[Part 1] The Island of dreams: Nusa Penida
Hey guys,
I have been travelling on Nusa Penida for round about a week and want to show you some awesome pictures and give you some recommendations what to do, to eat and where to stay. But at first - this is Nusa Penida:
The fast boat tour from Sanur Harbour to Nusa Penida
 |  |  |
|---|
The Sanur Harbour is located nearly to Denpasar and offers cheap ferries as well as very expensive ferries. Cause my wife get's seasick very fast, we took the fast boat to get the ride done fastly :D
On the deck of the fast boat we met 2 Javanese guys who were really nice and friendly. They did a lot of fotos with us, and I still dont know why :D They told us about some things to do on Nusa Penida and we had a great time on the deck!
The view on the deck of this fast boat is just amazing. The wind is shooting in your hair, the water splashes into your face and the ride is just amazing. We booked our tour here: https://gilitransfers.com/fast-boats/crown-fast-cruises/?ref=sd. The ride took round about 45 minutes and was pretty enjoyable. The ticket for 2 persons was round about 32€.
Where to sleep on Nusa Penida?
 |  |  |
|---|
That's Batan Sabo Cottage. One of the more expensive but very nice accomodations here on Nusa Penida. If you try to book one of the rooms via booking.com oder agoda.com than they will be very expensive. Instead of booking via these platforms just do the following:
- Get you smartphone out and save Budis phone number: +62 0813 3839 3782 (He is the manager of Batan Sabo Cottage)
- Tell him that Masbro (that's my indonesian name by the way) gave you the number to book one room outside from booking and agoda
- Ask him for a good price. I got 500.000 idr per night (30€) without breakfast, 575.000 idr (34,50€) per night with breakfast for 2 persons
If you send the SMS just end the SMS with "Matur Suksma", that's the polite word for thank you.
Batan Sabo Cottage is really clean, the staff is really friendly and the bed is one of the most comfortable bed I ever slept in. Maybe you might take a further look on their instagram: https://www.instagram.com/batansabo/
Where to eat, what to drive, how to live?
 |  |  |
|---|
Honestly, if you don't have any expectations concerning food this island will be easy for you. In Toyapakeh you will find several restaurants which are serving indonesian, asian and western food. If you are a little special and want to eat vegan than there are a couple of spots you shouldn't miss:
Penida Espresso - here you get the best coffee in town, amazing breaktfast bowls and sandwiches for lunch. If you are there I can recommend the rock butter bowl, dragon bowl and the green penida juice. Last but not least you should try the caramel espresso, it's lovely!
Penida Colada - here you get everything for dinner. The food is very very good and you will love it, I am quite sure. You get amazing cocktails, lovely casava chips (which I highly recommend) and the curry is nice as well!
Vegan Soul Kitchen - here you get, except of vegan food, a wonderful view over the tropical forrest of Nusa Penida.
On the second picture you can see me on a dirtbike. And I highly recommend renting a dirtbike if you want to discover the Nusa Penida on your own. There are a lot of tourist tours through Nusa where you get driven from tourist spot to tourist spot. But that's not the way you want to discover Nusa Penida.
Instead of getting a tour booked get your own bike. You can get a motorbike for 75.000 idr a day (4,50€) or a dirtbike for 165.000 idr a day (9,75€). The motorbike is fun but the dirtbike is much more fun, believe me! And it will save you ass and I mean that literally. The streets on Nusa Penida, especially when you are going to Broken Bay, Kelingking or the Pererenan Sunsetpoint are horrible.
Just watch the first 30 seconds to see how the roads are like and in reality it is worse! :D
If you wanna book a motorbike or a dirtbike just do the following:
- Get you smartphone out and save Wayans phone number: +62 823 4056 0009 (He has a lot of bikes and is one of the rare dirtbike rentals)
- Tell him that Masbro (my indonesian name again) gave you the number to book one of his bikes
- Ask him for a good price. I got 500.000 idr for 3 days dirtbike. Normally he rents for 200k a day.
Last but not least you should know something about the culture. Most part of Nusa Penida is Hindus, some are Muslims. You can swim in Bikini or shorts and do what ever you want. Just keep in mind to be polite and friendly as all Indonesians will be to you. On the third picture you can see me waering an Udang and an Sarong. This is the traditional hinduistic wear which they use to pray.
And now?
Now you know about the infrastructure on Nusa Penida. In the next article I will show you the most exciting places on Nusa Penida. I dont want to spoiler but the fotos are just awesome!
Thanks for reading.
Lots of love,
Tom
