Non-resort holiday in Bali for family of 5 - help please.

[sunnydelight]

DS1 is 17 so we want a last "family holiday" before he flatly refuses to be seen with us. We also have a 12 and an 8 yo. We like out of the way places and have never booked a package in our lives. When we came out to Oz we re-lived our youth and took the kids travelling in Thailand, I found out of the way villas etc. because I had some knowledge of the place. I have never been to Bali and everyone here (Sydney) seems to go on package holidays. Can anyone please point me in the direction of a good place to go which isn't too touristy and we get some sense of the local culture. Thanks.

I would go to Ubud. Loved it and there are lots of cheap places to stay. Will take ds when he is older.

You could then go onto Bingin beach. A yoga teacher I know runs retreats there so looks fairly quiet. Popular for surfing I think.

www.mu-bali.com

www.thetemplelodge.com

I was in Bingin ten years ago for 3 weeks. I went out there with some surfers I met out in town one night.

Back then it was free to stay in the homestays if you didn't have a room, you were just expected to buy the majority of your food and drink there. They had an honesty book you marked what you'd taken in and paid when you left.
I loved it.
No idea what it's like now though.

I have photos of that trip (not on pc unfortunately) of us all out in Paddys/Sari