Nusa Penida, home to two of the most photogenic beaches in Indonesia. Like Bali in the old days? Kind of, but not really. It IS a relatively basic island just off Bali. So it’s really small? No, not really, smaller than Bali but still noticeably spread out, and it feels even bigger when you’re trying to get around because those roads are BAD. Even so, most people visit Nusa Penida on day trips, coming over by speedboat before spending most of the day bouncing and jouncing through a rushed circuit of this beautiful, unique island.
Which works, technically. You CAN, in fact, see all the main scenic highlights of Nusa Penida in one long, surely exhausting day. Then finish it off comfortably curled up back in your comfortable Bali hotel. Or… or you could spend 9 nights in this burgeoning tourist hotspot, a number large enough to surprise and confuse even the very hotels you’ve chosen along the way.
Our site includes affiliate links to products we recommend. If you use one to make a purchase, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!
Yeah, after doing a bit of research on the best places to see, stay and ogle on Nusa Penida, the one common denominator we found was that getting around was going to suck. Easy enough to arrange, and not particularly expensive, but to really get the best out of the top areas it would be extremely helpful to not be spending most of our time navigating the narrow, crumbling asphalt roads. Plus, it would be a huge benefit to be around in the evenings after the day trippers had gone, not to mention already be there in the perfect light of the morning before they arrived.
So, somehow, we took all that information and decided that rather than 1 day on Nusa Penida, like most people do, we would spend 9(!). In fairness, these days we like to keep our travel schedule as relaxed as possible. I mean, it’s not like we NEED to rush to the next place. Sometimes we still do because, you know, we aren’t always that bright. But, generally, we take our time.
So, should YOU spend 9 nights on Nusa Penida? No, probably not. We enjoyed our time, don’t get me wrong, but we may have swung the old pendulum a little far the other way with that itinerary. Especially the 4 nights at the end in the pleasant but basic town of Batununggul. A bit much, that. But our hotel had a pool and there were some good restaurants nearby and I found a good barber and one day we came across a family with a 15-ft dead python tied to a post. Pretty recently dead, it seemed. Alas, while I may have (re)learned a fair bit of basic Indonesian during our 2 months there, I did not have the language capacity to get to the bottom of THAT particular mystery. They were definitely very excited for us to see it, though, we could tell that much, which seemed fairly weird in its own right.
Aaaanyway…
Nusa Penida has some definite pros and cons but it is certainly worth spending some time there. And more than just a hectic day trip. I’d say 3-4 nights would be about right. Now, finally, we’ll get into exactly why you should check out Nusa Penida, which places you should focus on, followed by some practical details you should know before you go. Sound good? Better than talking about a dead python, I’d guess.
Nusa Penida Highlights
Kelingking Beach
Kelingking Beach is the most famous place on Nusa Penida, thanks in large part to a little website called Instagram. Maybe you’ve heard of it? Lots of pointless videos and bank ads and it’s really hard to find stuff your friends posted? Yep, that’s the one. Well, Kelingking is, let’s say, quite photogenic. As you may have noticed from the photo. Or its starring role as a default Windows screensaver. So, obviously, it’s quite a beautiful place. Busy, though, oh my. Which isn’t exactly ideal when tackling the steep, hazardous path down to the beach itself.
The crowds are merely inconvenient on the first 1/3 of the steps down but get real tricky the rest of the way. It is perfectly possible (and perfectly acceptable) to simply enjoy the upper viewpoints and maybe venture a bit down the steps for a new angle or two. But if you want to check out the actual beach, well, things get a little adventurous. It takes about 20-30 minutes to get all the way down and after the fairly reasonable stairs and railings at the top, the trail soon takes a turn for the worse. VERY steep. VERY slippery. Requires hanging on at all times which, thankfully, is possible. There are wooden railings all the way down but they are not particularly sturdy so you really need to test before each “step”.
We didn’t struggle too badly (we always hoped all that sketchy mountain hiking would pay off sooner or later) and found it a lot easier going up than down (more tiring but less treacherous). Of course, wearing my actual hiking shoes was a big help (although Layne still managed in just her worn-out hiking sandals) but there were some people that truly should NOT have been trying it. We didn’t see anyone get hurt but it must happen. I mean, the path is bad enough on its own, but then you also have to somehow PASS people over and over, sometimes those coming the opposite direction, and sometimes just those frozen in terror. It’s a real mess, to be honest. In the words of the British girls on their way back up in just bikinis and flip flops – “fucking death-defying”.
However, like I said, if that whole description doesn’t scare you off, the beach is gorgeous. Amazing cliffs surrounding a little bay and a partial cave at the far end. Officially, swimming isn’t allowed because of the nasty waves and dangerous undertows and, apparently, “lots of people” die there every year but in true tourist fashion, we saw lots of people ignoring these warnings and, as far as we could tell, they all lived to tell the tale. Whatever you choose, pay very close attention to the current conditions and be very careful.
Angel’s Billabong
Ah, back to the simple life of easy cliffside walking paths lined with drink shops and souvenir touts. These days, anyway. Swimming in the churning waters of the narrow “billabong” – essentially a gorgeous natural infinity pool at low tide – used to be quite popular but, it turns out, there IS a limit to how many tourists can die before the Indonesian government decides to intervene. Which, apparently, they reached. Still nice photos to be had, though.
Broken Beach
More terrific photo spots, some looking out over the jagged coastline but the best ones are of the rugged lagoon featuring a picturesque rock arch. You can walk all the way around it and see all the different angles in just 15 minutes. Or do it twice in roughly half an hour.
Devil’s Billabong
Ooh, “devil”, eh? Well that certainly sounds edgy. And, you know what? It kind of was. Much cooler, in our opinion, than the rather tame “angel” version. This one was well off the beaten path about 15 minutes down a really rough, rocky path that was particularly, ahem, “challenging” on a cheap moped/scooter. But when we finally arrived we were completely alone and spent a good chunk of time thoroughly enjoying the natural fountain show created by huge ocean waves crashing into the rocky crevices and blowholes along the point. So cool.
Crystal Bay
This is the most popular beach on Nusa Penida when it comes to, you know, actual beach stuff, like sunbathing, swimming and drinking overpriced alcoholic beverages. It even has great snorkelling, we’re told. And it is extremely popular with day-trippers from Bali. Which, along with the 1-hour scooter trip from our hotel near Kelingking Beach, was enough to scare us off. So we don’t have any inside info. But I have it on good authority that it is a “nice beach” with “lots of people”. Do with that information what you will.
Saren Cliff
I’m still not sure if the beautiful scenery from these cliffs are impressive enough to warrant the hassle of getting there. You get some really impressive views of the coastal cliffs in both directions but it is quite out of the way and the smaller roads/paths to get there can be challenging on a moped. Especially if you let Google Maps trick you into tackling a steep, narrow jungle shortcut near Tembeling Beach that truly did deserve the description of “death-defying”. But it’s entirely possible you’re smarter than us, in which case, the normal route is simply rough and annoying.
Tembeling Beach
We didn’t go but, based on the photos we’ve seen, it’s a cute little beach hemmed in by some serious cliffs. Picturesque, almost certainly. Plus, there are a couple of natural pools where you can swim. The road down is famously nasty but supposedly not as bad as it used to be. Still, there is a large group of men that hang out near the top of the hill who you can pay to take you down if you’re not sure your skills are up to it. We actually drove down the first section of this and found it fine, then branched off onto our “shortcut” to Saren Cliff and that’s where things got really hairy. So if you go straight to Tembeling, then drive back out to the “highway” and approach Saren the proper way, you should be able to avoid some of the unwelcome adrenalin we endured.
Diamond Beach
Diamond Beach is the second-best photo spot on Nusa Penida, in our opinion, after Kelingking Beach. And proportionately popular, I’d say. The views are still very cool, just maybe not AS cool. And getting down to the beach still requires a slightly strenuous descent (and returning ascent). But it’s not as hard, not dangerous at all and not nearly as worthy of telling a whole 3-paragraph story. And the beach itself is smaller and less scenic. Especially if you get there just as the tide is coming in and barely have enough time to make it to the far end and back before the rapidly approaching waves catch you.
Oh, did I say “before”? I meant, “exactly when”. Yep, we got good and soaked. At least we didn’t get trapped down there, though, because, presumably, that would have sucked. And, on the bright side, we were the only people to enjoy the Diamond Beach experience for at least the next 6 hours.
Diamond Beach actually became famous because of photos taken from the other side of the beach, from the stairs of a cute little cliff-edge treehouse hotel overlooking the rocky bays. Alas, that charming little hotel has since been transformed into a rather overpriced tourist viewpoint where most of the time you’ll face significant queues for the privilege of paying extortionate prices for 30 seconds of photo-taking. Pass. However, we still got some pretty nice shots while having dinner at the neighbouring Aloka Penida hotel and restaurant. Good meal, nice views, terrible path to get there. The Nusa Penida experience in a nutshell.
Atuh Beach
Right next to Diamond Beach, Atuh Beach is actually the more practical choice for relaxing, swimming and/or getting drunk. Both beaches are accessed from the same parking lot (and are covered under the same 45k/$C4 entrance fee). The walk down is open and relatively tame by Nusa Penida standards, then the nice beach tucked into a rocky inlet features about half a dozen basic shops renting loungers and umbrellas and selling beer and snacks (and even some meals, I think). Plus, it’s one of the few Nusa Penida beaches where you can swim without nullifying your travel insurance coverage.
Snorkelling and Diving
Nusa Penida is surrounded by fantastic snorkelling and diving spots that can become exceptionally packed with tourists from Bali. So, busy, yes, but one of the easiest places to experience basically guaranteed manta ray sightings. Plus, in the right season it is even possible to see the huge, rare and bizarrely flat “mola mola” sunfish. Not OUR season, unfortunately. Another time, then.
Goa Giri Putri Cave Temple
Well, as the name implies, this is, in fact a temple inside a cave. Beyond that I don’t have much to say about it. Lots of stairs getting up to the cave. Tiny entrance but big cave. Interesting temple. Foreigners aren’t allowed into the sub-cave that looked like the most interesting part. Or maybe that’s just a FOMO thing. Either way, if you are passing by or staying in Batununggul then, yes, by all means, check it out. But don’t make a special trip from the other beaches.
Recommendations
Space Café – Plenty of good Western food options right outside Toyapakeh Harbour.
D’Kelingking Secret Villas – Kelingking Beach
This friendly little hotel is a little too far from the beach to be convenient walking distance but they rent out decent scooters which you’ll probably want for exploring anyway. A quiet place away from the main village with good rooms and very nice pool.
Sembalu Hills Warung Sunset View – Kelingking, a great place to enjoy mie goreng while watching the sunset.
In Diamond Beach we stayed at a place called La Rise which was even cheaper than most places on Nusa Penida (which is definitely saying something) and it was… fine, but, honestly, we wouldn’t recommend it, not compared to the other places we stayed on the island. It did seem as though it had very recently changed ownership, which may have been a factor in the lack of organization, plus there was a family event taking place that weekend, so maybe it will improve. Definitely check the most recent reviews before committing, though.
Eastside Penida – totally excellent pizza near Diamond Beach.
Pooja Ocean View Cottage – Batununggul
Don’t get too caught up in the “ocean view” part – it’s a vague glimpse in a certain direction – but the rooms are nice, the pool is terrific and the staff excellent.
Catappa Warung – great pasta and nice views in Batununggul.
The Chill – A nice beach club with a pool, drinks, food and terrific views just at the south end of town. Great atmosphere and fun place to hang out.
Nusa Penida Highlights Map
Click the star to save this map to your Google Maps – then find it under Saved/Maps (mobile) or Your Places/Maps (desktop)
Location
Nusa Penida is located just off the south coast of Bali. You can see it from there, actually, quite clearly. And it is even closer to the much smaller islands of Nusa Ceningan and Nusa Lembongan, both of which are more developed and more popular with overnight visitors. We spent time on both a few years back and can certainly recommend them as well, if you have the time.
Nusa Lembongan: The Devil’s Banana
Transportation
Boats
You get to Nusa Penida by boat – either speedboat or slow boat and to either Toyapakeh or Sampalan port (which is basically next to Batununggul). Toyapakeh is by far the most common right now and is a bit closer to the main attractions of the west side (Crystal Bay and Kelingking). However, it seems like the intention is for Sampalan to become the main port because, well, Toyapakeh is basically just a shabby stone breakwater with a few shops nearby, while Sampalan has a beautiful new building with an air-conditioned waiting room and multiple new docks for different boats.
At the moment, most of the Sanur boats go to Toyapakeh (45 min) and from Sampalan most of them go instead to Kusamba (just 20 min), which is a bit farther from Kuta or the airport but just fine if you’re going elsewhere on the island (such as Ubud, which cost us 175k / $US10 by Grab). Mind you, it is also possible to get Sampalan boats to Sanur and Toyapakeh boats to Kusamba, there are just far fewer options. And, compared with the packed boat we took to Nusa Penida, the speedboat from Sampalan to Kusamba was prompt and only half-full. In most cases, we would highly recommended this route instead.
You can use 12Go to see all the options or just head down and book in person. The main thing is to pay close attention to the departure/arrival harbours before booking.
Tours
By far the most popular way to visit Nusa Penida is on a day trip from Bali. You can organize these from anywhere on the island but you will almost always end up leaving from Sanur so you could just skip the middleman and book something there. Either way, upon arrival on Nusa Penida you will be ushered into a car for the next stage of the trip. Expect a long day with plenty of time spent navigating the awful Nusa Penida roads. You CAN see all the best parts in a single day, though, so if you are pressed for time, this is a viable option.
However, if you do have enough time to stay awhile, you can experience the top viewpoints at better times of day, and without the massive crowds surrounding you.
Scooter Rental
There are many places to rent scooters (mopeds) in either Toyapakeh or Batununggul (or, realistically, everywhere in Indonesia). So you could easily arrange your own speedboat to Nusa Penida, then rent a scooter when you get off and explore at your own pace. Of course, that pace will generally still be dictated by the long lines of day-tripper traffic but at least on a motorbike you can occasionally get past the worst of the congestion.
Even if you’re staying overnight on Nusa Penida, a scooter rental can be useful as long as your bags are small enough (we always share a bike so it gets a bit tight with backpacks also). Scooter rental generally cost 100-150k/day ($US5-8), which is obviously an excellent deal. And, unlike many of the more organized places in Bali, there is no fuel policy, just assume it’ll be nearly empty when you receive it, but the cost is negligible – those things can go a LONG way on a litre or two.
Transport
If you don’t want to rent a scooter or are staying longer and don’t need one the entire time, you can always arrange private transport to/from different areas of the island. The prices are quite variable and always negotiable but here are the amounts we paid for an entire private car.
Toyapakeh – Kelingking Beach 300k / $US17
Kelingking Beach – Diamond Beach 400k / $US23
Diamond Beach – Batununggul 400k / $US23
We would recommend asking your hotel first – it never hurts to have your transportation arranged by someone with a vested interest in having you arrive on time and in one piece.
Road Conditions
They suck! To be more specific, at one time they probably didn’t suck because they are almost all paved. Unfortunately, they were either paved quite poorly or the incessant day trip traffic has taken its toll. Probably a combination of both. Either way, now the roads are filled with potholes and most are only about half as wide as they originally started because the asphalt is crumbling away along the sides. And not evenly, I can assure you.
That being said, you can safely navigate around the island on a scooter easily enough, you just have to be careful, watch for hazards and take your time. It always takes longer than you think it should to get places on Nusa Penida.
Costs and Prices
Well, now we’re getting somewhere. Maybe the best reason to stick around awhile on Nusa Penida is that it is – for the moment, anyway – extremely affordable. Over the course of 9 nights in three different hotels, all of which were comfortable and included breakfast and two of which had pools, we paid an average of just $C25/night ($US18)!
Food wasn’t as noticeably cheap but is still a good deal and costs much less than most places in Bali. And we already mentioned the prices of scooter rentals and/or private transport – bottom line, staying on Nusa Penida is not going to break the bank.
State of Development
Well, we’ve already discussed the roads. They’re awful and fixing them really needs to be a top priority for the powers that be in Nusa Penida. Besides being rough and bumpy and inconvenient, the wear and tear on the local vehicles must be awful (driving tourists around is probably the number one industry on Nusa Penida). And there are so many places where the roads have crumbled into a narrow strip that leaves traffic alternating one at a time, slowing things down considerably. Add in the ever-increasing traffic and, truly, it’s a mess.
Not bad enough that you shouldn’t go, though, just be prepared for the roads to slightly dampen your enthusiasm. I’m really curious to see if or when they start taking measures to improve the overall transportation situation.
Prices – as I said, at this point, they are fantastic. The hotels, restaurants, transportation, even entrance fees at the famous beaches are low. Nusa Penida is definitely a budget destination. For now.
Construction – it’s kind of everywhere on Nusa Penida these days. Which suggests that somebody believes its popularity is going to continue to soar. Although, crucially, the success of all these new hotels and restaurants will rely almost entirely on getting people to stay longer. Sure, the day tours do provide some business for the restaurants but only those with arrangements with the tour guides – a few restaurants were always full to bursting while the rest sat empty. And day tours don’t help the hotels at all. So, considering how lopsided the current supply-demand hotel equation must be to result in those crazy low rates, I’m far from sold on the idea that Nusa Penida actually needs a bunch more hotels. Who knows, though? Maybe there’s some intricately genius plan being put in motion as we speak. Wouldn’t bet on it, but you never know…
Even Kelingking Beach is slightly marred by a massive elevator that was recently (almost) built. While it looks very close to being finished, an interesting mix of traditionalists, environmentalists and politicians combined to shut down construction. Why they waited that long is anybody’s guess. Although the answer, of course, is most likely – “You know, it’s Indonesia” (with a shrug and small shake of the head).
Anyway, maybe that elevator will eventually be completed, making it far easier to get down to the beach. And then the beach will become just as crowded as the viewpoints at the top. Or maybe instead they will be ordered to dismantle what has already been built, taking the beach back to its original – even prettier – state. Or, most likely, it will simply sit there half finished for the next decade. Because, “You know, it’s Indonesia”.
Summary
Although all my cynical bitching and moaning may tell a different story, we actually really enjoyed Nusa Penida. It is beautiful and wild and scenic and affordable and friendly. Despite the sheer number of beaches we find ourselves on every winter, we aren’t actually beach people, so we always prioritize “scenic beaches” over “lounging beaches”. And Nusa Penida is full of scenic beaches. And cliffs. And jungle, if that’s your thing. And the occasional dead python. Which, I assume, is kind of everybody’s thing. Enjoy!
Pin it for later!
If you like this post, you might also be interested in:
Raja Ampat: All Aboard the Liveaboard