This is Nusa Penida. Nusa Penida is an island just off the southeast coast of Bali and it’s becoming one of the most popular destinations to visit when you’re in Bali.
Now you’ve probably seen Instagram photos that look like this, or this, but we’re gonna take you through our experience today of getting to there, being on the island, and giving you a real, raw look at what the experience is like. Basically what Nusa Penida Expectations vs. Reality is.
We got a driver from our place in Ubud down to Sanur Pier, which is down a little bit further south. There are tons and tons of companies that’ll take you from Sanur, on Bali, to Nusa Penida or plenty of other islands.
If you’re trying to go to Nusa Penida, plan on taking a boat in the morning or in the early afternoon, but around noontime there’s not a lot of options. So right now we’re waiting for our guide to come back for an 11AM to Nusa Penida. Should be about a 45-minute ferry.
So now we’re heading over to the boat, they actually have a big luggage cart thing, so they took everyone’s luggage, which is really nice, because I thought we had to carry our own luggage down the water to the boat, so we’ll see how it goes! And as we read on online and have seen everywhere, you’re going to have to walk in a little bit of water to get on the boat, so when you come, don’t be wearing socks with shoes.
Wear flip flops or something else. Now that we’re on the boat, one of the fears that we had was that it would sell out like we couldn’t just show up and get a ticket here and be able to get on the boat because it’s high season. But it looks like there’s a ton of seats on here.
It’s a 3x3 configuration, pretty far up and pretty far back. If you want to be really, really safe, you can probably book online and probably pay a little more, but there’s a very good chance that you can just show up.
You can just purchase it. We paid 200000IDR for ours, maybe you can get it for cheaper, but that seemed pretty reasonable to us, especially given the we had a guide that basically drove us here and helped us set everything up. If you are coming and you’re just going to buy stuff when you arrive, make sure to come to Sanur at least 30-45 minutes before your boat leaves because there’s a little check-in process.
So on the way there, it looks like we’re going against the current. So if you get seasick like me, I recommend taking dramamine, that’s what I did. I just don’t want to risk getting sick and puking or feeling sick once I get there. Just take it to be safe, no harm! Make sure it’s non-drowsy or else you’ll pass out!
45 minutes later, we’ve arrived and I’m not seasick so yay! Just got off the boat and it was another operation where you kinda have to go through the water.
Anyway we had our driver meet us here, there are a lot of people here that are offering to rent scooters. In the car now on the way to Atuh Beach, and actually one thing that we noticed was that there was a little station set up with like a table and chairs, I didn’t film it, but basically they’re asking for 25000IDR per person that’s coming through as a tourist.
Didn’t really seem legit, though, and our driver just went through it and we didn’t pay so keep an eye out for that, try to avoid it if you can, but they’re just trying to make a buck off you.
It took about like an hour to get here and now we’ve parked on the side of the road. So now we’re heading over to Diamond Beach and Atuh Beach. So Diamond Beach is on one side and Atuh Beach is on the other side.
Walking down is easy right now because we’re going downhill, but walking up is going to be all uphill. It’s going to get really sweaty, but it’ll be worth it, it’s really pretty there.
So after you come from the parking and you start walking down, you get to the view on one side of Atuh Beach and the other side is Diamond Beach and there’s a little sign and they basically accept donations.
We left 20000IDR, but I think you can leave whatever you want. We see in front of us right now the staircasee that leads down to Diamond Beach that we’ve seen a million times on Instagram. It’s definitely really packed, everyone is just on the stairwell and it’s kinda really hard to get a photo without anyone in it, it’s really tough, but it’s really, really, really pretty here! For the most part, there’re stairs, but at the end, the stairs are kinda like manmade stairs with rocks and they get a little tricky.
At the end you just have to jump to get get in the sand because there’s no stairs, just a big fat rock. But we made it! Getting here was a little rough, the roads are so bumpy, the roads are also very narrow, it looks like it’d fit 1 car but technically it’s 2 lanes so cars would constantly be going back and forth and it’s really, really windy at some points. But it’s OK because we are here now and it’s so beautiful here! Alright so keeping with the theme of expectations vs.
Reality in this article about Nusa Penida. Diamond Beach: Can tell you that it’s absolutely beautiful, reality has met my expectations in terms of how beautiful it is.
That staircase over there where you see people walking down and having those beautiful leading line photos, that is also beautiful! However, it was very, very difficult to get here and we haven’t even left yet but I’m also really worried about how it is going to be getting back up. Again you’re not going to see the people behind me climbing those rocks on Instagram.
So if you’re visiting Nusa Penida and Diamond Beach, make sure to keep that in mind. Fun part’s over, we flew the drone, played around here, now we’re gonna head back up and it’s gonna be a bitch, but it’s OK.
We’re walking down right now and this is way more steep than Diamond Beach. I take it back, Diamond Beach was easy compared to this. We’re down on Atuh Beach now we got some nasi goreng, which is fried rice.
And there’re tons of food stands everywhere selling lots of small bites, lots of drinks, smoothies, there’s coconut if you want there here, as well. We’re just gonna relax for a bit and just stare at the water, it’s very peaceful and then head back up. We recommend going to Diamond Beach first, get a little tired and then head back down here and just relax for a little bit.
About to leave Atuh Beach now, we’ve spent a little over an hour here hanging out, we had a snack, great place to chill and back up the stairs we go! Oh my god.
Some big steps here. #shortpeopleproblems There’s actually a specific name for this treehouse, it starts with an “R,” but this is the Thousand Island view pretty much. Everyone comes here to take cute photos because you can get the treehouse and the views behind you.
But other than that, that’s all you get!
So it’s Day 2 and we’re at Kelingking Beach right now and my quads are sore from yesterday, but right now it’s around 9AM so there’s actually not that many tourists here yet, so I think they’ll head up here soon. So we’re hopefully gonna get an empty crowd. We were actually debating heading down to the beach, but kinda high tide right now so we probably won’t.
There’s no point in being down there, but it’s really pretty! This is my favorite shade of blue.
Blue ass water! Looks just as beautiful if not more beautiful here than I saw in pictures online. There’re a couple of monkeys up here! Casual, chilling on a branch! But in terms of expectations vs reality, it’s beautiful, but what you don’t see are these crowds behind us.
We’re here at like 9AM and this is before the big rush and there’s already a lot of people here, so still worth coming, though! So similar to Atuh Beach and Diamond Beach, some of these steps are honestly really high so if you’re short like me, it takes a bit more effort to walk up and down.
And you can definitely see the workers bringing down rocks and I think they’re actually re-cementing the sides right now. And he was like telling me to be careful, so they’re just really, really nice people here.
In order to get down, it actually takes 1 hour, so round-trip after hanging down there, probably like 3 hours. And the tide is really high right now the water goes all the way up to the rocks and all the way to the shore, there’s no point in us going down because I think you can really hang down there.
I definitely recommend coming earlier to beat the crowd. Came early, there’s still a lot of people, but it wasn’t too bad. When we came back up, the crowd got way more people and I’ll say if you’re planning to actually go all the way down, wear actual shoes, don’t wear sandals, because you might slip!
And on the way to Broken Beach are broken streets! Very bumpy right now. So we’re at Angel’s Billabong and Broken Beach and it is packed here! The tide looks like it’s really high so we’re definitely not swimming down at Angel’s Billabong even though we wanted to. So people have died here before because the waves have come up and they don’t notice and they get swept away.
So Angel’s Billabong is really, really pretty and when we first got in here, it seemed like it was low tide and it seemed really, really calm down at the bottom, but then out of nowhere, giant waves started coming through and it’s like a washing machine down there.
There are even some locals that have whistles that are basically telling people to get away from the edge, because the water does come up and reach and splash as close as like this edge right here. This whole area up here is wet because the water actually does come up here. No joke, people said it was dangeours and I can see why now.
This thing is strong, I would say honestly don’t swim in here unless… just honestly don’t swim in here because I mean maybe when there’s low tide it’s probably safer, but from here it goes zero to a hundred really fast.
Angel’s Billabong, super beautiful and in the same location just over there is Broken Beach, let’s go there now! So we spent about a half hour at Angel’s Billabong and Broken Beach over there and yeah you can see the power of the Indian Ocean in full action behind me at Angel’s Billabong.
You can totally die here if you’re not careful, so if you visit Angel’s Billabong, be super careful! Broken Beach exceeded my expectations, that is some blue ass water over there. In summary, Angel’s Billabong and Broken Beach are absolutely awesome, definitely recommend visiting them if you’re on Nusa Penida.
And then our last stop is Crystal Bay. The sun’s out now so it’s really hot here, so bring sunscreen. Man, it’s stunning here it’s another spot with some really beautiful bright blue water. People are chilling here with their umbrellas up and down the beach. A lot of really beautiful views here and.
A lot of spots to get in the shade and hang out and also get some bites to eat. Crystal Bay is really, really pleasant. Love the waves crashing, again it’s not too rough and it seems pretty well developed.
This would a good place to come chill if you’re look for a place to come and chill all day on Nusa Penida and also since this is facing west you can get some of the best sunsets on the island here. And it’s definitely a very popular place for people to come for sunsets, however, we’re going to miss it because we’ve got a ferry to catch.
Made it back to Toyopakeh Pier after going back to our hotel and packing up really quickly, it was 150000 IDR per person to go back one-way. Luckily, our boat company doesn’t make us wade in the water like that. That’s Sri Rejeki, let’s get back on this ferry and had back to Sanur. Made it onto the ferry and note to you guys that it should be about 150000 IDR each way, so if you pay more, you might be overpaying.
See you in Seminyak!
Boom, alright, and we’re back in Seminyak now. We got back from Nusa Penida yesterday and now we’re at our villa. So Nusa Penida is really beautiful, the beaches are gorgeous, the waters are gorgeous, but there are also things that weren’t the best. And some things that we wish we knew before we went. Here are some things we think you should know about Nusa Penida if you’re gonna visit that we did not fully appreciate going into our trip.
So the first thing and this is obvious because you’ve heard it a million times if you’ve heard about Nusa Penida, is the roads. The roads, we’ve all heard that they’re rocky and you saw in the video that they’re rocky.
But they are REALLY, REALLY BAD! If you are going to Nusa Penida, unless you are incredibly, incredibly comfortable with a scooter and you’re also fine with being really uncomfortable on those really rocky roads, get a driver. Because even in the back of a car, like a cushy car with AC, it was pretty uncomfortable.
We were going back and forth, back and forth, also if you’re scootering, you’re going to be outside and on Nusa Penida, the island is much hotter than Bali itself, the sun is stronger. There’s also low clouds on most days, so it gets really hot, especially wearing a helmet, you’re definitely gonna get really sunburnt and you’re just gonna get really hot, whereas in the AC car, you’re gonna feel a little bit better, but you’re still hot in the car just because it’s super hot.
The money you’d save with a scooter, if that’s really, really important to you then OK maybe skip on a driver, but if you are willing to pay just a couple dozen bucks to get a driver for the day, again, highly recommend it!
We paid 700000 IDR for our drivers, I had called around and WhatsApp’d a lot of different drivers and seen what prices they were giving us and it was all relatively expensive. It was all about 700, 800, 900000 IDR so 700000 was what we went with.
We saw that there were people renting out scooters right as you get off the boat and I think those were probably about 100000 IDR or so, and if you’re really trying to save money, then OK maybe take a scooter, but if it’s not really, really, really important to you, get a driver.
We also went during high season so that might be why our prices were a little higher. High season is usually around Christmas break and summer break, so it could be cheaper if you go during the off season. The food on Nusa Penida was definitely very limited. Overall, food is cheaper in Nusa Penida than it is on the actual island of Bali, especially Bali, food was definiteyl very, very cheap.
But at the same time there’s not a lot of options and the portions are a little smaller. And also the places to eat food were really, really spread out. There are those informal warungs kinda all over the place, but if you’re trying to be careful about food poisoning and trying to pick out restaurants, do a lot of planning ahead of time.
There were some restaurants that we saw that were a couple miles from where we were going and then we told our driver that we wanted to go there, but it turns out it’s a couple miles but it’s 30-40 minutes because you have to take 2 different roads and it’s super rocky. Super windy, too!
That’s why it takes longer to get to one place, versus going straight, you’re pretty much going like this. But hey you know, it’s the island life! And honestly, we’re not bashing Nusa Penida, we are really glad we visited and we’d recommend you visit it, but we just really want to make sure that your expectations vs. reality are not too far off, because it is super beautiful! It is honestly some of the most gorgeous views I have seen in my entire life, I’ve seen on Instagram, I’ve seen anywhere.
Nusa Penida is gorgeous, but it is still a bit of a developing island and you don’t have a lot of comforts and even some basic things like flushing roads and roads, so keep that in mind, because, again, Nusa Penida, gorgeous! But just make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into.
Also a lot of the toilets around the popular attractions such as Atuh Beach, Diamond Beach, Kelingking, all of them, they have bathrooms you can use, you pay a restaurant and they’re really small shacks.
They sometimes have a lot of flies, they’re really dirty, there’re not toilet paper, so bring toilet paper sometimes because they don’t provide that, and actually some of the toilets don’t flush. I saw like a bucket of water and you just pour water in there when you’re done.
Just so you know, you might be expecting that, I did not know any of that coming forward, things are just more undeveloped, that’s why it’s like that. So those are basically some important things to know before you visit Nusa Penida. Now we kinda go into a brief review of our thoughts on it. So that things we liked: the views! Absolutely gorgeous.
Beautiful, beautiful views. Kelingking is probably the most beautiful things I’ve seen in my entire life. Diamond beach was amazing. Oh my god I love Diamond Beach! Yeah, that was awesome!
Just the staircase going down, it really does look just as good if not better in real life than it does, you know, on your Instagram feed. Atuh Beach was also really nice, we went during low tide but we’ve seen pictures of it during higher tide and it is also very, very beautiful.
Also Angel’s Billabong was just so much fun to watch. I could just stand there all day and watch the waves come in, it was beautiful. It’s like nature’s infinity pool, which is amazing.
We also went during high tide, we didn’t swim in it, because it was very dangerous. There were red flags everywhere. Every time a big wave would come, a local would blow his whistle really loud, everyone would get out of the area just in case the waves come really far, because the waves can come really far, too.
Broken Beach was also beautiful, the arch was amazing, if you go past— you can walk around the arch, you can see the water coming in there, the water was beautiful. There are tons of people but you can definitely find room easily if you wanna take photos.
Also the locals there are very nice, they’re very friendly, I will say that! Even though they live on a very small island they’ve lived here for most of their lives, although they don’t speak a lot of English, they’re really nice and they try to help you with anything you need to know.
And as we’ve just explained, the things we were kinda surprised by and didn’t expect and were not particular highlights of the island were the very, very bumpy roads, the food selection. Again, it’s an island, it’s just something we didn’t really account for going into it because we had just come from Ubud where there’s tons of great food, so Nusa Penida a bit of a change. And the toilets were a little tough.
Overall, Nusa Penida is still a must-visit, it is gorgeous and it’s a lot of fun. It’s just that we want to make sure that people go into it with the right expectations. In terms of itinerary, if you just want to see Kelingking, and Angel’s Billabong, and Broken Beach, we’d recommend doing a day trip.
Go from the Sanur Pier in Bali in the morning and then come back in the afternoon after having a driver take you around. or if you wanna see Diamond Beach and Atuh Beach on the east side very beautiful, highly recommend, as well.
Then we recommend spending 1 night on Nusa Penida and probably getting there around the afternoon or so like we did and then going to Atuh and Diamond, going back to your hotel, and then the next morning early before the crowds come, as you saw, go to Kelingking first because it gets super packed and then go to Angel’s Billabong and Broken Beach and then head back to the pier.
I hope you guys find this information really helpful, just knowing what to expect when you’re there. I definitely would love to go back to Nusa Penida, I bet you in a couple years, maybe a couple months, the island is going to change drastically.
We saw so many things that are being built there, so I definitely think there are going to be resorts and villas in the next couple years and it’s going to expand like crazy!
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