Lovina, Bali

We spent one night in Lovina, with the sole purpose of watching dolphins at dawn. I was won over by Princess Dana Diaries' recommendation and decided to stay at The Lovina Bali. The hotel started operations in September 2012, so it was barely a year old. I loved everything about it. We were upgraded to a beach front deluxe villa that came with a living room, a fully equipped kitchenette and a spacious bedroom that had a king sized bed and a roll-away cot for Noah. The swimming pool was right outside our room, and the beach was just a short walk away.

Bedroom

Living room and kitchenette

Hotel Pool

We arrived shortly before sunset and decided to have a seafood grill dinner at the hotel's restaurant on the beach. It was the best dinner we had in Bali. Main courses start at US$20. Nathan and Noah were thrilled when we decided to let them build sandcastles while we waited for our food. That gave Dean and I some "couple time". We talked about the first time we came to Bali as a couple, more than 10 years ago. I don't remember doing very much in Bali then... Just lazing by the beach and enjoying a full body massage. With Nathan and Noah, we are not able to enjoy a couple massage like we used to, but we managed to explore all the child-friendly attractions that Bali has to offer. Holidays will never be the same now that we are 4. :)

Sunrise to Sunrise, Great is Thy Faithfulness

Building sand castles

I really love seafood grill dinners. After all these years, Dean knew exactly what to order for me. I can't quite remember what we ordered for the kids, but it was yummy too... they finished everything on their plate!

Dolphin Watching

We got our driver to link us up with a fisherman to bring us out to sea to watch dolphins. The cost per boat was IDR500,000. It looks to me that each boat can take 6 to 8 people although I don't know what the legal capacity is. While we were having dinner by the beach, there were several boatmen hanging around asking if we wanted to go on a dolphin watching tour with them. So I suppose it is pretty easy to find your own boatman. You can also get the hotel to arrange the tour for you, but I suspect it might be costlier. The Lovina had direct access to the beach and hence, the fisherman was able to pick us up from our resort beachfront at 5.45am.

It was the first time that any of us rode in an outrigger canoe. It was pretty stable and thankfully none of us got seasick. They had life jackets for the adults, but no kid-sized jackets for the boys.

While we were waiting for the dolphins to appear, we saw the sun rise over the horizon. Such a beautiful sight!

The fisherman knew exactly where to take us... after sailing for about 15 minutes or so, we spotted the first pod of dolphins... The boys were thrilled!

I am so glad that my boys are such great travellers... they didn't grumble about being dragged out of bed at 5+ in the morning and were generally enthusiastic about everything I had planned. :P I really loved the Lovina Bali resort and it is a pity that we were only staying one night. I recommend spending at least two nights here just so you have time to laze by the pool / beach, and enjoy a relaxing massage. We found the rates at the hotel's spa pretty reasonable, but were not able to book a slot at our preferred times. I'd love to come back to this resort just to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

For more of our Bali Adventures, click here!