With still a lot of places left to see in Bali, we had to make a tough decision on the evening before our last day in Bali. Did we want to see the rest of Bali, or take a day trip to Nusa Penida?
While we knew that one day wouldn’t be enough time in Nusa Penida, we also felt that a trip to Bali wouldn’t be complete without having seen Nusa Penida.
So, we decided to take the day trip to this wonderful island. A decision we will never regret!
By the time we made up our mind and asked the receptionist at our hotel to book us a day tour to Nusa Penida for the next morning, the tour operator was actually already closed. Yes, we were that last-minute. The receptionist still managed to speak to someone at the tour operator, who booked our places and arranged our pick up at the hotel for the next morning.
Our Nusa Penida day trip itinerary
We made sure that our Nusa Penida day tour covered the following highlights of the island:
Our tour operator also promised a maximum of 6 people per guide. We are normally a bit sceptic about organised group tour, but this one gave us plenty of time and fantastic photo opportunities.
Getting to Nusa Penida from Uluwatu (Bali)
We were told that our pick up would be at 6am in front of our hotel. When no one had showed up after half an hour, we started to think that our last minute reservation didn’t go through. Just when we were about to start making other plans, our pick-up van showed up. We shared the van with other tourists, and got dropped off at the harbour.
At the harbour, we had to buy our Nusa Penida day tour tickets. Little did we know that they only accept cash payments at the harbour. As unprepared as we were, of course we didn’t carry enough cash with us. There aren’t any cash machines within walking distance from the harbour either, so our tour guide drove Jordi to a cash machine on the back of his moped. I think they made an exception for us, so it’s better to make sure you either pay your tour in advance or carry enough cash with you.
Once we had our tickets, we still needed to wait a bit until our boat to Nusa Penida arrived in the harbour. The boat ride took about 45 minutes, and quite a few people got seasick on board. When we arrived in Nusa Penida, our group got split up between different tour guides. We ended up in a group of 5 and our tour guide drove us around the island all day.
Better be prepared for a day full of crazy traffic and amazing landscapes. I’d also recommend to wear swimwear underneath your outfit, as we got to swim in Crystal bay.
First stop: Kelingking beach (the instafamous T-rex)
I couldn’t believe my luck when we arrived at the famous T-rex (also known as Kelingking beach) before 11am. While most people make their way down to the T-rex, the best views are actually when you climb up the hill from the parking lot.
By following the wooden fence up the hill, we got plenty of photo opportunities with the T-rex. The further away we got, the better the views. We even found an opening in the fence from where we could take amazing shots:
We also paid a small amount to take pictures from a platform with views over the T-rex. The small fee is only worth it if you take your own pictures from the platform. Maybe it was just bad luck, but the photographer on the platform didn’t take our pictures from the best angle:
By far the best pictures from Kelingking beach are made from up the trees. Our tour guide was super friendly and offered to climb the trees to take our picture:
This experience already made the Nusa Penida day tour more than worth it, and of course we gave our tour guide a big tip at the end of the day.
Second stop: Angel's Billabong
The Angel’s Billabong is another popular spot on Nusa Penida island. When we visited, the water in the pool wasn’t as crystal clear as we had seen on pictures online. It is still a beautiful landscape with the rocks, pool and sea views though:
We arrived at Angel’s Billabong just after midday. Although it was full of tourists, our tour guide still managed to find us a quiet spot for our pictures.
Third stop: Broken beach
Broken beach is just a short walk away from Angel’s Billabong. It is another wonderful landscape, with the highlight being the arch over the water:
Our tour guide walked us around the arch, where we didn’t see any other tourists. I think he noticed how much we like our pictures, so he did his best to impress us by showing his secret spots of the island:
Final stop: Crystal Bay beach
After lunch (which was included in the tour), we arrived at our final stop: the Crystal Bay. Our tour guide gave us towels, and we were free to enjoy the beach by ourselves. We just had to be back at the car at a certain time.
The Crystal bay beach is very crowded, but it was quiet in the sea. That was probably for a good reason, because the waves were quite high and strong. I’m normally a good swimmer, but I got dragged underneath the water by a wave for a few seconds. No harm done, but it’s better to be careful when swimming in the sea here.
Book now:
If you prefer to book your Nusa Penida day trip in advance, check out Viator for organised group and private tours:
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