Nusa Penida Island - Bali, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia is one of the most beautiful places I have traveled to thus far. More often than not I found myself looking at my surroundings in such awe of its incredible raw beauty. The bluest and clearest waters, dense and vividly green jungles, groups of monkeys and other wildlife, volcanoes, and so many mountains. The people of Indonesia, both kids and adults alike, were some of the nicest people we've ever met! Visiting Nusa Penida, just off the coast of east Bali, exceeded any expectations; no matter how many pictures you see and stories you hear before visiting, being there in the moment and seeing these amazing views will still take your breath away!
One piece of information you must know before you go is that Nusa Penida is a much larger island than you'd think! We only went for a day trip and I didn't realize how far everything was from one another. We arrived on the island at 7:15am and left at 5:00pm. Depending on what sights you'd like to see and activities you'd like to do on the island, I would recommend staying for at least one night. There were a few extra places that I would love to see but we didn't have enough time in one day (it was still an amazing day nonetheless!)
How to get there
To get to Nusa Penida you can either take a ferry or a fast-boat. If you're coming from east Bali, I recommend taking Gangga Express Fast Boat. If you are staying near the provincial capital of Denpasar, most ferries and fast-boats will be leaving for Nusa Penida from the nearby town of Sanur. Gangga Express cost 150,000 rupiah (around $10 USD) per person for a one-way ticket (300,000 rupiah for a round-trip). There is free scooter parking and a bathroom. We left on the boat at 7:00am and arrived around 15 minutes later to the Gangga Express port in Batununggul Nusa Penida, near Sampalan beach (please note for some reason this does not show up in apple maps - only google maps).
We had our driver from the resort book our fast-boat tickets - as mentioned we have found that the people of Bali are so lovely and helpful. If you are staying at a location with no staff, or you just prefer to do it yourself, I recommend booking on 12Go.Asia. It is a very easy-to-use website that is amazing for transportation services throughout nearly all of Asia.
The boat ride from east Bali (in the Karangasem regency) is much faster and less crowded than coming from the Sanur area because Gangga Express is located directly across from Nusa Penida. The resort we stayed at for a month, called the Village of Angels (which I highly recommend), had a view of the island from the beach. The only people on the boat with us were a few locals - this area of Bali is more off the tourist path. I would expect the cost of the fast-boat or ferry from the Sanur area to be a bit more expensive since it takes a bit longer to get to the island being that it is further away (around 30 minutes to an hour depending which mode of transportation you take).
How to get around on the Island
There were scooter rentals right at the boat drop-off in Batununggul. Scooter rentals are likely at every port around the island, so no need to worry if the boat you've chosen takes you to a different one. Renting a scooter cost us 70,000 rupiah (about $5 USD) for the day, a little more pricy than scooter rentals on Bali but still affordable. The roads can get pretty rocky and bumpy, especially as you get close to the 'tourist spots' (aka the beautiful natural attractions). It'd probably be a bit difficult if you aren't great at driving scooters so be careful. Of course joining a tour group and getting driven in cars is an option of transportation, but the views from the scooter are amazing and the island is so much fun to ride around on. There are windy roads with views of rice fields, very steep roads that lead up mountains and have views of the Mount Batur volcano on Bali, and there is nothing like feeling the fresh air on your face as you ride around exploring.
Broken Beach & Angels Billabong
From the Gangga Express port, we drove the scooter for 45 minutes to get to Angels Billabong and Broken Beach. These two attractions are 5 minutes walking from each other and located along the same path. Parking here cost us 3,000 rupiah ($0.20 USD) and there is a small parking area for scooters. It often seems that the payments to park are 'unofficial', but I recommend just paying it and going on your way since it is so inexpensive. Near the scooter parking you will see (by the edge of the cliff) a sign pointing to the direction of the path.
You'll walk down some steps and first reach Broken Beach. There are a few mini shops with drinks and snacks around here as well - the fresh coconuts are delicious! Broken Beach has delightful cliffside views and the rocky ground around it looks like it could be from a different planet.
After passing Broken Beach, you will keep walking along the path and reach Angels Billabong. You can start by heading down the path to the left and walk completely around it. There are many cool photo spots directly across from the natural arch that you can't miss. If you come with a tour guide (as many people do), I can guarantee they will have you pose at each of these spots and take many videos and pictures of you! It is so fun to watch them - they really do work hard for the perfect angle!
The path above the arch looks very narrow in photos, but it is much larger in person and very easy (not scary) to walk across - there's plenty of room. This beach looks so beautiful and being so high above it looking down gives it a really special and unique angle. The only way to get down into the water is by boat, which I'm sure would be so amazing!
Kelingking Beach
After Angels Billabong and Broken Beach, we went to visit the famous Kelingking Beach. It was a 30 minute scooter ride to get there from Angels Billabong and cost 5,000 rupiah ($0.33) to park here. When you arrive, make sure you keep your things hidden or close to you because there are quite a few monkey warnings - they will steal your stuff!
*Monkey tip: If they were able to take it, it's theirs! Don't try to take it back from them.
Climbing down the mountain to the beach is insanely steep and difficult but it is so worth it - just go prepared! It was very crowded at the top of the mountain by the viewpoint, but not many people were at the bottom on the beach (for a reason!). This climb definitely isn't for everyone. We saw a lot of people going a bit down the steps to get a better view and take pictures, but turning back before the path turns into a straight drop and climb down the mountain. Picture how steep you think it could be... are you picturing it? Now increase it a few times and that's it! There are little 'steps' or indents into the cliff to climb on. Wear good sneakers (even if you're going swimming) and have a mini backpack so your hands are free. I had the mini backpack, but was wearing slides so I was clearly unprepared and had almost fallen a few times. I had never read anything about how hard it is to go down, so I definitely wasn't expecting it and I hope this can help you be more prepared than I was! Keep in mind that you do have to have some endurance to be able to climb up and down since it is quite physically taxing. Going down you have to be so careful to make sure you don't slip (though as mentioned this will probably be less of a problem if you aren't wearing slides/flip flops... LOL), and going back to the top you are fully pulling yourself up each ledge! It is so much fun and quite the experience - definitely do it if you can!
When you arrive at the bottom, the water is extremely warm and the sand is the softest my feet have ever felt. There are caves and a lot of tree cover so you can relax in many different places that have shade and are cool (temperature-wise) from being out of the hot Indonesian sun. There is a tiny stand selling some drinks at the bottom, but it's a bit pricy because it is the only option if you want a drink. Also, I'm sure it's very hard for them to get all of those supplies to the bottom (now that I think about it, how do they even do that?).
Since we chose to go down to the beach and spent a lot of time there resting, tanning and swimming, as soon as we climbed back up we had to head to the port to make sure we could catch the last Gangga Express boat off the island. We arrived back to return the scooter and get on the boat by 5:00pm. It was a 45 minute drive to get back to the port from Kelingking Beach, bringing us to a total of 2 hours of driving.
We were short on time as we were about to leave Kelingking, when things took a little turn... You can skip this part and go to the next paragraph if you don't want a funny story!
My boyfriend was trying to start our scooter but the key would not turn. He was trying to figure out why, when he accidentally locked the key hole, so he now couldn't even put the key in. We messaged the man we rented the scooter from on whatsapp, and he said to ask a local to help, otherwise we would have to bring it to the nearest mechanic. Locals were asked but it lead to no avail. Worried we would miss our boat and be stuck on the island for the night without extra clothes or a place to stay, we began to panic. We were about to start pushing it to a mechanic when my boyfriend remembered something - we have two sets of keys. We drove ourselves on a scooter to the port on Bali, and rented another scooter when we arrived on Nusa Penida. Two sets of keys, and of course the one we spent 30 minutes trying to use was indeed the wrong one. He searched his fanny pack, found the second key, unlocked the hole, put it in and the scooter started. As if it couldn't get worse, as we were trying to catch our anxious breath, we were putting the Gangga Express port into the GPS when we realized his phone was on 5% and mine was dead. Good thing we were prepared with a portable charger - which was also dead. Somehow we managed to conserve the battery long enough to make it there, but the whole situation definitely was stressful (and sort of hilarious). The lesson that came from this - make sure you separate your scooter keys, and your portable chargers are FULLY charged so you're not almost stranded on the island for the night (which, honestly in hindsight doesn't sound too bad - it certainly is beautiful!)
So, we visited Angels Billabong, Broken Beach and Kelingking Beach. Some other top places to go in Nusa Penida are Thousand Islands Viewpoint, Gamat bay, Manta Point (to snorkel with some gorgeous manta rays) and Diamond Beach, which are all stunning locations that we didn't have enough time to visit. Just all the more reason for us to go back one day! I hope this guide helps and I hope you enjoy your time on Nusa Penida.
Yorumlar