Have you ever thought of staying in a small island, walking through the lonely road? Have you ever heard of Nusa Penida Island?
I hadn’t, before I went to Bali. I searched quite a lot in internet regarding the best places to visit in and around Bali, but I didn’t read about Nusa Penida Island. In my flight to Bali, I read about it in Air Asia Magazine. Nusa Penida —is small island in South East part of Bali; there are 2 other small (tiny) islands near Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan. I liked the article about it, but as I had already planned my 4-5 days stay in Bali, I didn’t give much importance.
In my stay in Jimbaran, Bali I have interacted with the other tourists who were staying there and came to know that Nusa Penida is even better than Gilli or Lombok Island. I asked them about —how to go, what to see etc ,did my own research in internet and finally I could not resists myself going to Nusa Penida.
There are not much useful information available in internet about Nusa Penida. So here in my blog I will tell you how to visit the Nusa Penida (2-3 days) in 5000-6000 INR/person (approx. $75/person). Since it’s small island, most of the things are transported from Bali, it is even more costly than Bali.
Have you ever travelled solo in your life? Please read here to know why should you travel SOLO once in your life.
How to Reach Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan:
To reach Nusa Penida, there are many options like normal Boat, speed Boat from Bali. Normal Boat will take 3-4 hours depending on weather condition and waves. It will cost you only Rp 35.000 (Approx. Rs. 175.00) but I will recommend to choose Speed Boat over normal boat, as it is safer option and it takes only 30-40 min to reach Nusa Penida. There are 2-3 Speed Boat companies (Maruti Speed Boat, Mola Mola Speed Boat etc.). The boats leaves from Sanur Beach, Bali to Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan. To reach Nusa Ceningan, you have to cross the famous Yellow suspension Bridge. You can get back to Nusa Lembongan again by walking or hire a bike to do the day trip in those small islands. To go to Nusa Penida from Nusa Lembongan, you have to take small public boats or bike boats, which will cost you approx. Rp. 100.000 per boat (4person can seat easily), so per head cost would be less if you travel in group.
I have decided to skip the small islands and plan only for Nusa Penida. My booking was in Maruti Speed Boat and I have booked it through my hostel manager. My two way ticket including pick up from hostel & drop in the same place cost me Rp 550.000 (Approx. RS. 2250/-). One car picked me from my hostel to Sanur Beach at 7 am. You can book one way ticket at even Rp. 150.000 from Mola Mola Speed Boat if you directly go to Sanur beach by your own. Based on your place of stay at Bali, you can take decision. Basically for picking up and dropping from Hotel they charge you Rp. 200.000. I was travelling solo, so for me if I would have booked a cab that would cost me the same, so I preferred booking that way. If you are in group of 2-4 people, then you can book a cab to Sanur and book you tickets directly from the harbor, it would be even cheaper (both way can be Rp 300.000-350.000 per person).
Is this your first trip to Indonesia, please read my post “Things to know before going to Indonesia”
Where to Stay:
Many people return in the same day to Bali, after island hoping for 3-4 hours. If want to do that please note that the maximum time you can spend is 4.30 hours (Considering the difference between first and last boat). If you visit only Nusa Lembongan, this may be suitable, as these are small compare to Nusa Penida. However most of the good places in Nusa Penida is far away and you need at least 6-7 hours to see all the places. So you can understand that one day tour is quite hectic. My suggestion is minimum 1 day stay, next day you can return in the last boat of 4.30pm, so that you can see most of the good places.
There are many options of small hotels, Hostels, Home Stay. You can book from www.booking.com (to get a cashback of Rs 700, book through this link https://www.booking.com/s/32_8/goswami92 ), www.airbnb.com , www.agoda.com etc. I would recommend from booking.com as there is no cancellation charge and you need not pay ahead, you can pay directly after your stay at the place. You can get a hostel in as low as Rp. 85.000/day (Rs. 425.00 per day). The hotel cost may stat from Rp.150.000/day.
Mode of Travelling:
As this is a very small Island, so no public transport is available. You can hire Car/ Bike. Bike with Driver (for those who don’t want/know to drive bike) would cost you approx. Rp. 200.000/Day (1000 Rs./day), Car will take Rp. 500.000/day and if you want the cheapest option like me then hire a scooty (gear less bike) for Rp 70.000/day (if you can bargain, you can get it at even Rp 40.000/day). I took the bike for 3 days for Rp 150.000, but remember that the road condition in the hilly area are extremely bad, so if you are not good driver, please hire bike/car along with driver. The Benzene cost is Rp 10.000/litter. (Almost same as Bali).
Read: Riding motorbike in Nusa Penida
Places to Eat:
There are many small, medium size restaurant in and around Toyapake and Sampalan (The Sea Beach side). You can find many small family run places to eat in hills. The Price of Food is almost double that that of Bali. Water is also almost double price, so be ready to spend more if you are a food lover. However for your budget trip, you can buy some Biscuit/Cookies for Snacks to avoid unnecessary spending. My average per day cost of food & drink was Rp. 40.000- 45.000.
Places to Visit:
As you can see in the map, the places are basically grouped in 3 direction. South, West and East of Nusa Penida. It can be covered by minimum 3 days. The map is totally NTS (Not to scale) and no one can tell you how far is one place to another!! If you have less time, my suggestion is first see west, then south and east subsequently.
In West Part you can visit Crystal Bay, Broken bay, Angel’s Billabong, Karang Dawa/ Kellingking Beach. You can see Banah Cliff, Temeling, Saren Cliff Point and Penuyangan Waterfall in south of the island. In East Nusa Penida, you can see Batu Abah, Suwehan Beach and Karansari Cave/ Goa Giri Putri.
The places I could covered there mentioned below. All the places are very beautiful but the roads are very dangerous. You have to decide your own route by asking the villagers (if you could see them). The places are so secluded that sometime I felt tense that if something happened to me on the way then no one will know about my condition. No internet network and very little calling network.
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Crystal bay:
Crystal Bay is a beautiful bay in the west part of Nusa Penida. The water is crystal clear, hence the name. The place has a beautiful Sunset Point also. From here you can book for diving as it has one of the most view for snorkeling and diving.
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Broken Bay:
This is the best place in Nusa Penida. Broken Bay Cliff is at the same height of Uluwatu in Bali.
From here you can see the sea, this place is divided by a small land. The place is totally surrounded by green hills and you can see the sea bed clearly because of the clear blue water.
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Angel’s Billabong:
It is very near from Broken Bay. You can see the cliff and at the same time some part of sea is separated by rock and created this stunning clear water natural pool, where water is so clear that you cannot resist swimming in it
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Karang Dawa View Point/ Kelingking Beach:
This is the second most beautiful place after Broken Bay. This is most popular Place in Nusa Penida. This Dinosaur Shaped land place is surrounded by blue water.
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Banah Cliff:
This is the most beautiful cliff in south of the Island and it is not very popular to the people. After reaching at the end of the massive rock cliff, you will really feel nervous when you can realize that one meter more and there will not be any gap between you and the deep blue sea beneath you. The day I went, there was not a single person in the place except me. I will not deny that feeling gave me a shivering of fear.
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Saren Cliff & Darek hill View:
This view also must be very good but I didn’t go to the end of the cliff. The Road condition was so bad that I was in afraid that my bike will skid (after Banah Cliff, already I experienced a Bike Skid, thanks to God that there were 2 villagers, who came to help me). Recent rain made the road even greasier. So I parked my bike in some place and started walking. After walking almost 1km, I didn’t see any end to the road.
There was no people in and around, I suddenly terrified that in that place, if something happened to me, how will I inform somebody? The Panoramic view of the Darek hill was awesome, please see video.
I came back from some point of the way to Saren Cliff. That time I felt that there are some disadvantages to Solo Trip in places like this, where you can enjoy more if you come as a group.
Have you ever felt the same, please share your experience in the comments below. To read more about Places to visit in Java, Indonesia, visit here.
The water in the bay looks incredible!
Thank you Alice
I have always read about Bali but not the other places around like this one. Now, if I were to go to Bali, I would definitely want to visit. You make it sound real and amazing. I love that you used those lovely photos and videos to share the story too. Amazing. Can’t wait to hear where you go to next.
Thank you Joleisa. It is realy an awesome place and I am luckey to visit it. Please do subscribe for getting updates of my new posts.
Thank you for taking me to such an amazing place. 🙂 I wish I would take a swim in those waters. It must have been quite an experience.
Thank you for going through the post. It was really an awesome experience. I can’t tell you how much I was afraid to drive those lonely hilly roads without any guidance. But now when I remember those moments, those are priceless.