A new year sees Boundless Life emerging on a whole new continent. Kat Ridgway-Taylor sat down with its CEO, Mauro Repacci, to understand why Bali was picked as Boundless’ first location outside of Europe.
Boundless Life is bound for Bali for its fourth location which is very exciting! With so many great potential locations to choose from what made Bali come out on top?
Bali has been on our shortlist for a while but a few factors combined to give us the nudge toward confirming Bali as location #4. These included the voice of our Boundless community - who are obviously a great barometer when it comes to these big decisions. Bali was a clear winner in terms of where our families would like to explore next.
But I wanted to see it for myself to really ‘rubber stamp’ the decision.
Makes sense. Have you done that?
Yes! My family and I left for a whistlestop tour of South East Asia over December that included Malaysia, Thailand and - you guessed it - Bali.
We identified multiple potential places that would make fantastic Boundless Life locations in the future, but Bali really does tick all our boxes in terms of our first non-European location.
Launching on another continent is a big step. Are you nervous?
Ha! {laughs somewhat nervously} Errrmmm, I’d say I feel nervous excitement. Every step we’ve taken on our path to get to this point has involved leaps of faith - both from within our team and from our customers. Anyone who has launched a new venture will naturally have moments of doubt (and it does sometimes feel like jumping out of a plane without a parachute) but then I look back down OUR path and I see the unbelievable amount we have achieved in a short space of time - three locations successfully launched and operating simultaneously in less than a year! We’ve welcomed well over 100 families - the majority of whom have stayed for more than one cohort and/or location, or have already re-booked. Our amazing globally-distributed team has grown - and not just in number. We’ve all faced down challenges, stuck together, and come out stronger on the other side.
In the case of Bali, it IS a big step but one I am 100% confident is in the right direction.
Great to hear. Tell me a bit more about our Bali base: Sanur (pronounced sah-noor).
With pleasure! You should know that I checked out a few different locations in Bali. It’s a tough job but someone’s gotta do it, you know?
Yup, but can I do it next time?
Hahaha! {Mauro doesn’t answer, which I’ll take as a ‘yes’}. All the locations were amazing, but Sanur just has everything we are looking for in terms of somewhere our families could call home for a while.
The beaches are great for all ages and aquatic abilities. The coral reef that protects the shoreline creates safe and shallow lagoons perfect for little-ones to paddle and snorkel. The reefs and beyond are where you will find the surfers. With the right conditions you can surf some of the world’s best waves.
Sanur is the cradle of tourism in Bali and some of its historic hotels still thrive today. Its 5 kilometre beach front walk and cycle path was Bali’s first and has delighted visitors ever since. I’m making Sanur sound like a sleepy has-been but this isn’t the case. It’s also experiencing a major renaissance. With global scale infrastructure being built and modern innovations being implemented, Sanur is fast becoming the island’s most sought after destination for tourists and investors alike. The ICON Bali, once completed, will become Bali’s first lifestyle, culinary, retail and cultural centre.
Even without these advances, it’s just so charming! For example, the Pura Blanjong temple is built out of coral and has inscriptions dating from the 10th century. The main street (Jalan Danau Tamblingan) is leafy with many restaurants and art galleries.
What about further afield? What can Boundless Life families expect?
Sanur in itself is walkable, but it is also very well placed for discovering all that Bali has to offer. Kuta is only a 30 minute drive away, with Ubud only slightly further at about 45 minutes. Downtown Despensar (Bali’s capital and airport) is a mere 15 minutes away.
It really does sound like the ideal spot! When can Boundless Life families start packing?!
We are targeting having Bali ready to go for our 6-week Summer Exploration package that starts in July. Anyone keen should register their interest with our team and we will keep everyone up to date.
.avif)
