How To Get To Nusa Penida
The nearest airport is I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS) in Denpasar, also called Bali International. From there you’ll need to make your way to one of the three ferry harbours:
- Sanur — easiest, most frequent boats, where 95% of tourists leave from. Go here.
- Padang Bai — usually a touch cheaper, slower boats, fewer departures.
- Benoa Harbour — only worth it if you’re doing a combined Lembongan/Penida package.
Sanur to Nusa Penida by fast boat
Fast boats run roughly every 30 minutes from 7:00 AM to 4:30 PM, crossing takes 30–45 minutes, and a one-way ticket costs IDR 200,000–300,000 depending on operator. Names you’ll see everywhere: Maruti Express, Angel Billabong Fast Cruise, Mola Mola, El Rey. They’re all basically the same boat with different paint jobs.
Book online. I cannot stress this enough — walk-up tickets at Sanur Beach are sometimes 30–40% pricier, and you’ll spend 45 minutes in a queue arguing with someone holding a laminated price list. Klook and 12go.asia both work fine.
Should you do a day tour instead?
If the logistics of ferries + scooter rentals + finding lunch on an island with patchy Google Maps coverage sounds like your idea of nothing, a Nusa Penida day tour from Bali (around IDR 750k–1.2M per person) bundles transport, a private driver on the island, lunch, and snorkelling. You’ll see the headline spots, get back to Bali by sunset, and have zero stress.
The trade-off: you’re on the tour’s clock, which means Kelingking at the same time as 3,000 other people. For a real 2-day trip, DIY wins every time.
Map of Nusa Penida
Here’s a visual representation of the DIY Nusa Penida Tour with all the sights we will be covering as part of the itinerary. We will be splitting our journey into two – the sights on the left side of the island and the sights on the right.
Nusa Penida 2-day itinerary: Day 1 — west coast
The Insta-famous stuff lives on this side: Kelingking, Broken Beach, Angel’s Billabong. Set an alarm for 6:30 AM or even earlier— Kelingking is the single most photographed spot on the island and by 10 AM the upper viewpoint is very crowded
Kelingking Beach (the T-Rex cliff)
The T-Rex cliffs somehow more photogenic in real life than in the photos. Entry is IDR 25,000 (cash) at the gate, plus parking IDR 5,000 for a scooter. There are now two viewpoints — the original (left side, the one in every photo) and a newer one on the right that has a fraction of the crowd.
Should you hike down to the beach? The descent is a sheer bamboo-and-rope staircase that takes 45 minutes down, an hour-plus back up, in heat that does not negotiate. I decided to skip it, and would tell you to skip it as well if you’re not a confident hiker, not in trail shoes, or short on water. The view from the top is the view.
Broken Beach and Angel’s Billabong
40 minutes west of Kelingking on a road that has, blessedly, been resurfaced in the last two years. Broken Beach (Pasih Uug) is a near-perfect natural arch where the cliff has collapsed inward, forming a circular bay you can walk a path around. Five minutes’ walk away is Angel’s Billabong — a tidal infinity pool carved into the rock shelf.
A heads-up: swimming in Angel’s Billabong has been roped off since 2022 after a couple of drownings. The waves break clean over the pool with no warning and it’s a hard “no” from local guides. You can still walk down to the rim for photos — just stay back from the edge during a swell.
Combined entry to both: IDR 25,000.
Tembeling Beach and Forest
Another 40 min journey from Broken beach and we reach the natural pools of Tembeling Beach and Forest. I wouldn’t necessarily call this a secret anymore since we saw a lot of tourists, but it is relatively less crowded since the day trippers from Bali mostly give this a miss. Enjoy the natural pools and don’t forget to relax on the white sand beach while you are here.
Sunset at Crystal Bay (or escape to Padan Beach)
Loop back north towards the harbour and pull into Crystal Bay for sunset around 5:30–6:00 PM. It’s the easiest, most accessible sunset spot on the west coast, which is also why it’s busy — find a coconut, find a log, you’ll be fine.
If “easy and busy” isn’t your thing, walk south along the headland to Padan Beach (15 minutes on a path most people don’t notice). Same sunset, a tenth of the people, and the bonus of watching boats stream back to Sanur from a wide-open hill.
Nusa Penida 2-day itinerary: Day 2 — east coast
The sights we are covering on the Nusa Penida Tour Day 2 will be on the east side of Nusa Penida. All of these sights are close by to one another but a long distance from the harbour, so you will need to get an early start if you want to catch the postcard perfect Diamond Beach without a lot of people around.
Diamond Beach
One of the PRETTIEST beaches in Bali, Diamond Beach is a must visit. The ride from the harbour is about 60–75 minutes on a road that gets steep and narrow near the end (this is the bit where I’d hire a driver if you’re a nervous rider). If you leave early enough (I’m talking 5-5:30 AM) you’ll arrive in time for the sky to start changing, with very little crowd around.
One can climb all the way down to the beach, however, the last few meters of this hike is rocky and difficult.
Entry is around IDR 25,000.
Atuh Beach (just next door)
From Diamond Beach you can see Atuh — same bay, opposite cliff. The walk between them across the headland takes 10 minutes; driving takes 5. The viewpoint at the top is what most photos show, but if the tide is in, the climb down to the sand is worth doing — quieter than Kelingking, calmer water, and a few warungs at the top for breakfast and a coconut.
Tide check: at low tide the water pulls back so far the beach is mostly exposed reef. Worth Googling the day’s tide chart before you commit to the descent.
Thousand Island Viewpoint
A 15-minute ride from Diamond Beach. You’ll see six, maybe seven outcrops — “thousand” is generous — but the view across to Nusa Lembongan and Ceningan is genuinely cinematic. The instagram-famous Rumah Pohon treehouse is here too; IDR 75,000 per person to climb up and get the photo, and the queue at peak hours is 30+ minutes. Skippable IMO; the view from the free walking path next to it is the same.
Goa Giri Putri (the cave temple)
If you have the time, you can drop by the Goa Giri Putri temple on your way back to the harbour. This Hindu temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is a pilgrimage site for the Hindus of Bali. You enter this limestone cave through a literal crack in the rock — you’ll need to squeeze through, then drop down into a cavern that opens into a much bigger space than you’d expect. There’s nothing much to see inside since tourists aren’t allowed in the sanctum to see the gods. You walk through the cave and exit within few minutes.
Donation entry is IDR 50,000 per person, and you will need to pay extra to rent a sash + sarong outside the temple.
The Nusa Penida 1-day itinerary (if you really must)
If you can’t spare two days, here’s the realistic 1-day version:
- 6:30 AM ferry from Sanur (book the earliest one).
- Scooter or pre-booked driver to Kelingking Beach by 8:30 AM.
- Broken Beach + Angel’s Billabong by 10:30.
- Lunch back near the harbour around noon.
- Diamond Beach + Atuh Beach between 2 and 4:30 PM.
- Last ferry back to Sanur at 5:30 PM (confirm with your operator — times shift seasonally).
You will be exhausted. You will skip Tembeling, Crystal Bay sunset, Thousand Islands and the cave. But you’ll cover the four most photographed spots.
Bonus: a 3rd day, if you’ve got it
A third day opens up the parts of Nusa Penida that aren’t on the day-trip circuit at all:
- Peguyangan Waterfall — the blue staircase waterfall in the cliff face. 357 steps down, 357 steps back up, surreal at the bottom.
- Teletubbies Hill — rolling green domes that look unreal on a clear morning.
- Devil’s Tears — the “spectacle” on Nusa Lembongan (most people pair Penida + Lembongan; a quick speedboat hops between them).
- Manta Bay snorkelling — best Nov–April when the rays are reliably around Manta Point. Tours from Sanur or Crystal Bay, ~IDR 500–700k per person.
Nusa Penida travel tips (things I learned the hard way)
- Renting a scooter
- Daily rate: IDR 80–120k, slightly more for a semi-automatic with a bigger engine (worth it for the east coast climbs).
- Bring an international driving permit. Police checks have ramped up in 2024–25 and “I left it at the hotel” doesn’t fly.
- Helmet, every single time. The roads are immeasurably better than they were in 2018, but loose gravel on the cliff-edge bends is still a constant.
- If you’ve never ridden in Indonesia before, please don’t make Nusa Penida your first time. Hire a driver — it costs IDR 600–800k for a full day including petrol and you’ll see more, not less.
- What to pack for Nusa Penida
- Reef shoes / sandals with a strap. Some descents are uneven rock; flip-flops will betray you.
- Reef-safe sunscreen (SPF 50+). The cliff-top viewpoints offer zero shade.
- A 1L+ refillable water bottle. Warungs sell bottled water but you’ll get through more than you think.
- Small denominations of cash (IDR 20k, 50k, 100k notes). Every entry fee, every parking, every coconut.
- A dry bag if you’re planning to swim — your phone will not survive Tembeling otherwise.
- A power bank. You’ll be navigating, photographing, and tracking the ferry app all day on the same battery.
- Connectivity and Google Maps
- A local SIM (Telkomsel works best) costs IDR 100k for 10–15 GB and is non-negotiable. Google Maps mostly works but occasionally routes scooters down “shortcuts” that are actually goat paths — if a road looks wrong, it is wrong. Stick to the named ring road.
- Where to stay
- The harbour-side villages (Toya Pakeh, Ped, Banjar Nyuh) are most convenient for ferries and have the widest restaurant choice. For sunsets, Crystal Bay has a handful of cliff-edge stays. For waking up at Diamond Beach without the 5:30 AM ride, the homestays around Atuh / Pelilit are basic but unbeatable for sunrise. Booking.com and Agoda both have the same inventory at slightly different prices — check both.
- Best time to visit Nusa Penida
- April–October (dry season) is the easy answer. Skies are clear, swells are manageable, ferries run on time. May, June and September hit the sweet spot of good weather + fewer crowds than peak July/August.
- Avoid January–February — daily downpours turn the scooter routes into something out of an off-road rally, and ferries get cancelled with no warning when the swell picks up.
