The Nusa Islands – Lembongan, Ceningan & Penida

My trip to Bali has come to an end. Leaving with mixed emotions about the province and a vow to maybe return one day, I am going to talk about the Nusa islands – my favourite part of the trip.

Nusa Lembongan

Catching an early morning boat from Sanur, I set out my journey to the Lembongan island. After a 30-minute fast boat service and another 15-minute drive to my hostel, I quickly rented a scooter to get around the island. Coming to Lembongan, my top priority was to visit Devil’s tears, however, I did plan to check out the other attractions as well starting with the dream beach. The beach was quite dreamy with it’s beautiful blue waters and white sands. From there, I just drove around the island with headphones in, listening to some music and Google’s soothing voice with directions. After a quick visit to the crowded Mushroom beach, I headed straight to the yellow bridge to get to the Ceningan island. I came back to Lembongan by sunset to head to Devil’s Tears for a breathtaking view. I was just in awe with beauty of the sunset.

Nusa Ceningan

A quick cross on the yellow bridge via walking or scooter, you will get to the Nusa Ceningan island. I covered the entire island on a scooter in a matter of 45 minutes, driving on questionable roads. Although I was laughed at by some old ladies with my struggle riding a scooter (especially going uphill), it was still a beautifully painful experience – the struggle was real! Ceningan island was absolutely gorgeous. With its luscious greenery and beautiful blue waters, the island had so much colour. Head over to Blue Lagoon and you can sit and stare at those waters for hours. I was tempted to do a cliff jump but decided to take a raincheck.

The following day, I drove around the Lembongan island to cover Mangroove point and the Jungutbattu Beach before catching a small boat to Nusa Penida.

Nusa Penida 

A much bigger island compared to the other two, you will need a fair set of time here to completely cover the island. I only had one goal coming to the Nusa Penida island – Kelingking Beach. The day I arrived, it was pouring, so I had the amazing experiencing riding in the rain with a terrible poncho, drenched backpacks and zero vision – how I am still safe is beyond me (mama don’t read this! :D). Nonetheless, the next day was absolutely beautiful, so, I set out on a journey with an Austrian army vet to explore the island. We visited Kelingking Beach, Angels Billabong, and the Broken Beach.

Kelingking Beach was absolutely breathtaking. Although getting down there was quite the struggle, once you get down the steep hill, the beach will treat you to some magical blue waters with strong tides, Instagram worthy shots, and white sands. The main attraction of the beach, however, doesn’t require you to go down to the beach. It is the T-rex shaped mountain you can admire from the top. Angel’s Billabong wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be, but the Broken Beach was quite the eye candy. Well, more so an unusual look that makes you really appreciate the experience.

Quick Tips:

• Renting a scooter makes your life a lot easier, as you will be able to weave through the narrow roads and heavy traffic. Mind you the roads (especially in Ceningan and Penida) were not the best and you will have some trouble driving. The scooters are between 50K to 70K IDR depending on where you get them and your negotiation skills
• Change your money in the mainland as the exchange rate is horrible on the island.  

To Consider:

• Lembongan Hostel (Lembongan)– This was a charming place to stay. Nice comfy beds, kind staff, beautiful pool, and scooter rental service.
• The Packer Box Hostel (Penida)– This hostel was a hidden gem, as literally only two people (including me) stayed there. The staff were kind, the breakfast was delicious and you get a towel and slippers!
• Scoot Fast Cruises – I used this company to get to the islands from the mainland. Although I think the ferry prices were quite expensive, they were among one of the cheapest with the best reviews and pick up services. I paid $40 USD for return.
  
  

To simply put these islands were absolutely gorgeous and you can really just sit back and enjoy. The locals in these islands were much more pleasant to deal with than the mainland as well, which added to the experience. Just a heads up, talking to other tourists, I learned that there are some awesome snorkeling and scuba diving services as well. I didn’t do them, well simply because I want to stretch my backpacker’s budget.

Feel free to reach out to me if you have questions about the island. Happy traveling!

Cheers 🙂