Nusa Penida is a beautiful semi remote island off the southeast coast of Bali. With only a small village, it’s just starting to open up to tourism and you get a real local vibe here, good snorkeling and fantastic views. You can do a day trip or stay over night.
Getting There 
Fly into Denpasar, Bali and take a boat to Nusa Penida island. A lot of tour agencies were selling fast boats tickets to this island. The cheapest boat company I found was Idola Express- $15 USD for one way, $30 round trip, leaving from Sanur (near Anada beach hotel). I ended up haggling with a tour agency, down to the same price and had them include transport. I booked with Eruption Fast Cruise departing from Serangan. It was $30 round trip and included pick up and drop off in Bali and pick up and drop off in Nusa Penida. All the boat companies only offer 2-3 boats/day- early morning, afternoon and sunset. The 30-45 minute boat can be pretty rough depending on weather, so be sure to bring motion sickness medicine just in case. (I’ve heard that boat prices used to be cheaper, but with Nusa Penida becoming more popular, they’ve upped the price) 
Things To Do
Kelingking Viewpoint– this is the classic photo from the island, and it’s even more beautiful in real life! The rock formations look like a T rex head (the rocks on the left are the head with an open mouth toward the water).
Theres a very steep rocky path to hike down to the beach. Be aware the waves are very rough if you’re planning to swim. If you’re not up for the hike down, theres a restaurant here to relax, have a drink and enjoy the view. Be sure to watch the sunset from here.
Just when I thought this view couldn’t get any better, I looked down in the bay and saw 9 manta rays swimming in 4 different shades of blue water! 
Snorkeling– Crystal Bay has great snorkeling right off the beach. You can bring your own snorkel and swim out or go with a snorkel tour. I saw lots of different colorful coral (which is becoming more rare these days), tropical fish and a ravine that I free dived into.
Rock Pools at Angels Billabong– at low tide, take a dip and cool off in these beautiful emerald green rock pools. It’s just a short walk down from the parking area. However, the road to drive here is extremely rocky if you’re on a motor bike.
Broken Beach– just a 5 min walk past Angels Billabong is Broken Beach. The ocean eroded a tunnel through the rocks to make a natural land bridge arch revealing a circular pool. You cant go down to the beach because the waves are crashing against these rocks, but it’s a nice viewpoint.
Waterfalls– I ran out of time but the waterfalls I was hoping to go to were Tegeling, Peguyangan and Seganing waterfalls. They are all a step walk down a cliff but supposed to be worth it for the view.
Accommodation
There was budget, mid range and luxury accommodations on the island. I stayed in a treehouse because I absolutely love them and try to sleep in a tree whenever I can.
Nyuh Bengkok Tree House (translates to Coconut Arch)- $11/night, free breakfast, and wifi. Theres 10 different treehouse rooms with a fan inside to keep cool. They also had scooters on site to rent for $5USD/day.
Getting Around
It’s most convenient to rent a motor bike and explore the island, but you can also hire a driver for the day or join a tour. If you’re going a short distance, you can pay a local to hop on the back of their scooter. If you’re not comfortable on a scooter, I’d suggest getting a driver. A lot of roads are not paved and they’re steep, one lane, gravel rocky roads with cliff drop offs. 
Money
This island is pretty much cash only. There are 2 ATM’s on the island and they’re often out of order and don’t accept Visa ATM cards (only MasterCard or Indonesian cards). Bring plenty of cash with you. Also, some of the sites charge 14 cents-35 cents for scooter parking, so bring small money if you can.
Food
There are mostly local warungs to eat at but my go-to place for breakfast was The Gallery, next to Full Moon Bungalows. It’s cheap and the food is delicious. I recommend the ginger coffee. Also, Penida Espresso next door had smoothie bowls.
I hope you enjoy Nusa Penida as much as I did. Thanks for reading. If you’re interested in other adventures in Southeast Asia, please check out my other blog posts. If you have any questions please email me. 🙂