Bali is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. With affordable villas at Seminyak, endless parties at Kuta and beautiful rice terraces at Ubud, no wonder everyone has Bali set in their travel map.
Anyone who visited Bali will tell you that Bali is overrun by tourists and I can certainly agree to that. However, there are still many beautiful places in Bali which are less heard of.
So we decided to travel slightly off the beaten path to Nusa Penida, one of the Nusa Islands just off Bali mainland. Nusa Penida is the biggest of the 3 islands which can only be reached by boat.
How to get to Nusa Penida
We took an official taxi from Denpasar airport to Sanur pier for 175000rp. Please note Grab or Uber are not allowed to pick up passengers at the airport. If you are taking Grab or Uber from other parts of Bali, set "Warung Mak Beng" as your destination.
There are many types of boats from different companies. We chose fast boat Angel's Billabong as it best suits our arrival timing. Usual price is 200,000rp per pax one way but we got our hotel to book discounted ticket at 150,000rp. Please take note that you will very likely get wet while boarding the boat so I would recommend wearing shorts and slippers. The boat ride is going to be really fast and bumpy. I personally recommend sitting close to the back of the boat if you get seasick easily.
Getting around Nusa Penida
We arrived at Nusa Penida pier and there were many people offering taxi services and motorbikes rental at the pier. We were picked up by 2 motobikes from our hotel Arsa Santhi. The ride was less than 5mins but it was pretty fun having to balance our backpacks during the ride.
We stayed at Arsa Santhi Hotel for 2 nights for 750,000rp a night for a double room. It comes with a simple breakfast. We also rented a motobike from the hotel for 75,000rp a day.
Things to do
Day 1:
Crystal Bay for sunset -30mins ride from hotel
Dinner at Penida Colada -5mins ride from hotel
Crystal bay is a charming beach with colorful umbrellas and bean bags for rent. We didn't managed to take photos because we arrived just after the sunset started.
Day 2:
Angel's Billabong
Broken Beach
Kelingking Beach
Peguyangan Waterfall
Dinner at Warung Jungle
The ride to Angel's Billabong can be quite challenging. Some part of the road are not fully paved and has lots of potholes. If you are not confident with motorbikes, recommend hiring a car with driver. Otherwise, motorbikes is the way to fully experience the island life.
Angel's billabong is a natural infinity pool which is only accessible at low tide. I have never seen anything like this before. It is really stunning and fun to have a quick swim.
Broken beach is just 5mins walk from Angel's billabong. It got its name from the arch that formed after years of having water breaking through.
After lunch, we made our way to Kelingking beach which is the most instagrammable beach in the world. Well at least for me it is so instaworthy! The Cliff formation looks like a T Rex which is pretty coo.
We moved on to Peguyangan waterfall which around another hour ride from Kelingking Beach. When we arrived at the entrance, we have to rent a sarong for 10,000rp before heading down as there is a temple next to the waterfall.
We had go down around 15mins on very steep steps to reach the waterfall.
Well, the waterfall was kinda disappointing but the scenic journey down made it up. And just beside the waterfall is a cliff-side Hindu temple which you can pay your respects. For those curious enough to explore beyond the temple, you will find a surprising treat.
There is a natural spring pool with the most refreshing water and amazing views of the ocean. There was a group of guys infront of us, they left without exploring further and missed the natural spring pool. So glad that we did.
After that we head back towards our hotel, stopping by Warung Jungle for dinner. They have really nice bbq seafood.
Day 3
Snorkelling
Manta point -Broken beach
Crystal Bay
Toyapakeh
Manta manta manta! We saw Manta rays!!! It was really awesome to be able to get close to this awesome gentle creatures.
Things to consider before you go
Nusa Penida is a big island with many amazing sites. It is recommended to stay at 2 to 3 nights on the island if you would like to visit all if not most of the sites. We only spent 1.5 days on the island so we did not manage to check out the sites at the other side of the island like Pura Goa Giri Putri Cave and the Nusa Penida Treehouse.
Well, that is another reason to visit Nusa Penida again.
Comments