Unforgettable Short Trip to Nusa Penida, Bali

Nusa Penida has been in my list of 'place to go' for quite long time. I just had not had any chance to go with friends. It is the biggest island among the other two Nusa islands: Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan.

On June 4 2016, I was lucky being offered to join a weekend trip to the island by a friend of mine, Okta. It was a group trip of his sister's colleague but they were open for more seats. Well, it just felt that it was the right time. I decided to join them.

We were 11 people taking the first boat to the island, this time we took Caspla boat. At those days there were big waves all around Bali sea. Some days before, it was reported that there was a married couple pulled out into the ocean by a big wave in Nusa Penida, but that did not change our plan to go there.

We gathered in Sanur at 8am where the fast boat would depart. It took only 40 minutes to get to the island. The cost was only IDR 75k one way for local, not sure for tourist.

The Crew

Cave Giri Putri Entrance

On this trip the first day we spent going to several temples in this island. As this was my first time, I was so excited. There is one specific temple that I have been looking forward to see. I have heard and seen many photos of this temple which is in a cave where the entrance into the temple is so narrow; can only be fitted by one person.

When I successfully entered the cave and got inside, I was amazed, the feeling to be there cannot be described. It is a really huge cave which has the size of soccer field. It felt so peaceful and being there such a gift for me. There is a mix culture we can see in this temple, as there is also a temple for Buddhism and a statue of Dewi Kwan Im. This temple is called Pura Giri Putri, find more about it here.

Our spiritual trip continued to two other temples in the area, which are Pura Kerangkeng and Pura Puncak Mundi. The last temple we went to is Pura Dalem Peed which is located very close to where we were staying, a homestay called Full Moon, click here.

It is located close to the harbour.  It is a clean place and we got a really affordable price. We paid only one hundred thousand rupiah per person for three rooms one night, a bit more than one million in total.

The second day was time for vitamin sea for us. We had the same driver as the previous day, the coolest driver and car ever, coolest means driving like a flash! but thank God we were all safe :D.

We were planning to go to three beaches but ended up only going to two only as it took hours to get to all three and we did not plan to miss the boat. hehe

We first went to Uug beach or Broken beach which is located next to Billabong angel point, not sure who named it Billabong and why. 

We cannot really go down to the beach, we only saw the beach from the hill. It is a shame that I did not take picture on Billabong angel point because here where the couple was taken into the ocean, and there was a red restriction flag to not go there at that time. Well, it can be a reason to go back and take picture another time.

Broken Beach

The second beach is located closer to the homestay, around 1 hour if im not mistaken. It is the famous Crystal Bay, most wanted diving spot for the divers who wish to see Mola-Mola fish.  Again, there were big waves everywhere around Bali at that time, and we chose to not dive or do snorkeling there even though some of us have planned and prepared to snorkel. So we just took some photos, honestly, loads of photos.

We went back to homestay and had a nice lunch, ohya the price of nasi ayam lalapan is more expensive here than Bali :D, actually the same price as its in Labuan Bajo while nasi

Crystal Bay

goreng is only 10k.

Anyway, we were so happy, especially me, I have been to the island I have not been before and made some new good friends.
Great trip!

Tips for you: There is no good signal so Google map does not work here, wear sunglasses and a mask driving around cus its real dusty, wear sunblock too! The distance between beaches felt double or triple because of the road condition, so get ready! Bring water!