Put your beach shirt on, jump onto a scooter with a hanging camera on the neck and enjoy the island life that is very indulging all of your senses; yes, welcome to the piece of heaven on the earth, Nusa Penida.
From the holy temple to the incredible view of white sand and pristine beach, Nusa Penida has it all in one island pack.
In this article I will share some basic information supplies to anticipate your holiday; the boat information, the stunning spots, good places to eat, instagrammable spot! Are you ready?
Let’s begin …
Nusa Penida – an Insight
Nusa Penida is part of 3 islands group in the east side of Bali, after Ceningan and Lembongan. Compared to the two others, this Penida is the biggest one. Don’t ask me which one is better, that will be the hardest question ever. Each island has their own greatness that I will share to you in the next article.
Nusa Penida has a lot of beautiful destinations. That iconic Kelingking beach, Angel’s Billabong Beach, Crystal Bay, Tree House, or even just random beach beside the main road. All are beautiful!
Just take a 40 minutes fast boat trip, this island is pretty safe for solo or group travelers and provides proper basic needs such as pharmacy, mini market, even gas station.
How to Get Here
The simplest way to get in Nusa Penida is taking a fast boat from Sanur harbor. There are plenty of boat provider available that cost around IDR 150K per trip. So you just simply go to Sanur, and buy the ticket on the spot. Some boat companies even have a shuttle service from your hotel. The earliest boat will be leaving at 7 am, and the latest at 4.30 pm.
Should you want to bring your scooter or car to this island, there is a bigger ferry operating 2 times per day from Padang Bai harbor. It takes at least 3 hours trip from Kuta to get to the harbor.
Once you arrived at Nusa Penida, there are also many options to get to the homestay. First, you can rent a scooter straight from the harbor, it cost around 100-120K per day, depends on the season. On the holy days where the people come from Bali to do the ceremony here, the scooter will be rare to find and cost a bit higher. Second, for those who bring a huge luggage, you can get a taxi from the harbor to drop you to the homestay, and rent a scooter from there instead.
What to Do
There are a lot of beautiful spots in Nusa Penida that made your trip won’t be enough for one or two days only. Here I show some popular places that you should visit:
Kelingking Beach
Angel’s Billabong
Broken Beach
Manta Point
Guyangan
Tembeling
Atuh Beach
Giri Temple
Kutampi Road
Atuh Hill
Thousand Islands
Where to Eat
Nowadays, there are a lot of restaurants lined up along the road on this island. Local “warung”, coffee shop, even pizza restaurants are available. These are many places that I personally recommend you to get some meals:
Mentigi Traditional Market
Here is the place where you can ‘eat like local’. This Mentigi market sells fishes and vegetables in the morning and magically turn into a food court in the night. But please note that your stomach is ready to take the consequences of the strange food. Don’t forget to always ask the seller “TIDAK PEDAS”, means no spicy for your food.
This is the most wanted dessert; Terang Bulan. Some people called it ‘street pancake’ since it has a similar texture with the pancake, and then you add your favorite topping as chocolate, cheese, or strawberry jam.
The Chill Penida
The Chil Penida located just 5 minutes from Sampalan harbor with a stunning ocean view. Whether relaxing in the day bed in the front of the infinity pool enjoying the signature drinks or swing with the ocean breeze.
It’s perfect pre and posts your adventurous day in Nusa Penida Island
Penida Colada
A casual hangout on the beach serving international food & cocktails with ocean views. What else do you need to rewind, hangout with your friends and enjoy the breathtaking view
How to Get Around
Rent a Scooter
Just like in Bali, renting scooter sounds like the best idea. Nusa Penida is different. The roads are mostly ups and downs, especially the way to get in the tourism spot. So you should be extra careful.
Book a Daily Tour
Should you are not confident to ride the scooter, there are many driver who offer one day tour by car. It usually cost around 700-800K per day, include driver and gasoline. Ideally, two days will be perfect to hire a driver to take you around; first day to Kelingking area, the second day to Atuh Beach in the opposite direction. In each area, they will take you to 3 or 4 spots in a day.
Okay! So that’s that I would like to share to you about the basic insight of Nusa Penida. Should you want me to write further about another thing, feel free to write it down in the comment below. Cheers!
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