Everything You Need to Know About the Nusa Islands
The Nusa Islands are a tropical paradise, with white sandy beaches and aqua blue waters. It’s hard to imagine that these 3 incredible islands are only a 30 minute boat ride from Bali. Once you arrive, you’ll be transported to a land of simpler times and smiling locals. After the hustle and bustle of Bali, the laid back lifestyle in the Nusa Islands was a paradise to us.
Getting to the Islands
There are two ways to get here: by public ferry or by speed boat. The public ferry has an erratic schedule and sometimes does not run due to engine failure or weather conditions. We don’t recommend relying on this as your mode of transport especially if you are on a tight schedule.
There are multiple speed boat companies that will take you to the Nusa Islands. If you are looking into going straight to Nusa Penida, Angel’s Billabong is a reliable company to go with. If you are looking to go to Nusa Lembongan or Nusa Ceningan, we recommend taking Blue Water Express, as they offer door to door pickup and incredible service. We have taken other boat companies to the islands and they were nowhere near as comfortable or easy to coordinate as Blue Water Express was.
You can easily get between Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida by a 15 minute boat ride that can easily be arranged at the harbour. Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan are connected by a bridge and can easily be crossed.
All About the Islands
Nusa Lembongan
Nusa Lembongan is the most developed of these islands and has the most resorts lined with white sands and blue waters. The main thing to see here is to lay on the beach, visit Devil’s Tears, a tide pool surrounded by rocks, and take a boat ride through the mangrove forest.
Where to stay: Acala Lembongan, Hai Tide Beach Resort, Bukit Ancak Lembongan Villas, Pandawa Lembongan Homestay and Villa Sayang.
Nusa Ceningan
Nusa Ceningan is the baby of the Nusa islands and is accessible via bridge from Nusa Lembongan. Here you will find more resorts, sandy beaches, and a beautiful blue lagoon. A delicious restaurant with beautiful hammocks set up over the water is The Sand.
Where to stay: Twilight Lembongan, Tatak Bunut Villa, and The Bridge Huts.
Nusa Penida
Nusa Penida is the biggest and least developed of the trio. We recommend staying at least 2 nights to be able to enjoy the island life in its entirety. Nusa Penida is more about the experiences, as opposed to relaxing on beaches as you would on the other 2 islands. The waves around Nusa Penida tend to be too strong to actually swim in, but they are great to splash around and cool off. Nusa Penida has raw, authentic villages and really kind local people.
While some of the roads are notoriously bad (think super rocky and super bumpy), they have started to pave the roads in an attempt to bring more tourists in. They are difficult to manouver, but if you are comfortable driving on a motorbike and are careful, it is manageable. Claudia was able to drive herself around and just went slow over the bumpy roads. It is possible to hire a car and driver to take you around, which costs around 1.3 million for 2 full days.
You can either do day trips to Nusa Penida from the two other Nusa Islands, or spend a few days exploring Nusa on your own.
Where to stay: Our favourite place to stay on the island is La Royale. They have 4 bungalows for $50 a night, and an epic bamboo house as well! It is located by Crystal Bay.
Other options are: Gus Mank Guesthouse, Bintang Bungalows, Coconut Bungalows, Bakung Cozy Cottage and Apit Lawang Villas.