4D3N Bali Trip to Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida? A diver's response.

alaughingseal
Nov 9, 2019
7 min read

Updated: Nov 17, 2019

Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida are two islands out of three in the Nusa Islands (Bali). Nusa Lembongan is just about 30 minutes ferry ride away from Sanur. As compared to Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan is a lot livelier, has more dive shops and less crowded (with tourists!).

Number of days: about 4

Budget per person: $200 - $300 (inclusive of 2 dives)

Travel period: July 2018

Weather: Sunny

Accommodation: Airbnb (many hosts out there!)

Main Activities:

Diving!!! (definitely a must for divers!!)
Nusa Penida (to be elaborated later)

As I had been to Bali several times, I wasn't particularly interested in main tourist Bali areas - Seminyak, or Kuta. This time round, I headed to Bali with a different agenda - mainly for diving and exploring their underwater marine life! Travelling to the Gili Islands would have been a priority (will save another day for this post!), but this mid-year period was the manta ray season!

Day 1

Travelling from Bali (Sanur Harbour) to Nusa Lembongan

We flew from Singapore to Bali and our dive company - Dive Concepts - sent someone to pick us up from Denpasar Airport. Upon reaching Sanur, we grabbed a decent lunch (nasi goreng, mee goreng etc) from the nearby shops before taking our speedboat to Nusa Lembongan. The speedboat ride was about 30 minutes long.

Disclaimer: this is NOT the cheapest mode of transport from Bali to Nusa Lembongan. Apparently, you could head to Sanur Harbour and buy a slow boat ticket (about 1.5h ride to Nusa Lembongan) at less than half the price!

We were thankful that Dive Concepts arranged airport pick-up and speedboat transfer (from Nusa Lembongan harbour to our Airbnb accommodation) for us. Apart from booking our dives in advance, they settled all these "admin" for us. Hence, it saved us some hassle to settle these transfers. Later on, what we found out was that any speedboat operators would cover transfers (from harbour to accommodation) for you anyway....

Day 2

Diving at Manta Point and Crystal Bay

We woke up early for our dive briefings and we were all ready to watch some manta rays gliding past us! Tip: I tend to choose accommodations closer to the dive centre that I engage as morning dives are usually very early (8am? Or if you are lucky 10am?) and if you live far away from the dive centre, you would need to factor in travelling time!

Manta Point was truly a dream come true! Manta Point was famous for the manta rays' cleaning stations and I recall spotting several manta rays circling the cone-like cleaning stations. Subconsciously, I found myself ascending slowly and being at eye level with the beautiful gentle giants. It was truly a SURREAL moment and I could not believe what had appeared before my eyes!

Crystal Bay was known for its beautiful coral gardens and it sure didn't disappoint. While waiting for our 2nd dive, we saw a pod of dolphins in the distance. Before jumping in for our 2nd dive, we were praying we could see them underwater! Luckily for us, we witnessed the pod of dolphins swimming underwater. However, they were too far for my GoPro to capture :"( I am still thankfully that I could see them with my naked eyes!

In fact, you can also dive from Nusa Penida (less dive shops there though!) as the dive sites are pretty close to these 2 islands.

Day 3

Nusa Penida

Prior to going to Nusa Penida, we visited several shopfronts to check with them regarding their prices for a day tour from Nusa Lembongan. Their prices were truly steep! We managed to negotiate with one operator, who was willing to take us to:

Snorkelling at Underwater Buddha Temple
Nusa Penida - Angel Billabong, Broken Beach & Kelingking Beach

We paid about S$60/person for a full day tour (inclusive of fast boat to Nusa Penida)! I'd say that was a pretty decent price, given that it was an almost-full-day tour.

Snorkelling at the Underwater Buddha Temple was pretty ridiculous for us as the currents were so strong! We could barely snorkel for a second at the same spot. The fast boat had to pick us up from wherever we had drifted to. In the end, we caught glimpses of the Buddha Temple and decided to leave for Nusa Penida. Quite a disappointment!

Upon reaching Nusa Penida via the fast boat, we were picked up by a tour guide on a SUV. First, we reached Angel Billabong and the journey to Angel Billabong was EXTREMELY BUMPY and ROCKY! We witnessed several motorbikes zooming past us with ease. Tip: if you are comfortable with riding (I'd only recommend to local certified riders as the roads are filled with gravel and it is definitely not easy to ride in Nusa Penida! It can be pretty dangerous), you would be better off riding to the different sites as you can dictate the time and location!

We were glad that we reached Angel Billabong before the hordes of tourists arrive. I mean it - HORDES of tourists. You will be impressed, or not, at the intense amount of humans who would visit Nusa Penida! Angel Billabong is simply a natural infinity pool (seen during low tides) with emerald hues and pristine waters. We were lucky that it was low tide that day and we could swim in Angel Billabong! Please be careful as you climb down to Angel Billabong during low tide as the rocks are pretty sharp.

On the way from Angel Billabong to the Broken Beach, we saw a few manta rays swimming on the surface of the perfectly turquoise waters of Nusa Penida :")

Broken Beach is a little sheltered bay on Nusa Penida island. It is called the Broken Beach as there is a visible arch that allows the water to flow naturally into the cove. I particularly enjoyed the Broken Beach most as there were shops were dotted by the side, where you could order the typically delicious indomee!

At our last stop, we finally reached Kelingking Beach! Many would take pictures of the dinosaur look-alike structure from the top, but what many people would not do is to climb (and I literally meant CLIMB) down to the beach itself. I recalled being given 2 options by my tour guide - to either stay at the top and relax for 2 hours, or to climb down (1.5h return trip) to the beach and meet him 2 hours later. My friend and I took a closer look at the route down to the beach and felt that we definitely didn't need 1.5h to climb back up. WE WERE ABSOLUTELY WRONG ABOUT THAT.

The climb was well supported by sticks and ropes and that was truly a saving grace. If it helps, we climbed with slippers! However, as Kelingking Beach is a secluded beach enclosed by a cliff, the climb was extremely steep. We found ourselves going on all fours several times. The climb down was decent but the climb up felt like literal rock climbing?! We were grabbing the steps and hauling ourselves up to the next day like as if we were rock climbing. I found myself having to stop several times as I was panting like a dog! While panting and taking a break, I would make sure of the time to capture some memories :")

The 1.5h return trip was not only due to its difficulty of climb, it was also due to the climbing crowd. We found ourselves stopped many many times due to a "human jam". The route was narrow, and can you believe it when I said it was meant to be a 2-way route?! Many a times, we had to wait for the people to descend before finding an opportunity of human gaps and ascend immediately. Even then, we would meet the group of climbers, and the bottleneck occurs again... Part of me was thankful for these bottlenecks as it meant more rest time :D

The question I had in my mind the whole time was: was it worth it? Hell yes! The beach was beautifully "hugged" by the cliffs, and hearing or watching the waves crash was simply too therapeutic to watch and listen to. Unfortunately, the waves were so strong and we were constantly rolled into the waves. Pretty dangerous I'd say if you weren't prepared for it!

Ironically, if you'd ask me what was my favourite tourist attraction amongst the three - I'd say climbing down to Kelingking Beach. Despite its rigour, it sure made my trip worthwhile and I felt like finally I did something more than just "sightseeing!" :)

Day 4

Return from Nusa Lembongan to Bali (Jimbaran)

We went to the shops along the beach and bought our ticket back to Bali. They arranged for transport for us to our accommodation - Fox Harris Bali. We decided to stay in Jimbaran (nicknamed the most "atas" place in Bali, dotted with resorts and restaurants) as we wanted a less touristy location, for a good rejuvenation before our 5D4N Liveaboard in Komodo Island next! Breakfast was absolutely delicious and their rooftop swimming pool was nice to relax in!

A typical view of Jimbaran - peaceful and free from tourists

We found a gem right beside our accommodation - Cuca Restaurant. Cuca Restaurant is a michelin-star level restaurant in Bali, serving Spanish tapas. I recalled devouring tapas back in Sevilla 2 years ago and I really missed it. We checked it out and it was the best decision we had ever made. Not only was the food exquisite, it was heavenly and delectable. It was pretty affordable as well - S$30 per person!

The entrance to the Cuca Restaurant was pretty as well!

After lunch, we took a Grab to Pantai Tegal Wangi. Pantai Tegal Wangi is a beach close to Uluwatu and it has its own naturally formed mini infinity pools! You could even sit in these mini pools and conquer one on your own!

Conquering one of the many "mini" infinity pools along the beach!

This beach is really hard to get to and we were dropped off by our Grab driver at a random spot where we had to find our own way down to the secluded beach.

Dropped off at a cliff, overseeing Pantai Tegal Wangi and thinking how are we ever going to reach there!

When sunset was approaching, we made our way to the Rock Bar. Until today, we have no idea how we walked from Pantai Tegal Wangi to the Rock Bar. Even the staff was shocked to see us appearing from the beach! I guess it was uncommon for people to appear from the beach?! Alternatively, you could easily take a Grab to the Rock Bar, where you would be dropped off at Ayana Beach Resort. The Rock Bar is found within the premises of Ayana Beach Resort and it is famous for its unblocked sunset view.