A Guide to Nusa Penida, Lombok

Nusa Penida is nicknamed the blue paradise island for its turquoise shores, white sand beaches, and limestone cliffs. It is fast becoming a popular destination, and the most visited of the three Nusa Islands.

♪ Watch my day 6 and day 7 vlogs in Nusa Penida on Tik Tok.

Getting to Nusa Penida

We travelled to Nusa Penida from Ubud. Our accommodation in Nusa Penida very kindly arranged our transfers for us. It cost 900,000 IDR per person (around £40) for a private driver from our Ubud accommodation to Sanur port, the boat from Ubud to Nusa Penida, a private driver to our accommodation in Nusa Penida who was waiting for us on arrival AND a private driver back to the port and the boat to Gili T.

The boat to Nusa Penida from Sanur port only took around 45 minutes. There is a 20,000 IDR per person entry fee on arrival to Nusa Penida that needs to be paid in cash. Grab and Gojek don’t operate on the island so taxis are more expensive that can be booked through your accommodation usually.

Nusa Penida Accommodation

We stayed for two nights at Ocean Terrace Suites Nusa Penida which cost £37.50 pp between two which included breakfast.

Private Driver Tour

Our first private driver recommended his friend for a private driver tour in Nusa Penida, which unless you’re comfortable on a moped is what you’ll need to get around the island to visit the hot spots.

I’m very happy to recommend their services and since most communication in Bali is via Whatsapp please message me on Instagram for his details. We were presented with a few options – prices may differ driver to driver:

• West Tour 600K IDR – Kelingking Beach, Broken Beach, Angel Billabong, Cristal Bay
• East Tour 600K IDR – Diamond Beach, Atuh Beach, Thousand Island Viewpoint / Rumah Pohon Treehouse
• Combined Tour 750K IDR – Diamond Beach, Atuh Beach, Kelingking Beach, Broken Beach, Angel Billabong
• Full Day Tour 900K IDR – Diamond Beach, Atuh Beach, Thousand Island Viewpoint / Rumah Pohon Treehouse, Tembeling Natural Pool, Kelingkingbeach, Broken Beach, Angel Billabong, Cristal Bay

We decided to go with the full day tour for 900,000 IDR, this is the cost of the driver for the day (paid in cash) and all parking charges, so between two of us it was 450,000 IDR approximately £22 each, however there are additional entry charges at each place which I’ll include below so bring plenty of cash.

It is extremely hot at some of these places and very steep so you will be climbing very steep stairs, for that reason bring plenty of water and sun cream with you even if it’s left in the car. Bring a swimsuit and a towel if you wish to swim at some of the beaches or you’re ending your tour at Cristal Bay like we did.

Our driver picked us up from our accommodation at 09:00 am and we started from East to West.

Diamond Beach 

Located on the East side of the island, the limestone cliffs and turquoise waters over white sand are garnering a lot of attention for this stunning beach. You can descend to the beach but it’s not recommended to swim. Stair access to Diamond Beach was only made available in 2018 so this island viewpoint is beginning to grow in popularity so it can get a little busy.

The cost to enter is 35,000 IDR per person which includes a small water, this will need to be paid in cash. It felt extremely hot here so be sure to bring sun cream, water, and a hat. This is also where you’ll find Atuh Beach, the entry fee covers both so be sure to head there next.

Atuh Beach

Atuh Beach, like Diamond Beach, is attractive with its alluring turquoise waters. After making the steep descent we were allowed time to swim here however we opted not to as the tides and waves were quite strong although there were others enjoying a swim. Be prepared that if you climb down, the climb back up is quite strenuous.

Thousand Island Viewpoint and Rumah Pohon Treehouse

The Thousand Island Viewpoint is worth a visit – or so my friend tells me since I wasn’t physically able to make the descent down due to sickness – but the treehouse is not in my opinion. They are located next to one another with an entry fee of 25,000 IDR.

The Rumah Pohon Tree House is an instagrammable accommodation that’s recently climbed to fame thanks to its spectacular views, however those not staying at the accommodation can pay 75,000 IDR to take a photo there, however you can also just admire the treehouse from afar without paying this additional photo fee.

Be warned, the steps back up from this viewpoint are steep and there’s a lot of them!

Tembeling Natural Pool

This was one of the easier to reach locations. It’s around 3km from the main road to the stair access to the pool for which you’re recommended to pay 100,000 IDR for a motorbike taxi to take you there and back. They will wait for you an hour which is more than enough time for a dip. You don’t have to do this but it is suggested due to the distance. When you arrive, it’s a short and somewhat easy descent down to Tembeling Natural Pool for which there is also a small beach and costs 10,000 IDR to enter.

Kelingking Beach

Kelingking Beach is one of the most recognisable spots of Nusa Penida and as a result can become crowded. There’s a particular spot that the locals know offers the best photo and viewpoint for the breathtaking scenery and given the long descent down you’ll likely want to admire the so-say T-Rex formation from the viewpoint and so won’t spend too much time here. At the time we visited Kelingking Beach there was no entry fee, and there were a few places to buy gelato, water and other items.

Broken Beach and Angel’s Billabong

Located in the same area as Angel Billabong, Broken Beach offers more interesting rock formations surrounded by the famous blue waters. It was not at all strenuous to reach with the walk from the car park being moderately flat.

Angel’s Billabong is a tidal pool that when timed right offers the look of a natural infinity pool as well as a glimpse into the rock pools that fall slightly beneath the crystal-clear water.

Cristal Bay

Cristal Bay beach is where we ended our tour just in time for a dip in the (now calmer) ocean ready to watch the setting sun with sandy toes. It’s a popular snorkeling destination thanks to its myriad of marine life, but in itself is a beautiful spot to enjoy the sunset or bask in the Indonesian sun.

There’s also an option to book a snorkeling to swim with manta rays and other marine life, however we opted out of this activity in favour of snorkeling around the Gili islands.

Our next stop was Gili Trawangan