Looking for a break from the Bali hustle and tourism? Nusa Penida is a close ferry ride from Bali and provides the relaxing beach vibes that you’re looking for! Read below for top things to do and logistics for your next trip.

Note: If you don’t have international data, I highly recommend downloading an e-sim before your trip! While many of the huts have wifi, it’s good to have service in case of emergencies or to ensure your map loads. I use Airalo for my e-sims, which is affordable and is easy to download. Make sure your phone is e-sim compatible!

How to get here

You will need to take a 45 minute ferry from Bali to Nusa Penida. Use the website 12go.asia to search for ferry options. Most ferries leave from Sanur beach (about 22km and 50 minutes from the airport with decent traffic). You can also find ferries leaving from Surabaya (closer to the airport) and Padang Bai (further towards north Bali).

Make sure you book a reputable ferry line! Do your research. There are some shady operators with negative reviews of engines breaking, and even some boats sinking. I made sure that my ferry left from the ferry terminal and we had to wear a life jacket the whole ride. I felt very safe.

Many dive shop boats anchored around the island

Best time to go

October! This is to skip the peak season and avoid the rainy season, so less crowds with great weather.

The peak tourist season is from June to August, with a lot of Europeans taking their summer holidays and the Mola Mola season. The crowds pick up again in December, and the rainy season starts in November.

How long to stay

Depending on what you want to do, I would recommend at least 2 nights on Nusa Penida. That will give you enough time to do a day trip around the island with a driver or your own scooter (day 1) and a boat adventure, either diving or snorkeling, on day 2. I did meet people who were staying for a week or even a month to get away from the crowds of Bali!

Dinner from Coco Penida with sunset and live music

Where to stay

Most accommodation (and the easiest to access!) is near the ferry terminal on the north east side of the island. You can find hotels or very affordable guest houses / home stays using sites like booking.com (where I typically get my accommodation - I found a place for $11/night. Such a steal!). Plus, there are countless restaurants, bars, beach clubs, atms, grocery stores, you name it. If you want to get away from the crowds, book a guest house around the island and either organize transport with your guest house, grab a taxi (car or motorbike), or rent your own motorbike at the ferry terminal. Note that Grab is not available on the island.

Madeira Inn Villa, $11 USD/night on booking.com!

What to do

Go to a beach club

You will find bleach clubs lined up all along the shore. Beach clubs have a DJ or live music, day beds, pools, and food and drink. It’s a nice way to spend the afternoon.

Go scuba diving or snorkeling at Manta Point

This is the most popular reason to come out to these islands! Manta point is located on the south east side of the island. You can find snorkeling tours leaving every hour from Nusa Penida (getyourguide even owns its own boat) or scuba diving trips by walking through town. It’s the easiest access to mantas in the Bali area.

Take a free diving course

Because I have been all around Indonesia scuba diving this trip, I decided to try something new and did a 2 day “level 1” free diving course with Pure Freediving. On day 1 we covered the history of freediving, breath control, the mental aspect of freediving, and practiced both in a pool and on a line in the ocean. On day 2, we covered shallow water blackouts and safety procedures from 5m. This cost me 3.2M IDR ($200), which was significantly cheaper than other shops on the island ($5-$5.5M IDR). From my understanding, the only difference between the two was (1) an extra ocean practice session, and (2) certification options through Scuba organizations like PADI and SSI. From many people I’ve talked to, the certification organization doesn’t matter for freediving! Unlike scuba diving, you don’t need backing from a specific organization; it’s more about your own capabilities, comfort, and experience to bring the knowledge to practice.

Take a day trip around the island

This is by far the most popular thing to do. I booked the below trip through GetYourGuide, and the awesome part as a solo traveler is you can join a group of solo travelers instead of being alone!

Alternatively, there are a ton of options to organize a driver through your hotel or at a local shop selling the tour. You can also organize this trip as a day trip from Bali, but it will be a really long day starting at 5am, hopping on the first 7am ferry, and getting back to your hotel around 7-8pm. It’s a much better experience if you stay on the island.

The cost for this trip ranges from ~$30 for a shared experience to ~$50 for a private car. While you can rent a scooter for the day for about $8-10, I would highly recommend a car because it’s more comfortable, the roads can get pretty rough and narrow off the main road (like I motorcycled through Vietnam for 5 weeks and wouldn’t feel comfortable on some of the dirt roads), and navigation can be tough. Scooter rentals can be good to hut the main tourist spots though!

Must hit stops include…

Angel’s Billabong

A beautiful ocean lookout, this spot includes both a natural arch over the ocean, and a shallow bay that looks like the Billabong symbol from above. If you’re there during high tide, you can get splashed by huge waves that hit the cliffs. Unfortunately I was there at low tide so no waves!

Kelingking beach

Walk to an expansive overlook of the beach. There is a trail that goes town to the beach - if you want to do this, allocate 1 hour round trip, not because it is long but because it is hot, steep, and crowded. For a good photo spot, walk down the trail 500m. You can access this place by scooter, as there are paved roads leading up to it.

Guyangan Temple

If you’re looking for something a little more adventurous and off the beaten path, head down the hundreds of stairs to Guyangan Temple and waterfall. It is a Hindu temple situated on the side of a cliff overlooking the ocean. I saw zero other tourists here, and it was such a breath of fresh air compared to the last 2 stops! Again, allocate over an hour to go down and up the stairs. Not only is it hot and humid and steep - the stairs are more like a ladder so you need to be careful not to slip. It costs 10,000 IDR to park and 15,000 IDR for a sarong (required to visit the temple - or bring your own!)

Teletubbies hills

A nice viewpoint on the way to stop #5 (Diamond & Atuh Beaches). These lush rolling green hills really do remind you of the teletubbies! Probably better seen by drone if you have one.

Diamond Beach

A gorgeous beach with limestone cliffs coming out of the water. From the parking lot, it’s about a 10 minute walk down stairs to get to the beach. You cannot swim here - the waves are pretty aggressive and I nearly lost my phone and bag because I was sitting on a rock while a wave came and whooshed them away. There are 2 swing photo spots if you are so inclined with dresses for rent. Less crowded than #6 but still a tourist trap!

Atuh treehouse

An extremely popular spot (and in my opinion, a tourist trap), where many tourists pay 100,000 IDR to take a picture at the treehouse. I decided to skip because one of my worst nightmares is waiting in a line with influencers.

Goa Giri Putri Temple

This is a really interesting temple closer to the main Nusa Penida area that is inside a cave. It costs 10,000 IDR for a Sorong rental and 50,000 IDR to enter the cave. You shimmy into a small crevice and enter a large cavern. It was definitely worth the stop! Bonus that I only saw 2 other tourists here, and it seemed like a less trafficked place. You have a chance to see a critically endangered cave spider that was discovered here in 1993.

View of the temple from the inner cavern

The cave has a rare endemic crab species, so keep an eye out!

Other recommendations that I did not do myself, but heard wonderful things about:

Suwehan Beach: a less visited beach and down a very steep hill, you can visit this beach if you are comfortable on a motorbike
Tembeling beach & forest: another more remote and gorgeous beach, this is located on the south end of the island past Kelingking Beach

Nusa Penida vs Nusa Lembongan

Nusa Lembongan, the smaller island next to Nusa Penida, has a similar vibe with less driving. I was able to visit both locations, and I would recommend staying on one island and taking a day trip to the other. The main difference between the two for me was the size - Nusa Lembongan is smaller so you can walk most places or take a quick taxi ride across the island, while Nusa Penida is larger and takes a full day to circumnavigate (and see the top sites!)

If you are scuba diving, pick one island. The shops go to the same scuba sites, so you won’t see anything different.

If you’re looking for…

Easier scooter driving? —> Nusa Lembongan
More nightlife options? —> Nusa Penida
More non-diving destinations to visit? —> Nusa Penida
Less expensive ferry? —> Nusa Penida
Easy to walk? —> Nusa Lembongan
Surfing? —> Nusa Lembongan
Beach clubs? —> They’re about the same!
More off-the-beaten path accommodation? —> Nusa Penida
Smaller community? —> Nusa Lembongan

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