The Ultimate Guide to visit
Nusa Penida in 1 day
By Two World Backpackers
The Nusa Islands are three small islands located southeast of Bali: they consist of Nusa Ceningan, Nusa Lembongan, and Nusa Penida.
Although the Nusa Islands are still not a tourist destination as Bali, Nusa Penida is becoming one of the most dream destinations of the moment on Instagram due to its idyllic beaches with crystal clear waters and its exotic landscape.
Table of Contents
How to arrive to Nusa Penida
FROM BALI:
The best option to go to Nusa Penida is with the Fast / Speed Boat as most companies leave from Padang Bay or Sanur because there are more schedules available.
However, we went from Kusamba Harbor to Toyapakeh harbor in Nusa Penida for a price of IDR 200k return ticket per person. The journey was approximately 40 minutes.
FROM GILI ISLANDS:
If you are in any of the Gili Islands there are also fast boats that take you directly to any of the Nusa Islands.
In our opinion, this would be the best option since we did not know it, and we had to return to Bali to catch another boat that would take us to Nusa Penida. So we lost half a day.
Our Plan in the Island
Our advice is that you hire a taxi driver per day to take you to the different places you want to visit. If you have plenty of experience driving a motorcycle, you can also rent one, but be very careful since the roads there are pretty dangerous.
We arrived in the middle of the afternoon and returned at noon the next day, so we didn’t have time to see the whole island as we would have liked.
Upon arrival, and since we were staying just 10 minutes’ walk from Crystal Bay beach, we left our things at the hotel and went to the beach for a while to enjoy the sunset there.
Crystal Bay is considered one of the best beaches on the island where you can enjoy the best sunsets. Besides, near the small island in the center, it is a beautiful area full of corals where you can do snorkel.
Our first stop the next day was Kelingking beach, one of the most Instagrammable places of the moment due to its dinosaur shape and its idyllic beach.
We recommend wearing a good pair of trainers since the way to go down to the beach is a bit complicated and not everyone dares to go down (as it happened to us) Plus if you are wearing flip flops it will be very difficult. Anyway, if you do not dare to go down to the beach, you can go down a couple of steps to the viewpoint from where you will be able to take the typical photo.
About 30 minutes away from Kelingking Beach is located Broken Beach, one of the essentials on the island that offers spectacular panoramic views. It is a circular cliff with a natural pool where the highlight is the arch that surrounds the bay and through which the water enters until it reaches the beach. They told us that if you are lucky, you can see manta rays swimming around the area, although we did not see any at all.
Finally, we visit Angel’s Billabong, located right next to Broken Beach. It is a natural pool with crystalline waters where you can swim at low tide while watching the Indian waves crash on its cliffs.
Other Must-Visit places
We did not have more time to enjoy the island and its wonders, but if you have it, you can visit the following places that we will visit the next time we go:
- Pura Goa Giri Putri Cave: One of the most beautiful temples in Nusa Penida located in a cave with some bats and Hindu figures.
- Atuh Beach: One of the most beautiful beaches in Nusa Penida with crystal clear waters, you need to access by going down a cliff, but it’s worth it!
- Pulau Seribu: Panoramic point known as “the thousand islands” and located very close to Atuh Beach. Also, there you will also find the well-known “treehouse”. Another of the very instagrammable points today.
- Diamond Beach: Another well-known place currently in Instagram which is located next to Atuh Beach. It consist of a beautiful beach with turquoise waters, palm trees, and green cliffs. You need to access via some nice stairs carved into the cliff.
- Tembeling Pools: It is one of the many sacred places for the Balinese with difficult access due to the poor state of the roads. But these impressive and exotic natural pools are worth visiting.
If you know any other place on the island that we should not miss, please let us know! We will be happy to visit it next time we go to Nusa Penida.
