Hiiiiiiii 👋🏼
If you’re heading to Bali, pretty sure you’ve looked into a day trip to Nusa Penida. And for good reason! The Indonesian island is super close to Bali and has some of the most stunning cliffs, bluest waters and amazing views not to mention incredible snorkeling AND swimming with Manta Rays 🤿
My friend Allison and I went in June, 2023 and were staying in neighboring island of Nusa Lembongan so our day trip probably won’t be as long if you’re coming from Bali doing a day trip. There are tons of speedboats coming from Bali which can take around 30-45 minutes.
Here is our quick itinerary, and a lil map 🗺️
I’ll go into detail if you’d like to keep reading!
8:30am left our hotel in small boat 🚤
9:05am snorkel spot around Mangrove Point 🤿
10am arrive at Nusa Penida
10:45 Angels Billabong 😇
11:15am Broken Beach 🏝️
12:35pm Kelingking Beach 🦖
2:30pm Crystal Beach 🏖️
3pm back to our boat 🚤
3:45pm back on Nusa Lembongan
Ok ok, let’s talk a bit more because there’s a lot you should know!
First off, I highly suggest you stay in Nusa Lembongan as you’re super close to Penida! I wrote a small blog HERE about our stay in Lembongan so check it out! 🤓
We booked our tour through our hotel on Lembongan. It included pick up directly from our hotel. 🏨 We were right on the water so we literally hopped on a small private boat and headed straight to our snorkel spot. Once we got to Penida, our driver was waiting there for us and whisked us away to 4 spots to start our adventure 😎 We also paid about US$100, so $50 each for both of us.
Also side note about Penida Island, is it’s very hilly. Hence the massive cliffs that make up its beauty. So most of your time will be in a car going up and down these small bumpy roads. If you get car sick, 😵💫 I suggest taking something beforehand! 💊 There’s not too many roads either so you’ll spend some time traveling! 🚙
Mangrove Point was our first stop on the way to Penida from Lembongan! It’s best to go in the morning to see all the colorful fish! 🐠 I saw quite a few but nothing too exciting.
Most people coming to the islands look forward to swimming with the Manta Rays! There aren’t any in this area, but there are some closer to Penida Island.
We headed to Penida after this and went straight for Angels Billabong. By the time we got there, there were plenty of other people crowding around the spectacular cliffs. The tide wasn’t too crazy when we arrived but we did see some big waves crashing along the massive cliffs! We were able to walk on the rocks and get a closer look below but please be careful! ⚠️
According to local mythology an angel used to come here to bathe 😇🚿 hence the name!
From Angels Billabong it’s a short 5ish minute walk to Broken Beach!🚶♀️
This cove is incredibly beautiful and has a mesmerizing archway 😍 Again, there were lots of people!, and quite a few drones flying ahead!
There’s no way to get down to the water here (unless by boat, but not sure if tours go thru the arch!) so again, watch your step when you’re here as there are no fences surrounding the area! ⚠️
If you walk closer to the arch and look out into the ocean you’ll be able to see a few tour boats, here you can see some manta rays if you have a good eye! 🧐 If the sun is shining you’ll get a better view. I saw a few and wow!, they are big! And that was with me being high up on a cliff, I imagine getting in the water with these gentle rays would be a thrill! 🤯
Walking from Angels Billabong to Broken Beach there are a few vendors selling refreshments like water, soda and coconuts🥤🥥 Also saw someone selling corn on the cob if you need a snack! 🌽
After our time here we headed 35ish minutes to the main event and what Penida is known for, Kelingking Beach. I’ve also heard it being called T-Rex as the rocks/islands make it look like a dinosaur, which I can totally see! *cue the Jurassic Park music* 🦖🎵
Now this area had the most people! And lots more shops/souvenir stands/and restaurants. It’s a little walk uphill but not too bad.
People are just lined by the fence looking down and wow is it a view! 😮And you are quite high up!
You can walk down towards the right, but that’s where most people will be. If you walk to the left you’ll get some great views with less people and you might also see a monkey! 🐒 I saw a few, but please don’t leave any belongings on the ground as they will take them! 🙈
You can hike all the way down to the beach! We did not, but there were plenty people taking the hike down. The beach is beautiful and the water is unreal, but we weren’t prepared for a hike and time was escaping us. I’ve read this hike can be difficult, not getting down, but coming back up. So please be prepared if you do plan to go down☝🏼
Our last stop took us to Crystal Beach.
It was nice and super easy to get to! But to be honest we had seen better beaches before 😬
We literally just took a picture as proof we were there, then left 📸 😅
Now to get to all these places you can hire a private driver, which is what we did, If you book with a tour company I’m sure they will have vans, as we saw quite a few.
You can also rent a scooter/moped 🛵 We saw so many foreigners on them scooting across island. I’m not that brave to drive one in a foreign country in roads i’m not familiar with. But it seems to work with a lot of tourists!
You can stay on the island! We passed by a few cute hotels. They aren’t big resorts, and there’s not much within walking distance of a lot of places we passed. So it would be nice if you really wanna stay off the grid.
Even though we were staying on Lembongan, which is closer than Bali, we were still gone most of the day, 8:30-3:45pm. So if you are coming from Bali, be prepared for a long day!
Now I know this is a pretty big tourist attraction for Bali trips, but the views are so surreal! And unlike what I’ve seen on other trips!
Ok that’s it! Thanks for being a friend and reading! Stay tuned for more! I’m so behind! 😅😩
Kitty&Co. 