The day was finally here. I was looking forward to Nusa Penida the most while we were planning this trip. I was excited because this island has beaches with some of the most amazing views on Earth. The actual beach is really hard to get to (I’ll explain below) but it’s worth checking out. I’ve heard great and bad things about this place and I was excited to find out.
The smaller island is just off Bali’s southeastern coast and just a boat ride away. It’s about 80 square miles in size, and most of it is covered by jungle. The only paved roads found on the island are in the beach towns. Once you leave the small towns, the roads are unpaved and full of rocks. The narrow roads are only wide enough for one car to drive through. Cars pull off to the side if there’s incoming traffic. Nusa Penida is also very hilly. It makes it even more challenging for tour guides who need to drive tourists around every day.
It’s best to plan to spend the whole day on the smaller island. It will take about an hour on a boat from Bali to Nusa Penida.
Nusa Penida Tour Packages
First-timers to the island will need to decide if they want to buy a tour package or drive around the island themselves. I recommend buying a tour. This is for several reasons. First, you get to avoid the hassle of finding your own boat ride. There were at least 10 boat shuttle services, each with its own stall on Sindhu Beach. It was very crowded and unclear what the process was to get a ticket at one of these stalls. There were boats constantly coming in and out, and it was impossible to tell which boat belonged to which shuttle service. Our tour driver handled all of the logistics; all we had to do was wait until it was time to board. Second, driving around the island looks like a pain in the ass. While we were enjoying the views in the air-conditioned cooled car, we saw folks who decided to drive scooters on their own. Boy, were they struggling. Their two-wheelers weren’t made to ride over rocky dirt patches, so some of them were walking their scooters in the humid heat. It takes 45 minutes from the port to any of the beaches on Nusa Penida, so they are not going to have a good time😂.
We scheduled a tour on Klook. There are a ton of options to choose from. There are private charters, group tours, tours with snorkeling, etc. It was US$67 total for two people. This tour package included a taxi to Sindhu Beach (where the port is), a boat ride to and from Nusa Penida island, and a tour guide to drive us around the main attractions. To be fair, this package is pretty typical for any tour you pick. From a sightseeing perspective, all the tours go to some subset of 5 or 6 places.
Shuttle Boat Ride
You will get a lanyard once they confirm your spot on the boat. This will be your ticket for the boat. A hundred people or so lined up on the beach with their shoes off and boarded one by one. There are two levels on the boat. The lower level has most of the people packed like sardines. We got lucky and boarded towards the end. We got to sit at the higher level with the captain. The only downside was the constant splash back from the boat hitting my face. It takes about an hour from boarding to getting off the boat. We arrived at Banjar Nyuh Pier but there are no docks. The boats are tied to a pole that is staked in the ground. We deboard on a shallow beach and walked up the beach to collect our shoes.
Broken Beach & Angel’s Billabong
The only downside to the tour was that our guide was not that informative and very quiet. I wish we had a guide who was more lively and outgoing. Other than that, he was solid. He drove us to the sightseeing locations and took pictures of us at each location. The first stop was Broken Beach and Angel's Billabong.
It took 45 minutes from the port to Broken Beach. You can’t actually get to the beach because it’s surrounded by 50ft cliffs. Still, I have no idea why it’s called Broken Beach.
Kelingking Beach
Possibly the best view on the island, Kelingking Beach is a sight to see. The beach is at the bottom of a 100-meter cliff. We didn’t but feel free to make the trek down to the beach. If you’re scared of heights, I don’t recommend this hike because the views can give you vertigo.
Crystal Beach
The last stop was Crystal Beach. We had about an hour and a half to roam around and do as we please. It’s a pretty small beach; you can walk end to end in 5 minutes. Small fishing boats are anchored near the shore. I saw snorkelers diving in the water from the boats. There are a couple of shacks serving drinks. This is where we decided to sit and unwind.
Felt like I was going blind from the sunscreen melting into my eyes. I looked like I was crying the whole way back home. By the time we got back, the sun had set and it was dark out. We got dinner at a warung nearby and crashed when we got home.