Sidemen
Sidemen is a river valley in east Bali below Mount Agung: terraced rice fields, weaving villages, mountain views on a clear morning, and almost no tourist infrastructure.
Families come here for the quiet, and the quiet is real. There is no strip, no traffic to speak of, and evenings are dark and cool. Days are built around walking — down through the terraces, along the river, out to a village — which works well for children old enough to enjoy a two-hour walk and less well for a toddler who needs a playground.
The valley is a centre for traditional weaving, and workshops that will show children how a loom works are one of the more genuinely engaging things available to families in Bali. Combined with the agricultural landscape immediately outside the door, it is an easy place for a child to understand where things come from.
Practically, options are limited: a handful of guesthouses and small hotels, few restaurants outside them, and the nearest hospital some distance away. It rains more than the coast and the roads are steep and narrow. Most families visit for two or three nights as a change of pace rather than as a base.
