Nusa Penida: An island off of Bali

During my 3 years in Bali I have criss-crossed the island on my motorbike pretty well. There are still places I haven’t been to, but on balance I think I’ve covered a lot. One place I have never been is Nusa Penida. The islands of Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan, are part of Klungkung, but are distinct in their own ways. Nusa Penida, like the Bukit peninsula, is a limestone plateau. That means water will not flow too well and consequently vegetation is spare.

Nusa Penida has white sands beaches on the north coast but you can’t really swim because of the seaweed farming. According to my guidebook, Nusa Penida has old fashioned villages with their own version of weaving, dance and building. The population speak an older version of Balinese that is not spoken on the mainland. Centuries ago Nusa Penida was a penal colony.

Things to see on Nusa Penida include traditional weaving at Tanglad, a waterfall at Batukandik and a unique way of storing rain water in large pots on the south coast. There are guest houses on the north coast at Sampalan and Toyapakeh.

You can get to Nusa Penida directly from the mainland from Kusamba and Padangbai (20,000-40,000rp). You can also go Nusa Lembongan, the destination for most people, and catch a ferry there. These are local boats and there are a selection of luxury yacht companies that can get you to Nusa Penida. These include Bali Hai, Quiksilver and SailSensations. Most of these operate out of the port of Benoa.