IT STARTED as a vibration but it wasn't long before the walls were rattling, water was spilling out of the pool and Shane Barton was screaming at his family to get out of their Bali villa.

He and his wife Amanda, whose family owns the long-standing Rob Nissen Floor Covering business had only been on holidays for a few nights when a 7.1 magnitude earthquake rocked Seminyak on August 5.

Amanda was standing in the kitchen with her mum Maureen and four-year-old daughter Ruby when they first felt the ground move.

"We didn't even know what was happening," Amanda told the Chronicle.

"We didn't know which way to run or which way to go.

"It was really frightening."

The family decided the safest plan was to run outside and stand in a nearby paddock away from buildings until the tremor was over.

"We stood there for what felt like forever," Amanda said

"It was such a surreal feeling

"There are no warnings or alarms."

For Amanda, the real shock of the event took a few days to set in.

The mother of two said since the event she and her husband had been sleeping separately with each of their children in case another quake hit during the night.

Just four days after the main event, while relaxing on Legian beach, the family felt the tremor of a second 5.9 magnitude earthquake.

Maureen said the scariest part of these natural disasters was the unknown.

"You don't have any warning and you feel hopeless," she said.

"Australians are not trained in what to do in an earthquake.

"You just don't know if the ground is going to open up or if the building is going to fall down."

The family will be flying home on Thursday and is hoping for a "quake free" few days.

Although shaken by the event, the veteran Bali holidaymakers say it won't stop them from returning to the popular destination.

Government website Smart Traveller is urging Australians travelling to Bali to reconsider for fear of ongoing aftershocks.