Family Resort Holiday. Bali, Fiji or Phuket?

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Papa G

Papa G

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Looking at doing a family resort holiday. Kids 7 and 5. All up probably spend around $10k so it will be a decent resort. Just want to the resort thing for about a week. Not looking at "travelling" per se, with 2 kids forget that, just somewhere that is fun in the sun.

Looking at these 3 destinations and would like to know what others experienced.

Bali looks the cheapest and closest, but I'm a bit against it due to the Bogan/Too many Australians element.

Fiji looks most relaxing but have heard the weather can be a huge problem both wind and rain. Also heard it can be a bit boring.

Phuket. Am leaning towards this, but not sure how it say compares to Bali.

Any experiences advice would be appreciated.
 
Papa G said:
Phuket. Am leaning towards this, but not sure how it say compares to Bali.
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Pretty similar really.

Phuket is a little more toned down version of Bali. Fairly similar good points, and fairly similar bad points. Probably a bit more to do in Phuket.

I am not a huge fan of the bogan aussies that frequent either place, and also don't like the chap tacky shopping and the overly pushy sales pitches though, so I'd lean towards Fiji for those reasons.

No doubt others will enjoy the Bali/Phuket experience for the very reason I don't though.
 
Andronicus said:
Pretty similar really.

Phuket is a little more toned down version of Bali. Fairly similar good points, and fairly similar bad points. Probably a bit more to do in Phuket.

I am not a huge fan of the bogan aussies that frequent either place, and also don't like the chap tacky shopping and the overly pushy sales pitches though, so I'd lean towards Fiji for those reasons.

No doubt others will enjoy the Bali/Phuket experience for the very reason I don't though.
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Is it fair to say you encounter less Bogan Aussies in Phuket than you would in Bali?
 

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Papa G said:
Is it fair to say you encounter less Bogan Aussies in Phuket than you would in Bali?
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Yeah there are less, but they are still quite noticeable.

Phuket seems to attract bogans from other countries a little more than Bali does.

If you wanted to avoid them, try to stay in a slightly quieter area, like Karon, or Kata instead of Patong.

Or if heading to Bali, Nusa Dua instead of Kuta.
 
Andronicus said:
Yeah there are less, but they are still quite noticeable.

Phuket seems to attract bogans from other countries a little more than Bali does.

If you wanted to avoid them, try to stay in a slightly quieter area, like Karon, or Kata instead of Patong.

Or if heading to Bali, Nusa Dua instead of Kuta.
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The joint I'm looking at is in Karon.
 
If you want the resort style holiday, without the bogans etc in Bali then look in the Nusa Dua area. I just got back from a holiday there, the resorts are great and no bogans in sight. There are alot more Europeans in that area.
 
Drumroe said:
If you want the resort style holiday, without the bogans etc in Bali then look in the Nusa Dua area. I just got back from a holiday there, the resorts are great and no bogans in sight. There are alot more Europeans in that area.
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Did you go to the tree? Great little pub just a short walk from most Nusa Dua resorts.
 
Andronicus said:
Did you go to the tree? Great little pub just a short walk from most Nusa Dua resorts.
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Nah didn't go there unfortunately. A great thing I liked about Nusa Dua is all the restaurants in the area offer free drop off/pick up. As the food prices in hotel are a lot higher, just get the concierge to organise them to pick you up and it's easy as.
 
Drumroe said:
Nah didn't go there unfortunately. A great thing I liked about Nusa Dua is all the restaurants in the area offer free drop off/pick up. As the food prices in hotel are a lot higher, just get the concierge to organise them to pick you up and it's easy as.
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Do you mind me asking what resort you stayed at and was it kid friendly?
 
Papa G said:
Do you mind me asking what resort you stayed at and was it kid friendly?
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I stayed at the Nusa Dua Beach Resort. Yeah it was kid friendly, I believe they have games rooms and kids programs etc. although I didn't see a massive amount of kids around.

Id go to the websites of a few of the hotels and see what kind of programs they have for kids.
 
I've never been to Bali but can vouch that Phuket (Patong) is littered with Bogan Aussies of all ages. Absolutely full of them.
 

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Papa G said:
Bali looks the cheapest and closest, but I'm a bit against it due to the Bogan/Too many Australians element.

Fiji looks most relaxing but have heard the weather can be a huge problem both wind and rain. Also heard it can be a bit boring.

Phuket. Am leaning towards this, but not sure how it say compares to Bali.

Any experiences advice would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

Mauritius.

Great mix of cultures, great cuisine, laid back locals understand and speak English at least as a second language, safe, different and tropical.

Somewhere like Sugar Beach or with kids Club Med is a solid option.

been to both and loved them both
 
Falchoon said:
Mauritius.

Great mix of cultures, great cuisine, laid back locals understand and speak English at least as a second language, safe, different and tropical.

Somewhere like Sugar Beach or with kids Club Med is a solid option.

been to both and loved them both
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Actually been looking at the Nusa Dua Club Med.

The flight to Mauritius seems a bit long.
 
Papa G said:
That's including flights and spending money.
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Should still have a fair bit of change, even if you go all out when you are there. The appeal of Bali is usually the nicer resorts at cheaper places.

Nusa Dua does tick those boxes.

With a family though, it can be a good idea to organise a driver for transfers and to take you around on certain days in advance. Lots of people have a driver they have used, so ask people you trust if they have a contact. Our driver was the one my sister and lots of her friends had used, and he has a son studying here in Australia. The peace of mind knowing you can leave bags in his car, and knowing he came endorsed by lots we trusted meant we were more than happy paying a couple of dollars more. In fact, as it was so cheap, we ended up probably well and truly overpaying with a tip, but it's still nothing to us.
 
Another option is Borocay in the Philippines......nice beach, cheap food and drinks. Reasonable amount of activities as well.
Apparently wasn't hit too much by the typhoon and are looking to attract tourists again
 
We've done Bali, Thailand and Fiji with kids.

In terms of overall experience I would rank them in that order. Bali is cheap, it's pretty easy to avoid the began-infestation and the flight is a blink of an eye. Thailand is very similar, bit further away, the food is better but the seedy areas are more widespread. Fiji is a bit meh in general, imo.

In Bali, we've done resorts and private villas. Depending on the type of holiday you're after, I would look into the private villa route. You can pick up amazing places (with your own pool, housekeeping staff, chefs etc) which put the resort rooms to shame in terms of price, but you can't drop the kids off at the holiday club every morning and disappear. If you want to holiday with the kids as opposed to at the same time as the kids, a villa is an awesome setup. Don't get me wrong, both ways have their merit, though. I just hate hotels, having to stalk sun lounges and line up for breakfast etc.

We recently stayed at a nice place near Balangan Beach with is owned by an Aussie couple, has a fenced pool (a rarity) and pretty sweet facilities - they built it specifically for people travelling with children. It's a fair way out of the hustle and bustle, too, so it's a forced relaxation sort of vibe. I can fix you up with details if you're interested.
 
Nusa Dua is a great place to stay in Bali. Try the Novotel Nusa Dua Apartments we stayed there last year with family got a 3 bed appt with a private pool, kids loved it. Don't get put off Bali because of what goes on in Kuta/Legian lots of great stuff available for families at a reasonable price.
 
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