Island Life in Nusa Penida
Nusa Penida is an island located off the coast of Bali, Indonesia. Compared to some of the more well known places in Bali like Seminyak, Ubud, and Canggu, Nusa Penida is a lot quieter and a majority of the island is still undeveloped. However, the island is home to some of the most epic viewpoints in Bali and known for its picturesque cliffs, beautiful beaches, and incredible sunsets and sunrises. Definitely add this island to your Indonesian bucket list!
Getting There
Nusa Penida is a quick hour boat ride from Bali’s Sanur Harbor. We booked our tickets for $8/person one way through https://penidago.com/. There are numerous different boat companies to choose from on this site and boats leave pretty much every hour during daylight, so you’ll definitely find a boat that meets your needs. As someone who gets seasick, I was very nervous about being on a crowded boat; however, I’m happy to report it was actually a lot of fun and I felt fine! We somehow booked the ‘party boat’. I don’t think that’s what they called it, but they were blasting tunes on the speaker, selling beer, and the crew was dancing and making us all laugh. We sat on the outside of the top deck of the boat - 100/10 recommend this, but definitely don’t forget sunscreen! I got fried.
Once you actually dock in Nusa Penida and get to the harbor, you are bombarded with dozens of taxi and motorbike drivers wanting to give you a ride. It’s definitely more costly than the mainland, but still cheap compared to the US. We paid Rp 200,000 (about $12) for a 20 minute ride.
Getting Around
One of the biggest struggles we found in Nusa Penida was the transportation. Unlike Bali, Grab (the equivalent of uber) is not allowed on the island and most of the cars are not labeled as taxis, so it was hard to actually find transportation from our airbnb. We ended up finding a taxi to take us to a place to rent motorbikes; however, that place ended up being closed. We walked for almost 30 minutes, passing 3 other motorbike rental places that were all closed (it was 9am on a Friday, so not sure what the deal was). Thankfully, a kind local saw us struggling and invited us to his home and let us rent his personal motorbike for $6/day. I’m just constantly amazed by the kindness of people I meet traveling.
I honestly have a bit of PTSD from crashing my motorbike in Thailand 6 years ago (check out the story here!), so my aunt drove the motorbike. She did absolutely amazing and drove us to Crystal Bay to snorkel, however, it was super stressful. The roads in Nusa Penida are not the greatest and are windy, steep, and full of cracks and bumps, so it was pretty difficult to drive. We did see a lot of tourists driving motorbikes, so just make sure you are confident and comfortable behind the wheel.
The next day, we decided to ditch the motorbike and hire a driver. Luckily, our tour guide from Ubud, Nikolas, who was amazing, had a friend in Nusa Penida. We booked him for the whole day and he took us to some great spots on the island. Highly recommend connecting and becoming friends with your tour guides and the locals!
What To Do
1. Crystal Bay
We spent our first full day hanging out at Crystal Bay. We got there before 10am, so we beat most of the other people there, so it was so peaceful and not crowded at all. We rented beach chairs with an umbrella for $6 for the day and made ourselves at home. After admiring the gorgeous rock formations and crystal clear water, I wasted no time and got right in the water to snorkel. We brought our own snorkeling gear, but you can rent it on the beach too. The water was so refreshing and different shades of vibrant blues. The coral reef was huge and home to a wide variety of fish. While I was bummed to not see a sea turtle, I spent hours out there having an absolute blast.
As the afternoon went on, the beach did get more crowded with people and the water with tour boats, but it honestly still wasn’t that bad. The beaches in San Diego get way more crowded! There were numerous little food stands on the beach selling drinks, snacks, and full meals. My aunt tried the catch of the day - some sort of fish - and said it was pretty good. I’m a little less adventurous and stuck with fried rice. Overall, this was the perfect way to spend day one on the island.
2. Broken Beach & Angel’s Billabong
Our day two was jam packed with things to do. This was the day we hired the driver, so he picked us up from our airbnb at 8am. Our first stops were Broken Beach and Angel’s Billabong. Broken Beach is a breathtaking, naturally formed, horseshoe shaped archway. The deep turquoise blue water from the ocean flows through the archway making a unique looking natural pool. There’s even a white sand beach at the bottom. There’s no way to get down there (besides by boat I suppose), but the view is insane. Getting here was just a quick, easy walk from the parking lot.
Just a short walk from Broken Beach is Angel’s Billabong. This is a natural tide pool, full of crystal clear water that you can swim in when the conditions are safe. Unfortunately, it was too rough when we visited, but still a beautiful place to see.
3. Kelingking Beach
Kelingking Beach was our next stop on our tour on day 2 and was my absolute favorite. In my opinion, it is by far the most spectacular viewpoint in Nusa Penida and actually took my breath away. The rocky cliff formations, paired with the white sand, and turquoise waters - absolutely INSANE.
I will say as with most beautiful places - it is popular! We got there at 10am and there was a huge line to pay for a picture at the top. But, our tour guide led us down the trail a bit and took pictures from a less crowded and free spot (bless!).
Most people take pictures at the top and then leave; however, there is the option to hike all the way down to the bottom and actually swim in the ocean. It was hot and I love the ocean, so I knew I had to climb down. The first part of the hike was steps, which were honestly already a bit sketchy. The stairs quickly turned to actual rock climbing, but there were railings on either side so that was a plus (although some parts were pretty broken). I clearly had no idea what I was getting myself into because I wore flip flops on this hike lol. I didn’t take too many pictures of the actual hike because I was trying not to fall, but trust me when I say it was hard! I will say I hiked it at the perfect time (around 10am), so I only ran into a few other hikers on the trail.
45 minutes later, I made it to the beach! I only took one picture because I was just so happy to be there and spent all my time in the water. I felt absolutely amazing! The waves were huge and so fun to play around in, the water was clear, the sand was soft, and the accomplishment of completing the hike made it that much better. Because of the climb, it was a lot quieter than most beaches. There was one food vendor renting towels and selling some snacks and water. I could’ve stayed down there all day!
After about an hour or so, I made the trek back up. The trail was busier at this time with people coming up and down, so it took longer because the trail was really only made for one person at a time, so we had to stop to let the people coming down pass by. The way up was a full body workout and required me to pull myself up with my arm and back muscles. It definitely wasn’t easy and was a bit scary at some points, but I absolutely loved the thrill of it and would do it again in a heartbeat.
4. Food & A Sunset/Sunrise
Usually when traveling I try not to eat at the same place twice because there are so many new places to try. However, we ate at Secret Penida Cafe three times while in Nusa Penida. The food was pretty good, but the atmosphere and views were what we went for. It was also very conveniently located only a 5 minute walk from our airbnb. Our first night on the island another traveler staying at our airbnb recommended this place to eat, so we walked up the road to check it out. It was right on the beach, with beach access, and its own little pool. We sat in some reclining chairs and ordered some drinks - me a latte and my aunt a cocktail.
We left our things on the chairs and walked down to check out the beach. It wasn’t really a place where people laid on the beach or swam in the water really, but I brought my snorkel and got into the water. There was a huge coral reef but the water was pretty shallow and the coral was sharp, so not really ideal for snorkeling. It was still nice and refreshing though! Then we came back up to the restaurant and I enjoyed a dip in the pool before we ordered some appetizers and dinner. We caught a gorgeous sunset to finish the night - the sky lit up with purples and blues.
The next morning we of course were up before the sun (early mornings and nights seemed to be the trend of the trip), so we got up and walked outside to find a place to watch the sunrise. There wasn’t much by our airbnb, so we ended up at Secret Penida again and watched the sun wake up. It was stunning!
Our last morning of the trip, I found myself walking over to the same spot again to watch the sunrise. There’s just something so peaceful about waking up before most people and watching the world wake up. And of course I had to fuel up with a smoothie bowl before our boat ride back to Bali!
Thank you for reading! I hope you have a beautiful day!