Youngsters also love that we light the bonfire each night and cook marshmallows at sunset. We have the world's biggest pool and playground at our doorstep (the ocean and beach), and two pools at the resort. Both pools have shallow ends. For teenagers, they will love exploring up and down the beach and the local shops, paddle boarding and swimming out the front in the ocean, we also have the best surf breaks on the island at the outer reefs directly out the front of the resort. Our team can help you in organising all activities, for example go snorkelling (get picked up by boat right from our beach), or hire a golf buggy to explore the island.
The rooms We have great options for families, and our rooms have flexible bedding configurations to accommodate families with different numbers of children, and children of different ages. The Suites and Junior Suites are very popular for families with children. In this set up, the parents are typically in the main bedroom, and the living room of the Suites or Junior Suites is converted with bedding for the children. The beds in the living room are proper sprung mattresses for the children. The floorplans on the individual room type section of the website have images to better illustrate this. Sometimes parents will choose to put older teenage kids in one of their own rooms, and that is also fine. Often parents will stay in one of the Suites or Junior Suites (as they are a bit more luxurious), and older teenage children stay in the Deluxe Garden Rooms. The rooms are close by (within 20m of each other), though also give everyone a little bit more space if that is what they are after. The 3-bedroom villa with private plunge pool is a great option for larger families or those again wanting more space.
Activities for children on Nusa Lembongan
We offer a general age range for activities, though of course this also depends on your children's interests, and abilities (for example comfort with being in the water).
We talk about Lembongan specific activities for kids and mostly "outdoors" style activities and experiences that are a bit more unique to the island that your children might not be able to do back at home, though also have a look at the "activities
Snorkelling (all ages)
Snorkelling on Nusa Lembongan is a great activity for children of all ages and abilities.
The experienced tour guides have life jackets, safety equipment, goggles and snorkels, and will take your group to locations relative to the experience and abilities of who is on board the boat. So just communicate with the captain on your families level of comfort and abilities.
The captains will often through ropes out from the boat to hold onto if you or your kids want to stay "connected" to the boat, and younger ones can have added safety devices whilst snorkelling (wearing life jacket or other flotation devices). Swimming with the manta rays, seeing the bright corals and colourful fish is always a great talking point for everyone.
Obviously, if you're children are not able to swim, then snorkelling won't be a great activity for them, though, the snorkelling tours will take you around the island by water and the snorkelling locations are around the three Nusa Islands (Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Ceningan & Nusa Penida), so even if you're not big on getting wet, it makes for a great morning of site-seeing and seeing the tropical islands from a different perspective.
Beach days and beach club hangs at Ohana's (all ages)
As parents ourselves, something we really value is venues where parent can relax and enjoy some time to themselves, whilst knowing the kids are entertained and won't be nagging around our feet needing something to occupy themselves. Beach days at beach clubs are a great activity for the whole family; the perfect place for adults and kids alike.
Kids will love playing between the ocean, beach and pools at the beach clubs, whilst parents can enjoy relaxing and working their way through through the cocktail menu, whilst easily being able to see the children and the kids having plenty to occupy themselves. At Ohana's we have plenty to occupy the kids including: - Calm ocean for swimming or paddle boarding (in the natural lagoon formed by the outer reefs) - Surf right out the front (at the outer-reefs behind the lagoon)
- Beautiful beach for kids to enjoy
- Sunset bonfires (a favourite for children is cooking marshmallows on the bonfire)
- Two pools, both with shallow ends for toddles and young children
- Kids playground (conveniently in view of the swim up bar for parents to keep an eye on their children)
- Extensive food and drinks menu with lots of healthy options as well as snack food, pizza, and treats such as marshmallows or donuts
Buying knick knacks (ages 6+)
This is a highlight for kids from the age of about 6 and up, as they are starting to learn about money and understanding of purchasing decisions.
There are often vendors along the beach who are selling knick-knacks (bracelets, souvenirs etc.), and kids often really enjoy the experience of looking through these items and bartering for the first time.