Nusa Penida rates as one of the best day trips we have taken. This was largely due to the tour company we used who made everything so easy for us. We were in awe of the natural beauty on the island!
Fast Five Favourites:
- Angel's Billabong-natural infinity pool with crystal clear water.
- Manta Bay-huge manta rays swimming below.
- Kelingking T-rex-Insta famous costal cliff that truely does resemble a t-rex!
- Broken Beach-another mother nature spectacle. An incredible little cover archway that has been formed over many years.
- Crystal Bay-a lovely beach to relax or snorkel at the end of the day.
Tips:
- While visiting Nusa Penida we saw some of the most risky photos we have ever seen people trying to get. Please be careful! Literal edge of the cliff stuff.
- Make sure you keep updated on the weather condition and ocean swells. At times during our stay the speed boats were not running. It seems to be much safer now than in the past.
- There were a few spots where the locals were collecting a small entrance fee.
- We saw so many injured people from driving mopeds! If you are not confident driving a moped, some areas the terrain may just be too rough for you. And it looks like a long way on a scooter.
- We loved our day trip but if we had more time we would definitely stay a few nights. There is so much to see and do. This tree house Air Bnb looks epic! It's right next to Nusa Lembongan and many people do combine the two.
- We met a few people who were going to swim with the giant manta rays the next morning. How amazing would that be?!
- Be prepared to swim in Angels Billabong. It is an incredible site, but when we were there the sea was a bit rough for swimming.
- There's enough time to hike down to Kelingking beach if you fancy the adventure. It does look beautiful down there but it looked a little challenging with Lilah (maybe it would have been okay if we had taken our backpack).
- There's a less crowded beach a short walk over from Crystal Bay. We didn't make it there though and were happy relaxing not far from our car at the end of the day.
- Nusa Penida Explorer (www.nusapenidaexplorer.com) were fantastic right from organising the trip to the service on the day. We did not have to think about a thing from the moment we left our villa. Well worth the 2 million IDR. They were easy to deal with using WhatsApp.
- Once on Nusa Penida we met our guide and were off straight away in our private 4WD that was very spacious and comfortable. The road is mostly okay with the roughest part heading to Angels Billabong. It took about 1 1/2 hours to get to Angels Billabong from the harbour and Broken Beach is a short walk from there. It was then about 45 minutes to Kelingking Beach (we stopped for lunch on the way - which was pretty good). We then made our way to Crystal Bay which was about 40 minutes, before our trip back to the harbour at the end of the day (about 25 minutes). Overall it was a scenic drive and we felt well balanced with the amount of time we had at each place.
Baby on Board:
- We weren't sure whether to take on such a big day trip with Lilah and went back and forth with our decision making. We're so glad we did as it's stunning there. Being with a very good private tour company also meant that it was safe and we were able to be flexible. Lilah was amazing all day and had a good sleep in the car. It helped that we were in Canggu for the week and had quite a relaxing time there. This was the one day trip we took.
- It's quite a long trip at around 12 hours door to door. Breaking the trip up with the drive to Sanur harbour from Canggu (45 minutes) then the speed boat to Nusa Penida (30 minutes) was quite good with Lilah as she was able to have a play outside.
- You really need to trust your driver when in Nusa Penida. We have seen broken roads before but this really was something else! We had lots of snacks with us which we were grateful for as we were in the car for a large part of the day. Many roads are single lane so knowing the roads is important.
- We didn't have Lilah's carry pack and it was fine to carry her. Most places you could drive pretty close to.
- The safety at Kelingking is reliant on a bamboo railing. We were very careful carrying Lilah.
Five things the photos do not show:
- Lilah vomited in the taxi on the way to get the ferry to Nusa Penida. She rarely gets car sick but she did this day. We even contemplated going home but thankfully she was fine. We felt terrible and gave the driver a big tip for all the vomit in his car!
- Boats to Nusa Penida had been cancelled for a few days prior to our trip because of the weather. A foreign lady tried to tell us that if went to Nusa Penida we would be stuck there and unable to return to Canggu. We later realized that she was desperate to get back to her home on the island and wanted our seats as all of the tickets were sold out.
- We saw a girl fly off her scooter and it was really scary! Thankfully she stood straight up and looked more embarrassed than anything. We were happy a car didn't come speeding around the corner at the same time.
- Lilah was having the time of her life in the sand. It got stuck everywhere so we paid $2 to give her a shower with a bucket and freezing cold water. She did not enjoy that at all!
- Our driver and tour guide were so cute with Lilah. She fell in love with the toy monkey sticking to the window of the 4WD so they let her have it.
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