Bali Family Escape — 7 Nights

North from the airport into the hills to a villa with its own pool, and an easy first afternoon after what is almost always a long flight. Ubud sits where two rivers meet and the valley is loud with water and insects after dark. Having a pool at the villa matters more on a family trip than it sounds: it gives everyone somewhere to be while the day resets.

A short, shaded terrace walk in the morning while it is still cool — chosen for length and shade rather than for the famous view, because the well-known terraces involve steep steps and full sun and are hard work for small legs. The afternoon is a waterfall with a pool at the bottom deep enough to swim in, which is the part children actually remember. Back to the villa for the hottest hours.

One of the two animal days, depending on ages and appetite. Bali Safari at Gianyar is a proper drive-through park with elephants, lions and a Komodo dragon enclosure, and it takes most of a day. The Sacred Monkey Forest in Ubud is shorter, wilder and free-roaming — several hundred macaques and three temples in a forest — and needs empty hands, because anything loose will be taken.

South to the coast, an hour and a half or so through Denpasar to Nusa Dua on the eastern side of the isthmus. The point of this end of the island is the reef offshore: it breaks the swell, so the lagoon inside is shallow, calm and warm, and it is the safest swimming on Bali by a wide margin. The afternoon is the beach and nothing else.

On the water. Tanjung Benoa immediately north is where the island's watersports operate — banana boat, parasailing, jet ski and glass-bottom boats — all run locally and paid on the day, with age and weight limits that vary by operator. For quieter families the lagoon itself is enough: paddleboards, kayaks and water that stays waist-deep a long way out. The reef edge is close enough to snorkel to from the sand.

Nothing scheduled, which on a seven-night family holiday is not a wasted day but the one that makes the others work. The resort pool, the kids' club, the beach, or the waterbom park at Kuta for anyone with the energy. This is also the sensible day for a spa hour while the children are occupied, and the day the itinerary can absorb a change of plan without anything being lost.

The glass-bottom boat out to Turtle Island at Tanjung Benoa, a short crossing with coral visible under the hull on the way. The island runs a hatchery and conservation programme alongside a small animal collection; standards at these operations vary and the better-run one is chosen. For families who would rather not, the alternative is simply the beach again, which after a week nobody objects to.

The transfer to Denpasar, which from Nusa Dua is around half an hour — one of the shortest airport runs on the island and a real advantage on a departure day with children. If the flight is late, most resorts here will hold a room or provide a day-use changing facility, which is worth arranging in advance rather than on the morning.