Child pricing in Bali: the age bands that catch agents out

Family bookings are where Bali quotes quietly leak money, because attractions and hotels define "child" in two completely different ways — and one activity defines it a third way.

Attractions: usually 3 to 11

Most Bali attraction tickets treat a child as 3 to 11 years. Under 3 is generally free; 12 and over pays adult. This holds for Uluwatu with the Kecak dance, Tirta Empul, Ubud Monkey Forest, Tanah Lot, Bali Swing and the Nusa Penida day trip.

The exception that bites: rafting

Ayung River rafting starts at 7, not 3. The child band is 7 to 11, and there is a hard minimum age below which a child simply cannot board — no rate, no exception, safety rule.

Quote a family with a five-year-old onto a rafting day and it does not become a cheaper ticket; it becomes a passenger who cannot go. Somebody has to sit out, and that changes the vehicle, the guide and the day. Check ages before you build adventure days, not after.

Hotels: a different system entirely

Hotel rate sheets do not use an age band as the primary switch. They use bed occupancy:

• CWB — child with bed. An extra bed or sofa bed in the room.
• CNB — child no bed. Sharing existing bedding.
• Extra bed — priced separately again, and often the same physical bed as CWB but billed differently.

On top of that sits the board basis: RO is room only, BB includes breakfast. A CNB child on BB may or may not get breakfast included — that is a property-by-property answer, and it is the single most common billing dispute at check-out.

The checklist

• Collect exact ages at booking, not "two kids".
• Flag any child under 7 if adventure activities are in the itinerary.
• Confirm CWB versus CNB per room, and whether breakfast is included for CNB.
• Remember a child turning 12 between booking and travel becomes an adult on the rate sheet.

Send us the rooming list with ages and we will price it correctly first time. Request rates.