Ah, Bali!
It’s my third time to visit this island last February, and I feel like there’s still so much to see! This time around, I and my colleagues at work had the opportunity to extend after a company event, and with an extra day before we head back to Manila, we managed to finally visit this Instagram-famous place!
*DON'T FORGET to read the Notes part below, very important!*
Where is Nusa Penida
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| Illustration by Astrid Prasetianti / Behance / Website |
It’s in the southeast of Bali island and is the largest of the Nusa Islands trio (the others being Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan). It's the island with the big sunglasses up there! Mainland Bali is the big chunk to the left, with Denpasar and Kuta on the lower part. (Big thanks to Astrid for letting me post her illustration! Go check her art out! 💛)
Our Tour Package
I came across Nusa Penida Trip in one of the blogs I read. After inquiries from different tour agencies, we decided to go with them! Why? They have this...
1 Day + 1 Night Land Trip (Private Tour)
For 5 persons, it’s IDR 3,500,000 in the website, but it’s IDR 4,000,000 (PHP 14,700 / USD 285) for foreigners. So per person, it’s around PHP 2,900 / USD 56.
We also added IDR 350,000 (PHP 1,300 / USD 25) for return transfers to and from our hotel. Per person, that’s around PHP 260.
And in total, you spend PHP 3,200 / USD 62 per person. That's for a whole day land tour with packed lunch, an overnight stay in a new resort with breakfast, ferry rides to and from Sanur Beach, and land transfers to and from hotel in Denpasar! It's super cheap and worth it!
The Itinerary
We were picked up from Hilton in Denpasar at around 3PM and we had a car ride to Sanur Beach for about an hour. At Sanur Beach, we waited for our ferry for around 30 minutes and then walked through the sandy beach with our luggage. It was about an hour of a very wavy boat ride, and then another 15 minutes of car ride to our place for the night. We arrived at the resort at around 6PM.
Our resort is very new and it’s called La Roja Bungalows. It has the same owner as the travel agency so I guess it’s what makes this package so cheap!
The next day, we woke up early and started our day tour at 8AM.
The original itinerary included the Atuh Cliff (Thousand Islands), Teletubbies Hill, Pohon Cinta, Kelingking Beach, Angels Billabong, Broken Beach, and Crystal Bay. Due to the lack of time (we weren’t staying for sunset and we wanted to go on a slower pace), we skipped the Thousand Islands Viewpoint and the Teletubbies Hill.
Pohon Cinta
The first one in the list. It literally translates as 'Tree of Love' in English. How did I go up there? Better find out yourself! 😜
Kelingking Beach / Viewpoint
The main point of this tour right? It really looks like a T-rex but a gentle one. Tourists can hike going down the beach, and with LONG legs, it may take around 40 minutes... And then another 40 minutes going back up the steep rock staircase. For SHORT legs, it might take us an hour. We didn't bother though, we were not physically prepared! We got down a few steps just to take photos, and mind you February was a bit cool, and it was still quite early at 9AM, but the sun was already hot! How did Instagrammers manage to look cool and collected in photos, we'll never know..
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| You can spot mantas from above! |
Angels Billabong
Quite a long and somewhat rocky drive from Kelingking Beach, we went to the other side of the island to Angel's Billabong. It was around 11AM when we got there and the sun was scorching.
Broken Beach
A short trek from Angel's Billabong is the Broken Beach. You've probably seen it on Instagram too.
Crystal Bay
At around 2PM, we arrived at Crystal Bay where we had lunch and rested for the afternoon. The ocean breeze was cool and we got to rest a bit. The beach is lined up with coconuts and there is a small store where you can buy cold drinks. There is a 'restroom / toilet' but it's your typical island toilet (squats only!).
At 3PM we decided to hit the road so that we can catch the ferry back to Sanur Beach at 4PM. We arrived at Sanur port where our driver was duly waiting for us. We made a drive-thru at McDonald's and headed off to Ngurah Rai airport.
Overall, our drivers, our tour guide, the staff at the resort, the owner of the resort, and the coordinator who was I was constantly messaging with pre, during, and after the tour were amazing. The experience and service we had were definitely more than the price we paid for!
Notes
- If you're carrying a luggage with you, better leave it in your resort in Denpasar. Just pack for an overnight stay or a day if you're just doing a day tour. We had a hard time pulling our luggage in Sanur Beach!
- Bring enough cash. We paid everything in cash.
- Speaking of cash, always, ALWAYS go to a legit money changer. My two colleagues were nearly scammed when they went to a shop in Kuta with really good exchange rates (too good to be true). What they do is, they take a CHUNK of Indonesian Rupiah as they count it. They will let you count your money first, and then, THEY will count it. Usually, you will not count it again because you just counted it. But when you do, OH MY. The confusion you get when you count again and you realize you LOST A LOT. If you do experience it, please do not hesitate to mention the word 'police'.
- A legit money changer with lots of branches is Central Kuta Bali Exchange. You can find one in convenience stores and they provide receipts.
- You can use the Grab app in Bali. However, drivers are rude. One driver asked me to cancel, when I hesitated, he cursed me. The other one asked for an extra fee and muttered under breath when I hesitated.
- Be alert. Always keep your bag zipped and close to you. Be smart.
So that's it from me! A complete day trip with an overnight stay at Nusa Penida! Let me know if you have other places to recommend in Bali! Will surely want to visit! 💛
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