Nusa Penida is the biggest of three islands just off Bali, alongside Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan. Most people see it on a rushed day trip from Bali: a dawn boat, a few hours in a car and the last boat back. It's worth more than that. With a night or two you can see the cliffs in the late light when the day-trippers have gone, snorkel with mantas in the morning and still have time for a swim.
This guide covers the main sights, the manta snorkelling, getting there, getting around, where to stay, costs and the safety points that matter here. For the rest of Bali and the islands, see our Bali and Indonesia travel guide.
Nusa Penida at a glance
- Where: south-east of Bali, across the Badung Strait, part of Klungkung regency
- Getting there: fast boat from Sanur, 30 to 45 minutes
- Known for: Kelingking Beach, Broken Beach, Diamond Beach and manta rays
- Getting around: car with a driver. The roads are too rough for most scooter riders
- Best months: May to November for calmer seas, with May, June and September the calmest
- How long: one or two nights. A day trip only covers one side of the island
The best sights on Nusa Penida
These are the main things to do on Nusa Penida, and they're spread out enough that the drives between them are slow. Most people split the island into a west side and an east side and do one per day. Trying to do both in a day trip means more time in the car than at the viewpoints.
The west side
- Kelingking Beach. The famous viewpoint over a headland shaped like a T-rex, above a white beach. The viewpoint is at the top. A steep path of rough steps goes down the cliff, but swimming at the beach has been banned since 2023, and people have died after leaving the path. Most people are better off enjoying it from the top. A half-built glass lift down the cliff was ordered to be demolished in late 2025, so the steps are still the only way down.
- Broken Beach (Pasih Uug). A sea arch around a round lagoon, with a path around the top. About 30 minutes' drive from Kelingking.
- Angel's Billabong. A natural rock pool on the edge of the sea. It looks calm, but waves wash over it at high tide and people have been swept out and killed. Look from the rim, and only go down at low tide when the sea is flat.
- Crystal Bay. A sheltered bay with good snorkelling and the island's best sunset beach.
The east side
- Diamond Beach. A white beach below a cliff, reached by steps cut into the rock. The waves here are powerful. A visitor was killed by a wave in August 2025, so stay out of the water when the sea is rough.
- Atuh Beach. The next bay along, with rock stacks offshore and a few warungs.
- Thousand Islands viewpoint and the Tree House. Clifftop views along the east coast. The Tree House is a small thatched hut up a tree trunk, reached by a ladder, and a popular photo stop.
From Toyapakeh, on the north-west coast, it's about 45 to 60 minutes' drive to Kelingking and about an hour to Diamond Beach. Our Nusa Penida day trip guide has a full west-loop and east-loop plan, for both a single day and an overnight stay.
Snorkelling with manta rays
Reef manta rays come to cleaning stations off Nusa Penida's west and south-west coasts all year round, and snorkelling with them is the island's best experience.
- Where: Manta Bay is more sheltered. Manta Point is more exposed and often cancelled when the swell is 2 to 3 metres.
- Cost: a shared snorkel trip booked on the island costs about IDR 250,000 to 350,000, usually with stops at Crystal Bay, Gamat Bay or Wall.
- The marine fee. Snorkellers and divers also pay a marine protected area fee of IDR 100,000 per person per day, on top of the island levy below. Ask your operator whether it's already in the price.
- Mantas are wild. Sightings are common, but no one can promise them.
- Choose carefully. Book an operator with life jackets for everyone and a guide in the water. Don't go out if the crew say the swell is too big. A snorkeller died at Nusa Penida in February 2025.
- Give them space. Don't touch, chase or dive down onto the mantas. Stay still near the surface and let them come to you.
Divers can also see mola mola (ocean sunfish) at some sites, roughly from July to October, but the currents and cold upwellings make those dives for experienced divers only. Read diving and snorkelling at Nusa Penida for the full site list, current advice and the marine fee in more detail.
Getting to Nusa Penida
Almost everyone arrives by fast boat from Sanur on Bali's east coast. Sanur now has a proper harbour with a pier, so you no longer have to wade out to the boats.
| Route | Time | Fare (IDR) |
|---|---|---|
| Sanur to Nusa Penida (Toyapakeh or Banjar Nyuh) | 30 to 45 minutes | about 150,000 to 250,000 one way |
| Nusa Penida to Gili Trawangan (direct) | about 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes, depending on the boat | about 575,000 |
Roughly 17 to 22 boats a day run between Sanur and the island, from about 6:30am to 5pm. Operators include Maruti Express, Angel Billabong, Golden Queen and Semaya One. Direct boats also run from Nusa Penida to the Gili Islands, so you don't have to go back through Bali.
The Nusa Penida levy (from September 2026)
Two charges apply, both collected by Klungkung regency:
- Island entry fee: IDR 25,000 per adult on arrival (IDR 15,000 for children aged 4 to 13). It covers Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan and has been charged since 2019.
- Sight fee, new on 1 September 2026: under the "One Gate One Destination" system, IDR 25,000 per adult (IDR 15,000 per child) at each of six main sights on Nusa Penida: Kelingking, Broken Beach, Angel's Billabong, Crystal Bay, Teletubbies Hill and Molenteng. Devil's Tear on Nusa Lembongan is also on the list.
Payment is cashless, so have a card or a QRIS payment app ready. The new system was swamped on its first day, with long queues at the ticket counters and patchy mobile signal, so pay before you reach the gate if you can. All of this is on top of the Bali tourist levy of IDR 150,000, which you pay once per visit to Bali online. A side trip to Nusa Penida doesn't mean paying that one again.
These island fees are separate from the marine protected area fee. Anyone snorkelling or diving pays an extra IDR 100,000 per person per day for that, whether or not they pay the island levy that same day. See diving and snorkelling at Nusa Penida for how the two fees work together.
Getting around Nusa Penida
The roads are the main thing to plan around. Many main routes are now paved, and the island fees are meant to pay for more repairs. Even so, the roads are narrow, with very steep sections near Kelingking, and side roads can be rough and gravelly. Tourist scooter crashes are common, and the UK government's travel advice for Indonesia warns about the roads on Nusa Penida.
- Car with a driver: the normal way to go. Quotes vary, but about IDR 650,000 to 800,000 a day per car is typical, and drivers know which roads are passable and when the tide is safe at Angel's Billabong.
- Scooters: only if you're an experienced rider with a motorcycle licence from home plus an International Driving Permit that covers motorcycles. Without them, your insurance probably won't pay out.
- Organised tours: the west-side and east-side tours include a car, a driver and usually the boat from Sanur.
Where to stay on Nusa Penida
Most places to stay are on the north coast, between Toyapakeh, Ped and Sampalan. The roads there are flatter, the boats arrive nearby and there are warungs and dive shops. It's also close to the manta boats and to Crystal Bay. There are a few places on the cliffs and on the east side, but they're further from everything. Book somewhere licensed, and expect simple rooms and a quiet evening: Nusa Penida has no real nightlife.
Best time to visit Nusa Penida
| Months | Sea and weather | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| May, June, September | Dry and usually the calmest seas | The best months overall |
| July and August | Dry, but choppier and busier | Crossings can be cancelled in big swell. Mola mola season for divers |
| October and November | Changing season, some showers | Usually still good |
| December to March | Wet season, with heavy showers | Big swell and tropical lows can stop the boats. In January 2026 all crossings were suspended for a time |
| April | Changing season | Improving |
Mantas are there all year. The swell decides whether the boats can reach Manta Point. The best time to visit Bali guide covers the whole island month by month.
How much does Nusa Penida cost?
| Item | IDR |
|---|---|
| Fast boat from Sanur, one way | about 150,000 to 250,000 |
| Island levy on arrival | 25,000 |
| Levy at each main sight | 25,000 |
| Marine protected area fee (snorkellers and divers, per day) | 100,000 |
| Car with driver for a day | about 650,000 to 800,000 (quotes vary) |
| Manta snorkel trip (shared, booked on the island) | about 250,000 to 350,000 |
Staying safe on Nusa Penida
Nusa Penida is beautiful, but most of the accidents here come from the same few things:
- Cliff edges. Stay behind barriers and on the paths. At Kelingking, an Australian woman died in September 2026 after leaving the path.
- Waves. At Angel's Billabong and Diamond Beach, waves can come in much bigger than the ones before. Don't turn your back on the sea.
- Roads. Use a car with a driver.
- Boats. Wear your life jacket, and don't go out in big swell.
How many days on Nusa Penida?
One night lets you do one side of the island in the afternoon and the mantas the next morning. Two nights gives you both the west and the east sides, plus the mantas, without rushing. A day trip from Bali is possible, but you'll spend most of it on the boat and in the car, and you'll only see one side.
Both our Bali trips spend two nights on Nusa Penida. We drive to Broken Beach, Angel's Billabong (only if the tide is low enough) and the Kelingking viewpoint in a car with a local driver, and we stay at the top at Kelingking. The next morning is a manta snorkel trip. On the 12-day trip we then take a direct boat to Gili Trawangan.
