Nusa Penida is an island 30 minutes by fast boat from Bali and one of the most beautiful islands. We answer all your questions in this post, so you can be super prepared!
How do I get there?
You take the fast boat from Sanur port and it only takes 30 mins. There are many boat companies you can go with and of course you can just turn up and get on one, but this will mean haggling and probs getting ripped off! You are better off booking in advance then you don’t have to deal with the agg! We booked on 12go and booked with Crown Fast Cruises – would highly recommend!
Once you arrive and check in with your company, leave your bags and then be ready to board the boat. The porters put your stuff on the boat and you as a passenger have to wade through the sea to get to the boat. Make sure you are wearing shoes that are easy to take off and clothes you can roll up otherwise they will get soaked!!
How long should I stay for?
We stayed for 3 nights, which gave us 2 full days to explore (1 day west coast, 1 day east coast – see more below!), and it was the perfect amount of tine.
There are plenty of places to stay, and we booked through booking.com and booked the cutest bungalow ever. Bungalow’s seem to be the thing there and there are so many being built, ours overlooked the sea and it was stunning.
Where did you stay?
We stayed at Song Cang Bungalow which is about 30 minutes from the port. There are 7 bungalow’s here and we loved it! They are also building a swimming pool which will be great! The bungalows have cute balcony’s and they overlook the sea. The owners also provide breakfast every morning and you just tell them what time to drop it off and what you want, its so cute!!
How should you get about?
We pre-booked transport from the ferry port to our bungalow via booking.com and are so glad we did as it meant it was hassle free when we arrived. We then hired a moped from the bungalow for 75,000IDR per day – this is the going rate on Nusa Penida (slightly more expensive than on mainland Bali!). We used the bike for 3 days and used it to get about, it’s the best way to explore!
East Coast of Nusa Penida
This was personally our favourite side because it is not as touristy as the west side. Most day trippers tend to visit the west and it gets pretty crowded. In addition the roads on the East were SOOO much better, they were properly tarmacked so it was a dream to ride on!
We drove straight to Atuh Beach at 8am in the morning (we put it into Google Maps, but then ended up just following signs!) and parked here for the entire day. We then headed down the steps to the beach and were the first ones there, it was so peaceful.
From the beach we walked up the steps on the other side and were above Diamond Beach. This is the most stunning view ever so we took advantage of it being super quiet and took lots of pictures! We then headed down the stairs to the beach itself – get here early as its does get a bit busy of people taking those ‘Insta pics’!! The steps down to the beach are a little tricky and we were so glad we wore trainers – suggest you wear trainers too! We then chilled on the beach all morning.
Afterwards we walked back up the stairs and headed to the Treehouses. These actually used to be on Air BnB to stay in, but don’t think people stay anymore because there are too many tourists stood on your doorstep! The views from here are lush though and worth a visit! We then headed back to Atuh Beach and chilled here for the rest of the day.
If we were to go again or give a tip I would suggest you actually park at Diamond Beach as its more convenient to visit all the places from here!
West Coast of Nusa Penida
This is the most popular side of the Island to visit and was significantly busier than the east side. The weird thing is the roads on this side are horrendous – the worst roads I have seen! They were full of pop holes and so bumpy that my whole body ached after being on the back of the moped for the day!
However if going by moped we suggest you first head to Kelingking which is gorgeous beach that looks a bit like a T-Rex and get here early before the day trippers! It costs 5000IDR to park your bike, so make sure you have change!
Then head to Angel’s Billabong and Broken Beach – these are super close to each other so just have to park in one carpark which also costs 5000IDR to park here! When here make sure you explore a bit and go away from the crowds! We also enjoyed the most delicious corn on the cob, highly recommend it!
From here, heads to Crystal Bay where you can chill out by the sea, it was too busy for us and we didn’t rate it to be honest so we didn’t stay long!
Are there any other places to go to that you didn’t visit?
Other places you can visit: Pura Goa Giri Putri Cave, Peguyangan Waterfall, Seganing Falls, Teletubbie Hill Viewpoint
Where should I eat?
There are lots of places to eat on Nusa Penida, lots of them along the seafront! Some places we ate at that were yum:
Warung Jakung – this was lovely for an evening drink looking out to sea (and there was a swing for a photoshoot!). We didn’t eat here but every-time we drove past it was super busy, so must’ve been good!
Warung Batang Sabo – we had such a delicious Indonesian meal here and highly recommend it. The staff are so lovely and there is a cute courtyard out the back to sit at.
Penida Colada – this was highly rated on Trip Advisor however we don’t agree. We booked a place here for dinner (it is advised to book btw!), but when we arrived we didn’t fancy the menu (it was too western!) so had a drink, watched the sunset and left!
Crystal Bay – we ate at one of the stalls on the beach at Crystal Bay and shared some delicious veg fried noodle and veg fried rice. It was a great spot to share a lunch after a long day of exploring the west coast (see above!)
