Nusa Penida – Beaches, Top Spots & Travel Tips

Nusa Penida is truly one of the most impressive places in all of Indonesia and was an absolute highlight of our trip to Bali. The small neighboring island immediately amazed us with its spectacular cliffs, turquoise blue water, and untouched nature. In this post, we take you along on our stay on the island. We show you the most beautiful sights, share practical tips for your trip, and tell you why it is definitely worth staying there for several days.

Nusa Penida Travel Tips & Experiences

Many travelers only come to the island for a single day to check off the most famous spots as quickly as possible. But by doing so, they miss the best part, which is the authentic island life and the special atmosphere. Therefore, it is definitely worth spending a few days there. After the Gili Islands, we spent a total of 5 days on Nusa Penida and, to be honest, would have loved to stay even longer. If we had had a little more time, we would have also liked to visit the neighboring island of Nusa Lembongan for a few days. You can find our entire route and even more tips in our Bali roundtrip guide.

What to do on Nusa Penida?

On Nusa Penida, there is an incredible amount to see and experience. We have put together our personal highlights and other recommended activities for you here. Although five days are actually not much time for such a diverse island, we made the most of our stay. Unfortunately, we could not experience some activities ourselves, but those are definitely on our bucket list for the next visit.

Activities on Nusa Penida

Kelingking Beach
Kelingking Beach is probably one of the most famous beaches in the world. We advise you to come as early as possible. It is best to be there between 6:30 and 7:00 AM to have the beach almost to yourself. The path down is steep and should not be underestimated. Sturdy shoes, enough water, and sun protection are an absolute must. For the climb up and the climb down, we each needed about 1 hour. Even though the water looks divine, it is not really suitable for swimming because of the strong currents.
Tembeling Beach
Tembeling Beach is a natural pool right by the sea and a real hidden gem on Nusa Penida. The way there leads over a steep gravel path which is not that easy to ride on a scooter. Especially with oncoming traffic it can quickly become dangerous. You pay a small entrance fee on site and can then enjoy the pool and the adjacent beach in total peace.
Tree House
The famous Tree House is a well known photo spot with a view of Diamond Beach. The entrance costs about 2 euros and for a photo right at the tree house another 5 euros are due. The earlier you are there the shorter the waiting time will be. When we were there around 8:00 AM luckily nobody else was around. Other travelers told us that they waited over an hour for a single photo here. In our opinion the viewpoint a bit above the tree house is much nicer anyway and also free.

Diamond Beach
Diamond Beach is another beautiful beach that unfortunately gets crowded with tourists very quickly. You should not underestimate the path down and back up here either. For the descent and the ascent we each needed 30 minutes.
Suwehan Beach
This beach is a real hidden gem from our host and was an absolute highlight on Nusa Penida for us. The path down takes about 30 minutes and leads over some rocks, but the effort is totally worth it. At times we had the entire beach to ourselves. If you want to spend a bit more time here you should definitely remember to bring enough water and some snacks. Unlike at the other beaches there are no vendors here.
Private Snorkeling Tour
Our host has his own boat and also offers private snorkeling tours. This allowed us to discover numerous colorful fish as well as turtles and beautiful coral reefs in total peace without having to share the space with large groups.

More Activities

Angels Billabong
This is a small rock canyon with natural pools. Depending on the tides you can swim in the pools.
Brocken Beach
Located near Angel’s Billabong is this small bay with an impressive natural rock bridge. It is a perfect photo spot and ideal for a short stop on your tour of the island.
Atuh Beach
This is a small and beautiful beach where you can swim and snorkel.

Restaurant Recommendations

Coco Penida – serves a wide range of dishes from fish and meat to breakfast, all with a beautiful ocean view
The rich food – a hidden gem offering delicious meals like pasta and grilled dishes
Warung Beach – small local Warung offering very cheap and delicious food. It is the ideal place for a quick lunch snack.
Penida Colada – perfect for breakfast as well as Indonesian and international dishes

Where to stay on Nusa Penida?

On Nusa Penida we stayed at Nengah’s place. At fifteen euros per night and person including breakfast, it is a very affordable option. There are three bungalows in total, located right in the heart of the jungle. Nengah is incredibly warm. He offered us a private snorkeling tour and put us in touch with a scooter rental service which we used to explore the entire island.

The bungalows are beautifully decorated. However, there is no air conditioning and it hardly cools down at night. The bathroom is outdoors, so you might see some small animals now and then. All in all, that was not an issue for us at all. The location is very quiet, although our taxi driver had some trouble finding the right address at first. Overall, we were very happy with our stay.

When we were on Nusa Penida in 2023 there were not too many accommodations yet. Most of the sights are located on the southern half of the island, while the harbor and most accommodations are situated more in the north. This is not a problem with a scooter, but it means that you sometimes have to cover long distances of about 1 hour. For us, the long rides with the scooter were always an adventure in themselves, which made the experience on the island even more special.

Ultimately, it makes the most sense to book an accommodation near the harbor in the north. Not least because there are also the most restaurants, rentals, and markets here. From here, you can explore the island perfectly.

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Getting there and around

The best way to reach Nusa Penida is by boat or ferry from various ports such as Padang Bai, Sanur or as we did from the Gili Islands. From there the crossing takes about 1,5 to 2 hours and costs around 15 to 30 euros per person. We booked our tickets online via 12go. Since there are often bad experiences from travelers on these crossings it definitely makes sense to consider not only the price but also the reviews when choosing a provider.

As soon as you arrive on Nusa Penida many taxi drivers are already waiting for you at the harbor. It is also important to know that the well known apps like Grab or Gojek do not work on the island which is why the prices for trips are a bit higher here. After our check in we rented a scooter which we used to explore the island over the next few days. Please note however that the paths are sometimes really challenging and not always easy to ride. For more useful information and additional planning help feel free to check out our post about the Bali round trip.