Asia,  Indonesia,  TDM,  Travel Journal

A day on Nusa Penida from Denpasar, Bali (Indonesia)

June 19, 2023 /

A bit let down by the “mass tourism” side of Bali, we decide to give it one more chance by heading to the small island next door: Nusa Penida, whose photos had us dreaming.

Part 1: Travel Journal
Part 2: Practical Tips

Part 1: Travel Journal

From Bukti near Lovinawe take a taxi to Denpasar. We could have hopped on a boat straight away for Nusa Penida but since we have bulky luggage, we’d rather leave it at the hotel in Denpasar and do the round trip to Nusa Penida in a day, hands-free. Good call—you’ll see later why it’s better to go without luggage.

This kind of tour is offered by many agencies, but since JB has an international motorcycle license, we can afford to explore at our own pace on a scooter, without worrying about fines and covered in case of an accident. We buy two boat tickets from Axe Stone Fast Cruise (more info here) for an early morning departure.

Denpasar – Nusa Penida by boat

We take the earliest boat leaving at 7:30 a.m. You need to be there 30 minutes in advance. To get on the boat, you have to wade in up to your thighs. But this crossing is nowhere near as much of a hassle as the return trip.

I guess it depends on the tide, but the way back will be a nightmare for anyone with a suitcase.

The trip is very quick and the boat is stable; nobody gets seasick. On arrival, we see piles of luggage tossed on the sand and tourists struggling to wheel them across the beach. We quickly steer clear of that chaotic spot and soon find ourselves in a sketchy-looking alley where two men stop us to charge an island entry fee. It feels a bit like a scam, but upon checking, they really do work for the authorities. We pay in cash (25,000 IDR per person if I remember correctly) and then walk along a very busy, dangerous road to our scooter rental place (details at the bottom of the post).

Exploring Nusa Penida by scooter

JB had the good idea to contact him beforehand, because we can see it’s the only scooter he has left. He hands us two decent helmets. Given the quality of those helmets, we wonder what there is to fear that he’s giving us such sturdy gear 😀

We’ll understand pretty quickly when we discover that the roads are barely wide enough for two cars to pass each other. Oh, and let me clarify! They drive on the left!

It’s not like on Koh Phangan island where you just go straight because there’s only one road. After watching the other cars, we realized they were heading to the same place as us, so instead of “playing GPS,” I can just relax and take in the scenery while JB just “follows the convoy” of cars. Not only does it shield us from oncoming traffic, but we also go faster that way, even in the corners.

A quick note on wild dogs: I feel like the bigger the town or island, the more territorial and potentially aggressive the dogs are (Koh Samui, Ubud). On super chill islands like Koh Phangan or Nusa Penida, it’s as if the dogs calm down on their own. Every time we pass a dog, my heart sinks, but the dogs here are really friendly, even timid.

T-Rex Cape

Our first stop is this almost-island shaped like a dinosaur. It’s the most visited spot on the island, so we prefer to go early among the first, and we’re right to do so, because for now we can go down without queuing. Just wait another hour and you’ll be lining up just to take a single step down.

The stairs are very steep and my legs give out halfway down. I’ll stay here at this pretty viewpoint, while brave JB goes all the way down to the beach below. From here, you can see there’s a lot of wind and waves; it’s dangerous to swim or snorkel. No regrets about not booking a snorkeling tour today.

JB comes back up an hour later saying that to get down to the beach, you almost have to do some rock climbing, it’s too hot, he didn’t bring any water, and he turned back halfway.

We head back up the stairs and are appalled to see how many tourists are waiting to move just 20 centimeters, because they keep stopping to take photos. Have to admit, Bali is the perfect place for selfies, photos, Instagrammers—not for taking things in with your eyes.

Angel’s Billabong

There are so many parking lots here that we struggle to quickly find what we’re supposed to see. The place is huge and designed for you to walk around a lot.

The spot to visit is a natural pool where very strong waves can occasionally crash in. Thanks to the natural holes created by the rocks below, theoretically you can stay safe and not get swept away by the waves, but you can see there’s a lot of green algae, and accidents can happen so quickly. Apparently, you used to be able to swim here; we even saw a staircase meant for that, but I can’t imagine all these tourists swimming and everyone coming out unscathed—there’s always one who’ll risk their life for a slightly more special photo…

Broken Beach

Keep walking and you’ll come across a natural arch like this. You can walk all around it. However, there’s no railing, so be extremely careful where you step. Even in a stable position, the view makes me tremble, and I can’t even take photos 😀

We quench our thirst with a well-deserved coconut (pricier than usual but fresh) before continuing on our way.

Crystal Bay

We’re starving and decide to head to Crystal Bay for lunch. The parking lot is packed with vehicles, but we still find a small spot for our scooter (that’s the advantage of just having a scooter). To get down to Crystal Bay, you need good brakes, though.

There’s a huge choice of restaurants. There’s a freshwater spring on the left, as wide as a small river. It’s handy because after swimming, you can just rinse off here for free. We head right and go to the end of the beach. The BBQ chicken is delicious. This beach isn’t “crystal clear” as its name suggests, but it’s pleasant. With my feet spread out, under the shade of an umbrella, I’m really comfortable, and we stay for an hour watching the waves, boats arriving, people kayaking…

Right near the parking lot, there’s a field full of coconut trees. I’ve seen quite a few Instagram photos of this place. It looks great in photos, but in reality, it just looks like an abandoned field.

JB and I are wondering if we want to go to the east of the island to spend a night and continue sightseeing the next day, because the motorbike rental guy gives us the option; we can keep the scooter as long as we want.

Even though I’m really comfortable here, for the first time since we arrived in Bali, I feel like I’m guided by an intuition: get out of Bali ASAP, don’t be stuck on a small island. This message has been looping in my head since we arrived in Ubud a few weeks earlier, and we’ll see that this intuition concerns JB, who will be hospitalized and operated on in an emergency 10 days later.

But honestly, if I didn’t have this intuition, I could stay on Nusa Penida for a whole month. It would have been a hassle to bring the suitcases to the island, but once that’s done, it would have been the good life, like any good life you can lead on a relatively small island, relatively visited, but not yet overrun by tourists and digital nomads. Plus, the 4G connection is excellent. There are plenty of snorkeling spots, you can see huge rays, I’ve seen the videos, it looks breathtaking, and there seem to be plenty of cool activities around the island.

We still have some time and explore the north of the island, looking for a place to settle. We come across a newly opened café, absolutely stunning: Penida Colada Beach Bar. All the cafés and restaurants here are beautifully decorated, but we have a soft spot for this one. The beach isn’t for swimming because there are too many corals and it’s more for fishermen, that’s why there’s a pool!!! And the view of the volcanoes, the mountains… What a view! If I ever return to Bali, I’ll definitely spend a month on Nusa Penida, that’s for sure! It’s too peaceful, too love, too chill.

Back to Bali

That’s where things go less smoothly. We’re supposed to take the 4:30 PM boat, but it will be very delayed: There isn’t enough water, tourists have to walk, with water up to their thighs… to a first boat, which will take them to the big boat. Imagine the fate of the suitcases. No, I don’t even want to imagine 😀 Everyone is soaked, bad-tempered, and stressed… because no one expected it.

Arriving in Bali, we get hit by waves on the beach, same thing, we have to get wet up to our thighs. I get pushed by a wave when getting off the boat and fall into the water like a loser 😀 Luckily my stuff was on my back and wasn’t wet. Plus, we’re docked in the middle of nowhere: 1 km more to walk, completely soaked with clothes getting stickier and stickier due to the seawater.

Next time I go to Nusa Penida, I promise I’ll check the tide schedule. I’ll put my laptop in a waterproof bag, I’ll come with just a backpack, and I’ll stay there for a month! 😀 but for now, I’m very happy to have seen all this BEFORE, to know what to expect.

Part 2: Practical Tips

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  3. Where to See and Swim with Dolphins in Bali (Indonesia): Lovina Beach
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