Trip Dates: Aug 31st through Sep 10th, 2022
Locations Travelled:
Nusa Penida
You will need to get a ferry to Nusa Penida, but with various ferry companies available, this is a straightforward process. We missed the ferry we booked upon arrival to the harbor, so we had time to kill before the next ferry.
While we waited, we enjoyed a fish-based lunch at the local restaurant Warung Mak Beng. We had plain rice, fish head soup, and fried fish. This meal ended up being the most authentic and affordable of our trip.
Where to stay:
We only had time to spend two nights in Nusa Penida, and chose to stay at Villa Ume Tenang. This hotel, owned by a helpful couple from Europe, was small and quiet. The rooms were all private villas with an outdoor bathroom. They offer food because their location is pretty remote, but we recommend eating at a nicer restaurant on the island before returning to your room. We chose this hotel because of its central location. We visited all areas of the island efficiently, and even split up with the friends we were traveling who wanted to see different attractions. Had we chosen to only stay near Diamond Beach, for example, it would have been a lot harder logistically to travel across the island for other activities.
How to get around:
We rented a scooter which has its benefits and drawbacks. The most obvious benefit is that it is cheap, efficient, and hassle-free by allowing you to move at your own pace and not rely on a driver. The downside is the road conditions making it tiring and even dangerous to travel by scooter. There are very steep roads, often not paved near the coasts, and the constant uphill/downhill and bends in the road make it hard to see oncoming cars.
What to do:
Diamond Beach
In our opinion, the highlight of Nusa Penida is Diamond Beach. And yes, it will be crowded, but it is that beautiful. Even upon arriving, the view from the top of the cliffs is surreal. Once ready to hit the beach, you can head towards the trailhead. There is an exciting climb down to the beach, and a steep section with a rope provided for assistance (This section made it hard for some people to manage and slowed down the entire process). At the base of the stairs prior to the beach, there is a cool swing that was getting a lot of attention for Instagram photos (This is a common theme in Indonesia actually), so we decided to skip this and make the most of our beach time. We arrived later in the morning, just before peak noon, so the tide was coming up the entire beach. This constant tide made it difficult to relax on the sand. We kept our belongings on the rocks and made the most of the situation by playing in the water. Early morning, before the sun is overhead, would be an ideal time to come as there would be fewer crowds, and you would not have to manage limited shade and high tide.
Thousand Island View Point
This viewpoint contains a popular treehouse that you would have seen on Instagram. The reality behind this shot is that this treehouse is now monetized, requiring you to buy a ticket at the parking lot. Once you complete the trek down to the treehouse, you wait for your ticket to be called so you can get a photo. We bypassed this process and climbed past the treehouse to a higher viewpoint with almost nobody else nearby. This location gave us the same spectacular view of the cliffside and beaches below.
Lunch at Diamond Beach
On the drive to Diamond Beach, there is a fork in the road. Going right leads you to Thousand Island View Point, and going left leads you to Diamond Beach. At this fork, there is a small restaurant on the left that we ate at because we wanted something after the beach. They had smoothie bowls, which included a frozen banana and yogurt smoothie, mangos, pineapples, dragon fruit, and granola. This dish was one of our favorite meals on this trip at a seemingly unsuspecting restaurant we never would have considered.
Angel’s Billabong/Broken Beach
We made the 45-minute drive on a scooter across the island just before sunset to enjoy this area. At this time, Angels Billabong was not too exciting because of the low tide, but we could see this being a more exciting attraction during the day at high tide. The highlight at this time of day was Broken Beach. It’s hard to even describe what Broken Beach is and really has to be seen to be appreciated. We were only able to get a few photos and videos just before sunset, but we wish we could have made it here sooner to enjoy this area more. It may have just been low tide and could have been even better at high tide, but the uniqueness and beauty of this area were memorable.
Tembeling Beach & Natural Pool
A natural pool by the beach makes this a unique attraction to check out. Getting here is another challenge with an extremely steep hill, but once you arrive saftely, you can enjoy the beachfront area. The beach is small and private and also not ideal for swimming due to the intense waves. The surrounding area was not as busy as we expected. This lack of crowds allowed everyone visiting to get time in the natural pool to take photos. We took a few cool drone shots at this beach.
Snorkeling/Scuba with Pure Dive Resort
We spent about 3 hours at Fresh Dive Center scuba diving and snorkeling. We were unable to go diving to see Manta Rays due to the tide and water conditions at the time we were there. We heard the following week there were no issues, and they were back diving with Manta Rays, so probably not something you can predict or worry too much about avoiding. We were able to enjoy another dive and snorkel session along the coral reef near the shore. These sessions provided beautiful coral and a variety of marine life amongst some of the clearest water we had ever seen.
Greenkubu Penida
A massive restaurant for tourism, this place has it all. We arrived after sunset for dinner and felt we could have come earlier to enjoy the swim-up bar, on-site pool, and unique sunset-viewing stadium seating.
Seganing Waterfall
Our first morning on the island started with a trip to Seganing Waterfall. This waterfall is at the base of a sheer cliffside. To get to the waterfall, you descend an extremely steep trail that appears to have been forgotten about and did not look maintained. We attempted to make it down, but after 10 minutes, we became more concerned at how dangerous this was and decided to turn back. If there is one “tourist attraction” to skip, this is the one!
From the top of the trailhead there is a nice view of a temple on the coast, but this is not worth the long drive down a poorly maintained road.
Kuta
We spent two nights in Kuta playing in our first international Ultimate Frisbee Tournament, Nusantara Cup 2022. We joined a team with players from Singapore, Malaysia, and our friends from India. Our time in Kuta was primarily spent playing Ultimate or relaxing at the fields, so we didn’t do as much site seeing in this area. The only tourist-related activities we participated in were eating and drinking.
On the first night, we went to Bamboo Bar and Grill, which gave a delicious welcome slushie shot. The restaurant was packed with tourists watching English football and rugby. They had a variety of food options, and we all enojyed our meal.
The second night we ate dinner at Warung Demar, just down the road from Bamboo Bar and Grill since our accommodation was nearby. We ordered fun and unique cocktails and had more great food, including local Nasi Goreng, BBQ ribs, and fried duck.
East Bali
Where to Stay:
We spent three nights at Lempuyang Boutique Hotel. This hotel was pretty remote from other options, but we felt this central location allowed us to get to more sites in the East Bali area. Within the gates of this hotel was pure beauty and luxury. For the price, we were blown away by our stay here.
The highlight of the stay was the included breakfast. On our first morning, we took off early and skipped breakfast entirely, and on our last day, we had to catch a flight very early, so we only had one chance to get breakfast on site.
The breakfast is a multi-course meal, which we took our time to relax and enjoy. Starting with drinks, we had vegan milk iced coffee, fresh pineapple juice, and three jambu health shots. After the welcome health shots, we had three starters including panna cotta, chia seed pudding with granola, and pineapple with dark chocolate. For the main course, we chose eggs benedict and oatmeal amongst a long list of options. To top this meal off, we received fresh fruit for dessert.
Outside the epic breakfast, we ate dinner here one night and felt it wasn’t anything special and was a bit pricey.
On site, they also have other activities including a nice pool with a view of the volcano, a cute swing on a small hill, a badminton court on grass, bocce ball, and massages (Extra cost). We spent one morning lounging at the hotel pool, and playing a few lawn games.
With only a few private villas, we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.
How to Get Around:
The sites around East Bali are spread out, so you are required to rent a scooter or car. With 4 of us traveling, we rented a car in Kuta and made the 2-hour drive to our accommodation.
What to Do:
Gates of Heaven
Arguably the most popular Instagram photo spot in Bali, this location is a complete scam and tourist trap built on photo manipulation and unwarranted popularity. We had heard lines could take hours for a single photo. This location is not nearly as beautiful or memorable as people see on Instagram. For these reasons, we decided to skip this. Make sure to your research before committing to this activity.
Kanto Lampo Waterfall
Like most tourist attractions in Bali, this waterfall had a long line of people waiting to get a picture under this majestic waterfall. We arrived slightly later in the morning, around 9 am, and the rush of people started to build up. We recommend arriving before 8 am if you want to get a nice photo without waiting in a long line.
Outside of this main waterfall, this location includes a small pool and access to the creek leading to the waterfall nearby. We explored this area away from the crowd and took a few additional pictures.
Tukad Cepung Waterfall
Similar to Kanto Lampo Waterfall, there was another Instagram line of people waiting at the main waterfall. Seeing how slow the line was moving, we decided to skip this (would have taken an hour to get through). We arrived around noon, so we imagine this line would be shorter if we had arrived earlier in the morning. (Here is a shot of the waterfall we got without waiting in line)
Outside the main waterfall, we were still very much entertained by this area. There is a narrow ravine or trench with sheer cliffs all around. Further from the main waterfall is another small waterfall you can stand underneath. We had a lot of fun running through this since there was no line or anyone else around. Outside of the long line, being here at noon worked out well because the sun was directly overhead illuminating the area.
There are restaurants on the trek down to the waterfall and shop stalls selling souvenirs near the parking lot. On the way out, we stopped for a quick lunch at The Cepung Lounge and did some shopping.
Besakih Temple
The largest temple in Balinese Hinduism, Besakih Temple is more of a city than a single temple. The entrance with the Gates on top of a massive staircase is the most stunning view at this complex. It appeared this staircase was the entrance to the main temple and was only being used by locals. There were also a lot of locals throughout the grounds since this is an active temple. There were prayer sessions occurring throughout the complex. We gave ourselves a tour and walked around taking photos and observing the locals.
Make sure to wear pants and cover yourself adequately to avoid renting additional garments.
Tirta Gangga Water Palace
This former royal palace lives up to its name. With water features throughout the grounds, including massive pools, a huge coy pond, and ornate statues, this palace is a worthwhile visit. If you want a more private experience, make sure to arrive at 8 am when they open. As we were leaving around 9 am it was getting crowded.
Restaurants and souvenir shops surround the entrance if you want to have breakfast or do some shopping.
A few shops were selling fish food in small plastic bags. These bags were not getting properly discarded by the tourists leading to bags being scattered around the grounds.
Virgin Beach
If you are looking for some beach time, Virgin Beach is perfect. Containing many restaurants, lounge chairs, open beach space, snorkeling, and on-beach massages, you will not be disappointed.
Bukit Cinta View Point
This viewpoint within tall grass in a seemingly random location provides a unique view of the Volcano. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy when we visited. On a clear day this would have provided a spectacular view.
Seasalt Restaurant
We wanted to splurge on a nice dinner and found Seasalt. Located inside a fancy hotel, this restaurant is open-air with an amazing view of the coast and the hotel grounds. We all ordered the traditional Megibung Indonesian sharing platter served on a carved wood called a Dulang. The menu included ten courses including dessert. Our favorite dishes included Palem Udang (chopped prawn, coconut, Balinese spice, and tamarind wrapped in sea leaf), Timbungam Be Sampi (Slow-cooked beef stew, herbs, and Balinese spices), and the dessert Es Puter (a local sorbet of coconut, green beans, jackfruit, and walnuts).
Komodo Islands/National Park
We spent our time at the Komodo Islands on a liveaboard boat called the Dalliance. This experience was a three-day, two-night package that we split with three other friends which meant we had the whole boat to ourselves. The onboard crew included five people to manage navigation, cooking, boat maintenance, and activity management. They arranged a pre-set agenda of key locations and activities but allowed us to customize where needed.
This experience gave us access to remote snorkeling with no other people, fresh fish for meals caught from the boat, private beaches, drinking water, shower, toilet, shaded beanbags, and a boat to jump off into the water. The most impactful benefit of this liveaboard is the ability to move efficiently through the National Park. While sleeping, the boat and waters were very calm so there were no issues with sea sickness and nobody had a hard time getting a good night’s rest.
We can’t say enough about this experience and will likely do this again.
Activities we managed to complete in our 3 days on board:
Komodo Island
We arrived around 12:30 pm and booked a guided tour that lasted about 1.5 hours. We wanted to learn more about Komodo Dragons and have the best chance to see some, so we felt the tour was worthwhile. During our tour we saw two babies and four adult komod dragons. The guided tour is a causal hike through a small wooded area that also surprisingly included other wildlife such as multiple wild boar and many deers. Our friends also spotted 20 species of birds which was a pleasant surprise. Overall, the island isn’t particularly beautiful or unique and only focuses on catering tours for tourists to see the Komodo Dragons. Because we were on the liveaboard, it felt like we had easy access to join this tour, but if this requires a full day of vacation time, including travel time, then you could consider skipping this.
Padar Island (Sunrise)
Being on Padar Island for sunrise was the highlight of the liveaboard experience. We woke up at 4:30 am on the boat docked just offshore from Padar Island. This setup made it very easy to arrive, hike to the peak, and enjoy the full sunrise. Without the liveaboard option, I imagine other tourists would have had to wake up far earlier, maybe 2 am, to give themselves enough time to make it to the island from the mainland.
The sunrise we caught was far and away the most beautiful and peaceful sunrise we had ever seen.
Getting there first also allowed us time to set up our camera from the best spot to take a timelapse and capture the moment. As the sun peaked over the horizon, the many tourist that also made it to the peak began illuminating. We spent some time during golden hour taking more beautiful photos from this spot since the 360-degree view is breathtaking.
Beyond the Padar Island sunrise one night on the liveaboard boat was spent sleeping on the top deck. We shifted the mattresses here because it was a cooler temperature than the bedroom setup below deck. This sleeping setup allowed us to wake up naturally at 5:30 am to the sunrise for a surreal experience.
Pink Beach
Red coral amongst the reefs in this area gives the sand at Pink Beach the pink hues, something we had never seen before or even knew was possible. We arrived at Pink Beach after the Padar Island sunrise close to 8 am. Because of this early start, we were the first ones there and had the beach to ourselves. We played some frisbee and did more snorkeling at the beach. When we left at 10:30 am the beach had become more crowded with tourists. Getting awesome photos and videos at this unique beach with nobody else around was very nice, and yet another reason this liveaboard is such an advantage.
Snorkeling
Throughout our three-day trip, we snorkeled A LOT. The boat crew provided all the gear and even had a small speed boat that we used to get to more remote places further from the main boat. On the first day, just an hour after boarding, we stopped at our first location for snorkeling. We didn’t capture the exact location on a map, but we should have because this was everyone’s favorite snorkeling spot of the trip due to the colorful coral and diverse marine life. The crystal clear water and minimal current made this location very snorkel friendly.
Another location we snorkeled was the Sand Bar. This sand bar oasis in the middle of the water was mainly sea shells and didn’t make for the most comfortable beach to relax on, but the surrounding snorkeling was well worth the trip. We caught a few sea turtles hiding in the coral beds, and the clear water allowed us to see many meters below into the deep waters.
The final morning we snorkeled at Turtle Point. We had anchored at this location to sleep, so when we woke up we could see three black-tip sharks on the surface from the boat. The clear water allowed us to track them into the deeper areas, and we swam down to get a closer look making this snorkeling experience special. Usually scuba diving is required to have encounters with sharks or even see them at that depth. We even saw a sea turtle swimming with one of these sharks and then saw two more large sea turtles in this same area.
Sunsets
Being on the boat gave us a unique perspective to soak in the sunsets on the two nights we slept on board. The first night we watched the flying foxes, or fruit bats, migrating from the mangroves back to the main island at dusk. There were thousands of bats flying overhead the boat.
The second night, while sipping a few beers, we lounged on the beanbags on the top deck to catch the sunset and even caught a glimpse of the stars.