THD | Eat the world
My boyfriend Shane and I took a vacation to Bali and New Zealand earlier this year, and we had an amazing time! We spent about 6 days on mainland Bali, and before we headed to New Zealand, we decided to check out some of the surrounding island life as well. The first of our island stops was to the Penida Island region, and it ended up being our favorite Indonesian leg of our trip.
The Penida Island region consists of three islands: Nusa (island) Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan. Though Nusa Penida is the largest of the three islands, it is the most underdeveloped. Most travelers choose to stay on Nusa Lembongan or Nusa Ceningan and day trip over to Penida to see the sights. If you’re interested in a less crowded, more chill version of Bali, these islands are the Indo-jackpot. Here’s the lowdown on these low-key islands.
Balinese, Indonesian, English
Indonesian Rupiah (Rp); $1 US = ~14,000 Rp
Tip: Exchange currency in Bali before arriving, as there will be far fewer places to do so on the islands. Also make sure to bring plenty of cash with you because many businesses only take cash.
Like Bali, the Penida island region practices predominantly Balinese Hinduism. Which means, take off your shoes before entering a home or business, and watch not to step on daily offerings, which come in the form of small grass baskets filled with flowers at most entrances.
The average temperature in the Penida island region is comparable to Bali, so around 80 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. This is also a tropical climate that yields high humidity, and since the islands are close to the equator, you’re much closer to the sun here. AKA — Don’t forget sunscreen. Also not unlike Bali are the afternoon thunderstorms and showers, so best to plan your beach/excursion time for in the morning if at all possible.
There isn’t an airport on these islands, so you will need to arrive by boat. We used Blue Water Express and had a great experience. They leave from a few different locations around mainland Bali, most of which are close to the airport.
Unlike Bali, you won’t find many cars on these islands, unless you’re being taxied to and from your hotel. For visitors and the large majority of the locals, motorbike is the only option, unless you plan to explore the island on foot. You’ll find that motorbiking is much easier to do on both Lembongan and Ceningan because most roadways are finished. On Penida, however, it’s a different story. You do have the option to take car tours to various sights around Penida island, and if you’re planning on being on the island for any part of the afternoon, I would strongly consider taking one. Because getting caught in the rain on a motorbike that’s driving through potholes is pretty low on my list of favorite things to do in life.
You’ll find the majority of food choices in this region on Lembongan and Ceningan Islands, and even though the islands are small, you should try to steer clear of tourist traps. These islands have very little ability to grow crops, and as a result they rely heavily on food being brought in from other places. This means the food may be a bit more expensive than mainland Bali, especially at said tourist traps, but still cheaper than you’re most likely used to nonetheless.
As with mainland Bali, I recommend looking for Warungs, or local family restaurants, for most of your meals. You’ll find dishes like Nasi Goreng and Mie Goreng (fried rice and fried noodles), satay (skewered and grilled meat), rendang (braised spicy meat dish), and bakso (meatballs) among others, and they’ll set you back only a couple bucks each time.
This was our first meal in Lembongan, and it was fantastic. Sadly, this place isn’t located on a beach or anything, but it’s completely open-air, and that was good enough for us that morning. This restaurant also came recommended on several travel websites we had looked at. The breakfast was very simple, but very good. Fresh ingredients, mostly proteins and starches, to get your day started and keep you satisfied for a few hours.
My favorite dish in this breakfast spread was the egg, cheese and baked bean toastie. The baked beans were more refried bean-status, but it tasted great and made me wonder why I’d never thought to make this before at home. Think of these toasties as grilled cheese sandwiches with the crusts cut off and the sides pinched, so that the sandwich forms an enclosed pocket. Overall, I definitely recommend this place for breakfast, and from what I hear, the lunch and dinner doesn’t suck either.
Sorry for the terrible pictures. It literally hurts me to post these, but I sadly didn’t take pictures of everything we ate. I did however take stories of most of it, so you’ll have to settle for this video screenshot instead. As for the warung, we really enjoyed it. They offered more of a variety than other warungs we visited, and they included some other southeast Asian dishes like curries as well.
Everything we ate was very tasty, including the (you guessed it) mie goreng with beautifully fried egg pictured above. This was one of the few times the fried egg on my mie goreng had a runny yolk, so I definitely reveled in that golden glory. Also, as you can see from the second photo, this restaurant is not just on the water, it hangs over the water and has an incredible view of Nusa Ceningan and the Yellow Bridge. Overall a really nice spot for lunch with a view.
I cannot tell you enough how much I do NOT recommend this place. It had been recommended on some travel websites, so we went and checked it out, however, I got terrible TERRIBLE food poisoning from this place. We ordered guacamole which came with a pool of oil in it (who even adds oil to guacamole???), my boyfriend ordered a burger that he swears he thinks was actually dog meat, and I ordered shrimp tacos. These shrimp tacos were the most pathetic looking tacos I’ve ever seen.
The shrimp were more of a garnish on a vegetable taco, and what little shrimp that did make it on the tacos didn’t look great. I’m the idiot that decided to eat the shitty looking shrimp, and I paid for it big time. Within 10 minutes of eating the shrimp, I had stabbing pains in my stomach, and ended up being sick with a fever, etc for a couple days.
What’s worse is, this restaurant actually decided to threaten me and call me a liar. I posted one slide on my story telling people I got sick, and they reached out not to make things right, but to beg me to tell them where I was so I could prove to them that I was actually sick. They don’t care about their customers, they only care about making money off of tourists. I absolutely hate this place and can’t imagine how anyone could ever have a good meal there. Obviously highly DON’T recommend this place. Obvi…
This is the restaurant we went to after leaving Next Level Cafe in search of actual food. My stomach wasn’t doing great, so I didn’t eat much, but the food did taste good. We ordered panang beef and a pizza, which we both enjoyed. This place was actually known for their pizzas, so we had to see if it was worth the hype. It wasn’t the best pizza ever, but for this tiny island I’d say they’re doing an above average job. This restaurant is also located on Mushroom Bay, so you’ll get really great beach views during the day.
This is a prime example of a tourist trap restaurant. The space is much more grand than the other surrounding restaurants, so you can tell they’re putting on a show to get you in the door. Sadly everything I ordered was not cooked well, was underseasoned, or just bored the absolute crap out of me. Shane didn’t mind his meal, but it wasn’t his favorite. And everything was generally more expensive (food and drinks) than other restaurants in the area. I’d recommend going elsewhere for food if I were you. The one thing we did enjoy was the live music though. I would’ve been happier grabbing a drink and listening to music for a couple hours after eating somewhere else.
Holy gorgeous this is one of the most beautiful places ever. Maybe it was because we had just been non-stop sight-seeing in Bali for a week, but laying on this white sandy beach made me feel whole again. The beach itself is pretty small and is surrounded by cliffs. The water is crystal clear and the most beautiful shades of blue. The sand is super fine and white, so it doesn’t get too obnoxiously hot. And there’s even a hotel there for you to grab food and drinks. The hotel is more expensive for food and drink than other spots on the island, but that’s the price you pay for wanting a beer in such a beautiful place. Also, aren’t these swings fun? Total Insta-photo op if you ask me.
Just a short walk away from Dream Beach, you’ll find Devil’s Tears. I couldn’t get a good picture because we didn’t go at the right time of day, so I’m sorry. lol Basically, Devil’s Tears is a circular cliff that is pounded by the waves at high tide, making the water soar into the air, almost like a geyser erupting. It’s supposed to be beautiful if it’s doing its thing, but it can be obviously pretty boring and underwhelming if you don’t go at the right time. So, plan accordingly, and you can get a sweet pic and see the devil cry. This is also supposed to be a pretty spectacular place to watch the sunset, if you’re into that.
This is a nice relaxing spot on Nusa Ceningan where you can see great views of Nusa Penida. The area is covered, so you can enjoy rain or shine, and there is a restaurant there as well, so you can grab a bite while you’re at it.
We were stunned at all of the beautiful colors in the water here, and the Blue Lagoon is no exception. The lagoon is a strikingly bright shade of light blue, as the name suggests. I definitely recommend venturing over to Ceningan to take a look. I wouldn’t recommend getting in the water because the tide is really rough and the water is very rocky, but there are some that cliff jump off the side of the lagoon where the ocean is. That’s not my cup of tea, but it sounds pretty exciting if you’re into that.
Penida Island itself is incredibly beautiful, even if it’s incredibly difficult to get around… on motorbike, that is. I recommend taking a car tour of Kelingking Beach, Angel’s Billabong and Crystal Bay, and that you do it before lunch. Because you will get rained on, like we did. The billabong itself is stunning. The topography of the rocks turned the water different shades of blue, yellow and green, and if you walk all the way out to the edge, it appears as though you’re walking on water. It’s stunning. I recommend investing in a pair of water shoes if you plan to visit here, as the rocks towards the edge are highly unpleasant to walk on in bare feet.
This is one of the most shockingly gorgeous natural things I’ve ever seen with my own two eyes. The land jutting out into the water looks like a T-Rex head, and it’s one hell of a monster to get up and down. We arrived not expecting to hike down to the beach below, but we did it anyways, despite signs that the “stairs” were broken. I use the term “stairs” loosely here because it’s mostly just branches and sticks tied together with leaves. Really comforting.
Despite the (sometimes scary) treck down to the beach below, it was totally worth it. The beach was gorgeous with fine, white sand. The water was strikingly blue, as you can see in both pictures. And since there aren’t too many willing or able to make the hike down, it’s not crowded at all. My advice is to bring a pair of shoes suitable for climbing, because part of this hike is definitely more of a climb, and bring a backpack with lunch for a picnic once you’ve reached the bottom. Also, be careful of going in the water. The water is very rough here and the tide can suck you right in.
I hope that this guide serves you well and makes planning your trip to the Penida Island region a little bit easier! If you have any thoughts, feelings, opinions, recommendations, additions, etc for this guide or any others, please tell me about it in the comments below!
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Stay hungry!
