5 THINGS I WISH I KNEW BEFORE VISITING NUSA PENIDA
Well, if your reading this then you must be thinking about visiting one of the most scenic spots in Bali. First of all, good choice! Secondly, make sure to read through this article first so nothing shocks you about the island!
1. Monkeys at Kelingking Beach
You arrive at one of the most iconic spots in Bali, you take a moment to admire the picturesque scenery, you feel the warm sun on your shoulders while the cool breeze brushes through your hair. You go to take your first sip of that refreshing ice cold water you packed and then BOOM a monkey dashes up to you puts both its paws out, grabs your water and climbs up onto a roof…
With your guide chuckling and one very hydrated monkey in front of you, you look around and realise it’s happenings everywhere! Monkeys are waltzing around with Diet Coke bottles and cans of Pringles. They are definitely cheeky monkeys!
The moral of this story is MONKEY’S STEAL so please hold onto your belongings very tightly. As much as you would like to fully relax while admiring the view be careful as you don’t want to see a monkey going through your purse in the distance!
2. Private drivers instead of taxi’s
We took a day trip to Nusa Penida from Nusa Lembongan which cost us £28 each (550,000 IDR). At the start we thought this was quite pricey until we added up how much it would be if we paid for everything ourselves.
Basically, it was WAY more. The set tour included boats from and to Nusa Lembongan and a private driver to take us to all the the main tourist attractions on the island (5 best things to do in Nusa Penida) while showing us around them too and being an amazing photographer!
The thing is there’s not a lot of taxi’s on Nusa Penida and they are also known for being super expensive. So, we felt more peace of mind to just pay one set price and enjoy our day without worrying about the next taxi price.
3. Bad roads
If you’re thinking you may be able to have a peaceful sleep on journey’s around Nusa Penida… think again! The roads are legit like a rollercoaster, although this would not be enough to ever stop me from going again if you get travel sick easily please make sure you have some sickness tablets with you.
So, relating to the point above maybe this is the reason why there are few taxis and they charge a lot!
4. Long journeys
What we didn’t realise is Nusa Penida is actually quite a big island and not everything is right next door to each other!
On our day of exploring we spent 2.5 hours in the car.
This was our journey:
Ferry port to Broken Beach = 50 mins
Broken Beach to Angel’s Billabong = 5 mins
Angel’s Billabong to Kelingking Beach = 30 mins
Kelingking Beach to Crystal Bay = 40 mins
Crystal Bay to Ferry port = 30 mins
The picture below shows the places we visited on the island and just how big the island is!
5. It’s busy!
This may come as no surprise but the tourist attractions in Nusa Penida are very busy! We arrived at Broken Beach early in the morning and although it was busy it wasn’t too bad. But, when we left it was absolutely heaving! So, our advice is see the attractions you want to see the most first before everyone joins you!